Kimberly

Cena, Balor to Both Be on Final Raw Before Crown Jewel! In just 5 days, John Cena will face Finn Balor for the World Heavyweight Championship in a Ladder Match at Crown Jewel. The two men have engaged in a war for months on Raw as time and again, the numbers game has caught up to the future WWE Hall of Famer. Be there this Monday on the final stop before Crown Jewel this Saturday when the Champ and the leader of Cenation make appear on Raw. Will there be a confrontation? This is the final stop before Crown Jewel. Don't miss Raw LIVE this Monday on USA!

A video replay of last week is shown highlighting Stephanie McMahon announcing the Women’s World Championship match at Crown Jewel between Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey. After that we see Judgment Day circling New Day when John Cena saves the day. Welcome to Monday Night Raw. OCTOBER WEEK 4 BON SECOURS WELLNESS ARENA GREENVILLE, SC ZOEY STARK VS RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ *Raquel’s strength versus Zoey’s tenacity is the story of the match. It goes mostly Raquel’s way until Zoey clips her knee from behind and then goes to work on it. Mostly grounded, Raquel is open to Zoey’s constant attacks. *Raquel begins to fight back and gets Zoey in position for a Tejana Bomb but the leg gives out, and Zoey connects with a knee under the chin for the victory. As the bell rings she immediately continues her attack. RESULT: ZOEY STARK WINS BY PINFALL Piper Niven hits the ring and joins Zoey in attacking Raquel. The double team doesn’t last long as Liv Morgan runs down to the ring and evens the odds. In a few moments, Piper and Zoey are on the outside looking in and none too happy about it. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ Backstage, Byron Saxton is with the Miz and Bronson Reed. He asks how they’re preparing for Drew McIntyre at Crown Jewel but the Miz laughs it off, saying when you look at Bronson Reed it’s clear he doesn’t need to prepare and at Crown Jewel, Drew McIntyre will learn that first hand. SLEX VS REX STEINER *Steiner dominantes a quick and decisive match. He manhandles his opponent with ease, finally ending it with a cross-cross Steinerline. RESULT: REX STEINER WINS BY PINFALL ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ We go to a live interview with Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes conducted by Corey Graves. Each man is in their own locker room. Orton says that this match didn’t have to happen. Cody just can’t learn from history. He can’t help himself but to live up to his father’s legacy. That’s the difference between them. Orton has surpassed his father, he doesn’t live in the shadow. Cody replies that Randy is making a big mistake thinking he’s the same man he took under his wing in Legacy. That guy doesn’t exist anymore and it wasn’t Stardust or Dashing Cody Rhodes that broke him, it was that shadow. That much is true. But that’s not who he is anymore and furthermore this match is happening because Randy has spent a career believing his own hype and its damn time that someone shows the Legend Killer, the Viper, the Apex Predator and any other name you want to use, that times have changed. Orton just smiles slyly and tells Cody that he better kiss Brandy and Liberty goodbye before he gets on the plane because he may not have the chance to do it after. Cody stands up, calm and gets closer to the camera before telling Randy he better be ready for anything because Cody damn sure will be. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ RICOCHET VS GUNTHER © *Ricochet starts off fast with his high octane offense, hitting the champion from various angles and keeping Gunther off his gameplan. That all comes to an end when Gunther chops him mid air. *Gunther punishes Ricochet as he has all his challengers but Ricochet makes an unexpected comeback, ducking a chop and firing back a series of jumping forearms into Gunther’s head and hitting a springboard which gets a two count. *Gunther looks bewildered and angry and when Ricochet goes for it again, he catches the challenger mid-air and rams him into the corner then powerslams him. From there it’s all Gunther and ends with the accustomed powerbomb. RESULT GUNTHER RETAINS THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP BY PINFALL Byron Saxton meets Gunther in the ring and congratulates him on another tough victory. Gunther scoffs at that description. He says there is nothing tough about it. In fact he’s tired of wasting his time, so he has decided you will not see him until Survivor Series where he will issue an open challenge. Hopefully someone back there will give him a real fight! ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ A vignette of Ronda Rousey in deep training for her Women’s World Championship match is shown. Rousey uses a mix of weight lifting, judo, and mixed martial arts and looks dominant. NIKKI CROSS AND VALHALLA VS KATANA CHANCE AND KAYDEN CARTER *Chance and Carter have shown their true tag acumen with quick tags and double teams in their career. That goes out the window in this one as Nikki and Valhalla brutalize them throughout the match with little care for their own safety let alone their opponents. *The two wild women show good teamwork and show hints of enjoying what they’re doing. Nikki hits a guillotine elbow off the second rope that gets the win. RESULT: NIKKI CROSS AND VALHALLA WIN BY PINFALL Backstage Drew McIntyre is walking when he stops and we see the Miz. The Miz walks up slowly to McIntyre, and without a word, slaps him hard across the face. Drew’s eyes widen in fury as the Miz turns and takes off running, with McIntyre giving chase. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ Raw returns to Vic and Corey hyping up tonight’s main event at the announce table when Corey abruptly stops talking in stunned silence because he sees someone approach the announce table… Maria Kanellis comes up to Cory and beckons him with her finger. Graves grabs a microphone and meets Maria ringside and asks her what she is doing here on Raw? Maria says that when she heard that Stephanie McMahon was in charge around here, she saw her opportunity to come home to WWE and to Raw, because she’s looking. Corey asks Maria what she’s looking for and Maria smiles seductively, runs her finger up Corey’s chest and says “a man”. Graves looks nervous and asks what man. Maria smiles and looks like she is going to kiss Graves, but instead pulls the mic up to her lips and says, “a man who will satisfy ALL of my needs.” Maria Kanellis winks at Corey and waves at Vic Joseph and then walks to the back. Maria Kanellis has returned to Raw and is on a mission for a man to satisfy her…. “needs.” Raw’s main event is coming up right now. JUDGMENT DAY W/RHEA RIPLEY VS JOHN CENA AND THE NEW DAY *All six men are legal early in the match but it settles down into Woods taking a beating in the Judgment Day corner. *Kingston gets the tag and flips the momentum of the match. Working against Priest and Mysterio exclusively. Woods gets back in and continues the offense before tagging in Cena. *Cena is full of energy, whipping Mysterio into the ropes before hitting his patented shoulder block. He sets up for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but what he hasn’t seen is that Balor tagged himself in on the Irish Whip. *Balor hits a backstabber on Cena, and then rolls him up, grabbing the second rope for leverage and scoring a quick cheap victory. RESULT: JUDGMENT DAY WINS BY PINFALL Cena sits in the ring with a frustrated expression, made worse by the smirk on Balor’s face. Cena knows that he’s to blame for the loss because he allowed himself to lose focus. As the Judgment day heads back up the ramp, the GOAT just watches. Is this a preview of what is to come at Crown Jewel?!? We cut to the backstage as Miz is sprinting and looking over his shoulder. Drew McIntyre is on his heels as the Miz reaches the doors to the arena but they’re locked. He turns, cornered as McIntyre says he’s going to enjoy this. As McIntyre stalks towards Miz….. Bronson Reed runs up from behind and throws Drew into the locked doors head first. He backs up and splashes him against the doors. McIntyre slides down the door onto his rear and looks dazed. Reed takes a running start and charges McIntyre, using his own backstage to smash Drew’s head into the door one more time. McIntyre slumps onto the concrete floor as Reed looms over him and the Miz just smiles. Bronson Reed may have just taken Drew McIntyre out of the picture before Crown Jewel! How in the world can McIntyre survive this fight in less than two weeks? Goodnight from Greenville!

Massive Six Man Match to Headline Raw! For well over a year, The Judgment Day has made good on their promise to dominate and own Raw. Rhea Ripley owned the Women's Division for most of that time and at SummerSlam, Finn Balor became World Heavyweight Champion. Recently, the pushback against TJD has been heating up as Becky Lynch captured the Women's World Championship and John Cena has set his sights on Balor in an epic Ladder Match set for Crown Jewel. Two others stepping into the war against The Judgment Day is The New Day and that sets the stage for a huge main event this week. Monday on Raw, The Judgment Day will take on John Cena & The New Day in a Six Man War. Don't miss it. Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes are continuing their war of attrition and are set to clash once more at Crown Jewel. Ahead of that match, Cody and Randy will sit down in a interview on Raw. With tensions rising will the American Nightmare and the Viper be able to avoid a clash? Finally, Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER continues the greatest Intercontinental Championship run of all time this week on Raw as The Ring General puts the title on the line against the high flying specialist, Ricochet. In this clash of styles, will Gunther prevail or will Raw see the upset of the year unfold and a new champion crowned? Don't miss Raw LIVE this Monday on USA!

