Tag: Ivar

WWE Raw preview 10/9/23: Becky Lynch vs. Tegan Nox, plus Fastlane repercussions

There’s also bound to be fallout within The Judgment Day on tonight’s episode of WWE Raw from Omaha.

Becky Lynch wanted to give someone she thought deserved a title shot a championship opportunity. Now The Man has to make sure she doesn’t regret that decision tonight on WWE Raw in Omaha.

When Lynch won the NXT Women’s Championship, she did it to cross a rare remaining line item off her career checklist, sure. But she also wanted to test herself against the best of the upcoming generation of wrestlers.

She did exactly that against Tiffany Stratton, but Lynch told Tegan Nox she is part of that conversation too. Nox got the seal of approval from Natalya after beating her, and now will look to make good on her moment in the spotlight against Lynch. There’s no question that it will be interesting to see where WWE goes with this.

That’s not the only intrigue in the women’s division. Nia Jax has been an absolute wrecking ball since she made her WWE return, with no one really able to stand up to her. That may end tonight, however, when she faces Raquel Rodriguez, whose gig is basically standing up to anyone who tries to bulldoze the division.

We’ll also see Kofi Kingston take on Ivar in a Viking Rules match, which means weapons with a Viking theme will be used based on previous matches in the past. Alpha Academy is now somewhere nodding slowly.

On top of all that, Fastlane shook things up for what is (was?) Raw’s most dominant faction, The Judgment Day. Damian Priest and Finn Balor now have to watch Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso parade around with the tag team titles that used to be theirs. Even worse, Rhea Ripley is bound to be enraged, and it was the unsuccessful assistance from wanna-be stable member JD McDonagh that turned the tide.

Will things come to a head in Judgment Day land tonight? Heck, who can they not?

WWE Raw graces our flatscreens tonight as always at 8 p.m. ET. Be sure to join us back here at Wrestling Junkie at that time for results and updates if you can’t watch the show live.

WWE Raw results 10/2/23: Gunther, Tommaso Ciampa tear it down, Johnny Gargano returns

WWE Raw also saw a tag team title match made official for Fastlane.

Sometimes, plans change. For WWE Raw, it’s been happening quite often as of late, and it appears that might be the case for tonight’s episode from San Jose.

The show had been promoted with a match between Jey Uso and Damian Priest as one of its big hooks. Alas, the official WWE.com preview for tonight now has nary a mention of that bout, so it will be interesting to see if it needed to be shelved for some reason or the wrestlers involved will be used in some other way.

Instead, the featured segment is now a contract signing between Gunther and Tommaso Ciampa. The Ring General has tried to keep Ciampa at bay using his Imperium minions, but they proved unfit for the task. Now Gunther has basically no choice but to put his Intercontinental Championship on the line, presumably this weekend at Fastlane.

Becky Lynch already successfully retained her NXT Women’s Championship at No Mercy, and The Man promised Tegan Nox she could have the next shot. That is still being promoted for tonight, but there are reports that Lynch isn’t medically cleared to compete, so we’ll be watching to see if that bout gets rescheduled in a way that grows out of what we’ll see in San Jose.

Also, for some reason Miz TV is welcoming Drew McIntyre back for a second consecutive week. Did The Miz fire his booking person? And what new if anything will the Scottish Warrior have to say this time?

The uncertainty means there could be some cool stuff that isn’t being advertised for tonight’s show, and we’re always down with that. Let’s see what we’ve got.

