Tag: The Judgment Day

WWE Raw results 11/13/23: The Judgment Day gets a new member — and a powerful ally

Fans ended WWE Raw stunned as it wasn’t JD McDonagh who bailed out The Judgment Day.

The Judgment Day likes to go around saying it runs Monday nights. The villainous stable doesn’t necessarily need titles to back up that claim, but it sure does help, which is why the tag team title match tonight on WWE Raw in Washington D.C. is important to its efforts to keep the rest of the roster under its collective thumb.

Rhea Ripley has so far been the only member of the group to keep a firm grip on a championship. Damian Priest and Finn Balor have win the tag team titles twice, but that means they’ve also lost them once.

As luck would have it (well, more Adam Pearce than luck, but you get it), the men they beat for the championship the second time are also the ones who briefly took it from them, Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso. So if Priest and Balor can hang on to the belts tonight, they’ll pull off the rare retention/payback combo in one fell swoop.

It’s also very much worth noting that Survivor Series is coming up fast, and both of these duos are on opposite sides of WarGames at that event. Could that figure into what happens on Raw? Honestly, it might be more surprising if it didn’t.

There’s some other good stuff advertised for this show as well, especially when it comes to in-ring action. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Otis sounds like a matchup we didn’t know we wanted. The same could be said for Tommaso Ciampa vs. Ludwig Kaiser, and there are several women’s intriguing women’s matches scheduled too.

So what say you? If you’re ready to take it all in, so are we.

WWE Raw results from Washington D.C.:

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

  • Cody Rhodes and his WarGames team exchange pleasantries with The Judgment Day, which ends with Damian Priest declaring himself his group’s leader and accepting Seth Rollins’ challenge for a tag team match involving the four men NOT in tonight’s main event
  • Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins def. Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh by DQ, as the rest of The Judgment Day interfere, Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes get involved, and Adam Pearce responds to the ensuing brawl by declaring everyone who is in the WarGames match barred from the arena for tonight’s main event
  • Rhea Ripley yells at Pearce until both of them are joined in the ring by Zoey Stark, who says Rhea is simply worried about too many things; Ripley disagrees but also finds herself unable to pull off a sneak attack on her No. 1 contender
  • Shinsuke Nakamura says he’s still in control and waiting for his time to go after the person he’s targeting, though he still won’t reveal who that is
  • Cody asks to speak to Seth one on one, and Rollins promises that for one night, for WarGames, they will be good
  • Shinsuke Nakamura def. Otis by pinfall
  • A video package gets us even more hype for WarGames, if that’s possible
  • Drew McIntyre stops Rollins to say that the things he told McIntyre before Crown Jewel turned out to be right, and extends his hand, which Seth shakes; the Scottish Warrior says he’s going to work his butt off to earn another shot, then watches Rollins walk off
  • A video promotes Tegan Nox, her recovery from injury and the “craziest” year she’s had since then, where she learned she can hang with the very best in WWE
  • Tegan Nox def. Piper Niven by pinfall
  • Asked what is driving him to dethrone Gunther, The Miz says it’s his desire to restore the respect to his previous Intercontinental Championship reigns; both Ivar and Bronson Reed interrupt, and Reed ends up in a staredown with Valhalla
  • Tommaso Ciampa vs. Ludwig Kaiser
  • The Judgment Day regroups, agreeing that Priest can be the leader for WarGames, while Damian also says he’ll tell JD McDonagh he’s become a full member of the group
  • Xia Li def. Indi Hartwell by referee stoppage, continuing a string of her stopping opponents with strikes alone; afterward, Becky Lynch arrives with a bone to pick, and though Li retreats, The Man says they’ve got a match confirmed for next week
  • Gunther taunts The Miz backstage, but the A-Lister tells the Ring General to watch his match tonight and to beware at Survivor Series; the IC champ is unmoved, promising the “beating of a lifetime” for Miz at the PPV
  • Stark gets Shayna Baszler to admit that she hopes Zoey defeats Rhea at Survivor Series, but both Raquel Rodriguez and Nia Jax both show up to tease a fight between the two of them
  • The Miz def. Ivar by pinfall, and Ivar gets attacked by Reed after the bell
  • Priest tells McDonagh he’s officially in The Judgment Day before Balor congratulates him and tells him to leave the arena (since he’s been barred from the building and all)
  • Gunther is happy … but with Giovanni Vinci, not Kaiser; an angry Kaiser almost runs afoul of Indus Sher but thinks better of it
  • The Creed Brothers, Alpha Academy and The New Day bicker over who should go for the tag team titles, Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri hit it off, and Akira Tozawa breaks out his nasty moves again
  • The Judgment Day (Damian Priest and Finn Balor) def. Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso by pinfall to retain the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship after McIntyre lays out Uso with a Claymore
  • The show ends with McIntyre shaking hands with Ripley on the stage as the fans boo

WWE Raw preview 11/13/23: Can Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso reclaim tag titles?

WWE Raw from Washington D.C. will also see The Miz take on Ivar after they collided during last week’s Fatal 4-Way.

When Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso first teamed together and became Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, it felt like more of a happy side effect of their battle against The Judgment Day than a goal in and of itself. That might change tonight on WWE Raw form Washington D.C. as the duo gears up to try to win the titles back.

