WWE Smackdown (3/21/25)

WWE Smackdown

Unipol Arena

Bologna, Italy

March 21, 2025

Commentators: Joe Tessitore & Wade Barrett

Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor

Last week in Barcelona we crowned new WWE Tag Team Champions as the Street Profitz upset DIY to take the straps. Gunther defeated Axiom in his native country and its all but assured it'll be Damian Priest vs Drew McIntyre. This week Zelina Vega takes on Chelsea Green's bodyguard Piper Niven, CM Punk, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns will have a powwow, Jacob Fatu takes on Braun Strowman and we'll get more Wrestlemania hype for sure. Let's get the show started.

Joe Tessitore welcomes us to Bologna, Italy and we're 29 days away from Wrestlemania 41. Jade Cargill is in action against Liv Morgan (with Raquel Rodriguez in tow) and we also get Jacob Fatu (with Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga) against Braun Strowman. CM Punk is here too but before anything happens, here comes Randy Orton for a conference. The crowd sings his entire song as he makes his entrance. We get a highlight of Randy Orton defeating Carmelo Hayes last week and lining up to give him the punt until he spotted Kevin Owens. Before Randy can say anything, here comes Owens himself in an RKO t-shirt. Owens says he's there to say he was wrong for attacking him. He says that Orton didn't deserve it the same way Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes did. Owens says he was mad that Orton took Cody's side and it made him angry and Orton knows all about letting anger get to them. Owens says he can forgive him for picking Cody's side if Orton can forgive him and he wants to move on. KO goes on to say he pulled Melo out of the ring last week to protect Randy from himself because he didn't want Orton to go back to 2009. Owens says to look to the future and at Wrestlemania they should go after the tag team championships together. Orton says he should come out there and kick his ass all over the arena and tells KO to shove his apology up his ass. Orton says Owens deserves a kick to the head and he went from "Fight Owens, Fight" to "Bitch, Owens Bitch". Orton says he hears voices in his head, they counsel him, they understand and whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas because at Wrestlemania, Orton's going to kick his head clean off his shoulders. Interesting promo as Kevin Owens pretty much figured out he unleashed a dormant monster and tried to stop it before it got worse. Wade Barrett on commentary confirms that Owens has no idea what he's done.

We're shown a highlight of Drew McIntyre attacking Damian Priest last week during his match with Shinsuke Nakamura. We got a tag match out of it and its next.

Match 1

Damian Priest and Jimmy Uso vs Shinsuke Nakamura and Drew McIntyre

Priest doesn't wait and attacks Drew in the aisle way but Shinsuke joins in for a two on one. Jimmy dives over the top and lands on both heels with Damian moving out of the way. Priest rolls Drew inside and the bell rings. Jimmy rallies with right hands and a superkick to the ribs. Jimmy upercuts Drew, ducks a line and chops Drew into the corner. Drew catches Jimmy in mid-air and hits an overhead suplex. Drew chokes Jimmy with his boot but Jimmy hits a jawbreaker. Nakamura tags in but Jimmy drops Shin off the apron. Nakamura trips Jimmy up and jump kicks Uso over the announce table before putting him on the apron. Shin hits a running knee on the apron and a knee to the ribs back inside. Shin covers for 1...2..no. Nakamura tags in Drew who chops Jimmy in the corner. Drew stomps on Jimmy's hand and applies an arm-bar. Drew throws Jimmy down and knocks Priest off the apron before delivering a suplex. Jimmy rallies with chops but gets dropped with a back elbow smash. Drew re-applies the arm-bar but Drew stops to drop Priest off the apron again. The distraction helps Jimmy hit a Samoan drop, forcing Drew to tag Nakamura. Shinsuke eats an enziguiri and Priest gets the hot tag. Priest goes to town on Shinsuke dropping him several times. Priest walks the top rope and hits a cross body. Priest calls for South of Heaven but Nakamura hits a spinning heel kick. Priest clotheslines Nakamura out of his shoes and covers for 1...2..no, Drew makes the save. Jimmy superkicks McIntyre out of the ring but Jimmy is sent flying by Shinsuke. Shinsuke turns around into South of Heaven and Priest covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Formulaic but the crowd loved Priest's comeback. Shinsuke and Jimmy were just window dressing as its Priest/McIntyre going into Wrestlemania.

Time of match: 7:43

Winners: Uso and Priest by pinfall

The celebration is short lived as McIntyre attacks Priest from behind after the bell. McIntyre punches away at Priest and says he's coming for him every time he sees him. Drew pounds away at Priest and calls for the Claymore. Drew hits it and says he's going to put Priest down until he stays down at Wrestlemania.

We cut to Braun Strowman working out before his match and WWE United States Champion LA Knight walks in to wish him luck. LA says they have the numbers advantage so he's got Braun's back in the match. Braun says the match is a number one contender's match for the US title and Knight says "YEAHHH". Was wondering what LA Knight was going to do at Wrestlemania, here's our answer.

We cut to Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair's brawl lest week and we go to a split screen interview with Charlotte and Tiffany after a commercial. Tessitore asks Tiffany first what her mindset is and Charlotte says "the queen speaks first" and Charlotte says she had a hard time buying Tiffany as a threat. Charlotte says Tiffany is compared to her but she only THINKS she compares to her, she's not that special. Tiffany says she's the champ and Charlotte non-chalantly says "By cash in?" Charlotte calls her delusional and at Wrestlemania 41 it will be the pinnacle of Tiffany's career but just another stepping stone for her. Charlotte calls her undeserving and Tiffany says Charlotte was her supporter and she looked up to her. Tiffany says she saw the real Charlotte as Charlotte mocks her saying she almost had a tear. Charlotte says she was a star in the making but said that because she had to. Tiffany says Charlotte has a habit of finding the hottest thing and throwing water on it and Charlotte says Tiffany has never been across from her, only underneath struggling. Tiffany says Charlotte is struggling because fans don't want her and Charlotte nonchalantly says wooing or booing they still react. Tiffany says she has her whole career to match Charlotte's accolades and Flair counters she'll be lucky to have a job at her age (she turns 39 in April). Tiffany says she's going to cement that the Universe runs on Tiffy Time and we cut here. Tiffany got absolutely SPANKED here and Charlotte countered everything she said like it was nothing. If Tiffany had to read off a script, that was totally unfair because Charlotte was ready. Still, it adds to the underdog vs queen storyline. Jacob Fatu makes his way to the ring alone (for now) for the next match. Tessitore says this is a match fans will drool over as we go to break. Back from commercial Wade Barrett shouts that Strowman is "ONE BIG S.O.BBBBBBBBBB"

Match 2

Braun Strowman vs Jacob Fatu

This is going to be a hoss fight and a half. Strowman gives him the crotch chop as the bell rings. Joe says January 25th on Saturday Night's Main Event was the start of this as Braun bumrushes Jacob into the corner to start. Braun headbutts him to no avail but misses a charge in the corner. Fatu shoulderblocks him in the corner and hits a headbutt of his own. Braun shoulderblocks him down but a charge in the corner eats boot. Braun backdrops Jacob and clotheslines him over the top rope to the floor. Braun throws Jacob inside and boots him in the head as Barrett says keep Fatu away from him. Strowman sends Jacob into the corner as Tessitore calls Braun the conductor of an Italian opera. Fatu bails and Strowman goes for the pain train, only for Fatu to throw him over the empty announce desk. Jacob hits a jumping clothesline from the apron and rams Braun into the announce table. Fatu headbutts Strowman outside but Braun rallies with a right hand. Strowman sends Fatu into the ring steps and rolls back inside to cater to the crowd. Fatu limps around before being thrown back in the ring. Fatu's Samoan drop is countered but Fatu hits a dropkick to the knee followed by a running clothesline. Fatu taunts him to get up and applies a nerve hold. Braun powers out of it but Jacob headbutts him down. Jacob hits a superkick, pop-up Samoan drop and a running senton. Fatu covers for 1...2...no. Braun crawls to the corner and Fatu hits the Umaga. He splashes Strowman in the corner but Strowman rallies with a big clothesline of his own. Strowman rallies with right hands, two clotheslines and a Samoan spike (!!) of his own. Braun rips his own shirt off and calls for the Pain Train. Braun runs over Fatu who goes spiraling over the announce table. Braun rolls Fatu inside, ducks the line and hits a spinebuster. Uh oh, here comes Tama Tonga who Braun cuts off. Solo Sikoa comes from behind to hit the Samoan spike for the DQ. That was a fun hoss fight but monumentally stupid of Solo & Tama to run in since it cost Jacob a US title shot. Guess Jacob doesn't care.