WWE Raw results from San Jose:

(scroll down for full details on any match or segment in bold)

  • Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler are supposed to have a match to start the show, but the broadcast begins with them already brawling; they’re soon joined by Raquel Rodriguez and Rhea Ripley, and tons of security and refs have to pull them all apart
  • Rhea says The Judgment Day needs to talk, but after she gives Dominik Mysterio an ultimatum, Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes cause more trouble … and end up with a title match for Fastlane
  • Imperium (Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser) def. Alpha Academy by pinfall
  • Highlights are shown of the Becky Lynch-Tiffany Stratton Extreme Rules match at No Mercy
  • Pearce tells Tegan Nox that he has to postpone her title shot since Lynch isn’t cleared to compete, but Nox suggests she take on a not so helpful Chelsea Green and Pearce makes it official
  • Bronson Reed def. Cedric Alexander by pinfall
  • Pearce ends his phone call to speak to Drew McIntyre, who doesn’t want to do Miz TV a second week in a row and asks Pearce to tell The Miz to leave him alone when he says what he wants to say tonight; he also notes that no one did “the right thing” when The Bloodline was beating him down
  • Tommaso Ciampa and Gunther meet for their contract signing and end up agreeing to have their match tonight
  • Priest is upset about having to defend the titles at Fastlane, but together, Ripley and McDonagh are able to convince him that it could help drive a wedge between Uso and his (few) allies
  • Xavier Woods def. Ivar by pinfall, but he and Kofi Kingston are both beaten silly by the big man after the match
  • A hype video is shown for the Seth Rollins-Shinsuke Nakamura Last Man Standing match at Fastlane
  • Shinsuke Nakamura proves to still be one step ahead of Seth Rollins in a very painful way
  • Lynch tells Nox she better be ready for a fight once she’s cleared; she turns and runs into Natalya, who says she has a different level of respect for Tegan now and believes she’ll make good on her title opportunity then she gets it
  • Tegan Nox def. Chelsea Green by pinfall
  • McIntyre rants on what he sees as weakness and hypocrisy in those forgiving Jey Uso, which brings out an unhappy Miz to get in some taunts at Drew for playing both sides of things; McIntyre wants a fight, and while Miz looks like he’s going to walk away, he runs back to the ring to assault McIntyre from behind, which eventually leads to officials separating them
  • Drew McIntyre def. The Miz by pinfall
  • Trick Williams introduces himself to the world ahead of his rematch for the NXT North American Championship on NXT, but Mysterio, Ripley and McDonagh arrive to taunt him a bit
  • Rhodes wasn’t anticipating getting after the tag team titles with Jey Uso, but he’ll be ready to go this weekend at Fastlane
  • Gunther def. Tommaso Ciampa by submission to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship
  • Imperium hits the ring to beat on Ciampa, but Johnny Gargano returns to make the save

WWE Raw results 09/25/23: JD McDonagh saves the day for The Judgment Day

If The Judgment Day won’t accept JD McDonagh now after his key role on WWE Raw, they probably never will.

As the late, great philosopher Guru of Gang Starr once said, “Give the credit y’all, where it is due.” And in this case, the credit is due Dominik Mysterio as he prepares to defend his NXT North American Championship on tonight’s episode of WWE Raw in Ontario, California.

No, really. Though Dom is definitely the person you love to hate at the moment, he’s gone from “get this guy off my screen” heat to “we hate you because you’re a big heel” heat. In that respect, strapping him up only helped, which is why WWE did the right thing by doing so even though most people griped at the time.

He’ll have one of his biggest showcases tonight, trying to fend off Dragon Lee. There’s no question Lee reminds Dominik of his famous father in all the ways that get under his skin most, which is why a loss would definitely burn. WWE could potentially help make Lee a star with a win, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out, and if Mysterio needs help from his teammates in The Judgment Day to pull out a victory.

If they can’t help him, it might be because they’re busy too. Damian Priest and Finn Balor won the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship from Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, but now they’ve got to keep the Canadians from getting it back. Plus there’s lots going on around the champs, what with trying to recruit The Usos and that JD McDonagh guy always wondering “How can I be down?”

All that plus Drew McIntyre on Miz TV, Shinsuke Nakamura addressing Seth Rollins’ challenge and Cody Rhodes kicking off the show. Sounds like a night, doesn’t it? Let’s find out.