Why? For starters, they’re up against the same two men they beat for the gold, Damian Priest and Finn Balor — who then beat Rhodes and Uso a few weeks later. There’s a measure of payback that wasn’t involved prior.

Plus the surrounding stakes are higher after Adam Pearce declared that all four men will be prominently involved in the WarGames match at Survivor Series. Is this the time to give any kind of psychological edge to the people you’ll be facing inside the double-size steel cage.

We’d say no. So it will be interesting indeed to see whether or not Cody and Jey can take the titles back, and perhaps even more so to watch what happens around this championship match that might still shape Survivor Series.

Here’s what else WWE is promoting for tonight’s Raw from the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.:

That’s a lot of in-ring action, and we’re ready to take it all in beginning at 8 p.m. ET tonight.

Who might still be added to the men’s WarGames match at Survivor Series? We think we know

If the teams for the men’s WarGames match get expanded to 5, there are a few candidates for who could join the fray at Survivor Series.

This week on Raw, GM Adam Pearce finally got fed up enough at the ongoing battle between some of the brand’s top fan favorites and The Judgment Day — which exploded into a wild, show-ending brawl — that he told them all they’d be facing each other in a WarGames match at Survivor Series in Chicago later this month.

On the surface, it seemed like a pretty straightforward setup. The Judgment Day has four men in the group (if you include JD McDonagh, whose status is somewhat tenuous), and there are four men who have been tussling with them on a regular basis: Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins. Four on four, pretty cut and dried.

But while there’s no set number of participants on each side of a WarGames bout, the most common format for it is 5v5. Someone brought that up to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp on Monday night, and he had a telling response.

So if the men’s WarGames match will eventually end up a 5v5 affair, who will join each side? Let’s take some educated guesses.

Who might join The Judgment Day for WarGames?

The Judgment Day seems like it might have a problem finding someone to join up with them. Despite Rhea Ripley’s recruiting efforts, Raw stars like Uso and Rollins have chosen to stand against them. McDonagh, as noted, is barely accepted by the other members (especially Damian Priest).

But there’s one obvious choice who would fight beside them even if it’s somewhat reluctantly: Drew McIntyre.

The Scottish Warrior is in the middle of what appears to be a slow-motion heel turn, driven by some of the most realistic motivations in pro wrestling right now. Not only is he desperate to get the world championship moment in front of crowds that the pandemic denied him, McIntyre simply can’t let go of the person he feels cost him that chance last fall: Uso, when he was a loyal member of The Bloodline.

McIntyre isn’t the joining type, so he’s probably never going to officially join The Judgment Day (who, as Zayn just pointed out, is close to becoming Bloodline 2.0). Could he be so consumed by bitterness toward Uso for his role in the recent past, and Rollins, for defeating him at Crown Jewel, that he’d be willing to team with the stable at Survivor Series?

Absolutely.

That gets us to five on the heel side, but what about our heroes? That spot seems likely to be filled by someone we haven’t seen around WWE for a while … but which one is the question.

Who might join the anti-Judgment Day side for WarGames?

There’s one person who would certainly join the faces to battle The Judgment Day if asked, and that’s Kevin Owens. His friendship with Zayn remains intact, he came around on Uso and he at least tolerates Rhodes and Rollins.

Still, this WarGames matchup feels like it’s going to be a Raw-only deal, and KO is on SmackDown now. It’s still possible he could be summoned just for this, but it doesn’t seem likely.

So that increases the chances that the face side will have a mystery partner, and if that turns out to be the case, a returning Randy Orton would make a lot of sense. He’s been rumored to be close to coming back for a bit, and WWE would obviously want to roll him out at a big moment. This certainly qualifies.

Like any big star who’s been absent for a while (Orton hasn’t wrestled May 2022), he’s best positioned as a fan favorite for his initial appearance because the crowd will want to cheer for him anyway. If they’d save him for the last person to enter the match without revealing him, the fans in Chicago will lose their minds as soon as they hear “I hear voices in my head … ”

Of course, there’s another theme song that would take a Chicago crowd to another level of frenzy, and that’s “Cult of Personality.” Is there still a chance that CM Punk could be the fifth member of this team?

It’s wrestling, so sure, anything is possible. There’s definitely a lot of people out there who believe he will show up, spurred on by what they feel are intentional references seeded throughout WWE programming over the past month or so.

Let’s put it this way: WWE is definitely trying to dissuade people from expecting Punk to be at Survivor Series. The most connected pro wrestling insiders believe that right this second, he isn’t coming in. But if he comes to some sort of agreement with WWE over the next few weeks, there wouldn’t be a better time or place to unveil him.

If the good guys go into the event with a mystery slot on their team, there’s definitely going to be a ton of anticipation over who might fill it.

WWE Raw results 10/30/23: No treats for The Judgment Day, especially JD McDonagh

Also on WWE Raw tonight, the Trick or Street Fight was … something.

There have probably been factions that have been outright scarier in terms of their presentation than The Judgment Day if you look back over WWE history, but not that many can claim to have the same combination of power and persistence. And now it’s possible they may use tonight’s episode of WWE Raw to grow that even more, so what could be more frightening than that for a Halloween week episode from Greenville?

