When Drew McIntyre turned on the biggest faces on the Raw roster last week, it wasn’t a complete surprise. But that doesn’t mean it was any easier to take, and what he does tonight on WWE Raw from Grand Rapids.
The Scottish Warrior has been in the midst of what appears to be a slow motion heel turn for weeks, bitter at seeing his world championship aspirations foiled: first by Jey Uso, back when he was still part of The Bloodline, and more recently by Seth Rollins, who defeated him straight up.
That made it perfectly logical when he aided The Judgment Day in retaining their tag team titles, even if the WWE Universe was still upset when it happened. It also seems like it won’t be enough to help him prove his point.
Might siding with The Judgment Day and trying to stomp out Uso, Rollins, Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn personally in WarGames do it? Perhaps, and since McIntyre is slated to kick off the show tonight, we may find out if that’s his plan pretty quickly.
Of course if he throws in with the heels, the face will need a fifth man of their own. You’ve all heard the rumors. Some of you even seem to be hoping a certain Pepsi Phil will get the call. However, there are others who are hoping the Viper makes his long awaited return, and that would make this show very interesting indeed.
Also there could be a new theme song, which would be pretty cool as well.
Here’s what happened tonight in chronological order.
WWE Raw results from Grand Rapids:
(please scroll down for full details on any match or segment in bold)
- Drew McIntyre explains his heel turn in frankly relatable terms and says he’ll stand with The Judgment Day in WarGames, bringing everyone else involved in that match out ahead of the match for the advantage later tonight
- Damian Priest says as the leader of the WarGames team, Rhea Ripley should have asked him first before adding McIntyre to their team, and through Ripley admits that probably should have been the case, they’re going to wait for Drew before picking the person for the advantage match
- Nia Jax def. Raquel Rodriguez by pinfall
- Priest is impatient but McIntyre has arrived, and he wants to be in the advantage match; Priest eventually relents and says Drew can go prove his worth to the team, then tells Ripley he better get the job done
- The good guys in WarGames discuss who they might add for their team, with Rhodes suggesting he has an “old friend” he can call, telling Uso to just focus on the advantage match
- Becky Lynch def. Xia Li by pinfall
- After the match, Damage CTRL comes down through the stands, but so does the face team, and a huge brawl breaks out that needs security and officials to break up
- Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci have a disagreement about the Ring General’s instructions, with Kaiser telling Vinci to stay in the back for his match with Johnny Gargano
- A video package hypes up Zoey Stark ahead of her match with Ripley at Survivor Series
- Johnny Gargano def. Ludwig Kaiser by pinfall after Vinci ignores Kaiser’s instructions and distracts him
- Pearce has lost it because he’s being nagged by multiple teams who want to challenge for the women’s tag team titles, eventually giving up and putting them all in one match to find a No. 1 contender, and not even Chelsea Green’s threat to talk to “the office” makes him rethink his decision
- Stark and Shayna Baszler have invaded The Judgment Day’s locker room, and Zoey fells confident enough to taunt the champ there; Rhea says she kind of respects Zoey’s chutzpah and that she’ll get her beating on Saturday
- Tegan Nox and Natalya win a Women’s Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contenders Fatal 4-Way
- Gunther demands an explanation from Kaiser and Vinci and isn’t in the mood for Ludwig’s excuses; he tells them to watch him handle The Miz and suggests they sort it out
- Pearce has his hands full again backstage, where the men’s teams want the same opportunity as the women’s teams, so he tells them they can have Tag Team Turmoil next week on Raw, then turns to find SmackDown GM Nick Aldis there asking for a conversation
- The Miz gets bullied by Gunther until he can take no more
- Seth Rollins gives Jey Uso a pep talk ahead of the advantage match
- Ivar (and Valhalla) have some words for Bronson Reed, challenging Reed to a match next week on Raw
- Shinsuke Nakamura def. Chad Gable by pinfall
- Priest tells McIntyre he better get the job done, and the Scottish Warrior says he won’t just win but will take Jey Uso out
- Reed accepts Ivar’s challenge and says the Viking won’t survive
- A short video explains the rules for the WarGames matches
- Though Rollins and Zayn say they’ve had no luck securing a fifth member for their team, Rhodes tells them the person he called picked up and “he’s in”
- Drew McIntyre def. Jey Uso by pinfall, winning The Judgment Day the advantage for WarGames
- After the bell, McIntyre continues to beat on Uso, and quickly, everyone in the WarGames match is in the ring, with the faces clearing the ring thanks to steel chairs; Rhodes says he’s glad The Judgment Day has the advantage because they have someone on their side: an Apex Predator