WWE Raw results from Ontario:

(please scroll down for full details on any match or segment in bold)

  • Cody Rhodes gets interrupted again, but he finds plenty of allies rally to his side against The Judgment Day
  • Bronson Reed def. Otis by pinfall
  • Becky Lynch asks Tegan Nox why she didn’t take the open challenge last week and says she’s next in line once she wins at No Mercy
  • Nox and Natalya get into an argument in front of Adam Pearce over who deserves a shot at Lynch next, so he proposes they battle it out in the ring
  • Tommaso Ciampa def. Ludwig Kaiser by pinfall despite, and indeed perhaps thanks to, Giovanni Vinci’s attempt to help his Imperium mate
  • A hype video puts over the skill and athleticism of Dragon Lee
  • Tegan Nox def. Natalya by pinfall
  • A furious Priest kicks McDonagh out of The Judgment Day’s dimly lit dressing room
  • Seth Rollins gets his answer from Shinsuke Nakamura, and he is undeterred in agreeing to a Last Man Standing match at Fastlane
  • Even on crutches, Ricochet says he has unfinished business with Nakamura no matter who wins at Fastlane
  • Dominik Mysterio def. Dragon Lee by pinfall to retain the NXT North American Championship
  • KO and Sami say their actions earlier weren’t about helping Jey Uso but about getting their hands on The Judgment Day and winning the titles back together
  • Michael Cole has the unenviable task of interviewing Nia Jax, who brags about squashing Rhea Ripley, Shayna Baszler and everyone, really; Zoey Stark heads to the ring and gets in Jax’s face, seemingly unafraid of being squashed, and they brawl into a commercial break while referees try to pull them apart
  • Nia Jax def. Zoey Stark by pinfall
  • Jey Uso tells Byron Saxton that he’s not joining any groups of any kind and will be keeping a close eye on The Judgment Day the rest of the night, especially during the tag team title match
  • Finn Balor celebrates with Mysterio and tells him Priest needed to cool off, but they’d all be celebrating by the end of the night
  • Miz TV welcomes Drew McIntyre for a bit of a morality discussion involving The New Day, and Miz ends up on the receiving end of some well deserved violence
  • Chad Gable tries to console Otis, then tells Kaiser, who is creeping on Maxxine again, to deliver a message to Gunther: Master Gable still has his eyes on him
  • Drew McIntyre def. Kofi Kingston by pinfall, undeterred by Ivar beating up on Xavier Woods during the match and doing the same to Kingston afterward
  • Gunther lays into Kaiser, making Vinci his responsibility while he takes care of his responsibility as IC champ, saying he’ll beat Ciampa himself
  • Asked about beating up The New Day, Ivar says it’s for taking out Erik, and Valhalla says “an eye for an eye”
  • Damian Priest and Finn Balor def. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn by pinfall to retain the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship, with a huge assist from McDonagh
  • After the main event, KO, Zayn, Uso and Rhodes continue to take part in a massive brawl with The Judgment Day and McDonagh

WWE Raw results 09/18/23: Jey Uso makes his choice but not everyone is sold

Who stood by Jey Uso on WWE Raw from Salt Lake City, and who still isn’t convinced he’s changed his ways?

Pro wrestling logic is a funny thing sometimes. Run with a pack and try to beat me up using the numbers game, partly to keep a ruthless heel champion in power? We’re mortal enemies. But come at me straight up and fight me one-on-one and maybe we can be allies if not necessarily friends.

That second path may work in the favor of Jey Uso tonight on WWE Raw in Salt Lake City. Outside of Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn, Jey has found precious few willing to fight beside him since joining the Monday night scene. And who can blame the rest of the roster?

Drew McIntyre is one who remembers all too well that Jey was trying everything possible to keep Roman Reigns atop the WWE mountaintop not that long ago, and naturally distrusts him as a result. The thing is, if Uso fights him honorably tonight, it could go a long way toward at least convincing the Scottish Warrior that they could fight together if need be.

Speaking of Rhodes, he’s got a match too, and it might be one that sees these two plot threads intertwine. The American Nightmare will face Dominik Mysterio, and that means the rest of The Judgment Day could get involved. That would be the same group currently trying to recruit Jey Uso to their side, so it will be intriguing to see if these bouts end up part of the same overall stew of wrestler interactions.

There’s also a battle between Ricochet and Shinsuke Nakamura to look forward to, which should be a fun affair and could draw World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins into the mix as well. Let’s dive into the action.

WWE Raw results from Salt Lake City:

(scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)

  • Cody Rhodes is greeted warmly by the Salt Lake City crowd and says since he was interrupted last week, he’d like to talk about Main Event Jey Uso; he’s interrupted again by Dominik Mysterio, however, who brags about The Judgment Day recruiting Jey and dedicating his victory over Cody to Rhea Ripley, which Rhodes rightfully mocks
  • Cody Rhodes def. Dominik Mysterio by pinfall, then gets reinforcements in the form of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to chase off The Judgment Day
  • KO hangs in the ring and calls Rhodes back to “talk about something,” which turns out to be a discussion about whether they can trust Jey Uso
  • A replay of the return of Nia Jax and her attack on Rhea Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez is shown
  • Kofi Kingston def. Ivar by pinfall
  • Ricochet is asked for final comments and says Shinsuke Nakamura will find out he’s nobody’s pawn, and that Shinsuke playing games only fires him up
  • Shinsuke Nakamura def. Ricochet by disqualification when Ricochet uses a steel chair; afterward, Nakamura manages to get some punishment in on both Ricochet and Seth Rollins before officials and referees can finally pull him away
  • Rollins angrily tells a ref he doesn’t need help, but it appears he does to get to the trainer’s room
  • Chelsea Green tells Byron Saxton that she and Piper Niven are best friends, but Chelsea clearly doesn’t know what country Piper is from
  • Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark vs. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven is a no contest (we think) after Nia Jax shows up and assaults everyone
  • Chad Gable asks Pearce what he can do to work himself back into another title shot against Gunther; conveniently, Bronson Reed drops by and ends up talking himself into a match against Gable
  • The Rock’s surprise return on SmackDown is shown again
  • Jey Uso is asked about Owens’ remarks and how Drew McIntyre feels about him too, but Damian Priest arrives to tell Jey he wants Main Event Jey for The Judgment Day and says their group can be the family he’s looking for … but they want an answer by the end of the night
  • Bronson Reed def. Chad Gable by pinfall
  • Tommaso Ciampa says being patient didn’t work for him, so he’s creating his own opportunity by going through Imperium to get to Gunther
  • A highlight package shows the best moments from Becky Lynch’s victory over Tiffany Stratton to win the NXT Women’s Championship, and The Man is shown accepting a fist bump from Akira Tozawa backstage
  • Owens runs into Jey Uso and has to be calmed down by Zayn, once again playing peacemaker; Sami also tells Jey that he doesn’t know what The Judgment Day business is all about but it appears Jey has a decision to make tonight
  • Lynch explains why she went after the NXT title, saying it wasn’t just to become Grand Slam Becks but also to test herself against the best the future has to offer; she wants to face someone tonight, however, and her challenge is answered by Natalya, who emphatically won’t take no for an answer when Lynch points out her challenge was intended for someone “newer”
  • Becky Lynch def. Natalya by pinfall to retain the NXT Women’s Championship
  • Dominik accuses Pearce of not doing his job and punishing Nia for attacking Rhea, and he exchanges words with Dragon Lee, who he’ll face next week
  • Tommaso Ciampa def. Giovanni Vinci by submission
  • Rollins tells Saxton he’s trying to keep it together but is so upset that he’s willing to do anything to get Shinsuke in the ring, so much so that he says the ball is in Nakamura’s court: time, place, even stipulation, but he warns that it could mean Seth defining Shinsuke’s legacy

  • A hype video is shown for the main event, detailing the history between Uso and McIntyre
  • Drew McIntyre def. Jey Uso by pinfall after Uso gives superkicks to every member of The Judgment Day
  • The Judgment Day beats up on Uso after his defeat, and while McIntyre stands on the stage and decides not to help, Rhodes runs down and chases the heels away