JD McDonagh is kind of the quintessential wanna-be in that he’s been on a “How can I be down?” kick for weeks, always trying to assist — though sometimes his help has backfired, and there are certainly questions about his motivations.

He’ll try to prove he’s worth a full-fledged spot tonight when he takes on Seth Rollins. Rhea Ripley will no doubt be watching closely, but she may also have hedged her bet since it sure seemed like she was extending an invitation to the World Heavyweight Champion to join the group last week.

And because you should always have a gimmick match for Halloween, Raw has that covered as well. Natalya will take on Chelsea Green in a Trick or Street Fight, a match that only took on more potential entertainment value on social media today.

To wit:

Ahem. Plus we’ll see the latest between DIY and Imperium, and there’s buzz about an NXT call-up that should be very popular among fans who watch that brand regularly.

Sounds like a splendid way to spend the night before Halloween. Let’s see if it turns out that way.

WWE Raw results from Greenville:

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

  • Rhea Ripley lays down the law for tonight but gets a rebuttal from Sami Zayn, who is willing to fight The Judgment Day but discovers Ricochet has his back
  • Dominik Mysterio def. Ricochet by pinfall with the help of Rhea Ripley, JD McDonagh and some rule-breaking
  • A short video package promotes the return of #DIY as a tag team
  • Raquel Rodriguez cuts a promo ahead of her participation in the Fatal 5-Way Women’s World Championship match at Crown Jewel
  • We also get a highlight package of The Creed Brothers, introducing the masses to Julius and Brutus
  • The Creed Brothers def. Alpha Academy by pinfall in their first ever WWE match
  • The Judgment Day seems unamused by The New Day trick-or-treating dressed (sort of) like them, and Damian Priest seems a little ticked about Ripley making a match for him until she’s able to convince him that it’s for the good of the group
  • Nia Jax talks about squashing everyone since her return and looks forward to doing it again at Crown Jewel
  • Miz TV welcomes another big guest, Gunther, but the Ring General and Imperium make this particular episode miserable for the host
  • An angry Miz demands an Intercontinental Championship with Gunther, but Adam Pearce says he can earn one, and it appears that may mean defeating Bronson Reed
  • #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) def. Imperium (Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser) by pinfall
  • Shinsuke Nakamura says he’s waiting to be provoked by someone who fancies themself the hero
  • Xia Li def. Candice LeRae by referee stoppage
  • Jey Uso wishes Zayn good luck before suggesting he might team with Cody Rhodes about pursuing the tag team titles and then … um, running up on Rhea?
  • Shayna Baszler makes her vow to win the Fatal 5-Way at Crown Jewel; in the back, LeRae is checked out by doctors as Gargano and her friends look on
  • A lengthy but very good pre-taped video has Drew McIntyre explain why his title shot at Crown Jewel is so meaningful to him, and while he’s willing to break Seth Rollins’ back to win
  • Zoey Stark speaks her piece before the Fatal 5-Way, so we’ve heard from all of the challengers now
  • Seth Rollins scoffs at the idea that McIntyre is feeling sorry for himself and then blaming The Bloodline for all his other failures, but he gets jumped by McDonagh before he can finish his thoughts; the ref checks on him but Rollins says he’s good to go for his match
  • Seth Rollins def. JD McDonagh by pinfall despite the looming threat of a Money in the Bank cash-in by Damian Priest
  • Pearce thanks Ricochet for his efforts tonight and offers him a chance to win an IC title shot, but also has to deal with Chelsea Green and Ivar before saying he needs a drink
  • Becky Lynch reflects on her NXT Championship run and tells Li she’s willing to fight her
  • Chelsea Green def. Natalya by pinfall in a Trick or Street Fight
  • Damian Priest def. Sami Zayn by DQ after Jey Uso ends up superkicking Priest, but …
  • … the show ends with Zayn, Uso and Cody Rhodes teaming to battle The Judgment Day, McDonagh taking two Cross Rhodes on the announce table and Cody delivering a passionate warning to Damian for Saturday

WWE Raw results 10/16/23: Brotherly betrayal as Jimmy Uso costs Jey gold

Also, see how Gunther overcame the literally biggest challenge to date for his WWE Intercontinental Championship on the season premiere of WWE Raw.

Sometimes you just have to give a dominant champion the most intimidating possible physical challenge you can. That’s exactly what Gunther is getting tonight on the season premiere (wink, wink) of WWE Raw in Oklahoma City.

The Ring General has fended off all kinds of challengers during his record-setting reign as Intercontinental Champion. Perhaps the only kind of opponent he hasn’t faced is someone who can not only stand toe to toe with him, but actually overpower him and toss him around.

Bronson Reed can do that. And while no one is probably expecting the big man to win the title tonight, stranger things have happened.

We’ll also see The Judgment Day try to reclaim their tag team gold from the gentlemen who beat them for it, Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso. While perhaps a bit of an unusual pairing at first, Rhodes and Uso have proven to be an effective team, even beating former titleholders Kevin Owens (now off to SmackDown) and Sami Zayn to prove they belong.

Of course, Damian Priest and Finn Balor may be even more motivated than the Canadian duo, since they want not just personal redemption but some manner of internal group peace as well. Would a victory stop some of the infighting in The Judgment Day? It sure wouldn’t hurt.