A video recap of last week’s Raw is shown focusing on Becky Lynch getting attacked by Ronda Rousey, Rex Steiner’s debut victory versus the Miz and the mind games between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. Welcome to Monday Night Raw OCTOBER WEEK 3 AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER DALLAS, TX John Cena comes down to the ring and says he couldn’t help but overhear Finn Balor calling him a coward last week. That’s a mighty big insult coming from a guy who can’t keep that title on his shoulder without the help of three people who look like you ordered Scott Hall, Sherri Martel, and Eddie Guerrerro off Wish. Cena says that at Crown Jewel, Finn Balor’s in trouble because you can call Cena a lot of things but you will NOT call him cowardly and WHEN he climbs that ladder and pulls down that 17th World Championship, you’ll all be able to say once again that the Champ is here! Cena leaves the ring and just as he gets to the back of the aisle he passes by Gunther on his way to the ring. The two share a momentary glance before they both go their separate ways. The Ring General defends his Intercontinental Championship right now! DOLPH ZIGGLER VS GUNTHER © *Dolph shows off as he often does and gives Gunther a tremendous challenge but in the end, it’s Gunther’s power which wears down the former World Champion. A series of brutal chops followed by a side suplex allow the champion to punish Ziggler more before ending the match with his patented powerbomb. RESULT: GUNTHER RETAINS THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP BY PINFALL In the Judgment Day’s locker room Rhea Ripley is not happy. She informs Priest and Dom Dom that she has scheduled a rematch with the New Day and after last week’s fiasco she will personally be in their corner to make sure there are no more…mistakes. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ We return from the commercial to find the Viking Raiders and DIY in the middle of a brawl backstage. Graves says things are breaking down early here on Raw. The two teams are eventually separated by a host of officials. CANDICE LARAE VS NIKKI CROSS *Nikki Cross shows her demented side in this by brutalizing the Poison Pixie, including putting her in a Tree of Woe and hitting several running knees. Candice can barely stand and leaves herself open to a running neckbreaker which gets the pinfall. RESULT: NIKKI CROSS WINS BY PINFALL At the announcer’s table they begin to talk about how out of control Nikki Cross is when a staffer brings a small box like last week. They open it to find a pair of eyeglasses. Both announcers look confused as we go into the break. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ INDUS SHEER/JINDER MAHAL VS ALPHA ACADEMY *Jinder has his men ready and they use their power game to beat on both members of Alpha Academy. Even Otis can’t overcome these two monsters in the ring and they hit a double spinebuster on him. Gable is taken out by Veer with a running shoulder block, sending him off the apron as the ref counts to three. RESULT: INDUS SHEER WINS BY PINFALL ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ The Man has come around to Dallas! Becky says she’s always been someone who’d rather fight than talk. And since Ronnie has decidedd that she wants to pick a fight, Ronda Rousey get your ass out here and lets go! Ronda does come out but only comes down to ringside. She says she sent a message last week but Becky must be too stupid to understand it, so Ronda will say it slower this time. That Women’s World Championship will belong to Ronda very soon and there isn’t a damn thing that Becky can do about it. Becky tries to goad Ronda into the ring... Raw’s Managing Director Stephanie McMahon comes out and says there won’t be any fighting tonight because what she sees in front of her are dollar signs. This is a match that the world wants to see and they’ll see it….at Crown Jewel. Becky Lynch versus Ronda Rousey for the Women’s World Championship…only on Peacock! ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ Drew McIntyre is in gorilla ready to go out for his match when Rex Steiner approaches him and wants to thank Drew for having his back last week. McIntyre says if it pissed off Miz and Reed it was well worth it. Steiner says if he can ever repay the favor he’ll be there. MUSTAPHA ALI VS DREW MCINTYRE *McIntyre takes a few minutes to get his hands on Ali but when he does it’s all but over. He dominates the smaller man as if he’s looking at the Miz every time he hits Ali. He ends it with a Claymore and hooks the leg. RESULT: DREW MCINTYRE WINS BY PINFALL Imperium is walking backstage, all in a good mood from Gunther’s successful title defense when Ricochet approaches. He says that was a great match but he can give Gunther a better one. Gunther considers for a moment and nods, telling Ricochet if he has a death wish, he’s more than happy to help. Corey Graves tells us that next week he has secured a live double interview with both Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton ahead of their rematch at Crown Jewel. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ DAMIAN PRIEST AND DOMINIK MYSTERIO W/RHEA RIPLEY VS THE NEW DAY *Rhea keeps her promise by getting involved early and often. New Day is at a complete disadvantage and yet they dig deep and turn the match around. *Mysterio is on the losing end of their comeback as Woods and Kingston show why they’re one of the best teams ever with quick tags and fast action. Finally Priest and Rhea stage a distraction for the ref. While he’s tied up with her, Priest flattens Woods with a boot to the face, and then…. *Finn Balor runs down and hits a Coup d’Grace before rolling out of the ring. Priest ties up Kofi in the corner as Dominik makes the cover for the win. RESULT: DAMIAN PRIEST AND DOMINIK MYSTERIO WIN BY PINFALL The Judgment Day look like they’re not ready to stop their revenge on the New Day when the crowd pops. John Cena slides into the ring and begins fighting all the men of Judgment Day, sending Priest, then Mysterio over the top with clotheslines before turning to Balor who looks uncertain before Rhea steps in front. Balor is taunting Cena from behind her when Kofi and Woods get up and shove Balor towards Cena who scoops him into an Attitude Adjustment. Rhea ditches and pulls Balor out as the babyfaces hold the ring and Judgment Day seeks more revenge. Finn Balor escaped John Cena tonight, but there will be no escaping him at Crown Jewel!! Good Night from Dallas!

Tag Team War to Headline Raw! 9 days ago at WWE Fastlane, Unified WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn survived in a four team war and remain champions. But that doesn't mean that the tag team scene on Raw is settling down. Teams are lining up to get the next crack at the champs and two of those teams will take center stage this week on Raw as The New Day takes on Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio of The Judgment Day in an epic Raw main event. Who will prevail and perhaps stake a claim as the rightful #1 contenders? Tune in and find out! Last week on Raw, the Women's World Champion Becky Lynch successfully defended her championship against Chelsea Green. Following that win, The Man was blindsided by the Baddest Woman on the Planet, Rowdy Ronda Rousey. Clearly Rousey has declared that she wants the one-on-one war that her and Becky have seemed destined to have for 5 years now. Will she get it? Monday on Raw, Becky Lynch will be on Raw and she will speak about Rousey's actions. Will war come to Raw. Last week on Raw, the debut of the future of Raw was witnessed as the now former Bron Breakker, Rex Steiner made his debut in a dominating effort against future world champion The Miz. Following the match, Bronson Reed tried to attack the new star, but Drew McIntyre arrived to help Steiner out. Monday on Raw, Drew McIntyre will be in action against Mustafa Ali. Will Reed and Miz achieve payback? Finally at Fastlane, Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER was successful in his latest defense of the Greatest Intercontinental Championship run of all time. But will the title run come to an end this week? Monday on Raw, the Ring General defends the Intercontinental Championship against a former World Champion in Dolph Ziggler. Don't miss this epic match! Don't miss Raw LIVE this Monday on USA!

A recap video is shown of the Raw matches at Fastlane. Welcome to Monday Night Raw OCTOBER WEEK 2 CHI HEALTH CENTER OMAHA, NE Cody Rhodes comes out in a very nice three piece suit and he says that he has three things to say tonight and he’ll make them quick. First and foremost, he wants to apologize to his fans for letting them down at Fastlane. On that note, number two is, congratulations to Randy Orton for doing just what Cody should have known he’d do. Live and learn. Finally, and most important, Cody’s not done with Randy Orton. He wants a rematch at Crown Jewel and if Randy has an ounce of pride in his own ability or his family’s honor, he’ll accept the challenge. Unless of course….he’s just a little bitch. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ We come back from the commercial backstage where Nikki Cross is in the midst of beating the bejesus out of Indi Hartwell. Hartwell is already down as Cross frantically keeps throwing forearms into the back of her head. Officials literally pull Cross off and she looks wild and crazed as they do. DIY VS THE VIKING RAIDERS W/VALHALLA *An even tag match that showcases the strengths of both teams. Valhalla is constantly barking, and sometimes howling, encouragement for her men. *The Raiders make a critical error when they miss a double clothesline and Gargano gets the tag to Ciampa and together they double dropkick Ivar from the ring. *Left alone, Erik falls victim to Ciampa’s Fairy Tale Ending. RESULT: DIY WINS BY PINFALL The Viking Raiders aren’t done yet and they blindside DIY as they’re getting their arms raised. Erik clocks Ciampa with a jumping knee under the chin and Ivar powerslams Gargano. As Erik and Valhalla hold Gargano’s arms and legs, Ivar hits a big splash off the second rope. As officials check on Gargano, his wife slides into the ring and after the earlier attack on Hartwell, she looks scared out of her mind. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ CHELSEA GREEN VS BECKY LYNCH © *This is a quick and decisive victory for Becky who makes quick work of Chelsea after delivering a few Becksploder suplexes and a small amount of brawling. Once she gets Green down, she locks in the DisarmHer and it's all done from there. RESULT: BECKY LYNCH RETAINS THE WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BY SUBMISSION Ronda doesn’t even get her arm raised before she’s blindsided by Ronda Rousey, who has gathered the championship title from ringside and used it as a weapon. With Becky down and stunned, Ronda sneers down at her and raises the title in the air. Ronda Rousey has staked her claim as a potential challenger for the Women’s World Title! Stephanie McMahon is in her office when Bron Breakker walks in. She says before he has his first match on Raw, she needs him to sign a new contract. The legal department says he signed the one at Fastlane incorrectly. Bron looks at it and says, no that’s correct. His name is not Bron Breakker - that was the creation of a senile old man, his true name is Rex Steiner, and tonight he goes out to that ring as himself, not some cartoon. She looks a little impressed that he stood up for himself and shakes his hand, wishing him well. Bron….er…Rex Steiner debuts next against the Miz on Monday Night Raw! ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ REX STEINER VS THE MIZ W/BRONSON REED *Miz isn’t taking Steiner very seriously but that changes when he’s scooped up into a military press and thrown onto Reed at ringside who catches the A-Lister. *Miz knows he’s in for a fight now and uses some veteran savvy to maneuver Steiner into situations where he can cheat. He throws his opponent out of the ring so that Reed can do some damage but….. Drew McIntyre runs down the aisle and when Reed turns he catches a Claymore, knocking him down and out. Steiner sees what’s happened and rolls back in the ring. The Miz is too focused on McIntyre to notice Steiner until he’s picked up for two German suplexes, then a belly to belly, and finally a criss-crossed Steinerline for the three count. All of this within three minutes. Rex Steiner destroyed the A Lister! RESULT: REX STEINER WINS BY PINFALL Byron Saxton is standing by with the World Heavyweight Champion Finn Balor. Balor spends his time running down John Cena, calling him a coward for the sneak attack at Fastlane. He says at Crown Jewel he won’t just defend his title, he’ll end the so-called legacy of John Cena once and for all! ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ DAMIAN PRIEST AND DOMINIK MYSTERIO VS THE NEW DAY *The Judgment Day isolate Woods for a few moments but when Kofi gets the tag the mood of the match changes and now it’s the multi-time champions who have Priest and Mysterio on defense. *Priest reclaims the momentum, but it is lost again when Dominik tags in as Woods and Kingston are the ones to isolate him in their corner and overwhelm him with quick tags and legal double teams. *The end comes when Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise just as Woods dropkicks Priest off the apron and they grab the win to the surprise of most. RESULT: THE NEW DAY WIN BY PINFALL The announcers are arguing about if you can call that match an upset when a crew member approached and puts a small box on the desk. Graves opens it and pulls out an architect’s square. They look at each other confused and tell us the main event is next! APOLLO CREWS VS GUNTHER © *Crews gives it everything he has but Gunther just absorbs the damage before lashing out with a devastating chop which staggers Crews and opens him for a boot to the face. *It’s all Gunther from that point as he shows off what he can do before ending it with a powerbomb. RESULT: GUNTHER RETAINS THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP BY PINFALL We go backstage where Randy Orton is putting his bags in his car. Looking over his shoulder he says that he thought Cody had more sense than this. He thought he’d trained him not to put himself in these kinds of situations. Well, apparently there is another lesson that needs taught. So yes, he’ll fight Cody again at Crown Jewel and this time he’ll make sure Cody doesn’t want another match. The Viper and the American Nightmare have another date with each other this time in Saudi Arabia! Will they tear the entire Middle East down? Good night from Omaha!

The Future of Raw Arrives Monday Two weeks ago on Raw, Managing Director Eric Bischoff was relieved of his duties so that Stephanie McMahon could return to her throne atop the Queendom. Last week, Stephanie made it clear that her first priority was to sign the hottest free agent in WWE, former NXT Champion Bron Breakker. Last Saturday at WWE Fastlane, McMahon and WWE Official Adam Pearce of SmackDown made their pitches to Breakker and the next generation of the famed Steiner family made his choice: Bron Breakker is Raw!!! Monday on Raw, the future of WWE will make his debut. What will happen when Breakker shows up on Raw? Tune in to find out. We are heading toward Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia and Raw's focus now turns to the epic World Heavyweight Championship rematch between Finn Balor & John Cena. The Heavyweight Champion of the World will be on hand, will the champ have something to say about his future challenger? Saturday night at Fastlane, Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER suffered a scare against Shinsuke Nakamura. But the Ring General walked out still the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time. Monday on Raw, the record will be tested when GUNTHER puts the IC Title on the line against Apollo Crews. Will Crews shock the world? Finally at Fastlane, Team Rhea Ripley consisting of Ripley, Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated Women's World Champion Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus and Lita in their epic six women match. Monday on Raw, the Women's World Champion will put her title on the line against Chelsea Green. Rhea Ripley is sure to be in the house, will she play a role in this huge opportunity for Green? Find out on Raw. Fastlane is behind us and we're heading to Crown Jewel. Don't miss Raw LIVE this Monday on USA!

OCTOBER WEEK 1 SAP CENTER SAN JOSE, CA LUDWIG KAISER AND GIOVANNI VINCI VS SHINSUKE NAKAMURA *The match is already in action when Raw hits the air at 8:00. Nakamura is holding his own versus both members of Imperium. *Vinci and Ludwig spend several moments working Nakamura over, finally able to use their numbers advantage, but it doesn’t last long and when Nakamura starts landing strikes, he sends Kaiser to the floor with a jumping knee, and then focuses on Vinci, eventually flattening him with Kinshasa. RESULT: SHINSUKE NAKAMURA WINS BY PINFALL As soon as the bell rings, GUNTHER is in the ring and when Nakamura turns around, the champ boots him in the face. The Intercontinental Champion is enraged, from the embarrassment of last week. He ragdolls Nakamura with a release German suplex, and when Shinsuke gets to his feet out of instinct he’s hit with a massive chop. Kaiser and Vinci jump on him like a pack of dogs until Nakamura can barely move. GUNTHER gets a mic and tells him in six days, he’ll wish he feels as good as he does at this moment because at Fastlane, The Ring General is going to break him for good! ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ In their locker room, Judgment Day is having a family meeting. Balor is confident that he’ll keep his title at Crown Jewel in the ladder match with John Cena, but just incase, he says got an insurance policy. Rhea is taken back from this and wants to know what this “insurance policy” is, but Balor asks them to trust him. In the end, they all agree to do just that. The Judgment Day seems to have a plan for John Cena! APOLLO CREWS VS RANDY ORTON *Crews and Orton go back and forth and it's Crews’ power which keeps him on offense, surprising Orton a time or two. *Orton regroups and once he seizes the advantage he doesn’t give it back. He hits a lot of his offense before ending it with an RKO. RESULT RANDY ORTON WINS BY PINFALL Orton isn’t done. He waits to Crews to begin to get up, lining him up for a punt when…. Cody Rhodes comes running down to the ring. As he slides in, Orton slides out with a big smile. As Orton backs up the aisle, Cody checks on Crews. But there will be no more running in 5 days at Fastlane! ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ We go to a video entitled ‘During the Break’ which shows Cody Rhodes coming back through the curtain into Gorilla and suddenly he’s hit with an RKO from Orton who had been waiting to strike. With Rhodes down, Orton leans down with a smile, telling Cody that he always keeps his promises. EMMA AND CHELSEA GREEN VS KATANA CHANCE AND KAYDEN CARTER *Chance and Carter take care of business early in this once, showing good team chemistry. Chelsea is her own worst enemy as she spends too much time playing to the fans and she eats a Total Elimination for her troubles. RESULT: KATANA CHANCE AND KAYDEN CARTER WIN BY PINFALL We see Stephanie McMahon, with a black folder emblazoned with a Raw logo in her hand. The new Managing Director will be in the ring….next! ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ Stephanie McMahon seems genuinely happy to be back in the ring. She says she’s always taken pride in doing what’s best for business and that is why she is excited to announce that as her first act as the new Raw Managing Director, she WILL sign the biggest free agent in WWE. This Saturday, she’ll hand this contract to Bron Breakker and in one week he’ll be right here as the future of Raw. She will do what others have failed to do and she will deliver because she’s a McMahon and what they do is…what’s best for business. Outside the medical room Byron Saxton waits for Cody Rhodes. When he finally exits, holding the side of his neck, Saxton asks him about this Saturday’s match with Orton. Rhodes says he should have seen it coming. Fool him once, shame on him. But this Saturday, Randy Orton is going to have to do more than a sneak attack to keep him down. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ A commercial for Superstars airs, promoting the next episode, available this Wednesday night at 8 pm est. SAMI ZAYN VS XAVIER WOODS VS TOMMASO CIAMPA VS SANGA *All four men show some offense but eventually the three focus on Sanga to wear him down. *That works for only so long until he begins to exert dominance. That stops when Woods hits a missile dropkick off the top, staggering Sanga, allowing Ciampa to whip Sanga into a corner with Zayn right behind him with a Heluva Kick. *Now it looks to be down to three but Woods runs Zayn into the corner chest first and attempts a roll up, only to catch a running knee to the face from Ciampa in breaking up the pin. *Ciampa and Zayn go toe to toe with several close falls. When Sanga gets back into the ring to break up one of those pinfall attempts, Zayn sends him over the top and then turns around into Fairytale Ending. RESULT TOMMASO CIAMPS WINS BY PINFALL To the chagrin of the others, DIY share a quick celebratory hug. It looks as if they have the momentum headed into Payback. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ TRISH STRATUS AND LITA VS RONDA ROUSEY AND SHAYNA BASZLER *Rousey and Baszler isolate Trish early and put a beating on her. She manages to make a tag but the referee doesn't see it and won’t let Lita in. *Trish takes advantage of a miscommunication and finally makes the real tag and Lita begins hitting on all cylinders. The action spills to the outside with the Hall of Famers getting an upper hand. *Rhea Ripley comes down to get involved but before she can….. The Man arrives, tackling Ripley and now all six women are fighting. The referee counts out both teams and calls for the bell. RESULT: NO CONTEST The bell continues to ring but these six women aren’t stopping. The announcers question if there will even be a match at Fastlane if this keeps up. Finally a horde of officials come out and pull them all apart but a moment later, they all break free and collide again in a chaotic brawl. As the show goes off the air the locker room begins to file out to help at the direction of Stephanie McMahon. Chaos reigns as Raw comes to a close, but what will it be like at Fastlane? Find out this Saturday on Peacock!!! Good night from San Jose!

A video recap of last week’s main event is shown, in which Randy Orton attacked Cody Rhodes, leading to the win by Judgment Day. The video focuses on the question of is there some alliance between The Judgment Day and Randy Orton? Welcocme to Monday Night Raw. SEPTEMBER WEEK 4 TOYOTA ARENA ONTARIO, CA The show begins with a pissed off looking Cody Rhodes already in the ring. He demands that Randy Orton come out and face him. Orton comes out and informs Cody that last week was just the beginning but Cody needs to understand that this is all on Orton’s timetable. The viper will strike when he chooses. This does nothing to calm Cody down but he’s so focused on Orton he doesn’t notice Dominik Mysterio slide into the ring until it’s too late. Mysterio and Orton begin double teaming and overwhelm Rhodes. Orton drops Cody with an RKO when The American Nightmare starts to rally. The Viper has Cody in position for a punt when….. John Cena runs down to the ring and evens the odds. After a quick brawl, the heels leave but Cena and Rhodes both want more as the commercial break hits. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ A replay of the show’s opening is shown, and the announcers tell us that during the break, Eric Bischoff made the announcement that tonight we'll see Randy Orton versus John Cena! Randy Orton is backstage with Judgment Day. He says he has no problem doing them a little favor tonight and making sure John Cena doesn’t make it to Crown Jewel. Of course, he’ll expect a favor in return. He looks directly at Balor’s World Championship title and walks off as Judgment Day members exchange uneasy glances. This union is tenuous at best. CHAD GABLE VS GUNTHER © W/IMPERIUM *Gable gives it his all and in select moments shows he belongs in the same ring as Gunther but the champion has too much power and too much brutality. *In the second half of the match, Gunther puts on a clinic of his own before ending it with a huge powerbomb. RESULT: GUNTHER RETAINS THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP BY PINFALL As Imperium celebrates at ringside, Gunther gets his arm raised but when he turns around, Shinsuke Nakamura is behind him. Nakamura smiles, then spits red mist into Gunther’s face. As Kaiser and Vinci hit the ring, Shinsuke rolls out. They attend to their leader who is as furious as he is blind. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ A commercial for Superstars airs, promoting the next episode, available this Wednesday night at 8 pm est. HUMBERTO VS DREW MCINTYRE *Poor Humberto. He’s fighting out of his weight class, literally, and McIntyre makes him pay for it. *After hitting his normal offense, McIntyre ends it with a Claymore. RESULT: DREW MCINTYRE WINS BY PINFALL After the match, McIntyre grabs a mic and says that at Fastlane, he’s gonna kick Bronson Reed’s fat head right off his shoulders! ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ RANDY ORTON VS JOHN CENA *Two Hall of Famers, two long time rivals, and when the bell rings it’s as if no time at all has passed since their last meeting. *They fight back and forth, both getting in their usual offense and playing to the audience. Cena sends Orton over the top with a clothesline and he’s feeding off the crowd when…. *Finn Balor slides in behind him and when Cena turns, Balor hits him in the face with the bell causing an instant disqualification. RESULT: JOHN CENA WINS BY DISQUALIFICATION Balor stares daggers down at Cena as he stands over him, before holding his title high in the air. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ KEVIN OWENS VS KOFI KINGSTON VS VEER MAHAN VS JOHNNY GARGANO *All four men battle it out both inside and outside the ring. There is a high spot where Kofi and Gargano both hit marching cross body blocks off the top to the outside on Veer and Owens respectively. *When they get back into the ring, Veer begins to dominate, hitting a series of Samaon Drops. He picks up Gargano in position for a shoulder breaker but instead just hits a jumping powerslam for the win. RESULT: VEER MAHAN WINS BY PINFALL Lita, Becky, and Trish are in a dressing room. Lita says tonight she’ll main event Monday Night Raw one more time and she’ll wipe the smirk off Rhea Ripley’s face. When she walks out of the dressing room, Becky turns to Trish and tells her that she may have misjudged Trish’s change of heart and she’s has to admit that Trish has kept her word. Becky tells Trish to keep it up. They hug as we go to break. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ LITA VS RHEA RIPLEY *Ripley’s disdain for Lita is obvious from the start but the Hall of Famer’s veteran skills keep her out of danger in the beginning of the match. She keeps Ripley on her toes by switching between playing defense and going on spurts of high octane offense. *Lita’s luck runs out however when Rhea catches her with a big boot to the face. Now the Eradicator enjoys herself, as she punishes Lita while trash talking her. *Lita makes a comeback, and looks to put things away with a moonsault but Ripley crotches her, then picks her up off the top rope and delivers a Riptide for the win. RESULT: RHEA RIPLEY WINS BY PINFALL Ripley continues to trash talk Lita who is down and hurt when two other people make their appearance. Ronda Rousey and Shanya Baszler, the now-retired Women’s Tag Team Champions enter the ring and share a smile with Rhea. Rhea, Ronda, and Shayna all begin assaulting Lita who can barely fight back. Becky and Trish run down to the ring to save their friend but the numbers are against them and in a few minutes, they’re down next to Lita. Rhea is wearing a big smirk as she raises the arms of her Fastlane partners. Corey Graves calls this trio the most awesome and dangerous group of women he’s ever seen. We go to Eric Bischoff’s office and he isn’t alone. Bischoff is in mid-explanation, saying he can make the deal. Triple H tells him that he’s done a really great job as Managing Director of Monday Night Raw, but sometimes baggage doesn’t go away. And right now the hottest Free Agent, Bron Breakker, wants nothing to do with the show because of Bischoff and his bad blood with the Steiner family. Triple H says he has no option but to make a change so that Monday Night Raw can succeed. Bischoff nervously asks what kind of change. Triple H doesn’t even get to explain when someone enters from off screen. “What he means Eric, is….you’re fired!” Stephanie has her trademark smirk as Bischoff looks like he might throw up. Triple H looks like he could have done without that but motions to his wife and introduces the new Managing Director of Monday Night Raw. The announcers are in shock! Eric Bischoff’s past sins came back to bite him and cost him his job. Stephanie McMahon is back in WWE and she’s our new boss!!! What does this mean for the future of Monday Night Raw? Good night from Ontario!

Lita vs Rhea to Headline Monday Night Raw Almost two weeks ago on WWE SuperStars, WWE Hall of Famer Lita returned to slam the door on Rhea Ripley's face in a Steel Cage match and help her bestie, Trish Stratus prevail. Following that, Lita and Trish as well as the new Women's World Champion Becky Lynch put aside their months of differences to unite and issue a challenge for Fastlane: Becky, Trish and Lita vs Rhea Ripley and partners of her choosing. Will the Annihlator accept? Perhaps we will find out before our main event on Raw as Lita and Ripley are set to close the show in an epic match Monday. Who will walk out the victor? Tune in. Last week on Raw, Managing Director Eric Bischoff announced that John Cena will indeed get his World Heavyweight Championship rematch in a Ladder Match at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. How will The Judgment Day handle this news? The champ will be on Raw and he is bound to be upset. Shinsuke Nakamura and the Intercontinental Champion, GUNTHER are headed to Fastlane, but that will only happen if the champ remains the champ. Monday on Raw, the Ring General will put his Intercontinental Championship on the line against Chad Gable. Who will go to Fastlane to face Shinsuke? Find out on Raw. Finally at Fastlane there will be a Tag Team Fourway match for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship between the champs, DIY, The New Day and Indus Sher. This week on Raw, there will be a Fatal Fourway Singles Match between Kevin Owens, Kofi Kingston, Veer Mahaan, and Johnny Gargano. With the other members of the this four team war in the house, will chaos reign on Raw?

SEPTEMBER WEEK 3 DELTA CENTER SALT LAKE CITY, UT John Cena comes down to the ring and says he’s been patient but he wants an answer from Eric Bischoff about his rematch with Finn Balor. He calls Bischoff down to the ring. Judgment Day answers Cena and comes half way down the aisle. Balor says he has Cena’s answer and that answer is no. Cena can either accept it and head back to Hollywood of Judgment Day can beat his stubbornness out of him. However before they can act on their threat…. Bischoff comes out and tells Judgment Day to hold it right there. He’s been thinking about this all week and he has a decision. John Cena WILL get a rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship and that rematch will happen in a little over a month at Crown Jewel and oh yea, it will be a ladder match! Balor loses his mind at this but Bischoff isn’t done. The GM further says that tonight it will be Finn Balor and Damian Priest against John Cena and a partner of his choosing in the main event and if Dirty Dom or Mami so much as show their face during the match, Balor will be stripped before the clock strikes midnight. Bischoff walks off and Judgment Day now looks shook. The announcers put over Bischoff’s huge announcements and question Balor’s hold on the World title against a focused GOAT. They’re interrupted however. RNN makes a long awaited return with the Viper smirking in the video. He says he has breaking news: Cody Rhodes is risking his career by sticking his nose in Randy Orton’s business. If it happens again, bad things will follow, and he’ll show Cody what a real nightmare looks like. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ CANDACE LARAE AND INDI HARTWELL VS NIKKI CROSS AND VALHALLA *The new tandem of Nikki and Valhalla play off each other very well, sharing a tendency for violence. *Neither Candace or Indi can do much against these unbridled maniacs who show good tag work before ending the match with a double Curtain Call on Larae for the win. RESULT: NIKKI CROSS AND VALHALLA WIN BY PINFALL A replay of the double curtain call is shown before a live shot of the winners looking crazy and creepy. Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus and Lita are in their dressing room and all three are in a great mood. They have a good laugh over outsmarting Rhea Ripley on Superstars and yes they know Rhea will be plotting her revenge so they want to give her a chance. At Fastlane they challenge Rhea and two partners so this can finally end once and for all. Becky closes with a question: does Mami have the balls? ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ RICOCHET VS MUSTAFA ALI *Great high flying and fast offense showcase the athleticism of both men. *After putting together a series of standing dropkicks which put Ali down on his back, Ricochet hits his 630 senton for the win. RESULT: RICOCHET WINS BY PINFALL Backstage, Eric Bischoff is with the Miz, who is wearing a neckbrace and Bronson Reed. Miz claims he’s got ten attorneys ready to sue for an unsafe working environment and demands Bischoff fire Drew McIntyre who says he’s not going to do that. Reed steps up and says then he wants McIntyre at Fastlane which Bischoff likes and says the match is made. Miz asks what Bischoff is going to do about his neck and the GM replies with ‘nothing’, and forcefully slaps Miz on the back causing him to wince. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ THE NEW DAY VS INDUS SHEER W/JINDER MAHAL *DIY is seated with the announcers at ringside. *Indus Sheer’s power pays dividends early in the match as they isolate Woods and put a pounding on him. *He eventually makes a hot tag to Kofi who turns it around until the action spills to the outside and Veer throws Kofi into DIY. *Ciampa and Gargano jump out of their chairs and the fight is on. The referee quickly calls for the bell as all three teams brawl. RESULT: NO CONTEST All six men continue to brawl until….. The Undisputed Unified Tag Team Champions come out from the back. Kevin Owens yells at the teams to stop and pay attention. He says he and Sami are sick and tired of seeing this number one contender situation be ruined over and over because that means they can’t punch people in the face. So hell with it! At Fastlane they’ll fight all three teams, congratulations! In his office, Eric Bischoff is on the phone. He has a big smile on his face when he addresses the other person, Bron Breakker. The smile fades when Breakker obviously hangs up on him. The segment ends with Bischoff asking ‘Hello?’ multiple times. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ We go to a video of a pre-taped sit down interview with Byron Saxton and Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura discusses his long career and why every step has put him on the path to Gunther and the Intercontinental Championship. Saxton asks him how far he’s willing to go to end Gunther’s record breaking title reign. Nakamura just smiles and tells Byron that his actions will speak louder than words. EMMA AND CHELSEA GREEN VS KATANA CHANCE AND KAYDEN CARTER *Emma and Chelsea are really full of themselves and toy around with Chance but she changes their attitude when she takes them both down in succession. When Carter gets in she continues the action and when all four women are fighting, Emma and Chelsea get whipped into each other. *Chelsea doesn’t appear to know where she is and that’s when Chance and Carter hit Total Elimination for the win. RESULT: KATANA CHANCE AND KAYDEN CARTER WIN BY PINFALL The announcers recap the shocking development from Superstars which saw Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler announce they are retiring the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship due to lack of competition. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ JOHN CENA AND CODY RHODES VS FINN BALOR AND DAMIAN PRIEST *The crowd is alive for this big one, especially when Cody Rhodes answered the call. *Even match with all four men getting in some offense. Cena makes a hot tag and begins cleaning house after Cody was in for a long time. Rhodes is resting on the apron when… Randy Orton runs down the aisle and yanks Cody off the apron right into an RKO. Cena sees what’s happened and that momentary distraction allows Priest to batter him, eventually hitting the Razor’s Edge, followed by the Coup d’Grace by Balor for the win. RESULT: FINN BALOR AND DAMIAN PRIEST WIN BY PINFALL Both Cena and Rhodes are down and as Balor and Priest get their arms raised, Orton backs up the aisle but someone comes out to meet him. Rhea Ripley and Orton exchange a glance before they hit a high-five and Orton continues to the back with a smile. Graves tells us that the rumors of Judgment Day’s demise may have been greatly exaggerated. Good night from Salt Lake City!

What Will Eric Bischoff Do? At Payback, World Heavyweight Champion Finn Balor defeated John Cena due to interference from Damian Priest. Last week on Raw, the future WWE Hall of Famer demanded a rematch which the champ laughed off and denied. Raw Managing Director Eric Bischoff then told Cena to give him a week to make a decision on the future of the World Heavyweight Championship. What will that choice be? Eric Bischoff will kick off Raw to let the world know his decision. Either way, Eric Bischoff has made a huge main event for Raw. World Heavyweight Champion Finn Balor and Damian Priest will team together against the man that they screwed at Payback, John Cena and his partner....the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes. What will happen when Cena gets a chance at retribution with The Judgement Day? Speaking of Cody Rhodes, last week on Raw he came out to the ring and called out The Apex Predator Randy Orton to avenge what Orton did to Matt Riddle at Payback. Orton laughed off the challenge by Rhodes, but was that mind games? The Viper will be at Raw, is a battle with Rhodes on the horizon? Last week on Raw, we thought that we would get clairity in who would challenge Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship at Fastlane until Indus Sher entered the fray at the conclusion of the main event where DIY and the New Day battled for the #1 contender spot. Monday on Raw, with the tag title scene in complete chaos, Indus Sher will go against one of the teams that they screwed last week when they take on The New Day. Finally, last week the former Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley had thought that she outsmarted the new champ Becky Lynch when she got a match on Superstars against Trish Stratus inside a Steel Cage booked. And The Man was barred from ringside. Instead, Trish and Becky outsmarted Mami when Lita made her WWE return to slam the door on Rhea's chances against Trish (literally). Monday on Raw, all four women in this war will be in the house. Will chaos reign? Don't miss Raw LIVE this Monday on USA.

Highlights from Payback are shown with a focus on Finn Balor retaining the World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena and Becky Lynch winning the Women’s World Championship from Rhea Ripley. Tonight, The Man comes around to Norfolk as the NEW Women's World Champion. Welcome to Monday Night Raw! SEPTEMBER WEEK 2 NORFOLK SCOPE NORFOLK, VA The Judgment Day comes to the ring and Rhea Ripley has a very sour demeanor. She is the first to speak. She says that an imposter is walking around with HER belt but Mami will be taking care of that very very soon. But there is reason to celebrate and that is Finn Balor ending the so-called return of…… John Cena comes out and says everyone with two eyes, one eye, or who’s blind clearly knows that Balor was on his way to defeat, until Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio got involved. So he’ll cut to the chase, he wants the rematch and he thinks the good people in Norfolk deserve to see it tonight! The Judgment Day huddle, and a moment later Balor walks to the closest ropes and tells Cena that after a lot of careful thought, Finn has decided that Cena doesn’t deserve a thing. He had his chance, now he can go back to Hollywood empty handed. Cena says if his career shows anything, it’s that he’s a man of his word and Balor hasn’t seen the last of him. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ A replay is shown of what we saw just before the break. RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ AND LIV MORGAN VS CHELSEA GREEN AND EMMA *The RAW crowd is happy to see Liv back and while the heels try to keep her in their corner, Liv eventually fights back and makes a hot tag. Raquel decimates both opponents. She hits a Tejana Bomb on Chelsea before tagging Liv back in who hits ObLIVion for the win. RESULT: RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ AND LIV MORGAN WIN BY PINFALL The announcers discuss the recent history between DIY and the New Day and tell us that it will come to a head tonight in the main event when they go head to head and the winners will be the Number One Contenders. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ DAMIAN PRIEST VS CHAD GABLE W/OTIS AND MAXINE DUPRI *Priest doesn’t take Gable serious in the beginning but when Gable hits a german suplex, Priest stops taking him lightly. *Gable has his chances early on, but Priest stops him cold with a boot to the face and from that point, he manhandles Gable until hitting an Outside Edge for the win as Otis and Maxine’s cheers fail to help Gable kick out. RESULT: DAMIAN PRIEST WINS BY PINFALL We go to Eric Bischoff’s office when John Cena enters. He tells Bischoff he wants that rematch and Bischoff agrees that Cena deserves another shot because of the interference. He tells Cena to give him a week to think about the situation and Cena agrees. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ RICOCHET VS DOMINIK MYSTERIO *A good back and forth match with a lot of energy and fast paced action. *Dominik hits three amigos and is very full of himself. He goes up to the top for a frog splash but Ricochet dropkicks the ropes and crotches Mysterio. Ricochet takes a running start and jumps, getting Dom in a head scissors and hits a hurricanrana from the top for the win. RESULT: RICOCHET WINS BY PINFALL ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ We come back from the break and the Miz and Bronson Reed are already in the ring for MIZ TV. The Miz runs down Drew McIntyre, referencing the jokes he made on The Bump. He tells us Bronson Reed is on a path of destruction so if you look at the Miz the wrong way, he’ll send this walking WMD to destroy you. In fact….. Drew McIntyre’s music hits and the Miz goes from showboat to chickenshit. He orders Reed to intercept McIntyre in the aisle. When the big man is out of the ring….. McIntyre slips into the ring behind Miz and when he turns around, McIntyre takes his head off with a Claymore. Reed hurries back to the ring but McIntyre has bailed with a big smile. The Scottish Warrior is back and he has revenge on his mind! ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ Cody Rhodes comes to the ring in his usual three piece suit. He says at Payback he was disappointed by a lot of things but the biggest moment was what he saw between Randy Orton and Matt Riddle. He directs us to the Tron where a quick replay is shown. Cody says that Randy Orton has done some heinous things in his career but this may be the worst. Everyone knows the history between Orton and Cody and he wants him to come out and talk man to man. He doesn’t have to wait long. Orton comes out and tells Cody there’s nothing to talk about. He did what he always does and while Randy has no problem with Cody, he needs to remember his place. Cody wasn’t an equal to him in Legacy, he was an underling and if he intends to keep sticking his nose in Orton’s business, well, Randy can take care of him too. Cody invites him into the ring, taking off his suit jacket. Orton teases he’ll get in before backing off with a smile, wagging his finger as he goes back up the aisle, leaving Rhodes frustrated. Byron Saxton is backstage with the Intercontinental Champion Gunther. When Byron brings up Shinsuke Nakamura, Gunther waves him off, saying Nakamura may have been something years ago but he’s a shell of what he once was. He is no challenge for the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. Tonight, Ludwig will show that to the entire world! SHINSUKE NAKAMURA VS LUDWIG KAISER W/GUNTHER *Kaiser is constantly shown up by Nakamura who keeps taunting him and infuriating him. Gunther at ringside tells him to focus. *Kaiser shows off his ring skills, almost getting a pinfall but he again grows cocky, opening the door to Shinsuke to stun him with a series of strong style strikes, knocking Kaiser loopy with a spinning heel kick, and then the Kinshasa. *He makes the cover while staring at a very displeased Guther. RESULT: SHINSUKE NAKAMURA WINS BY PINFALL A commercial for WW Superstars airs, promoting it's 2nd episode, available this Wednesday night at 8 pm est on Peacock. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ #1 CONTENDERS MATCH DIY VS THE NEW DAY *A great back and forth between two smooth teams. We see a lot of quick tags but clean action. *Following a few close falls, Gargano and Woods tumble to the outside after Woods hits a cross body block over the top rope. *Indus Sheer with Jinder Mahal run down to the ring and attack both Gargano and Woods. The referee immediately calls for the bell but they’re not done and they quickly swamp Ciampa and Kingston as well. Graves notes that it’s clear Indus Sheer is staking their claim to be the Number One Contenders! RESULT: NO CONTEST (OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE) The Man is walking backstage with the Women’s World Championship over her shoulder. When Raw comes back from this final time out, we will close the show with the NEW Women's World Champion! Raw will be right back after this. ~~~~COMMERCIAL BREAK~~~~ Becky Lynch comes down to the ring and declares a new era for RAW. After a long period of darkness there is finally light at the end of the tunnel and that light is the Man! A moment later she’s interrupted by Rhea who has walked out from the back with a mic. Rhea tells Becky that she will invoke her rematch in good time but she wants to draw out Becky’s suffering and to settle some scores first. That will begin this Wednesday night on Superstars when she will face Becky’s new best friend Trish Stratus in a steel cage. She hopes Becky will watch from home because she sure as hell won’t be there in person. That’s because Rhea has already talked to Sonya DeVille and Becky is banned from the building that night. If she thinks of showing up she’ll be stripped of that title. Rhea smirks and waves goodbye as she walks out and the show ends with a pissed off Lynch screaming for her to come and fight. Good night from Norfolk!

The #1 Contenders for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championhip to be Decided on Raw + Fallout from Payback! For weeks, the Tag Team division on Raw has been heating up as DIY and The New Day each has staked a claim to being the #1 contenders for Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn's Unified WWE Tag Team Championship. Monday on Raw, the contenders will be decided when DIY and The New Day face off in the main event of Monday Night Raw to crown the challengers. Who will face the champs? Find out on Raw. Saturday night at WWE Fastlane, World Heavyweight Champion Finn Balor did what was thought to be impossible..walked out of Pittsburgh having defeated future WWE Hall of Famer, John Cena. But the feat was not without controversy as The Judgment Day played the difference maker. What is next for the Heavyweight Champion of the World and how will Cena react to being screwed at Payback? Find out on Raw. One person that was not screwed was The Man Becky Lynch. When the moment presented itself, WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus showed her true colors and proved that she can be trusted by Lynch when Trish prevented Dominik Mysterio from saving Mami during the Women's World Title match. The result? With an injured arm and a ton of grit, Becky Lynch overcame the odds to become the Women's World Champion! Monday on Raw, The Man is coming around and the Champ will be here. Don't miss Becky Lynch's first night on Raw as the Women's Champion of the World! Finally, Randy Orton engaged in one of the most disgusting and heinous actions in WWE history when he brutally assaulted Matt Riddle moments before their match on Saturday at Payback. And once the bell sounded, Orton punted Riddle in the head to secure a pinfall. WWE.com has learned that the King of Bros will be on the shelf for an extended time and that his long term career could be in jeopardy. Monday on Raw, the Viper Randy Orton plans to be in the building. How can he show his face? And will the be reprecussions for his dastardly behavior? Find out Monday. We're jumping on the highway to Fastlane... Don't miss Raw LIVE this Monday on USA.

SEPTEMBER WEEK 1 CFG BANK ARENA BALTIMORE, MD The announcers welcome us to the first episode of the new WWE Superstars. Graves talks about how hyped he is to be a part of this before Cole introduces the General Manager for the show. Sonya Deville, in a wheelchair, is wheeled out to the stage. She says it was a no-brainer for her to be picked due to her long history as a WWE Official. She welcomes everyone to HER show. She then rolls her eyes and tells us, as a second thought…. “Oh yea, and Liv’s back” Liv Morgan comes sprinting out from the back, past Sonya who is scowling, and runs down to the ring as the fans cheer. XIA LI VS LIV MORGAN *Xia puts up a good fight but Liv is on fire from the opening bell and is a ball of energy. She hits ObLIVion for a solid victory. RESULT: LIV MORGAN WINS BY PINFALL A pre-taped promo airs. “Attention, Nasties. You WILL respect me and every woman in the locker room WILL learn to fear the most dangerous move in wrestling, the Cobra Clutch. Next week it will be on full display and may God almighty have mercy on whoever is across the ring from me!” DEONNA PURRAZZO VS JORDYNNE GRACE *Two of the newest NXT stars go one on one. Grace dominates with her power to begin with but Purraazo jams a thumb in her throat when the ref isn’t looking and hits a spinning heel kick which puts Grace down for a three count---along with her feet on the second ropes. RESULT: DEONNA PURRAZZO WINS BY PINFALL Kelly Kincaid welcomes the General Manager Sonya Deville. “Sonya, what can we expect on Superstars?” “Firstly, it’s Ms. DeVille. I don’t even know who you are so we’re not on a first name basis Kelly. Second, I’ll tell you exactly what all the people at home can expect. Top notch action and a title on the line every single week. Raw, Smackdown, NXT, Women’s Tag. Superstars will quickly become THE place to be in WWE. Because women…do it better!” Cole and Graves go over this Saturday’s matches for Payback, live on Peacock! ROXANNE PEREZ VS ASUKA © W/ JAKE ROBERTS *Perez is wary of Asuka and for good reason. The Champ immediately attacks as soon as the bell rings and uses several five counts to brutalize Roxanne as the referee counts, warning Asuka each time. *Jake Roberts just smiles on the outside, as Asuka toys with her challenger before locking in the Asuka Lock. RESULT: ASUKA RETAINS THE WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP BY SUBMISSION When we return from break Sonya is in the ring, still in her wheelchair. She calls down Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch. Lynch is wearing a sling from what happened in the attack which closed Monday’s RAW. Rhea has a lot to say and Becky is stewing. Finally she swipes the microphone with her good arm and tells Rhea to sign the damn contract. Rhea does with a big grin, asking Becky how she’s going to hold her little brat when Rhea breaks her other arm. Becky is enraged and jumps up but Ripley just laughs and exits the ring as Becky picks up the contract and signs her name as well. A tense staredown ends the show.

So we wanted to give you guys an update on a change with the project. It is no secret that I have had illnesses and other rl things that have come up that has drastically delayed things. To fix that, Piper will take over writing the shows and posting them because he can be more expedient. My role as the creative director of Raw is not changing. And his role as the creative director of Smackdown is not chaning. I will still be booking the stories for Raw and helping with SuperStars and giving advice for Smackdown. And vice versa. He and I are still a team. I just won't be writing the shows because Piper can get them done faster than I can. As always, thank you all for your support of our project and your patience during this fall. We're going to play catch up going forward, but we both appreciate all of you. And now....the Series Premiere of WWE's first all women television show...Superstars!

Schedule update: Work has been unexpectedly busy this week, Raw will be posted this weekend

The Champ is...Near? Last week on Raw, new World Heavyweight Champion Finn Balor learned who his challenger for WWE Payback will be. The answer? Future WWE Hall of Famer, John Cena! This announcement left Balor, The Judgment Day and the entire WWE Universe stunned. With just 5 days before Finn has to defend his championship against John Cena, the greatest WWE Champion off time will kick off Monday Night Raw. With Payback just days away, will Cena and Finn Balor come to blows on Monday? And will John Cena enter next week's Raw as new World Heavyweight Champion? Don't miss this one. Last week on Raw, The Man Becky Lynch defeated Trish Stratus in the main event to become the new #1 contender for Rhea Ripley's Women's World Championship at Payback. This Monday on Raw, with Payback looming in less than a week, Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus must team together as they take on Trish's former protoge's, Zoey Stark & Piper Niven. Will Rhea and Becky clash on Raw? Last week on Raw, DIY and Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn appeared to agree to a future Unified WWE Tag Team Championship match, but The New Day had something to say about this and threw their name in the hat. How will Managing Director Eric Bischoff handle this? Bischoff will rule on Raw. And finally, who will be the next challenger to The Ring General GUNTHER for the Intercontinental Championship? On Monday we will learn the answer to this question. WWE Payback is THIS SATURDAY! Don't miss Raw LIVE this Monday on USA.

WWE Raw opens up to a recap of last week’s epic World Heavyweight Championship match between Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Finn Balor. The video shows Rollins nearly defeat Balor, before Balor hits the Coup de Gras and get the pinfall. The video then shows Raw Managing Director Eric Bischoff come out to the stage and announce that the person who will kick off Monday Night Raw will be Balor’s challenger at Payback. Who is that man? We’re about to find out…Welcome to Monday Night Raw. AUGUST WEEK 4, 2023 FEDEX FORUM MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE Inside the arena, Raw Managing Director Eric Bischoff is in the ring with a microphone. He welcomes everyone to Monday Night Raw and again talks about how Raw is the premiere brand in Sports Entertainment and how everybody wants to be part of the flagship. On Raw mere performers become Superstars and Superstars become Hall of Famers. So when Eric heard that this world class future Hall of Famer wanted to return to Raw, an opportunity presented itself to have a marquee World Title match at our next PLE and to demonstrate yet again why Raw dominated WWE. And that is why at Payback, the World Heavyweight Championship will be decided when Finn Balor puts his title on the line against Raw’s newest star….so let’s bring him ou….. Randy Orton comes out to the ring and Bischoff looks utterly confused while Orton makes his way to the ring. When Orton gets in the ring, Bischoff says “you’re not the challenger, what the hell are you doing out here?” Randy says that he knows that he ruined Bischoff’s big moment, but unfortunately Randy doesn’t give a damn. Matthew Riddle wants to have a confrontation with Randy and Orton is impatient. So that time has to be now…Riddle, get out here now. Riddle comes running down to the ring and attacks Orton immediately. Bischoff bails to the floor and screams for officials and wrestlers to come down from the back, soon the ring is filled with the two sides trying to keep Orton and Riddle apart. After order is restored, Bischoff screams into the microphone that if these two want to go, they can go. But not here tonight. Tonight, both men are ordered to be thrown the hell out of this building and to go home and calm down. If Orton and Riddle want each other so bad, they can fight at Payback! At Bischoff’s instructions, Riddle is taken out through the Raw entrance set while Orton is pushed out of the arena through the fans. It is official…at Payback, Randy Orton and Matt Riddle will finally collide! Don’t go anywhere, Raw will be back in just a moment. COMMERCIAL BREAK WWE Raw returns with a recap of what we just saw and the announcers put over thatRandy Orton and Matt Riddle will finally fight at Payback. We go to the back and see Bischoff on the phone ordering security to refuse to let Riddle or Orton back in the building tonight. Bischoff then walks into his office and speaks to someone that we never see. Bischoff apologizes for what happened out there, tells this individual that he knows how Orton is. Eric then promises that before this night is over, Bischoff will return to that arena and Finn Balor will know his future here tonight. The announcers take us back to last week and we see the debut of Indus Sher on Raw. They tell us that the Modern Day Maharajah, Jinder Mahal, has promised to continue to have his men destroy everyone in their path and that continues right now. This…is Indus Sher. ORO MENSAH AND JUDE LONDON VS INDUS SHER w/JINDER MAHAL *As soon as the match begins, Indus Sher bumrush the challengers and show brutality as they take apart each man *Like last week, Jinder Mahal paces around the ringside area while he watches and after a few minutes of a pure squash, Jinder stops - goes rigid, catches Veer’s eye and nods *That signal is all that is needed as Veer and Sanga Double Powerbombs each man and covers for the emphatic 3 count RESULT: INDUS SHER WIN BY PINFALL After the match and just like last week, Jinder orders his mercenaries to attack their opponents. Like last week, they powerbomb (person) and then powerbombs (next person) right on top of his partner. Jinder walks into the ring and covers them while Indus Sher counts the pinfall. Indus Sher destroys another team on Raw. We see the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn heading down the hallway. When Raw comes back, they talk to DIY, live next. COMMERCIAL BREAK A Commercial for WWE Superstars airs. WWE Superstars will be the first WWE program to exclusively feature the women of Sports-Entertainment. And it will debut one week from Wednesday only on Peacock. Raw returns and we see the announcement last week by The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes where he told the world that he will headline Wrestlemania against either Roman Reigns or whoever is the World Heavyweight Champion or the Undisputed WWE Champion. Mr. Money in the Bank will be in action next week on Raw. The Unified WWE Tag Team Champions are in the ring and they talk about how both of them have traveled the world both individually and as a team. Both men have traveled the same roads, been to the same places and had the same moments. And it was along those roads that a brotherhood was formed between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. And through it all, through happiness and sadness, through the highest of highs at Wrestlemania when they captured these titles and the lowest of lows when they fought against each other, the bond between KO and Sami has always been there. It is unbreakable and the truth is…the same can be said about Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano. Since DIY decided to come to WWE for a reason, how about they come out here right now and explain themselves. DIY comes out and walks directly into the ring and right in the face of the champs. Gargano says that KO and Sami are right, they have had an epic bond. KO and Sami have fought with and against each other from the Hammerstein Ballroom to the Tokyo Dome to the grandest stage of them all..Wrestlemania. But the same roads that KO and Sami have traveled, DIY has traveled as well. Tommaso says that like them, Ciampa and Gargano have been in the same rings, in the same promotions and the same venues and they have fought with each other and against each other. DIY are mirror images of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. And like them, Gargano and Ciampa are a brotherhood. The only difference between the two teams is that DIY hasn’t conquered the mountain that is WWE….yet. Sami and KO are right, DIY is here to change that. DIY is here to challenge Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for those Unified WWE Tag Team Titles. And if KO and Sami are the champs, and men that they claim to be, they will accept. KO and Sami get in DIY’s face and say “bring it on” and shove them. DIY respond by shoving the champs back and soon a shoving match has broken out that threatens to explode until Sami pulls KO from the ring and the champs go up the aisle. It appears that the champs and DIY are headed to a collision with the Tag Titles hanging in the balance. Drew McIntyre is in the Gorilla Position and he is interviewed by Byron Saxton. Drew says that despite not winning the Intercontinental Championship at Money in the Bank and being taken out of the ending at SummerSlam, his goal is to still be champion here on Raw. But Drew concedes that he needs to earn some momentum first. That begins in just a moment when Drew McIntyre goes one-on-one with Damian Priest. And that’s…next. Drew goes through the curtain to the cheers of the crowd. When we come back, Damian Priest will face the Scottish Warrior, Drew McIntyre LIVE on Raw. COMMERCIAL BREAK We are back on Monday Night Raw and the announcers take us back to earlier tonight and see Randy Orton and Riddle brawl until Eric Bischoff orders them to fight at Payback. It is now official At Payback, these two former friends will implode only on Peacock. DAMIAN PRIEST w/DOMINIK MYSTERIO VS DREW MCINTYRE *This is a back and forth and hard hitting match that spans a commercial break and in which both men receive equal highlights *After a bit, Dominik distracts Drew and that allows Damian to control a big portion of the match and even hits The Reckoning, but Drew kicks out at the last moment *Drew begins his comeback and once he hits a running Big Boot, it brings out *The Miz who runs down and nails Drew in the back with a cane right in front of the ref, causing the disqualification. Drew goes down in a heap, momentarily knocked out RESULT: DREW MCINTYRE WINS BY DISQUALIFICATION After the match, Damian Priest bails to the floor not caring about what just happened and leaves the ringside area. The Miz celebrates having cost Drew a match. Meanwhile, Drew comes to and realizes what happened and gets furious. The Miz realizes that Drew is up and angry and tries to backpedal and apologize. Drew isn’t having it and stalks Miz around the ring and up the aisle….POUNCE!!! It was a damned trap! Bronson Reed was waiting and blasted Drew who flies into ring barrier up in the aisle way. Bronson Reed assaults Drew and drops not one but two splashes on Drew on the floor. Eventually Bronson grabs McIntyre and does a World’s Strongest Slam right on the floor at the Raw set before officials race in and end the attack. A few weeks ago, The Miz promised that Bronson Reed would soon attack his next victim. Apparently that man is Drew McIntyre who is hurt badly. We’ll be right back. COMMERCIAL BREAK Raw returns to video taken during the break where we see Drew McIntyre helped to the back by officials. He is clutching his stomach as a result of the set up by The Miz and the attack by Bronson Reed here tonight. We go to the back where Byron Saxton is with Katana Chance and Kayden Carter who obtained a Women’s Tag Team Title match at Payback last week. The two talk about their opportunity and say that they are not stupid. They know that this is the biggest platform in the world and that Payback is their chance to make themselves famous. But it is also a chance for the WWE Universe to learn what the NXT Universe came to know and that is that Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are dangerous AF. Ronda and Shayna may have taken them lightly the last two weeks, but they do so at their own peril. At Payback, there will be new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions and Carter/Chance are prepared to do whatever it takes to walk out of Pittsburgh with gold! We are told that next week, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance will compete on Raw against Zoey Stark & Piper Niven just 5 days before they face Baszler and Rousey at Payback. The announcers remind us that still to come tonight, Eric Bischoff will reveal who Finn Balor’s challenger will be at Payback. THE NEW DAY VS VIKING RAIDERS *This is a wild brawl that The New Day are surprisingly able to hang in and hold their own with *After near falls, the Raiders spend time beating down Xavier but he has a heart of a champion and after getting out of the way of Fallout, tags in Kofi *After some near falls, Kofi is able to hit Trouble in Paradise on Erik for the pinfall RESULT: THE NEW DAY WIN BY PINFALL After the match, The New Day celebrate around the ring with the fans before grabbing the microphone. They say that it seems that apparently people can just walk into Raw and declare themselves the #1 contender’s for the Tag Team Titles. Well apparently Eric Bischoff has forgotten about the NEWWWW DAYYY. Before DIY and KO/Sami get to just pick their own battle, Kofi and Xavier are throwing their hat in the ring for the titles. It is time for the world to remember that New…Day…Rocks!!! We are told that next week on Raw, Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER will be on hand to issue an open challenge for his next challenger. The Ring General is chasing the record set by the Honky Tonk Man as the longest Intercontinental Champion in WWE history. Who will be the next man to step up? Find out next week on Raw. We go back to last week and see Rhea Ripley inform Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch that they are competing here tonight with a shot at Rhea Ripley and the Women’s World Title at Payback in the line. In Gorilla, Becky is warming up when Trish walks up to her. Trish says that she hopes that Trish is starting to prove to Becky that she can be trusted, but straight up - this may be the last chance that Trish ever has to hold that title…and she will do anything to obtain it. Becky looks at her and tells Trish that at least she is being upfront about it this time instead of stabbing her in the back. May the best…MAN…win. Becky Lynch goes out to the ring. When we come back - Becky vs Trish - an opportunity for the Women’s World Title is on the line! Don’t go anywhere. COMMERCIAL BREAK As soon as Trish Stratus gets into the ring, Rhea Ripley comes out with Dominik Mysterio. Dom has a chair and in a role reversal from last week, sits down in it with Mami sitting on his lap as they watch our main event of the evening. BECKY LYNCH VS TRISH STRATUS - WINNER FACES RHEA RIPLEY AT FASTLANE *This is an epic match that really sees both women shine and pull out all the stops. For instance, at one moment, Trish tries to use the ropes as leverage. Not to be outdone, The Man hooks Trish by her tights, both fail to secure a victory *When Becky charges Trish, Stratus backdrops her to the floor and the two brawl on the floor and even on top of the announcers *Back in the ring, Becky ducks a chick kick and Becky is able to reverse out of a Becks-Ploder. Both women trade near falls and counters to each other’s counters until Trish goes for the Ma-Trish and Becky kicks Trish in the stomach *Becky locks in the Dis-Arm-Her…Trish tries to make it to the ropes, but the pain is too much and Trish is forced to tap out RESULT: BECKY LYNCH WINS BY SUBMISSION After the match, Becky Lynch’s arm is raised in victory while Rhea and Dom look on. While Becky celebrates, Trish gets up and looks furious that she lost. She spins Becky around and looks pissed. Becky tells Trish “let’s go” as if Trish’s true colors have been shown. Instead, Trish calms down and….offers her hand. Becky is hesitant but shakes it and Trish puts Becky’s arm up in the air before leaving the ring and walking away, sidestepping Ripley and Dom and going to the back. Becky stares at Trish and then points at Rhea Ripley. The Man will come around to Pittsburgh and she will challenge Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship one week from Saturday at Payback!!! In the back we see Damian Priest open the door of the World Heavyweight Champion Finn Balor as they head toward the arena. When Raw comes back, Eric Bischoff will reveal who Balor’s challenger for Payback is….it’s our final time out…don’t go anywhere. When Raw returns, Balor and Priest have joined their partners in The Judgment Day in the ring who stayed from the previous segment. The World Heavyweight Champion bemoans the fact that Eric Bischoff made Balor wait until the end of the night to find out who is the next to fall to the champ at Payback, but perhaps it’s because Eric Bischoff forgot who runs Raw. Rhea Ripley is the Women’s World Champion, Damian and Dominik could be Unified WWE Tag Team Champions if they wanted to be and both will be singles champions one day on this show. And Finn Balor did what no one believed that he could do at SummerSlam and become World Heavyweight Champion, did so after suffering the very same injury that Finn suffered at SummerSlam 7 years ago and then last week, beat Seth Rollins’ arse again. For over a year, The Judgment Day have walked around this place and done anything that The Judgement Day has wanted. TJD has taken over this damned show and it does not matter whoever Eric Bischoff has chosen to step up to the plate…the result will be the same. At Payback, Finn Balor will walk in as World Heavyweight Champion and he will leave as World Heavyweight Champion and two weeks from tonight on Raw….The Judgment Day will STILL run Raw. So Easy E, come on out and let’s get this over with… Managing Director of Monday Night Raw Eric Bischoff comes out to the ramp and says that Finn and The Judgment Day have it all wrong. Perhaps in the past with previous administrations here on Raw, The Judgment Day would not have been respected or appreciated…but not now. Eric says that he is proud to have Finn Balor as his World Heavyweight Champion because Finn Balor is one of the best wrestlers on the entire planet. From Germany to Japan to Ireland to the UK to NXT and WWE, Finn Balor has met every moment and captured every championship along the way and he is a champion with a pedigree that had Eric had when WCW existed, Nitro would still be on the air. And it is with that in mind that Eric has chosen a match-up at Payback that is worthy of the pedigree of someone like Finn Balor. This championship match cannot just be another match on another PLE. And it cannot be with just any other wrestler. Finn deserves to be challenged, he deserves to be tested and he deserves to be spotlighted….Finn Balor deserves to match wits with a bonafide legend! “So Finn….meet your challenger” IT’S JOHN CENA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! John Cena comes out to a monstrous roar from the crowd. Cena plays to the crowd and then shakes the hand of Eric Bischoff who walks to the back. The Judgment Day are all in the ring with the mouths hanging open. In less than two weeks, Pittsburgh will be lit! Eric Bischoff said that Finn Balor deserved the best and that is what he is getting! John Cena is Finn Balor’s challenger at Payback!!! How will the World Heavyweight Champion survive?!?!?!? Goodnight from Memphis

Who is Headed to Raw to Challenge Finn Balor? Last week on Raw, new World Heavyweight Champion Finn Balor successfully defended his championship against Seth "Freakin" Rollins. After that win, Raw Managing Director Eric Bischoff informed the champ that the man that is coming to kick off Raw, will challenge Balor for the World Heavyweight Championship at Payback. Who is this mysterious individual? Finn Balor has a new challenger and he will kick off Raw - tune in and find out who this man is. The World Heavyweight Championship challenger is not the only World Title for Payback to be decided this week on Raw. Last week on Raw, Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley informed WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus and The Man Becky Lynch that they both have a chance at Ripley for Payback. This Monday on Raw, Trish will face Becky in a singles match, the winner gets Rhea Ripley in Pittsburgh. Who will be the challenger for the Women's World Title at Payback? Find out on Raw. Last week on Raw, DIY made their in ring Raw debut in a successful match against Imperium, after the match the world found out that the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn will come to Raw to confront DIY. Are these two main event level teams headed for a clash? Find out on Raw. And finally, Matt Riddle and Randy Orton seem ready to collide, but the Viper is playing mind games with the King of Bros. Monday on Raw, Orton has promised to show up and confront his former friend. Can WWE officials keep order or will chaos reign on Raw? Don't miss Raw LIVE this Monday on USA.

Thank you to everyone that has been patient while I recovered from the setbacks. And thank you especially to my friend and partner in this (and new Hall of Famer!!!!) @Pipers Pit for his patience and support! Raw is live and I am super excited for us to continue telling our stories.

WWE Raw opens with a recap of last week focusing on the announcement that tonight, the World Heavyweight Title will main event Raw in a rematch from SummerSlam as Seth “Freakin” Rollins challenges the new World Heavyweight Champion, Finn Balor. The footage then goes to the Tag Team Titles match last week and the surprising arrival of DIY to Monday Night Raw. Let’s go directly to the ring where Raw Managing Director Eric Bischoff has an announcement to make. Raw Managing Director Eric Bischoff is in the ring and he says that he is thrilled to be here opening up Monday Night Raw and he is proud to be the man to run this brand because Raw is where everyone wants to be. Cody Rhodes is Mr. Money in the Bank, the World Heavyweight Championship is the richest prize in this industry and Raw has closed the last two PLE’s that WWE has produced. So of course, the flagship of WWE is the hottest property in sports-entertainment and that’s why everyone wants to be here. Next week on Raw, a WWE legend will make their return to Monday Night Raw and they will kick off the broadcast when Raw comes to Memphis, Tennessee. And that person will be looking for an opportunity on Raw. Speaking of opportunity, last week on Raw, Eric Bischoff gave two deserving men just that. As we all saw at the end of the show, DIY arrived to Raw. So ladies and gentlemen, it is the pleasure of Raw to announce that Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano have signed exclusive Raw contracts. And later tonight, DIY will be on Raw to face….Imperium. Welcome to Monday Night Raw. Let’s start the show. AUGUST WEEK 3, 2023 VIDEOTRON CENTRE QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC Matt Riddle comes out to the ring for the opening contest on Monday Night Raw and he is anything but his usual lighthearted self. Riddle looks furious as he gets into the ring and the bell sounds. HUMBERTO VS MATT RIDDLE *This is a match where Riddle shows his aggressive side and beats the hell out of Humberto, to the point that announcers call it excessive *Humberto is able to only get in a few shots before being overtaken again and again with stiff MMA style shots *Soon, Riddle hits the Bro-Derek not once, but twice for an emphatic (and point made) pinfall victory RESULT: MATT RIDDLE WINS BY PINFALL After the match, Matt Riddle grabs a microphone and says that he isn’t here to cut some bullshit promo and act like a stoned surfer. Right now, he’s a man who is pissed off. So Randy Orton, get out here…now. Riddle looks up to the aisle for Randy but there is no Orton. After a minute, Riddle says of course the coward won’t come out like a ma… Riddle drops his mic as Randy’s music hits and he prepares to fight. After another minute of no Orton, the music abruptly ends. Riddle glares around the ring before dropping a mic in disgust and goes up the ramp. Randy Orton has begun to play mind games with Matt Riddle. We go back to last week where Katana Chance & Kayden Carter challenged WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler for the titles at Payback. And they will get that match, if one of them can defeat Ronda Rousey tonight. Who will that woman be? We will find out..next, on Raw. COMMERCIAL BREAK Raw returns to video taken during the break and we see Matt Riddle walking through the Gorilla Position and to the back and is met by Eric Bischoff. Bischoff says he is sorry for what happened out there, WWE Production believed that Orton was here and was coming out. Instead, Eric has spoken to Randy and Orton is inviting Riddle to come to Raw next week and be confronted by the Viper. Man-to-man. Riddle says that is fine, but Eric better have security for Randy next week before walking off. Apparently, Randy Orton will be on hand next week on Raw and he and Riddle will come face to face! Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler comes out first followed by Chance and Carter and before they can say who it is that will be fighting Rousey tonight, Rousey arrogantly says “I’ll take you both on”. Even though Shayna volunteered Ronda for this, she now looks like Ronda has lost her freaking mind. But Ronda says do it and the ref shrugs and calls for the bell. A 2 on 1 handicap match is up. KATANA CHANCE AND KAYDEN CARTER VS RONDA ROUSEY W/SHAYNA BASZLER *For most of this match, Ronda does as she promised and that is to dominate both women and embarrass them *Instead of ending the fight, Rousey brutalizes Carter and then tells her to tag in chance and continues this - Shayna gets increasingly nervous though especially when Chance & Carter begin a come back *They score some near falls on Rousey and soon Ronda is reeling and Shayna has to distract the ref to hide a pin attempt. Eventually Ronda takes control back *The finish sees Ronda arrogantly lock on her Armbar on Chance, but as soon as she does, Kayden Carter has climbed to the top rope and flies off into a splash on Rousey. But Ronda’s arm is trapped underneath her as Carter covers for the 1…2…3. RESULT: KATANA CHANCE & KAYDEN CARTER WIN BY PINFALL AND ARE THE NEW #1 CONTENDERS FOR THE WWE WOMEN’S TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP AT PAYBACK After the match, Ronda Rousey is stunned while Chance and Carter get to the floor just as Shayna comes in to attack. Shayna looks down on her partner in fury while Ronda’s mouth hangs open. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter have defeated the baddest woman on the planet and will now have a chance of a lifetime at Payback!! Can lightning strike twice? We will find out in Pittsburgh in Payback. The announcers take us to all of the vignettes that have shown Jinder Mahal in India, promising a return to Raw and to destroy Raw with his own weapons. The video then goes to the back where Mahal is seen and two large shadows are behind him. When Raw returns, Jinder Mahal makes his return to Raw to lead a new tag team to Raw…next. COMMERCIAL BREAK In the back we see Baszler storming down the hall with Ronda following after her. Shayna says that she cannot believe that Ronda lost to those two kids and that Ronda arrogantly made it a 2-on-1 match. Ronda counters that this was all Shayna’s idea to begin with! The two women see the camera and push the cameraman to the ground before going into their locker room, yelling at each other and slamming the door. All is clearly not well with the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champs! Jinder comes out and two men - Vanga and Veer Mahan - come out behind Jinder. We are told that this is the Modern Day Maharajah's new weapon…Indus Sher. BRYSON MONTANA AND EDRIS ENOFE VS INDUS SHER W/JINDER MAHAL *Just complete domination by these two powerful men who take their time evicerating both opponents *Jinder stalks around the ringside area while watching and once he gets stationary, he just gives Indus Sher a nod and Vanga and Mahan do a double powerbomb on Montana for the pinfall victory RESULT: INDUS SHEER WINS BY PINFALL After the match, Indus Sher continues the assault on their opponents and before long, they do a double Powerbomb on Enofe and then grabs his partner and does the same. Jinder then covers both men as his men count 3. Indus Sher has arrived on Raw and Jinder Mahal is promising to have them tear Raw apart. What a dominating debut here tonight on Raw. In the back, we see the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes coming down the hallway with a smile on his face. When Raw returns, Mr. Money in the Bank will address Raw….Live! Stay with us. COMMERCIAL BREAK Raw returns and we are reminded that in our main event tonight, the World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line as Seth “Freakin” Rollins challenges new champion, Finn Balor. It is a SummerSlam rematch and it is still to come tonight. Cody smiles and looks around the audience before saying “So Quebec…Whad’ya wanna talk about?” Cody first addresses Brock Lesnar and what happened here last week. Cody says that he was surprised, pleasantly surprised, that after all that they did to each other - Brock and Cody literally went to hell and back - Brock Lesnar was man enough to shake Cody Rhodes’ hand. Cody says that it does not erase Brock’s betrayal and it does not erase breaking Cody’s arm and it damn sure does not erase scaring the hell out of Cody’s wife, but in the end Brock Lesnar proved that even Brock can be a man when it matters. And Cody says that in some weird, perverse way - Cody needed the pain and suffering that he’s endured for the last 4 months at the hands of the Beast. He needed to prove that he was tough and bad enough to truly finish this story. And that’s what Cody did at SummerSlam. So in a weird way, Cody Rhodes owes Brock Lesnar…a thank you. But now the journey carries on to finishing a story and that’s what this briefcase is all about (Cody raises the Money in the Bank Briefcase high in the air to raucous cheers). Rhode tells the audience that everyone knows why he came home to WWE, it’s no mystery. There is a story that is not yet fully written. A journey that Cody has been on his entire life, that he is still on. A dream of an entire family, a legacy of a name, that is yet unfulfilled. And that quest has not changed: The American Nightmare WILL finish his story! So the question as we turn to fall, is when? Cody says that he can be cheap like other winners of this contract and wait for the right moment, when a champion is at their worst, to cash in and pick the bones and win his first World Title. But that’s being a coward. And it’s not being a man. A man picks his spots and calls his shots straight up and that is what The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes is about. So here it is: Cody Rhodes will cash in this Money in the Bank Contract in the main event of Wrestlemania next year in Philadelphia!!! The only question is, who will it be against? Well Cody won’t keep us in suspense with that either - it is personal and it is generational between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. So, should The Tribal Chief still somehow be the Universal WWE Champion come Wrestlemania? He has a rematch with The American Nightmare on tap at Wrestlemania. If not, Cody has a decision to make and he will be transparent with that choice. But, Bloodline, please keep your boss the champ - because the American Nightmare wants to dethrone his kingdom on the grandest stage of them all. Either way, Cody Rhodes is going back to Wrestlemania!!!! In the back, Becky Lynch is with Byron Saxton and he asks Becky why she saved Trish Stratus last week on Raw. Becky says that because as much as she hates Trish, right now she hates Zoey & Piper more. Becky makes it clear that her and Trish are not friends, but for now - Becky is focused on the two morons that Trish empowered. And in a moment, Trish Stratus will take one of them out because Eric Bischoff has granted The Man a match with Piper Niven. Quebec, The Man has come around. And she is going to kick Piper Niven’s ass. Becky storms off and makes her way to the ring as Byron tells us that match is next, after this time out. Raw returns to the announcers discussing Cody Rhodes announcement tonight. Mr. Money in the Bank plans to cash in that briefcase at Wrestlemania next year in Philadelphia. The only question is: will Roman Reigns make it to Wrestlemania as Universal WWE Champion for Cody Rhodes to cash in? Or will the American Nightmare chase a different World Champion? The American Nightmare has a date with destiny and he has chosen it to be the main event of the 40th Wrestlemania!!! BECKY LYNCH VS PIPER NIVEN W/ZOEY STARK *Becky starts the match dominating with vicious strikes and hits, but when The Man goes for a Beck-Sploder, Niven uses her weight to squash Becky on the mat for a near fall *From there, the story of the match becomes Piper using her size and strength and viciousness to get Becky close to being pinned, but the man kicks out every time *After a false comeback and Becky kicking out of a Vader Bomb, The Man begins her comeback and soon prepares to lock in the Dis-Arm-Her on Niven. This brings Zoey up onto the ramp…. Trish Stratus runs down the ramp and grabs Zoey by the foot and yanks her off the apron. This allows Becky to lock in the Dis-Arm-Her on Piper who has no choice but to surrender RESULT: BECKY LYNCH WINS BY SUBMISSION After the match, Becky Lynch looks at Trish with more surprise and still distrust. Trish just looks at Becky, shrugs and walks back up the aisle. While Becky is staring at Trish leaving, suddenly the Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley appears on the titantron catching both Trish and Becky’s attention. Mami is in her locker room with Dom sitting on her lap as she tells the world that she is bored waiting for the women of Raw to step up. So Mami will do what she does best…be the REAL man in WWE, and call her own shot. Rhea tells Trish that next week she will get another chance at redemption and just for the fun of it - so will Becky. Because Rhea has gone to Eric Bischoff and got him to agree to the following: Next week on Raw, Trish Stratus will fight her new friend, The Man Becky Lynch. And the winner gets Rhea at Payback for the Women’s World Championship. Let’s see how civil those two egomaniacs will be next week! Rhea and Dom laugh as the screen goes to black. