While we all ponder where we might be watching Raw come this fall, we know where to catch it tonight: on USA, as per usual. The show comes to us from Portland, where one matchup has our attention.
That would be Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. Everyone expects that Rhodes will be in position to “finish the story” later this spring, but he keeps getting roadblocks thrown in his way in the meantime. Nakamura has been an especially persistent one, showing his full sadistic side during this program.
Would defeating him again help end it? Probably couldn’t hurt, and with Rhodes looking forward to the Royal Rumble match later this spring, he really needs to put Shinsuke in the rear view mirror if at all possible.
Portland will also see CM Punk make an appearance, though it looks like it may just be to talk in the ring. That’s fine since he’s one of the best at that, but you figure that sooner or later, WWE will want him to actually wrestle on Raw. Probably.
We’re ready for these segments and everything else thrown our way tonight, so off we go.
WWE Raw results from Portland:
(please scroll down for full details on any match or segment in bold)
- Cody Rhodes is all smiles as he enters the building ahead of tonight’s main event
- Drew McIntyre has something to say, but so does CM Punk
- Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano walk out toward the ring, and Ciampa calls this a “must win” match that will lead to #DIY becoming tag team champs in 2024
- Tommaso Ciampa def. Finn Balor by pinfall
- Becky Lynch says she thought about the bad things that could have happened in the match with Nia Jax, and she’s taking the positive view since she didn’t end up in the hospital, and that maybe this is just the beginning of a run for her
- Kofi Kingston vs. Ludwig Kaiser goes to a double countout, much to the dismay of the fans; they decide to keep fighting even after the bell, and Kaiser throws one of the announcer’s chairs in Kingston’s face and then dropkicks his head into the steel steps
- Asked backstage about his attack, Kaiser screams and says it’s Kofi’s fault he is carrying the weight of Imperium alone
- Nia Jax and Rhea Ripley have a face to face confrontation and sling some barbs at each other
- A replay of The Rock’s appearance on last week’s episode of Raw is shown
- Shinsuke Nakamura assaults Cody Rhodes backstage while he’s trying to be interviewed, and Adam Pearce and officials have to hustle to pull them apart
- Kayden Carter and Katana Chance def. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven by pinfall to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
- Due to their earlier brawl, the Rhodes-Nakamura main event is now a Street Fight
- R-Truth explains why The Judgment Day is a “real family” now that he’s in and JD McDonagh is out, heh
- The Judgment Day argues again about Truth, and Ripley tells McDonagh he needs to “handle” The Miz
- The Miz def. JD McDonagh by pinfall, and R-Truth celebrates the win afterward, as confused as ever
- Ripley goes to talk to Pearce about “our plans for next week,” and Balor and Priest agree that “this needs to end”
- Seth Rollins is in the house, and he gets a visit from Jinder Mahal
- Ivar def. Otis by pinfall
- Jey Uso is asked if he has any plans for the new year, but Bronson Reed warns Jey not to get in his way
- Cody Rhodes def. Shinsuke Nakamura by pinfall in a Street Fight
Drew McIntyre and CM Punk have a heated discussion about leadership
The Scottish Warrior says again that last Monday was all or nothing, and that he cost himself the match. He’s been thinking about it all week, and perhaps it is Drew McIntyre who is holding Drew McIntyre back.
If that’s the case, he needs to get his head screwed on straight and step away from WWE for a while. But … he didn’t lose straight up! It was because Damian Priest tried to cash in his MITB contract during the match, and due to that, he screwed McIntyre and himself.
Or maybe he can leave the company for nine years and get a hero’s reception when he returns. You know who did that? CM Punk, that’s who, and he does indeed get a great reception from the fans as he joins McIntyre in the ring.
Punk says it’s Piper Country and questions whether McIntyre is known for talking like Roddy was. If Drew has anything to say to CM, he can say it to his face, as he makes himself comfortable in the corner.
The Scottish Warrior mocks Punk for making it a month into his comeback while also suggesting he knows the “real” CM Punk. At one point in his career, McIntyre says he needed a leader to show him the way, but Punk was never that person and still isn’t. Indeed, Drew suggests he’s the one who is a leader now.
Punk retorts that he’s always led by example — including when he left the company, suggesting that gave McIntyre a blueprint to make himself better. He also disputes Drew’s assertion that he’s a demon, saying instead that he’s a nice guy but can be “Satan himself” when pushed too far.
McIntyre says what he did before, he did for the fans, but when he eliminates Punk from the Royal Rumble and heads to WrestleMania, it will be for him. Punk says the only person who can stop himself from accomplishing his goals is him, and not Drew, Seth Rollins or Cody Rhodes can prevent him from winning the Rumble. He claims he’ll throw McIntyre out last before he leaves the ring.
Tommaso Ciampa outwits Finn Balor with a little help
Apparently R-Truth was responsible for this match, calling Balor a “scaredy-cat” and goading him into this matchup. There are high stakes too, since #DIY will get a title shot if Ciampa wins.
Both Damian Priest and Johnny Gargano are ringside to support their respective teammates, with Priest staring down Ciampa when they find themselves face to face outside the ring. Balor sends Tommaso crashing down into the announce table right before commercials.
Ciampa’s DDT right after the break gets him a near fall. A stomp to the chest is Finn’s answer, but he takes a running knee and Project Ciampa and has to kick out at two again.
Balor rallies but sees Ciampa roll away from the Coup de Grace, and then gets rolled up for another near fall. Priest is up on the apron, and Gargano nearly finds disaster when he gets involved.
Will Ciampa pay for halting to help his partner? He does not, as he’s able to capitalize on Gargano grabbing Balor’s foot after a suplex to get a quick three count. Turnabout is fair play, as they say.
Nia Jax has a Mami problem, or is it the other way around?
Michael Cole gets a word in the ring with Jax, who scoffs at the idea that it was “shocking” that she defeated Becky Lynch. But when she gets to the part about running through the Royal Rumble, Rhea Ripley joins her.
Rhea says the people know what’s up and they know how Nia loves to talk a good game. She reminds Jax who threw her out of last year’s Rumble (it was Rhea) and warns Nia not to walk around like she owns the division, because she doesn’t.
Ripley says it’s best to keep Rhea’s name out of her mouth; Jax fires back that she’s too scared to face off one on one. But once she squashes everyone else in the Rumble, she plans on choosing Ripley. “See you soon, unstoppable champ.”
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance retain after friendly fire downs the former champs
Wade Barrett suggests that even with the gold, Carter and Chance feel like underdogs coming into this title defense. Many other members of the women’s roster are shown watching backstage.
The champs go for some quick falls, trying to keep Green busy and isolated. Green finally sends Chance headfirst into the turnbuckles, and Niven tags in and treats her to a cannonball for a near fall.
After commercials, Carter gets her first chance for some extended offense, including a near fall on Green. A springboard legdrop is good for another. A top rope Frankensteiner by Chance forces Green to kick out yet again, but the champs are really rolling.
Green finally scores with a Roughrider on Carter and her own near fall. Niven tags back in, using a senton on Carter that means Chance has to save her partner. A uranage sends Carter down, but Chance pulls her partner out of the ring, and Niven hits a Vader Bomb on her own partner. Oh dear.
After getting Niven out of the ring, the Keg Stand on Green seals it up for the champs.
Seth Rollins fights off Jinder Mahal … no, really
The World Heavyweight Champion reminds Portland that Royal Rumble is close and after that, we are on the Road to WrestleMania. While Seth says his Mania record is pretty good, he says he’s never taken a world title into the event. He’s never been on the marquee, but he says that will change this year.
But the question is who he’s going to beat on the Grandest Stage of Them All? That starts a somewhat unorganized CM Punk chant, to which he responds by saying “in his dreams, maybe.” Instead, Jinder Mahal comes down the ramp.
Mahal suggests he was more of a Visionary in five minutes last week than Rollins has been his whole career. He also gripes that Seth is giving out opportunities to others less deserving than him, which … not sure that’s true but OK.
Seth says Jinder is right and that he’s been overlooked — but it’s been on purpose, until last week when he showed up “and The Rock put your balls in a vice.” He does admit that Mahal was able to rebound from that and show back up, but he’s not crazy about Jinder coming out and interrupting his segment.
The champ tells Jinder to take a swing, but he chooses to take a cheap shot instead. Rollins easily repulses his attack, however, and is the one standing tall in the ring.
Cody Rhodes might finally be done with Shinsuke Nakamura after winning a Street Fight
It doesn’t take long for these two to fight up toward the stage, then back toward ringside where Rhodes is fully in charge. He bounces a water bottle off Shinsuke’s face as the crowd chants for tables.
Rhodes goes up top but sees his foe escape, then pop back up using a broom as a weapon. A kendo stick is next to be brought to bear, and Rhodes has to head for the floor for a respite.
Nakamura is bossing things after a commercial break, paintbrushing Rhodes and toying with him a bit. He kicks Rhodes in the face, then the back of the neck.
Shinsuke switches gears, looking for a half crab. More kicks land too, but Rhodes fires himself up with a forearm shot off the ropes and a powerslam. A Disaster Kick follows and earns a near fall.
Nakamura gets some nunchaku out and puts them to good use over by the announce table. But his attempt to spray his mist misses Rhodes and hits the timekeeper right in the face instead. While Cody asks for help, Shinsuke attacks him with a steel chair, and more ads arrive.
He’s still going to town with that chair when we return, though now both men are back in the ring. Rhodes is able to turn the tables with the fans urging him on, and he meets Shinsuke for an exchange of strikes that he wins with a pair of Bionic Elbows.
The American Nightmare sets up a table but is greeted by a headbutt. Rhodes ends up on the table and takes double knees to drive him through it. Nakamura covers but only gets a two count.
Shinsuke gets another table out from under the ring, smiling as he goes about setting it up. They battle into a corner, and Nakamura hits his sliding German suplex. Off the second rope comes Nakamura with a knee strike, yet Rhodes manages to kick out again.
In the middle of the ring, Rhodes delivers a Pedigree for his own near fall. A Cody Cutter is next, but it’s still not quite enough to end it.
Nakamura counters a Cross Rhodes attempt and looks for a Kinshasa, but Cody sends him into the corner table. Cross Rhodes doesn’t miss this time, and the American Nightmare is triumphant.