We’ll also see Shinsuke Nakamura and Ricochet battle in a Falls Count Anywhere match, as well as what should be an absolute collision between Rhea Ripley and Shayna Baszler.

Let’s jump in, because it’s season premiere time.

WWE Raw season premiere results from Oklahoma City:

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

  • Sami Zayn flies without Kevin Owens … but not alone, as Jey Uso helps prevent him from getting rushed by The Judgment Day
  • Shinsuke Nakamura delivers a message to Ricochet before their Falls Count Anywhere match comparing him to a bug he’ll squash on the floor
  • Walking backstage, Zayn is approached by Uso, who wants to know if they’re good, but Sami admits that he’s struggling with the Jey only being there because KO is gone; Jey says he didn’t know Sami felt like that but says “it is what it is Uce,” and Zayn runs to offer an apology that is happily accepte
  • Shinsuke Nakamura def. Ricochet in a Falls Count Anywhere match
  • Chelsea Green and Tegan Nox exchange insults … and Nikki Cross is there lurking in the background
  • A hype video is shown for Gunther ahead of his Intercontinental Championship later tonight
  • Piper Niven def. Natalya by pinfall, but finds Nox is able to prevent a post-match beating
  • Damian Priest wonders again if they should take out Drew McIntyre and questions Rhea Ripley for all the phone calls she’s been taking, but they all agree they’re about to handle their business tonight and the meeting of the whole team seems to end on a positive note
  • Seth Rollins is confused by Drew McIntyre, but they understand each other a little better after a pointed conversation
  • Video is shown of Logan Paul challenging Rey Mysterio after his most recent boxing match, as well as Rey’s response on YES
  • Ludwig Kaiser def. Johnny Gargano by pinfall
  • Becky Lynch likes Indi Hartwell’s suggestion that they compete for the NXT Championship Indi never lost, then turns and finds herself face to face with Ripley
  • McIntyre tells Zayn he respects what he’s done as of late, and Sami appreciates that … but he isn’t fond at all about Sami forgiving Jey, and while it becomes clear they aren’t going to agree on this topic, they do agree to work out some of their differences in the ring next week
  • Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler goes to no contest after Nia Jax, Raquel Rodriguez and Zoey Stark all crash the match
  • Lynch convinces Adam Pearce to make the match with Hartwell, and Xia Li wants a shot too … on her time; Jade Cargill also arrives, and Lynch tells her to get in line
  • Uso and Cody Rhodes are feeling good about their title defense tonight, YEET
  • Gunther def. Bronson Reed by pinfall to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship
  • The Miz is irritated to have to wait until the third hour to get on the season premiere, suggesting that Pearce should be fired and that Nick Aldis should take over as GM of both shows; Jax steals the mic from him and says everyone has hit her with their best shot, but she’s still standing and is the one who does the squashing
  • Ripley is mad that Pearce hasn’t controlled her division, but he’s taking no crap, so he books Rhea in a Fatal Five-Way at Crown Jewel, which she isn’t happy about; Indus Sher stops by at the end and says they need to talk
  • Alpha Academy is busy training (as well as Akira Tozawa), but The New Day isn’t pleases about tag team championship talk that doesn’t include them, and they agree to battle it out next week before everyone gets dazed by Tozawa’s moves
  • Gunther is happy that Kaiser won but says Vinci will need to make sure Gargano is stretchered out when he faces him next week
  • The Judgment Day (Damian Priest and Finn Balor) def. Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso by pinfall to become the new Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions after Jimmy Uso arrives to superkick Jey at a key moment in the match

Adam Copeland on his Judgment Day run not working: Fans wanted to ‘cheer for this guy they didn’t get for 9 years’

While he created The Judgment Day, Adam Copeland understands why this character didn’t work for him in WWE.

The long, final chapter of Adam Copeland‘s WWE career as Edge was his involvement with The Judgment Day. He created the group, only to be turned on as Finn Balor joined the group, prompting a feud between the WWE Hall of Famer and his former stablemates.

Nobody anticipated how quickly Judgment Day’s evolution would occur. Copeland formed the group and was turned on seemingly overnight, jumping from beginning to end of a longer story. It seemed fast, and apparently, the plans called him to stay with this group for a longer period of time, with the same conclusion.

Copeland discussed on Talk is Jericho what was meant to happen with Judgment Day, explaining the original plans fell through to prolong his involvement with the stable (h/t Fightful for transcription).

“When we were doing Judgment Day, the plan was that Balor joins and about a year later, they all turn on me. Well, then I got to Hell in a Cell and it was like, no, we’re changing everything and we’re speeding up that year long process and he’s joining tomorrow and turning tomorrow, and it was just starting to find some legs, but it was going to be swimming upstream with me in it. It really was. I started to have that realization. It’s like, I don’t think they’re gonna get where they need to get to with me in this thing. People know the real story and that was an instance where I did try and flip everything, change it all overnight, cut my hair off, change the music, and start coming out in suits. I tried changing everything and I realized at this stage, it’s not what they want, at least for me. They wanted to be able to cheer for this guy that they didn’t get for nine years.”

Once COVID-19 crowd restrictions lifted, fans were eager to cheer Copeland, whom they had followed and grown to love since the Attitude Era. No one could see him for a chunk of his full-time WWE return — a comeback once seemingly impossible to happen due to neck injuries. So instead of forcing jeers, WWE logically reverted the Rated-R Superstar to a face.

Copeland has started off with AEW as a face, but it won’t be shocking if he tries with his heel chops again later on. In a different pro wrestling company, he might have a different experience as a heel once the honeymoon phase of his debut wears off.

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 needs to book WarGames for Survivor Series — and it needs to feature The Judgment Day

A WarGames match at Survivor Series would be the perfect way to show off The Judgment Day’s growth, and they don’t even need to win.

When WWE Hall of Famer Edge was unceremoniously booted out of The Judgment Day due to a real-life injury in June of 2022, it felt like the rest of the group was suddenly rudderless in the treacherous sea known as WWE creative.

After all, Edge founded the group and was by far its most notable member, as the others — Finn Balor, Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest — had yet to reach the heights of stardom as their former leader.

What a difference a (little more than) a year can make.

Today, Balor, Ripley, Priest and now “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio are arguably the most valuable players in all of WWE.

They have been routinely showcased on all three of WWE’s television programs — Raw, Smackdown and NXT — as essentially the high school bullies who incessantly pick on the other kids, which makes them great opponents for WWE’s good guys to go up against on a weekly basis.

The have had feuds with seemingly everyone on the roster from stars of yesteryear like Edge and Rey Mysterio to current stars such as Cody Rhodes and now Jey Uso.

[lawrence-related id=36418]

The potential addition of JD McDonagh will only add another dimension to a group that has proven to be a vital and versatile piece of WWE’s weekly storytelling. 

McDonagh’s addition would also get The Judgment Day one step closer to assembling a team for … (in my William Regal voice) … WarGames!

In case you forgot, WWE brought WarGames, which began back in the 1980s in Jim Crockett Promotions, from NXT to the main roster in 2022 at Survivor Series. Survivor Series is WWE’s second-oldest premium live event, but the overall concept of the show, the multi-person Survivor Series elimination match, had grown quite stale over the years.

WarGames, along with the enthralling Bloodline story, helped give the event a much-needed boost last year and reportedly made it the most watched Survivor Series of all time, along with setting new live gate records for the city of Boston. It would make sense for WWE to run it back with another WarGames in 2023.

But as of this writing, WWE has yet to confirm whether it is bringing the two-ring spectacle back for this year. Maybe that has been by design, as WWE didn’t want to promise the match before it even had a proper angle to utilize it with. When watching Raw lately, however, it looks like WWE has the pieces in place to produce another edition. 

One major piece would be a heel faction for a group of good guys to go up against. WWE does not have to look any further than the Judgment Day to fill that role. WWE also has a great group of heroes for the villainous collective to go up against in Drew McIntyre, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes. 

The last name in that group is the most notable because the WarGames match was created by his father, Dusty Rhodes. Despite his father creating the match, Rhodes has never taken part in a proper WarGames match. During his first stint in WWE, WarGames was nothing more than a collection of matches for the promotion to package together for a home video release.

Even when Rhodes helped start up All Elite Wrestling, he never took part in the promotion’s version of the match. With Cody Rhodes being heavily involved in a story involving the Judgment Day, it would make sense to include him as a homage to the American Dream.

If a WarGames match were to come to fruition, there would be the issue of the group needing to add a fifth member. That is, unless WWE goes to a four-on-four or even a three-on-three format, the latter of which it has used before in NXT.

If the group were to add a fifth (assuming that McDonagh would be the fourth), who would that person be? Bronson Reed? What about a heel McIntyre to even the odds?

Speculation aside, The Judgment Day doesn’t even have to win the WarGames match. Outside of Ripley, the group has taken its fair share of losses over the last year and change and has managed to rebound from all of them. 

I personally thought the group was finished when Balor lost to Edge at Extreme Rules in October of 2022. Let’s not forget Priest losing to non-wrestler Bad Bunny at Backlash, albeit after a great match.

[lawrence-related id=29837]

Yet, here they are stronger than ever with championship titles around the waist of every member. Not to mention, Priest is still the holder of the coveted Money in the Bank briefcase, which grants him a world title opportunity whenever he chooses. Whether Priest actually wins the title or not is a different story.

Suffering a loss at WarGames, which if it does come to fruition I would fully expect, won’t hurt The Judgment Day one bit. The group didn’t fall apart after Edge was sidelined due to injury, nor did it dissolve after a slew of losses in big matches. If the group could survive that (no pun intended), it could get through taking a loss inside of WarGames.

Now, all WWE has to do is book it.

WWE Raw results 08/21/23: KO returns, Gable wins (but not the title) in Quebec City

Also on WWE Raw, Matt Riddle and Drew McIntyre took on The New Day, and Shinsuke Nakamura revealed what he said to Seth Rollins.

Shooooooooosh! Shoosh, please! We’re going to need quiet for Chad Gable tonight in Quebec City as he attempts to win a singles championship on WWE Raw.

Not just any title, either, but the Intercontinental Championship that’s been in the iron grasp of Gunther since last summer. The Ring General has used power to beat many opponents, skill to best others, and underhanded tactics when necessary — though that has rarely been the case.

Gable, of course, is a technical wizard who is also exceptionally strong for his size. Plus he has the rest of Alpha Academy to keep an eye on the other members of Imperium, so theoretically, it should be a wash on the outside.

In other words, maybe this won’t be quite a simple as the IC champ thinks it could be.

Another interesting match on tonight’s card in Quebec City will see Matt Riddle and Drew McIntyre team to face The New Day. While McIntyre has been somewhat reluctant to make his recent partnership with Riddle an ongoing thing, a victory over one of the most decorated tag teams in WWE history might persuade him to change his stance. Or not, but it can’t hurt Riddle’s efforts.

Last but not least, WWE says Shinsuke Nakamura is going to tell the world exactly what he whispered to Seth Rollins last week that turned the World Heavyweight Champion white as a sheet. It’s got to be pretty good considering the reaction he got.

It would also be strange indeed if Quebec’s favorite son, Sami Zayn, wasn’t involved in tonight’s proceedings in some way, so watch for that as well.

WWE Raw results from Quebec City:

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

  • Sami Zayn is in the house, and he’s not alone: Kevin Owens is back
  • The New Day def. Drew McIntyre and Matt Riddle by pinfall, but only thanks to some unexpected aid from the Viking Raiders, who attack the winning team after the bell until McIntyre chases them off
  • Finn Balor and JD McDonagh are being interviewed when Rhea Ripley comes to summon Finn to decide who is competing in the main event; JD tries to come with them but Rhea says no
  • Shayna Baszler says she’s out to set the whole world on fire and leave everyone in the women’s division with no chance but to let it burn
  • Gunther says despite what Chad Gable believes, time is on his side, with each passing day building his legacy; Gable is interviewed backstage, and gets a pep talk from Otis and Maxxine Dupri
  • Chad Gable def. Gunther by countout, so Gunther retains the WWE Intercontinental Championship
  • Ripley can’t believe that Balor and Damian Priest can’t decide who is going to be in the main event and says they better figure it out shortly or she’ll make the decision for them
  • An angry Gunther takes out his frustration on the rest of Imperium, and things seem to flow downhill toward poor Giovanni Vinci
  • Cody Rhodes doesn’t want to be interviewed backstage and takes Byron Saxton with him out to the stage and gets the fans pumped up to be in the corner of Owens and Zayn in the main event later tonight
  • In a pre-recorded segment, Shinsuke Nakamura claims he told Rollins “I know about your back,” explaining that Seth’s back has been his weakness for years and that Rollins lives in constant pain because of it; he ominously ends his bit with “watch your back”
  • Rhea Ripley def. Candice LeRae by submission but soon finds herself retreating from Raquel Rodriguez, who says they will meet at Payback
  • Tommaso Ciampa says he needs to be the change he wants to see since he’s tired of being close to big opportunities, and he says his mantra needs to be “do it yourself,” hmm …
  • The Miz continues to insist that LA Knight will be remembered as a flash in the pan or “the Hoobastank of WWE” before introducing his opponent, Akira Tozawa, who tries getting over by saying “yeah” like Knight
  • Akira Tozawa def. The Miz by pinfall as Miz is distracted by LA Knight
  • McIntyre is about to tell Riddle that he thinks they should go their separate ways, but The New Day convinces them to hold on for one more day like Wilson Phillips, or at least Drew will consider it
  • Ripley is ticked that the guys haven’t worked out who will compete in the tag team match, so she stomps away and says they’ll do it her way now
  • Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus exchange verbal jabs again
  • Chelsea Green says she handled having WWE authorize making her and Piper Niven the official tag team champions, but Niven makes it appear she’s the one calling the shots
  • Chelsea Green and Piper Niven def. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance by pinfall
  • Rollins lets the fans sing for a second before responding to questions about his back, admitting that he has been living with a lumbar injury for four years that could shorten his career, but he says it’s part of the gig and says Shinsuke isn’t man enough to face him man to man; Seth gives Shinsuke one more chance to prove he’s an honorable warrior next week
  • Damian Priest and Finn Balor def. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn by DQ when KO is caught using the MITB briefcase as a weapon, but …
  • … Rhodes comes down and chases away The Judgment Day before suggesting a six-man tag to end the show; Adam Pearce agrees, so let’s try this main event again
  • Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn def. The Judgment Day (Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio and Finn Balor) by pinfall
  • Zayn has a bilingual last word for The Judgment Day

WWE Raw results 07/24/23: Becky wins big, but her husband not so much

Get the scoop on WWE Raw from Tampa, less than two weeks away from SummerSlam.

Like the Rolling Stones (Google them, kids) once famously said, you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need. Becky Lynch really wants another match against Trish Stratus, and if she tries hard enough tonight on WWE Raw in Tampa, she may get what she says she needs — probably at SummerSlam.

Standing in her way is leading Stratus disciple Zoey Stark, who definitely is no relation to Tony. One of the few people who’s actually been willing to thank Trish the way she wants, Stark needs to win to keep her mentor from getting her hands dirty, as well as ensuring The Man gets a tattoo she’d definitely prefer not to have on her person.

Naturally, this all seems to be setting up for Stark to lose and the two stars of different WWE generations to have a showdown in Detroit next month. But hey, that’s why we watch. I thought for sure LA Knight would have received a push by now too, which just goes to show you never know.

Another big part of Raw will be seeing face to face meetings between pairings who seem even more guaranteed to be joining the SummerSlam card. By this we mean Ricochet and Logan Paul, as well as Drew McIntyre and Gunther. If both of these gatherings end peacefully, let’s just say that would be a heck of a parlay if there were prop bets allowed on WWE programming in the U.S.

(Which they aren’t, and that’s a good thing IYAM.)

Anyway, this could be a water-treading type show on the way to SummerSlam, but WWE has surprised to the upside more than once this year, so let’s see what happens.

WWE Raw results from Tampa:

The Judgment Day is already in the ring when the show begins, but someone is missing … oh yeah, Dirty Dom. They don’t only run Raw, but all of WWE thanks to “unbeatable” Rhea Ripley, Senor Money in the Bank Damian Priest and future World Heavyweight Champion Finn Balor.

But the man of the hour is, alas, Dominik Mysterio, and clips are show of his victory over Wes Lee to become the NXT North American Champion. With lots of help from his teammates, of course.

Sporting a huge grin despite all the boos raining down, Mysterio joins his teammates carrying his new gold. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn join the fun and admit the crowd is disrespecting him … because no one respects him.

But Sami has an idea for that to change: if Dom takes on Sami tonight in Tampa. Further, if Mysterio is a fighting champ like he says he is, he’ll put his title on the line. Rhea Ripley accepts on his behalf, so the die is cast.

Becky Lynch def. Zoey Stark by pinfall

KP and Corey Graves remind us of the stakes here: Lynch needs to win, or else she gets no match with Trish Stratus and has to get “thank you Trish” tattooed on her body. Where is unclear.

Stark hits some impressive early moves that show off her athleticism. When things start turning against Stark, Stratus provides some hands-on assistance, but The Man is still able to kick out, much to Trish’s dismay.

Lynch escapes the Z-360 and takes Stark up top for a superplex, but she’s not able to apply an armbar and Zoey powerbombs her for another close near fall. After they go back and forth a bit, Lynch catches Stark in mid-air for a Manhandle Slam, and Stratus looks dismayed as she sees the ref count the three.

A hype video is shown for Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar that once again calls it “one of the main events of SummerSlam.” Tsk, tsk.

Rhodes heads for the ring for what figures to be his weekly mic time. He wants to talk about Lesnar beating him up with a chair in front of his mother, Cody says he wasn’t surprised, and his mom wasn’t impressed, given what she’s seen in wrestling throughout the years.

Brock made a mistake, he continues, by leaving him breathing. Now Rhodes doesn’t want to go to SummerSlam just to win a rematch, but to embarrass Lesnar. Goals are good.

Ricochet is glad Logan Paul accepted his invitation to show up tonight but anything he has to say, he’ll say to Logan’s face.

Dominik Mysterio def. Sami Zayn by pinfall to retain the NXT North American Championship

The Judgment Day is on hand to support Dirty Dom, but KO is there as well, and much happier than the others to see Zayn get off to a strong start. The shenanigans begin during a commercial break, and the ref sees enough, first ejecting Owens and later all of Mysterio’s teammates as well.

Corey Graves loves it as Dom builds some momentum … that is halted by a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Mysterio responds with a 619 and his own two count.

The boos rain down as the Three Amigos are all on target, but a frog splash finds no one home. An exploder sends Dom into the corner, but Zayn halts as he sees The Judgment Day roll a beaten up KO out on the stage. Dom quickly rolls up Sami and gets the three to escape with his gold.

Adam Pearce and Zayn look concerned as Owens wonders if his foot is broken.

The weekly SmackDown Bloodline recap shows Roman Reigns and Jey Uso invoking Tribal Combat at SummerSlam.

Ricochet asks Shinsuke Nakamura if he’s seen Logan Paul, then Shinsuke gets a visit from Tommaso Ciampa. He doesn’t want to see Nakamura out there during his match with Bronson Red or else they will have a problem.

Shinsuke says nothing in response, like the legend he is.

Apollo Crews doesn’t like The Judgment Day picking on people and steps to Damian Priest. Meanwhile, Akira Tozawa, who cleared out when the heels asked if he had a problem with them, slides back in and tells Crews “you got this.” Heh.

Bronson Reed def. Tommaso Ciampa by pinfall

Ciampa is not holding up well against Reed’s power. Maybe hopping on Bronson’s back for a sleeper will work? Not when he falls straight back. Yikes.

A knee shot on the outside looks like it might turn things around for Ciampa. But can he keep the momentum going? He’s giving it his best shot with a modified Fame-Ass-Er.

Reed is surprised when he just plops down seated on Ciampa’s chest (as a counter to a sunset flip) and sees his foe kick out. Somehow, Tommaso gets Bronson up for an Air Raid Crash, which unfortunately doesn’t end it.

Right on cue, here comes Nakamura down the ramp. That gives Reed the opening he needs for a Tsunami, and that’s lights out for Ciampa.

Byron Saxton gets a Raquel Rodriguez injury update from Liv Morgan, but Liv wants to deal with Rhea, who caused that injury, tonight. You may recall that she’s the last person to defeat Ripley. Source? Liv Morgan.

Saxton tries to throw it back to Graves and KP, but tag team champs Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville are upset about not being interviewed. They seem mad that “everything revolves around” Ripley but quickly change their tune and vamoose when Rhea shows up. She says she warned Raquel and Liv to stay out of her business, and now … well, you see where she’s going.

Rhea Ripley destroys Liv Morgan in lieu of having a match

Ripley catches Morgan with a blindside show on her way to the ring, which goes badly for Liv. Rhea has a steel chair too, and wears Morgan out before a ref and another official finally show up.

They aren’t enough to stop Rhea from stomping on Liv’s arm with the aid of the chair.

“This is my division, you’re lucky you’re living in it,” Ripley taunts while backing up the ramp.

Alpha Academy congratulates Viking Raiders on their win but challenges them to an Academy Rules match in return. Maxxine Dupri also wants Valhalla in her first singles match ever next week.

Ricochet heads to the ring and calls for Logan Paul to “show your stupid face.” He says everyone knows Paul doesn’t belong here, even though he’s put in the work. Ricochet admits Paul might even be special, but he’s special every day of the week. No, it’s because Paul is an “arrogant little prick.”

The least surprising twist comes next, as Ricochet challenges Paul to a SummerSlam match. Alas, Paul is right behind him and lays him out before streaming his acceptance.

Logan keeps mocking Ricochet but takes his eye off the ball, and he gets hit with a standing Shooting Star Press after a superkick so he ends up looking dumb.

Shayna Baszler is tired of hearing Ronda Rousey’s name every time hers is mentioned. She says she’ll settle things in a language only Rousey understands: She’s going to fight Ronda Rousey.

Saxton calls Ricochet’s actions “unprofessional as hell” and vows to pop Ricochet’s “stupid, bald head” next week on Raw.

Damian Priest def. Apollo Crews by pinfall

Priest tries to take Crews off his game right from the start, but Apollo proves more than resilient enough to fight back. Senor Money in the Bank rallies back after just a few minutes, however, and finishes things with a South of Heaven.

Lynch is feeling good now that she’s got her rematch, but as she said before, it ain’t over ’til she wins.

Valhalla issues a warning back to Dupri, as one does.

Gunther and his Imperium mates come to the ring for the Intercontinental Champion’s face to face showdown with Drew McIntyre. The Scottish Warrior gets right to it, daring Gunther to put his title on the line tonight in Tampa. The champ scoffs at that, running down Drew’s perceived failures before saying he accepts and will “humiliate you again” at SummerSlam.

McIntyre says he wants to tell a story first about wanting to have a WrestleMania singles match with Sheamus, and that they had it for about 10 minutes before Gunther slid in and won it. But SummerSlam will be one on one, and McIntyre will beat Gunther’s ass.

Ludwig Kaiser takes exception to that, and McIntyre tells Kaiser he actually likes him, and that maybe he should be leader of Imperium. Kaiser still finds that disrespectful, so it appears they are headed for a match next.

Drew McIntyre def. Ludwig Kaiser by pinfall

Poor Kaiser is about to get served up here. He eats some hellacious chops while Graves does his Ludwig impression that is honestly pretty spot on. But Kaiser is actually looking good heading into a commercial break.

But an avalanche Air Raid Crash changes that in a hurry, and now Kaiser is getting manhandled. Ludwig actually counters a Claymore with a timely dropkick for a near fall. Alas, a second Claymore wins it for McIntyre.

Literally seconds after the bell, Imperium rushes the ring to beat up McIntyre. Matt Riddle rushes down but is handled by Gunther, who powerbombs him and then takes out McIntyre by the announce table.

The IC champ then clears off said announce table, but Drew backdrops his way out of trouble and powerbombs the Ring General through the announce table.

Jackie Redmond asks Rousey about what Baszler said about a fight, and she accepts it.

Finn Balor tells the fans that Adam Pearce was supposed to moderate the contract signing, but he’s had his hands full tonight. But since he and Seth Rollins are both professionals and both want this match, Finn believes they can settle things like gentlemen.

And since the World Heavyweight Champion comes out and promptly signs his name, maybe Balor is right. Finn pauses and lingers before doing the same, which leads Seth to taunt him about having zero chance to win at SummerSlam.

If by some chance Balor does win, Rollins suggests Priest will cash in his MITB briefcase right then and there — which Finn would also do if the roles were reversed. The champ suggests that SummerSlam will be the end of The Judgment Day as a result.

That motivates Balor to sign, smirking at how Rollins thinks he has everything figured out. And here come the other members of his group as Balor says the losing he’s done over the last seven years has been driving him insane, all because of Seth.

Seven-year itch? No, at SummerSlam, Finn is going to make Seth “my seven-year bitch.” Priest clocks Rollins with the briefcase and considers a cash-in, but Zayn rushes down with a steel chair. Unfortunately, he gets beaten down as well, and Priest plants him with South of Heaven.

Rollins also gets a Razor’s Edge from Priest, a Frog Splash from Dom and a Coup de Grace from Balor. The Judgment Day stands tall, backing up their boasts that they run Raw as the show goes off the air.