Time of match: 9:21

Winner: Strowman by DQ

Post-match beatdown has Solo and Tama beating down Strowman but Jacob doesn't like it. Solo orders Jacob to join in and Jacob reluctantly joins in. Help is on the way as here comes LA Knight. Knight knocks down Tama and punches away at the others. Jacob misses a charge in the corner and Strowman cleans house as Knight & Braun stand tall. Tessitore says Strowman is now number one contender for the title and they're going one on one next week. In the ring Strowman reminds Knight he's coming for the belt and Knight is just fine with that.

We cut to Cathy Kelley with the women's tag champs Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan. Cathy asks why she still has an issue with Jade when Naomi was the attacker. Liv says all this time Jade let everyone believe they attacked her when she could have told everyone a while ago (true). Liv runs down Bianca Belair and Jade then says she'll finish the job that Naomi couldn't. Raquel messes with Cathy's hair as she leaves...ha!

We get a graphic for the conference between Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and CM Punk later as Piper Niven makes her entrance for the next match as we go to break. Back from commercial we get a graphic of the end of the last match before cutting to an irate Jacob Fatu kicking things over. Fatu is mad they cost him a title shot and Solo says they're just trying to help. Fatu tells him he's taking care of himself "Uce" and to watch it. Ooooh, dissention in the ranks. It would make sense to have Solo vs Jacob at Wrestlemania to finally split the new Bloodline. We cut to Italian rapper Anna in the crowd as Zelina Vega enters to no pop.

Match 3

Piper Niven (with Alba Fyre and Chelsea Green) vs Zelina Vega

Vega wants a piece of Green but Piper said she had to go through her first, so here we are. Bell's gone and Piper towers over her. Zelina gets in the first slap and Piper throws her into the corner. Piper misses a charge and Zelina goes for an O'Connor Roll...bad idea. She does avoid an elbow drop and sends her into the corner. Zelina goes for Code Red but Piper shoves her off. Piper no-sells a whip and drops her twice with shoulderblocks. A third shoulderblock drops Zelina as Barrett brings up Chelsea's victory over Sol Ruca on NXT on Tuesday. Niven throws Zelina outside but Zelina jumps on her back inside with a sleeperhold. Piper just heaves her down and stomps on her. Piper goes for the Vader Bomb but Zelina pulls her off and rallies with forearms. Zelina hops on the second rope and hits forearms, taunting Chelsea and Alba. Zelina runs into a Bossman slam as we go to break. Back from commercial, Vega rolls up Piper for 1...2..no. Piper shoves her down then sends her into the corner. Piper heaves Zelina into another corner as Barrett says Vega is an anime fan. Niven taunts the irate crowd as Barrett pledges allegiance to Chelsea much to Joe's dismay. Barrett "She's the Champion of the United States, including us." Niven applies a Million Dollar Dream and a Glasgow Kiss. Joe mocks Chelsea and Barrett as Niven taunts the crowd again. Niven goes for a powerslam but Zelina slinks out of it. Niven hits a big right hand and goes for a gorilla press slam. Zelina reverses it into a chinlock until Niven backs her into the corner. Zelina goes for an Octopus hold according to Barrett then sunset flips for 1..2...no. Zelina hits a forearm and covers for another two count. Zelina hits a spinning back elbow and double knees into the corner. Zelina goes up top and hits the double knees to the ground, covering for 1...2...no. Zelina goes for the code red but its blocked. Zelina then hits a tornado DDT and covers for 1...2..no. Chelsea hops up on the apron and gets decked for her trouble. Zelina hits 619 on Piper and kicks Fyre in the head. She turns around right into a crossbody by Niven for 1...2...3 to win the match. Not the best cat and mouse match but hell of an effort for Zelina to essentially fight 1 on 3. She might be in the plans for a push.

Time of match: 12:15

Winner: Niven by pinfall

Back from commercial we get our road to Clash In Paris this coming August. Then we get a long recap of John Cena's epic promo from Monday and Cody's response. The best was the little kid that Cena singled out, there's a future villain arc. We get breaking news that Randy Orton will indeed face Kevin Owens at Wrestlemania 41. We cut to Jade Cargill with Cathy Kelley who apologizes for last week and asks if she's ready to face Liv. Jade says Liv wants to try it but she'll show her, and then when she's done with Liv she's coming for Naomi. Jade says tonight is a preview of what she does to Naomi.

Back from commercial we get the number 4 in the smoke vignette but at the last second the smoke reveals a 3 behind it. If this is a countdown, we got 3 weeks to figure out what this all means. On to the next match.

Match 4

Liv Morgan (with Raquel Rodriguez) vs Jade Cargill

Morgan interrupted Jade's interview last week and we got this showdown this week. Tessitore and Barrett bicker during Jade's intro about Liv & Raquel. Bell's gone and Liv runs right into a big boot. Jade caters to the crowd and taunts Raquel, backing her down. Liv from behind gets a right hand and is sent into the barricade. Jade heaves Liv into the ring and poses for the crowd. ObLivion is blocked and Liv misses an enziguiri. Jade misses a pump kick but blocks the Codebreaker. Jade hits a fallaway slam as Joe says Jade hadn't had a singles match since August 9th. Liv and Raquel go to leave but Jade chases after them and knocks Liv down. Jade throws Liv in the ring but misses a charge in the corner. Liv runs right into a powerbomb and Jade stacks her for 1...2...no. Raquel distracts Jade who hits the backstabber before sending her into the ring post. Jade falls out of the ring as we go to break. Back from commercial Liv has Jade in a chinlock, until Jade powers out of it. Tessitore says Liv Morgan had an amazing 2024 and she hits the 3 Amigos. Liv does the Eddie Guerrero pose and hits a shining wizard, but Oblivion is blocked. Jade german suplexes Liv and kips up. Jade rallies with shoulderblocks and a siperkick. Jade hits 2 running back elbows and a spinebuster, but doesn't cover immediately. Jade pulls Liv up and hits the F-5 (!!!) and covers for 1..2...no. Wade says Jade took too long to cover but here's Naomi for the distraction. Jade blocks ObLivion as Raquel hops up on the apron, allowing Naomi to clock Jade with a tag belt with the ref distracted. Liv hits ObLIvion and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. That was Jade's first pinfall loss since her debut at the 2024 Rumble. Good cat and mouse act but just like Zelina, the numbers game is too much.

Time of match: 10:11

Winner: Morgan by pinfall

Naomi beats down Jade after the match as Wade says "Since 2008 I have never once seen this side of her, what the HELL??" Guess he missed her 2015 heel turn. Naomi throws Jade off the apron into the announce table in a call back to Jade getting thrown into the car. Naomi poses to a chorus of boos and that was desperately needed to make Naomi look strong for once. 

We get a highlight of McIntyre's attack on Priest before we cut to him leaving. Cathy Kelley walks up and asks what he's doing and Drew says Priest was a vulture picking at the bones the past year. Drew says Priest is as tough as he is stupid and if they want to fight, he'll be in London next week. Drew goes to leave but Seth Rollins walks up and smiles at him. 

We cut to a highlight of the Street Profitz winning the tag straps last week and they're up next for a pow-wow. We're shown "Signs of The Night" and Barrett wants to see the Liv-A Lisa as we go to break. Back from commercial, here come the Street Profitz for a soliloquy. The crowd chants "You deserve it" and Joe agrees. Ford says he's got news, the Profitz are the champions for the first time in four years.  Ford starts an "Ay, ay, ay" chant and Dawkins says its about damn time. Dawkins says they've been doubting themselves, questioning each other and....."you deserve it" breaks out again. Dawkins says it was all worth it and Ford says he can always count on him. Uh oh! That's usually a kiss of death. They hug it out and Legada Fantasma comes out. Santos Escobar cuts a promo in Italian much to the crowd's delight and congratulates them in English. Escobar says Los Garza are pissed but they're ready to take the titles off the Profitz. Cue Pretty Deadly where Kit Wilson says Santos can run his mouth but they're the number one contenders. Elton Prince tells them to step aside but Santos refuses. He says this is personal and to stay out of it. Ford "Woah woah woah woah woah woah". Ford says Deadly has their title shots but if Los Garza wants to go, let's go. Ford and Dawkins want the smoke much to the crowd's delight as we go to break. Back from commercial we get the orange luchador vignette which is clearly Ray Fenix about to make his debut.

Match 5

Los Garza (Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo) with Santos Escobar vs Street Profitz (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) for the WWE Tag Team Championship

We're joined in progress with Ford hitting a rolling frog splash and covers for a 1 count on Garza. Ford hits a running knee but Garza chops out of it. Carrillo tags in who hits a dropkick and taunts the irate crowd. Berto chops Ford and tags in Garza for the Unit Slam. Garza taunts the crowd and tears his pants off, throwing them at Dawkins. Joe "He may regret that." Garza puts Ford on the second rope and pounds away with forearms then puts him in the tree of woe. Berto tags in to kick away before Ford gets the hot tag to Dawkins. Angelo hits the stinger splash on Berto but Escobar pulls the top rope down to send Dawkins to the floor. Carrillo hits a suicide dive as we go to break. Back from commercial, Garza has Dawkins in a surfboard as Escobar poses on the floor. Garza dropkicks Dawkins and covers for 1...2..no. Garza and Berto double team Dawkins and Berto covers for 1...2...no. Berto hits a scoop slam and taunts Ford. Carrillo hits a standing moonsault and tags out to Garza. Angel kicks him in the inner thigh and cheap shots Montez for good measure. Garza and Berto hit a Garza Special (Gory Special/Diamond Dust) and covers for 1....2..no, Ford stops the count. Dawkins drops Berto and gets the hot tag to Ford. Montez drops both members then clotheslines Berto down. Ford punches Berto on the apron and goes up top. He misses a top rope splash but hits a spinebuster, covering for 1...2..no. Ford goes up top again but Garza is kicked off. Berto kicks Ford and all three men go up top. They go for FTY but Ford just lands on his feet and turns slowly to look at them with the crowd in a frenzy. Here comes Dawkins to drop Garza with a big right hand as Ford hits a superplex on Carrillo. Ford covers for 1...2..no. Berto tags in Garza but Dawkins tags in as well. Dawkins hits sky high on Garza and backdrops Berto to the floor. Escobar hops up and is sent off for his troubles. Dawkins hits a hilo over the top onto all three members of Fantasma. While he was in mid-air, Ford made a blind tag. Garza rolls into the ring unaware and Ford hits the frog splash, covering for 1..2...3 to win the match. Decent match with the Profitz possibly heading into Wrestlemania as the tag champs. I said it before but when the inevitable split happens, Carrillo would be a heck of a babyface against Angel Garza.

Time of match: 14:32

Winners: Profitz by pinfall (still Tag Team Champions)

We're shown Paul Heyman arriving to the arena who pats the cameraman as we go to break. Back from commercial we're shown HHH's Hall of Fame video with his quad tear/MSG comeback highlighted. Its been debated for the last 24 years what his role would have been in the Alliance angle. We cut to DIY giving Pretty Deadly shit. Kit and Prince says they got a title shot next week in London. DIY says they'll help them win the titles for a title shot in return. Wilson and Prince tell them no and walk off. Motor City Machine Guns walk up and says welcome to the back of the line. Sabin and Shelley say they want DIY before they leave with DIY arguing.

Next week it'll be the Street Profitz against Pretty Deadly and LA Knight defends the US title against Braun Strowman. Here comes Roman Reigns with Paul Heyman in tow. The Italian crowd sings a football chant and Roman waits for them to stop before they go into an "OTC" chant. When that stops, Roman wants his acknowledgement and says he loves the crowd. Roman says Punk screwed him at the Royal Rumble so he screwed CM Punk in the cage match. He says Seth Rollins tried to kill him and he tried to kill him in return. Way to admit attempted murder on national television. Roman says he's going to be here for 20 minutes so if anyone wants some, come get some. Right on cue here's Seth Rollins wearing one of the finest blue sleeping bags you'll ever see. Rollins grabs a mic and conducts the crowd like he's Arturo Toscanini. He says Reigns messed up because he doesn't understand how dangerous CM Punk is. Seth says Roman should have let him finish Punk when he had the chance. Seth says it was never about him to Roman, it was about the two of them just like always. Seth says they can't co-exist at the same space and their story has a lot of pages written, and its about time they added another chapter. Seth opens his jacket but here comes CM Punk for a rebuttal. Punk climbs to the top rope and says this right hand isn't taped up to hold the mic but its time for facts. He calls them Chief and Grimmace and says neither of them have beaten him without the other's help. Punk says the Rumble was every man for himself and Heyman should have told him that. He says he saved his families ass in Wargames and is still owed a favor by Paul. He thanks Heyman for delivering Roman on a silver platter and Roman looks at Heyman. Punk attacks Roman from behind and they roll around before Rollins gets him some of Punk. Roman heaves Rollins off and its a three way brawl. Referee Ryan Tran tries to separate them as Wade Barrett says there's no way one man can stop this. Here comes the refs, security and Suit Brigade to stop them. Punk stands on the announce table with Hurricane Helms telling him to back off. Punk points to the Wrestlemania sign which causes Heyman to say no. Rollins bumrushes Punk but Roman Reigns uses the steel steps to drop both of them. Its utter chaos as the show comes to an end.

We're getting closer to Wrestlemania and now we're getting matches. Kevin Owens vs Randy Orton is confirmed with Priest vs McIntyre as well as the triple threat all but assured. We might get Jade vs Naomi as well. These 5 match cards for 3 hour shows are brutal but its Wrestlemania season. Next week we got Pretty Deadly vs Street Profitz and LA Knight vs Braun Strowman. As for this show, the crowd was hot except for Zelina Vega and the matches were good....just too much talk around them. Still, its all about Wrestlemania and the matches look great. The next show after this is Monday's Raw in Glasgow, Scotland. I'll see you there.

WWE Smackdown (3/7/25)

WWE Smackdown

Wells Fargo Center

Philadelphia, PA

March 7, 2025

Commentators: Wade Barrett and Joe Tessitore

Ring Announcer: Lilian Garcia

The fallout of Elimination Chamber has now hit Smackdown. Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre cost each other the match on Saturday, Randy Orton made his return after months out of action and the John Cena heel turns means a Cody Rhodes rebuttal. We begin with a graphic that LA Knight will meet Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE United States Championship as well as Braun Strowman going one on one with Solo Sikoa. Solo arrives with Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu. Drew McIntyre arrives....and attacks Damian Priest. He says "What did you think was gonna happen?" McIntyre walks off and Priest is laid out. That's one way to start the show.

We hit ringside to introduce Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett. We get the same Elimination Chamber highlight package from Raw including the hilarious fan reactions. Here comes Randy Orton for a conference who hadn't been seen on Smackdown in a while. He says a lot of crazy stuff has happened since he's been gone. He says since he started, John Cena has always been on the top of the mountain and now he's The Rock's bottom. He says that gives a whole new meaning to the term "rock bottom". Orton says Cena has been one of his only friends in the business and Kevin Owens was another. He says both him and Owens have done vile things and crossed the line to get the job done. He respects Owens the wrestler because of how he fought and clawed to get to WWE. Its Kevin Owens the man he has a problem is and "never underestimate a jealous man's ability to destroy another man." Orton says Owens was jealous of Cody Rhodes not because he chose Roman as a tag partner, but because he wanted Cody's title. He brings up Owens wanting to destroy Sami not because he stayed neutral in the ladder match, but he was jealous that Sami became a bigger star than him. Randy asks what Owens had to be jealous about since he main evented Wrestlemania twice, including against Steve Austin. A year and a half ago doctors told him he'd never wrestle again and Owens pissed him off. Orton says when he rKo'd Owens normally he would have been satisfied but he felt the "old" voices in his head tell him to punt Owens so his family wouldn't recognize him. Orton promises Owens that Pat McAfee is only the second greatest punter in WWE. Great story here that Orton has to dig down deep for the venom in order to counter this sadistic side of Owens.

Nick Aldis is with WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton when US Champion Chelsea Green and Piper Niven walk in. Chelsea complains that Tiffany ruined her Canadian homecoming last week and says she knows her rights. Tiffany says she has the right to remain silent and to shut up. Piper takes exception of it and Tiffany says let's go one on one. Chelsea says she can't because Piper's her "secret service" but Aldis says he runs the show, not her. Aldis says it's gonna be Tiffany vs Piper later....and here we go. During the commercial break preceding the match, Cody Rhodes will be here tonight to speak about the beat down at Elimination Chamber. 

Match 1

Piper Niven vs WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton

Title isn't on the line, Tiffany just wants to do the world a favor by shutting up Chelsea by taking out her bodyguard first. Barrett "Piper is the equal of anyone in the division, including Stratton." They tie up to start and Niven backs her into the corner. They shove each other and Piper laughs before throwing her down out of a headlock. Tiffany goes up and over, backflips over Piper and locks in a headlock. Niven drops her with a shoulder block but misses the running senton. Tiffany hits the basement dropkick and a springboard hilo, covering for 1...2...no. Piper catches her mid-air and dumps her over the top rope to the floor. Piper hits a cannonball off the apron as we go to break. Back from commercial, Tiffany rallies with clotheslines and a shoulderblock. Tiffany hits another springboard back elbow in the corner and another basement dropkick. She covers for 1...2...no. Tiffany  gets backed into the corner with shoulderblocks by Niven. Piper misses a charge in the corner and Tiffany pulls her down by the hair. Tiffany hits a swanton bomb and covers for 1...2..no. Tiffany runs into a Bossman Slam and Piper covers for 1...2...no. Niven goes for the Vader Bomb but misses and Tiffany hits the Prettiest Moonsault Ever, covering for 1...2....3 to win the match. Joe Tessitore "It...IS TIFFY...TIME. Serviceable match to try to make Tiffany look good ahead of her showdown with Charlotte Flair.

Time of match: 7:43

Winner: Stratton by pinfall

No time to celebrate because here's Charlotte Flair for the beat down. Flair clips Tiffany's left leg and hits the figure eight to a chorus of boos. Charlotte as a heel makes sense and Tiffany looks like she has no chance.

We cut to Nick Aldis with a chart of current events surrounding the WWE Tag Team Championship. He has an actual chart to tell us what's going on. Its the "madness" for March...haha. The Motor City Machine Guns made their debut and defeated DIY for the tag straps in November, the Street Profitz had their shot but Tommaso Ciampa interfered to cost them the match. It was supposed to be a rematch but someone took out the Profitz allowing DIY to take their place against the Guns. DIY turned heel and won back the titles in the match. The Profitz were waiting for DIY but Pretty Deadly showed up and said it was Legada Fantasma that attacked them. Profitz then attacked Los Garza only to find out they didn't do it. DIY told Pretty Deadly to claim it was Los Garza because Kit and Elton wanted a title shot. When DIY laughed at them, Kit and Elton said their title shot was coming. At the Royal Rumble, DIY won the 2 out of 3 falls match after the Profitz interfered to make sure DIY kept the belts so they themselves could take it from then. Aldis says The Motor City Machine Guns will take on Los Garza and Pretty Deadly in a triple threat tag team match to determine the number one contenders while the Street Profitz get the title shot next week against DIY. Wouldn't that mean the winners of the next match are the number 2 contenders? Aldis concludes this by saying "Its simple." We cut back to Wade Barrett who says "There was nothing simple about that. While Nick Aldis is making our brains hurt with trigonometry, let me sum it up for you. Smackdown's tag division is a chaotic mess and tonight we're going to restore some order." 

Match 2

Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) vs Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince and Kit Wilson) vs Los Garza (Angel Garza and Humberto Carillo)

Kit Wilson starts with Chris Sabin....until Angel Garza tags himself in and tells Sabin to get lost. Garza eat a dropkick to the outside but Garza hits one of his own. Garza rips his pants off but Shelley tags himself in. Carillo tags himself in as well but apier six brawl develops as everyone beats on each other. Pretty Deadly sends the Guns outside, but Los Garza drops Pretty Deadly off the apron with double superkicks. Angel and Berto hit moonsaults on the other four guys before Berto throws Shelley inside. Berto kicks him in the back and taunts the irate crowd. Berto scoop slams Alex and hits a standing moonsault for 1...2...no. Angel tags in as Carillo drags Shelley to the apron where Garza kicks him off. Garza does jumping jacks on the apron to taunt Pretty Deadly then chops Shelley outside. Back inside Prince tags himself in and punches away at Shelley. Kit tags in but Shelley fights his way out of the corner. Prince hits a European uppercut and goes to tag....then realizes he already tagged (haha). Kit goes up top and they hit the Steiner Bulldog. Kit covers for 1....2...no, the others break it up. Wilson hits a European uppercut and sends Shelley shoulder first into the buckle. Wilson hits two running elbow smashes in the corner and Prince tags back in. Shelley hits a double DDT and gets the hot tag to Sabin. He cleans house and hits a top rope frankensteiner on Carillo. He then hits a top rope tornado DDT and covers for 1....2...no. Kit blind tags in as it breaks down with everyone spamming finishers to clear out. Sabin suicide dives onto Prince, Carillo and Garza. Prince is thrown back in and they call for Skull & Bones. Wilson shoves Shelley off the top and Prince hits a backslide on Sabin for 1...2....3 to win the match. Wow! After the last two months, Pretty Deadly gets the future title shot? Pretty Deadly head for the hills as an excited Barrett declares them the winners.

Time of match: 7:06

Winners: Pretty Deadly by pinfall

Tessitore and Barrett bring us back to Elimination Chamber when Jade Cargill returned to attack Naomi. After commercial we're shown the Philadelphia Sixers in the crowd, poor bastards. Bianca Belair hits the ring for a conference and we're shown her being involved in the World Women's Championship match on Raw that resulted in Iyo Sky winning the championship. Bianca says she should feel on top of the world after winning Elimination Chamber and going to Wrestlemania but she can't focus because her friends are fighting. She says Jade and her elevated the tag division and Naomi stepped in so the hard work didn't go to waste. Bianca says Naomi became her best friend and she can't believe she did it, so she wants answer. Naomi and Jade aren't texting her so she wants answers right now from Naomi. Naomi comes out in a glitter neckbrace and Bianca what in the hell is going on. Naomi says this isn't what it looks like and to lock in with her. Naomi says she stepped up when Jade was out and Bianca stops her. She asks flat out if she attacked Jade and Naomi says the outside noise is distraction from getting their tag belts back from Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. Bianca says stop talking about anything else but Jade. Naomi mocks saying "Jade" and says her true feelings is Jade has piggybacked off Bianca the entire time. Naomi has been forced to watch Jade succeed off Bianca's hard work while she had to push forward by herself. Naomi starts breaking into tears as she says she didn't say a word because she wanted them to get her flowers. She says she doesn't give a damn about Jade and Bianca starts shouting at her to stop. Bianca breaks down herself and wants to know "Yes or no" or she's walking out for good. Naomi says "I did it." Bianca shakes her head as Naomi pulls a line from her father-in-law by saying she did it for Bianca. Bianca says this hurts because she loved Naomi and she can't look at her anymore. Bianca says they're done and walks out. Naomi shouts to come back before saying THEY turned on her, calling Bianca an ungrateful bitch. Bianca turns around slowly but Jade Cargill arrives in a van. Jade storms out of the van and walks up to Bianca. Bianca nods as if to say "Do what you gotta do." Barrett says Naomi better get her running shoes on. Jade chases Naomi but catches her on the barricade. Cargill throws her across the announce table and into the ring post. She throws Naomi in the ring and hits Jaded on her. Jade stands tall over Naomi and I still say they used the wrong woman for the heel turn. Bianca as a heel would have been monumental and Bianca/Jade would be epic. Guess they want to told that off for a while. Byron Saxton catches up to Drew McIntyre who blames Damian Priest for Wrestlemania last year, Elimination Chamber and everything else. He says he's going to take it out on the "black sheep" of the Bloodline. Braun Strowman makes his entrance for the next match as we go to break. Back from break, we get a vignette of Lex Luger doing DDP Yoga with DDP himself when Cody Rhodes walks in to announce Lex is going into the WWE Hall of Fame. Well deserved and long overdue. Now Byron Saxton is with Charlotte Flair and Charlotte says Tiffany didn't listen to her. Charlotte says the division has gone soft and no one's on her level. B-Fab walks in to take exception of being called soft. Charlotte says no one compares to her but B-Fab says no one is bowing to her and Charlotte says everyone does it eventually. Charlotte challenges her to a match next week in Barcelona....good idea. Charlotte needs someone to run over to show she means business heading into Wrestlemania.

Match 3

Braun Strowman vs Solo Sikoa

Solo walks out by himself but you know his boys will show eventually. This stems from Solo costing Strowman the Elimination Chamber match and Carmelo Hayes pulling an Eddie Guerrero last week. Bell's gone and a shoulderblock goes nowhere to start. Strowman finally drops Solo with a shoulderblock and sends Solo over the top rope. Braun runs the pain train but Solo throws him into the ring steps. He hits the running ass bump to Strowman against the barricade as we go to break. Back from commercial Solo hits a Samoan Drop on the 380 pound Strowman. Solo hits the running hip in the corner and poses for the irate crowd. Solo runs into a big boot and a crossbody by Strowman. Strowman hits a forearm to the chest and hits the pain train on the floor. Back inside Strowman avalanches Solo but gets sent into the buckle twice. Solo hits two kicks and calls for the Samoan Spike. Instead he runs into the powerslam and Braun covers for 1....2...nooo. Tama Tonga runs in for the DQ and gets clotheslined for his trouble. Garbage match but we're not done yet.

Time of match: 6:56

Winner: Strowman by DQ

After Strowman sends Tonga flying, here comes Jacob Fatu for the stare down. They get in the ring forn the brawl and Strowman walks into two superkicks. Strowman falls to the floor and Fatu goes for the suicide dive. Strowman catches him and slams him off the announce desk. Fatu gets up and runs across the desk to drop Strowman with a shoulderblock. Fatu sends Strowman over the barricade and jumps on him. Fatu superkicks Strowman onto the ring crates. He goes for the samoan drop off the crates but instead Strowman chokeslams Jacob through tables set up below. Strowman poses for the crowd as the refs and Suit Brigade hold back Fatu from further punishment. Tessitore and Barrett wonder how Fatu got up from that so easily and its funny how Fatu became the silent assassin that Solo was just 2 1/2 years ago.

We cut to Byron Saxton outside the Philadelphia Flyers locker room who's with LA Knight. Knight wants to talk to ya. He says One Moment, One Time in Japanese because he's gonna slap Shinsuke back to factory settings. He says we're standing in the birth of the US in Philly and the rebirth of his US title reign. He's faced everything Nakamura has thrown at him and he's going to give the US better representation and everyone will pledge allegiance to the US Champion...YEAH!!

Chelsea Green is dressed like Cactus Jack and she's with a busted up Piper Niven. She tries to revive her by putting her sunglasses on sideways. Zelina Vega walks in and says she's got winner of tonight's street fight. Chelsea punches Piper in the stomach to say this is the last thing she needs. She grabs Chelsea by the tie and leads her to the ring. Hahahahahaha!

Match 4

Michin vs Chelsea Green (with Piper Niven) for the WWE Women's United States Championship in a Street Fight

Tessitore and Barrett laugh at Chelsea dressed as Mick Foley as she makes her entrance. Michin brings a trash can full of weapons to the ring and Green cuts her off to start. Chelease gets send into the barricade as Barrett says Michin trained at the ECW Arena. Michin waffles Chelsea with a cookie sheet and throws in a crowbar. Michin throws Hercules' old chain in the ring and heaves the garbage can in as well. Chelsea hits Michin with a chair as the bell finally rings as the crowd chants ECW. Michin hits a drop-toe hold on Chelsea on a chair as Chelsea gets backdropped on the chains. Chelsea bails and Michin bites her fingers. Tessitore "Are you kidding me?" Michin grabs a table much to the crowd's delight but Chelsea hits the backstabber, kicking the table away. Chelsea kicks Michin in the back as they go back to the ring. Chelsea ties up Michin with the chain and flings her around the ring with it. Chelsea drags Michin outside and heaves her into the barricade. Chelsea heaves Michin into the side of the ring and chokes her with the chain. Michin then uses the chain to ram Chelsea into the ring post. Michin frees herself and sprays her with a fire extinguisher. The crowd wants a table and Michin grabs it to a chorus of cheers....until Niven drops her from behind with a right hand. Piper heaves Michin back in the ring and holds her down with a trash can as Chelsea hits a Van Terminator (!!) on Michin. B-Fab hits the ring and chases Piper away with a singapore cane. Michin canes Chelsea Green a few times and dropkicks her into the corner. Michin sets the garbage can against Chelsea, twerks (Keith Lee approves) and hits the cannonball in the corner. She covers for 1...2...no. Michin sets up a pile of chairs but gets the table from the outside. The crowd chants ECW but Chelsea bulldogs Miachin into the bottom of the table. Chelsea sets the table up in the corner and goes for the Dreamer Driver, but Michin blocks it with Eat The Feet. Michin heads to the top rope and hits the senton off the top rope through the table. She covers for 1....2....noooo, someone in a hood pulls her out. Who the hell could this be? ITS ALBA FYRE! She hits a Canadian Destroyer on Michin on the pile of chairs, then rolls Chelsea on top of her for 1....2....3 to win the match. Alba takes her jacket off to reveal a business suit, THERE'S your next secret service agent for Chelsea. Alba helps her up as she retains in a great, fun match. Chelsea dressing up in different outfits every week is hilarious.

Time of match: 10:03

Winner: Chelsea Green by pinfall (still US Champion)

Santos Escobar gives Los Garza a tongue lashing for losing the match. Escobar is PISSED they lost to Pretty Deadly and I don't blame him. Escobar DEMANDS they win their next match and Garza walks off with Escobar. Andrade walks up to Berto and says he can be a breakout star if he goes with him. With Elektra gone, a breakup of Legada Fantasma seems imminent. Back from commercial, TKO is partnering with Saudi Arabia for future boxing fights, ah lovely.

After another Elimination Chamber highlight, here comes Cody Rhodes for his long awaited speech regarding the John Cena heel turn. Cody is still showing the shiner that Travis Scott gave him for real on Saturday. Cody sets the belt down and grabs a mic for his soliloquy. The crowd chants "Cena sucks" like its 2015 and Cody says "So, Philadelphia....city of champions....what...do you wanna talk about?" Cody goes on about how he has to face his four year old daughter asking what happened to his face. He says he had to tell a Cody lie and say he ran into a wall. He says it was a wall designed by the final boss The Rock, his associate Travis Scott and his Wrestlemania 41 opponent John Cena. He says he drove Cena around for two years and sponge his knowledge because he was a hero. So one day he'll tell his daughter that a great man, that did great things and never used to give up....gave up. Rhodes apologizes for his language and wants to know why Cena did this. Rhodes says it will be an epic speech from Cena but there is no justification for his actions. He's well aware he's talking to the whole world but for those in Philly tonight, he's going to tell a story. He says Dusty Rhodes was afraid of working in Philly and needed the Road Warriors to help him feel cool. Then Philly cheered Cody at MITB and helped him finish his story last year. He says Cena pointed at the WWE title and said "it gets heavier every day." Cody picks the belt up and says its not heavy enough. Rhodes says Cena is not the last of his kind as Cody is still here and if Cena wants some, COME GET SOME! Cody is definitely ready for Wrestlemania.

We cut to The Miz and Carmelo Hayes with Nick Aldis. Miz wants an interview with Cody on Melo Don't MizTV. Melo didn't agree to that but he wonders why Cody turned down The Rock's offer. Carmelo says Randy Orton's been on his couch playing Fortnite for four months and naturally Randy walks up behind saying Fortnite is for kids, he's been playing Elden Ring. Aldis says Randy's got a match next week with Carmelo Hayes in Barcelona. Melo shakes his head but Orton says he's on the one yard line, don't fumble. Back in the day the European tour would start after Wrestlemania in March but now that its in the middle of April, the tour comes first. On to the next match.

Match 5

Jimmy Uso vs Drew McIntyre

This has all the makings of a squash since Jimmy is just kind of there right now and Drew desperately needs a win. Jimmy doesn't wait, he punches Drew right at the start. Jimmy chops drew and throws him over the top rope. Jimmy's suicide dive is blocked by a right hand from McIntyre. Drew chops Jimmy in the corner and kicks him in the stomach. Drew chops Jimmy's chest as the crowd chants CM Punk. Outside Jimmy slams Drew's head into the announce table and hits a superkick. Jimmy tackles Drew over the announce table as we go to commercial. Back from break Jimmy chops Drew and kicks him in the ribs. Jimmy hits an enziguiri and a samoan drop. He covers for 1...2..no. Jimmy hits the ass bump in the corner on Drew and goes up top. Drew stops him but Jimmy stops the superplex attempt by shoving him off. Jimmy hits a superkick and covers for 1..2...no. Jimmy goes up to the top rope but misses the splash. Drew hits the Claymore Kick and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. As expected, Drew needed a big win for some heat back and Jimmy was the sacrificial lamb.

Time of match: 7:16

Winner: McIntyre by pinfall

After the match, Drew goes to jump Uso but here comes Damian Priest for the beat down. Priest punches him down and has to be restrained by the Suit Bridgade and referees. Priest breaks free long enough to superkick him in the head. This is definitely going to be settled at Wrestlemania.

We cut to Shinsuke Nakamura's Japanese promo. He says "There is no better location for the death of your dreams than the birth place of the United States." He says Knight will beg for mercy and will find none tonight.

Back from break, we get a promo for Street Profitz vs DIY for the WWE Tag Team Championships next week in Barcelona. Now they have to worry about Pretty Deadly as well. Profitz still want the smoke though. Byron Saxton is with DIY and they say they're the best and other tag teams can fight each other, but they're number one. Ciampa says the Profitz are big, bad and hoping to win, but Gargano says their dream is dead because DIY is too good. Ciampa and Gargano hold a moment of silence for the Profitz chances of winning. Saxton angers Gargano by talking almost immediately and Barrett tells Tessitore to be silent. Ha! We get a graphic for Barcelona next week, Profitz vs DIY, B-Fab vs Charlotte Flair, Carmelo Hayes vs Randy Orton and MizTV with Cody Rhodes. On to our main event...as Wade Barrett screams YEAHHH.

Match 6

LA Knight vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE United States Championship

Shinsuke takes forever to take his mask off during the intro and attacks at the bell. Knight runs into a knee to the ribs but Knight rallies with right hands. Nakamura bails to the outside but Knight gets caught on the apron with a running knee. Nakamura kicks Knight in the back and hits a sliding german suplex off the second rope. A charge in the corner eats boot and Knight hits a second rope bulldog. Knight clotheslines Nakamura over the top of the floor and baseball slides him. Knight hops up on the barricade and clotheslines Nakamura down. Back inside Knight goes to the second rope but Shinsuke pulls him off. Shinsuke hits a knee to the ribs and kicks Knight in the chest outside. Knight rams Shinsuke's head into the announce table a bunch of times and is dropped throat first on it. Knight screams YEAAHHH but is thrown into the ring steps. After breaking the count, Nakamura sends Knight back inside. Nakamura kicks Knight in the ribs and face then Shinsuke drops a knee to the face. He covers for 1...2...no. Shinsuke knees Knight in the ribs and kicks him in the side of the leg. They play "yay boo" with punches and Knight clotheslines him down. He hits a jumping neckbreaker and hits a powerslam. Knight does the Yeah Elbow and covers for 1...2..no. Knight goes for the superplex but Nakamura blocks it. Knight goes for a frankensteiner but Nakamura goes for the back superplex. He hits it and covers for 1...2...no. Nakamura knees Knight in the ribs and calls for the Kinshasha, but Knight counters with a clothesline. Nakamura still goes up to the top but Knight pounces to the top rope and hits the superplex. He hits the flying elbow drop and calls for the BFT. Nakamura bails and grabs a chair, but Knight takes it away. He goes to use it but stops himself, knowing he can't win that way. Nakamura kicks him away and brings the chair into the ring. Referee Charles Robinson grabs it and Knight charges only for Nakamura to move out of the way. Knight stops himself and Shinsuke loads up the mist. Knight ducks and Robinson gets sprayed with it. Knight rolls up Nakamura but Robinson can't count. Tessitore complains about it as Nakamura hits Scorpio Rising. He grabs the chair but it gets kicked in his face. Knight hits BFT and covers...but there's no ref. Another one runs in for 1......2....3 to win the match and title. We hit the credits with Knight as the new US Champion. Damn good match but peculiar to have Nakamura drop it back to Knight here instead of Wrestlemania. Oh well, the fans go home happy.

Time of match: 11:10

Winner: Knight by pinfall (New US Champion)

This kind of felt like the same format as Raw. Big speech (Punk/Cody), shocking title win (Iyo/Knight) and good tag team action. We got a month and change to Wrestlemania and taking titles off two of your champions seems rather odd. Nakamura vs Knight at Wrestlemania makes sense as well as Bianca vs Ripley....but we ain't getting one of the two for sure, if not both. Still, we got a whole month to build some stuff that's not already set in stone. Still, Jade getting her hands on Naomi again this soon after Elimination Chamber seems pointless if you want to drag something out another month. We got a new US Champion and matches set for Barcelona, not much more you can ask for. The next show after this will be Monday night in Madison Square Garden for Raw. I'll see you there.

WWE Raw (9/16/24)

WWE Raw

Moda Center

Portland, OR

September 16, 2024

Commentators: Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett

Ring Announcer: Samantha Irvin

We are weeks away from Bad Blood with the final showdown between Drew McIntyre and CM Punk scheduled to be a Hell In A Cell Match. Other matches haven't been signed yet but maybe this week will shed some light on the subject. Damien Priest is supposed to go one on one with Dominik Mysterio while the two behemoths Braun Strowman and Bronson Reed go one on one again. Let's get to the action.

We're shown people arriving to the arena including Rhea Ripley and Damien Priest. Priest takes on Dom Mysterio later. All five members of Judgment Day arrive with a graphic saying Balor & McDonough put the tag straps on the line against New Day. Next are Kairi Sane and Iyo Sky as its going to be Kairi against Bianca Belair one on one. Jade Cargill and Bianca arrive as well as Braun Strowman and Bronson Reed. CM Punk arrives and leaves his rental car door open with it still running. That's a good way to get it stolen.

Here comes Punk to open the show with a soliloquy. Wade Barrett on commentary says Drew McIntyre failed to end his career and Punk will be looking to make Drew face the consequences for it. A deadly serious Punk says softly that people ask how many matches he has left in his own bones. Punk says the answer is way more than you think and the crowd chants his name. He says when he came back to WWE he claimed the wasn't there to make friends. He didn't anticipate making such a mortal enemy that the only way to settle it was in Hell in a Cell. He had a feeling that touching four turnbuckles in Berlin wasn't going to settle it and Drew probably didn't think taking out Punk in Chicago would settle it either. Punk is too damn stubborn and Drew's fatal mistake was not getting the job done. Punk says if anyone asks how many HIAC matches he has left in him and Punk says the honest answer is zero. His sister, his wife and an angel on his shoulder all told him not to do this. Punk says he's going to explain why he's going to do this. The last time he was in Portland he said if Drew pushed him far enough he could become the devil himself. Punk says the devil in him told him this only ends in Hell In A Cell. Punk says he can't promise he's going to kill Drew because he doesn't make promises he can't keep, but he promises he's going to make Drew bleed. Punk says Drew is going to have to kill him because he's prepared to die and be over with. If this is the end of his career, so be it. He says Drew better be prepared for the end of his career because he'll see Drew in hell. Deadly serious Punk with no humor or sarcasm just makes things even bigger.

We cut to a highlight of the Intercontinental Championship number one contender tournament match between Sheamus and Ludwig Kaiser from two weeks ago with Pete Dunne beating down Sheamus, costing him the match. Last week Sheamus returned the favor and chased away Pete. We cut to Cathy Kelley with Sheamus and asks what's going on with him. Sheamus says he taught Pete TOO well and hit him where it hurts, the dream he had to become a grand slam champion. He says Pete hates being called Butch, so Sheamus naturally says it over and over again. Sheamus says "ARE YOU READY FOR A BANGER?" On to our first match.

Match 1

Sheamus vs Pete Dunne

The graphic says "Don't call him Butch". Wade Barrett says Pete was an international superstar and became a lackey to Sheamus in the Brawling Brute days, now Dunne is out to show he's more than that. Bell's gone and Dunne immediately goes for a Brogue Kick that Sheamus dodges. They slug it out with Sheamus getting the upperhand. Pete chips and kicks Sheamus but walks into a sidewalk slam. Sheamus heaves Pete over the top to the apron. Sheamus goes for 10 Beats of the Bodhran but Pete blocks the second forearm by hyperextending the elbow. Pete runs into a tilt-a-whirl slam and Sheamus stomps him in the corner. Pete hits a standing enziguiri and goes to a finger lock. Dunne stomps on Sheamus' elbow and taunts the irate crowd. He does a plancha on Sheamus on the outside and steps on Sheamus' hand against the steel steps. Sheamus hits the Alabama Slam on Dunne on top of the announce table as we go to break. Back from commercial, Sheamus has Dunne on the top turnbuckle. Sheamus goes for White Noise from up the top but Dunne counters with a sitout powerbomb for 1...2....no. The crowd chants "Butch" to get under Pete's skin and Dunne starts hitting Sheamus with seriously stiff elbows. Sheamus blocks another attempt and calls him a bitch before hitting a stiff lariat. Sheamus hits a clothesline as Barrett says "payback is a butch." Sheamus clotheslines Dunne in the corner and hits a running powerslam. Sheamus goes up to the top rope and pulls his right kneepad down. He hits the top rope kneedrop and covers for 1...2...no. Sheamus goes for the Celtic Cross but Dunne hits an enziguiri to the head. Dunne goes to the top rope but Sheamus uppercuts him. Sheamus delivers a powerslam off the second rope and covers for 1...2...no. Sheamus goes for 10 Beats of The Bodhran and does it 17 times....ouch. Dunne grabs the shillelagh and kicks Sheamus away only to walk to the knee to the head. Sheamus grabs the shillelagh and threatens to hit Pete but the ref stops him. Pete grabs a cricket bat from underneath the ring and hits Sheamus in the shoulder with it. Pete hits a Brogue Kick and covers for 1..2..3 to win the match. Big time cheating by Pete but that was a damn good match. Dunne wanted to break out of the shadow of Sheamus and he did it big time here. Barrett says Sheamus got hit for six.

Time of match: 11:07

Winner: Dunne by pinfall

We go to a highlight of last week where Judgment Day laid out the terror twins but Jey Uso made the save. We cut to the Twins walking in the hall and running into Jey Uso. Jey says Priest can handle the match on his own but he'll be watching. Xavier Woods shows up and says they haven't seen eye to eye in the past but they all hate Judgment Day. Woods says he and Kofi want to face the JD alone and Priest says to whoop they ass and take their titles. Jey and Rhea give each other the flirty eyes and Priest tries not to laugh. We get a highlight of Liv kissing Dom at Summerslam before a graphic of Priest vs Dom tonight.

Back from commercial The Miz walks up to Braun Strowman and says good luck as Braun shows off his bruised bicep. Miz asks why Braun says Miz was no match for Bronson Reed and Braun says that was out of context. Miz says he's beaten every superstar and Braun says sometimes it takes a monster to beat a monster. Miz says got it and to go win.....hmmm. On to the next match.

Match 2

Natalya (with Zelina Vega and Lyra Valkyria) vs Zoey Stark (with Shayna Bayzler and Sonya Deville)

This is Natalya's 175th match on Raw. We get a quick cut to last week where Pure Fusion Collective called out Lyra and Zelina only for Natalya to show up to even the odds. Natalya's team won now she faces Zoey one on one. Natalya rolls up Zoey for a one count and Zoey shoves her halfway across the ring. Natalya rolls over Zoey and blocks a hiptoss with a takedown. Natalya goes for the sharpshooter but Zoey bails to the apron. Zoey kicks Natalya in the head and hits a springboard dropkick as we go to break. Back from commercial, Zoey goes for another springboard dropkick but misses it. Natalya hits a german suplex and a clothesline, then boots Zoey in the head. She covers for 1...2...no. Zoey misses a charge but arm drags her then hits a rolling slam. Zoey hits a superkick and covers for 1...2...no. Zoey tells Lyra to shut up but Natalya blocks the Z360 and rolls her up for 1..2...no. Natalya and Zoey exchange counters and Zoey rolls up Natalya for 1...2...no, Natalya reverses it for 1..2.....3 to win the match. Natalya rolls out of the ring as Tessitore says she's building momentum. Wade says she has the deepest playbook of anyone and it was definitely veteran instinct to win. Not sure why they're building up Natalya of all people but hey, least she can go.

Time of match: 7:01

Winner: Natalya by pinfall

Back to Cathy Kelley with Rhea Ripley. Ripley is going to face Liv at Bad Blood for the World Championship but Finn Balor interrupts. Finn says they haven't had a chance to speak and he really feels like he's just as bad as Priest. He goes on to say they thought they were family and Priest & Rhea are the reason none of them are World Champions. Rhea says they're not re-writing history because they WERE family and she stopped them from fighting every single week. Rhea says they'll be the bad guys in his fictional story but at Bad Blood, they'll find out how bad the Twins will be. Finn says he was responsible for telling Dom to go after Liv....and here comes Jey Uso. Finn says there's no problem here and to focus on his IC title shot because Rhea is out of his league. Rhea says he's got a point and Jey goes "What, that I'm out of your league?" Rhea says no, that he needs to focus. Jey puts on his sunglasses and heads to the ring.

Back from commercial, here comes Jey for a conference. Tessitore holds up a sign that says Keep Portland Yeet and Barrett says "What on EARTH are you doing?". Wade says he's supposed to be gentleman, hahahaha. Jey says he's going to be the new IC champ and excited about it. He's wanted it since he left Smackdown and The Bloodline. Uh oh, here comes Bron Breakker for a rebuttal in the ring. Bron "We got any dogs barking in Portland??" Bron goes on to say Jey's pursuit is relentless for the IC title. Bron says Jey's been here 14 years, a big star and the fans love him. Bron says he's done more in 6 months than Jey has in those 14 years. Bron did it without his father and uncle and didn't need their help or their name. Bron holds up the belt and says this is his family, next Monday he's going to expose Jey. Bron says Jey is nothing without his family but Jey says Bron has the dog in him. Jey won't take him lightly and says he's been winning championships since Bron was in diapers. Jey is only 12 years older than Bron so I don't remember a teenage Jey winning anything in WWE. Jey says he's going to dog walk Breakker's ass and see what Bron is about. Jey says his IC title reign will end up short and sweet like Bron's NFL career. THAT got Bron mad he sucker punches Jey. Jey counters with a spear as Tessitore goes nuts on commentary. Jey throws his shirt to the crowd and Barrett says if Jey hits that spear next week, we'll have a new champion.

Back to Joe and Wade to discuss what we just saw before we cut to last week's Raw where Damage Control faced the Unholy Union. Jade and Bianca interfered costing Damage Control the match. As Jade and Bianca are walking in the back, here comes an irate Iyo. Iyo calls Bianca a coward as Kairi has a bad eye and Bianca says it wasn't her call. Bianca challenges Iyo instead and Iyo accepts. Well, that takes care of that. On to the next match.

Match 3

The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs Judgment Day (Finn Balor and JD McDonough) for the World Tag Team Championships

Tessitore says we're coming up on the 10 year anniversary of the formation of New Day (damn we're old). JD and Balor come out alone as Tessitore says this is their first title defense in MONTHS. Joe has no room to talk since boxers defend the title like once or twice a year. Wade asks which Day this will be, New or Judgment. Bell's gone and Kofi starts with JD. Kofi forearms JD down and tags in Woods for a double dropkick. A slingshot splash and a scoop slam has Kofi tagging in for the moonsault off the shoulders of Woods. Kofi covers for a deuce and both New Day members double superkick the heels to the outside. We cut to commercial and when we're back from break, Balor has an arm ringer on Kofi. Kofi knocks McDonough off the apron as Tessitore says Woods hasn't held main roster gold since April 2021. Kofi does a move I have no idea what its called as Woods gets the hot tag. Woods wipes out both heels and gets a huge pop from dropping McDonough with a flying forearm. Woods hits a russian leg sweep with Kofi hitting a slingshot clothesline. Kofi planchas Balor and Woods hits a sitdown powerbomb on JD for 1...2...nooooo. Here comes Liv Morgan, Dom Mysterio and Carlito as Joe Tessitore complains. But wait! Here comes Rey Mysterio Jr, Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde to take them out. JD rolls up Woods for a deuce then eats a superkick. Kofi and Xavier climb opposite corners as Kofi takes out the intruders and Woods hits the Limit Break. Woods covers but the ref is on the floor much to Tessitore's dismay. Woods grabs the ref's attention and goes for an O'Connor roll but Balor blind tags in. McDonough rolls out of it and Balor comes off the top with the Coup De Gras on Woods. He covers for 1..2....3 to win the match. Judgment Day retains with an actual clean win when you think about it. Carlito and the others never touched the New Day but uh oh....Woods throws a tantrum in the ring and says "EVERY TIME! EVERY TIME!" Woods is tired of this and Tessitore can't blame him. They're slowly going with a Woods heel turn and with Odyssey Jones released, they might need Big E back to for the finale. Damn good match with the obligatory schmozz ending.

Time of match: 8:29

Winners: Judgment Day by pinfall (Still World Tag Team Champs)

Obligatory Wyatt Sicks video with a QR code. None of this means jack because Bray Wyatt is dead. I understand Bo Dallas is trying to keep the spirit alive, but without Bray its not the same. The message is "You speak, we follow." After commercial we're shown both Mysterios at the UFC 306 show seated separately of course. After a highlight of the previous match, we go back to New Day with Cathy Kelley. Kofi says its not a good time as Woods is screaming at the LWO. Kofi says he told the LWO to have his back and Woods is mad about it. Kofi knew this was going to happen which is why he called for help and Woods said they never needed help before. Kofi says they had Big E Langston before and that makes Woods even more irate. Woods asks that they're not good enough anymore and Kofi says that's not what he's saying. Woods asks why he didn't know the LWO was coming and storms off. Now THAT he's got a valid point on. Back to the announce booth where we're about to have a big hoss fight. We get a vignette of Bronson Reed talking about all his victims before we go to the ring.

Match 4

"Big" Bronson Reed vs Braun Strowman

Hoss fight time. Strowman gets in the ring but Reed bumrushes him to start. Strowman sidesteps him and throws him into the corner where Reed legit rips the top rope off. Strowman hits a chokeslam and boots Reed out of the ring. The bell still hasn't ring as Braun calls for the Freight Train. Strowman goes to plow Reed but Bronson heaved some fan over the barricade onto Strowman. Okay, THAT was innovative. Strowman plows Reed through the barricade and Tessitore says this one is over. Security escorts Reed back with the Suit Brigade following suit. Strowman runs over Reed and sends security guys flying like the puddy patrol. Reed puts Strowman through an catering table as Jason Jordan tells them to stop. Strowman then puts Reed through a legit wall with Shawn Daivari running for an ambulance. Normally a no-contest is a waste of time but that was legit fun. Throwing a fan and ripping the top rope off was creative.

Time of match: N/A

Winner: No contest

After a highlight of the mayhem, the Suit Brigade, EMTs, security and the referees try to help out the two fallen guys like out of a MASH movie. We cut to Adam Pearce being confronted by Ludwig Kaiser. He wants to know who Gunther's next opponent is. Pearce says he's busy with the catastrophe and says he just might give the title shot to Sami Zayn. Sure enough, Sami's music hits and he's up next. Pearce says if Gunther has a problem, come see him himself.

Zayn hits the ring for a conference. Zayn says he's standing in the middle of a red hot ring in Portland, Oregon but all week he's been thinking of him and Bret Hart together in Calgary. Sami says Bret was his hero growing up and last week was motivational. Sami says he wants to be a true Canadian champion and he wants it. He NEEDS it, he NEEDS to become the World Heavyweight Champion. The fans deserve a fighting champion but Gunther refuses to give him a shot. Gunther claims that Sami isn't on his level while Sami says the real reason is Gunther is afraid he'd lose again just like at Wrestlemania. Here comes Ludwig Kaiser for a rebuttal and Kaiser asks what Zayn is doing asking for a match. Gunther shouldn't be scared of Zayn because he's the most dominant force in WWE. He's trying to protect Sami from embarrassment. Kaiser says there won't be a match because he's not good enough. Zayn says Gunther doesn't Kaiser to speak for him or need him for anything. Zayn stirs the pot by saying Kaiser doesn't need Gunther either as he already broke off his team with Giovanni Vinci because he wants to stand alone. Zayn says he's not going to win respect as Gunther's mouth piece and grow some balls to speak for himself. Finally, Gunther himself walks out. Gunther gets in the ring and says he'll deal with Zayn in a minute. He asks if Kaiser has anything to tell him, do it now. Kaiser says he's had something he wants to get off his chest...and drops Zayn with a clothesline. Kaiser pounds away on Zayn and hits his DDT on him. Kaiser holds up Sami and Gunther says no match. Kaiser and Gunther hug as Barrett says we all should be as loyal as those two. Gunther leaves but Sami hits a release German suplex on Ludwig followed by the Helluva Kick. The title match is definitely going to take place, just a question of how Sami will get to Gunther.

Back to the announce booth, Tessitore says "Good for you Sami!" We go backstage to Cathy Kelley with Damien Priest. She says he has a lot on his plate in the last two weeks and asks how he's going to prepare for Dom. Here comes Liv Morgan to interrupt and says you should have seen how easy it was to choose between her and Rhea & Priest. Damien says its nice to see someone in Judgment Day have a set for once, but Rhea is going to shove Liv's set down her throat. He tells her to go kiss Dom goodbye because he's going to put him down. On to the next match.

Match 5

Bianca Belair (with Jade Cargill) vs Iyo Sky (with Kairi Sane)

Both partners are there for support which is weird since Kairi was supposed to be hurt. Bell rings and they stare at each other to start. Bianca gets a headlock takeover but Iyo reverses it with headscissors and nip ups. Bianca is rolled up for two but blocks a crucifix. Iyo cartwheel backflips away from Bianca and Bianca front flips over Iyo then tells her to kiss her ass. Iyo goes for the frankensteiner but Bianca blocks it, only for Iyo to sunset flip for 1...2...no. Iyo chops Bianca in the corner but Bianca goes up and over and tells her to kiss her ass again. Bianca backflips over Iyo and hits a delayed suplex. Iyo hits an armdrag and they both point at each other as we go to break. When we come back, Iyo has a chinlock on Bianca. Bianca throws Iyo off and rolls her up for a deuce before dropping her with two shoulderblocks. Bianca dropkicks Iyo and tackles her into the corner. Bianca punches her in the corner and backflips over her. Iyo drops her with two clotheslines and a dropkick of her own. Iyo hits the running knees in the corner and goes for the pedigree. Bianca backdrops her but Iyo lands on her feet. Bianca hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Iyo recovers to hit a missile dropkick from the top rope and covers for 1...2....NOOOOO. Both women are down and they trade blows in the center of the ring. Iyo goes for the sunset flip for a deuce but gets launched onto the top rope. Bianca hits a spinebuster and a springboard moonsault for 1...2...no. Bianca pressslams Iyo over her head but Iyo counters with a german suplex for 1..2....no. Bianca shoulderblocks Iyo on the apron as the crowd chants "This is awesome". Iyo snaps Bianca off the top rope to the floor and Iyo hits a suicide dive. Bianca literally walks up the steel steps with Iyo in a vertical suplex position as Wade and Tessitore can't believe it. Bianca drops her inside and goes for the 450 splash, but Iyo gets her knees up. Iyo goes for the moonsault but Bianca counters by going for the KOD. Iyo lands on her feet and turns it into a small package for 1...2....3 to win the match. That was the match of the night for sure as Iyo FINALLY gets a victory over Bianca. That was a ppv quality showdown and Iyo showed she's still a threat.

Time of match: 12:24

Winner: Iyo by pinfall

Back to Damien Priest preparing for tonight's main event with Rhea next to him. Priest says he's going to tear Dom apart as we go to break. Back from commercial we get a vignette for the American Made stable. Its literally just Diamond Mine just with Chad Gable instead of Damon Kemp aka Bobby Steveson. At least they're attempting to push the Creeds and Ivy Nile. Back to Cathy Kelley with Ludwig Kaiser trying to straighten a tooth. Kaiser says next week on Raw, he's going to beat Sami. Kaiser says Sami's past is shady since he and Kevin Owens turned on each other all the time when one was more successful. Kaiser says Sami will never be champion....damn good promo.

We get a graphic for Sami vs Kaiser next week as well as Drew McIntyre making an appearance. The main event will be Bron Breakker defending the Intercontinental Championship against Jey Uso. Speaking of which, we cut to Jey Uso running into Ilja Dragunov in a suit and tie. Dragunov wishes him luck and "Yeet!" Uh oh, after Jey leaves here comes Judgment Day to give him crap. Balor says to choose his friends wisely. Dragnunov says he respects Damien, Rhea and Jey which is more than he can say for any of them. Balor says its a friendly reminder, but next time the message won't be delivered nicely. Good Ole Anderson style warning by Balor as Judgment Day leaves. On to the main event.

Match 6

Dom Mysterio (with Liv Morgan, Carlito, JD McDonough and Finn Balor) vs Damien Priest (with Rhea Ripley)

Liv kisses Dom before the match and Tessitore says "Would you look at this?" Bell rings and Priest immediately drops him with a shoulderblock. He heaves Dom in the corner and fires away and stares at Carlito, Priest choke bombs Dom and Mysterio begs off. Priest applies a wristlock and shoulderblocks Dom down again. Priest hits a heel kick and covers for 1...2...no. Dom rolls out of a back suplex and dropkicks the right knee of Priest. Dom can't whip Damien and runs into a flapjack. Dom begs off again and Priest stomps away at him in the corner. Priest chokes Dom on the second rope in front of Judgment Day and Dom tries to rally with a body punch. Priest dropped him with a right hook that Tessitore admires. Dom rolls out of the Razor's Edge attempt and bails to the outside. Priest goes outside and rocket launches Mysterio into the apron before backing Carlito off. Priest throws Dom into the announce table. Wade says this has been one way traffic, Dom hasn't gotten an offensive move in yet. Priest pops Dom then Carlito much to the crowd's delight. Priest rolls Dom in but the ref takes his eye off for one second, allowing Finn to shove Damien into the ringpost. Dom hits a suicide dive that sends Priest into the announce table. We go to break and when we come back, Dom rolls out of a suplex and walks into an elbow. Priest misses a charge in the corner and Dom hits a tornado DDT. Dom covers for 1...2...no. Dom taunts the crowd and Rhea taunts him back. Dom slaps Priest in the chest and it wakes up Damien. Dom's face says it all and Damien rallies with right hands and a series of kicks. Another big right hand drops Dom and Priest hits an inverted DDT. Priest covers for 1...2...no. Finn distracts Priest again causing Dom to roll him up for two. Priest gets a kick to the head and a broken arrow. Priest covers for 1...2...no, Liv puts the foot on the rope. Ripley tackles Liv completely over the announce table, wiping out Barrett in the process. Tessitore tries not to laugh as Priest drops Carlito with a right hand. Priest grabs Dom out of mid-air and throws him into Balor outside. Priest superkicks Carlito but back inside, Dom superkicks Priest into the second rope. Dom hits the 619 but misses the frogsplash. Priest clotheslines Dom who does a 360 and pulls the straps down. Priest nails South of Heaven and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. Tessitore "TAKE THAT DIRTY DOM!" Good match and the crowd's energy carried it as Dom had no realistic chance against Priest without his cronies at ringside.

Time of match: 12:11

Winner: Priest by pinfall

1 second after the match, its a four on one beatdown as Carlito, JD and Balor hit the ring to help Dom. Rhea gets on the apron but Liv pulls her off and throws her into the steel steps. Liv throws Rhea in the ring but here comes Jey Uso! Jey hits the ringside area but Bron Breakker appears out of NOWHERE and spears Jey out of his shoes. Meanwhile Judgment Day continues the attack on Priest as Balor hits Coup De Gras. Liv hits Ob-Liv-ion as Balor hits Coup De Gras a second time. Balor goes for a third attempt and hits it as Tessitore is having a coronary on commentary. Judgment Day stands tall as we sign off. Damn good show, especially the Bianca/Iyo showdown. It leaves the fans wanting more, especially with a lot of advertised not just for Bad Blood but for next week as well. The Judgment Day/Terror Twins feud is far from over and Uso/Breakker is going to rock. Not to mention Sami's pursuit of Gunther and the potential New Day Break up. The Bloodline may be carrying Smackdown but Raw is stepping it up big time. The next show after this is tomorrow night's NXT. I'll see you there.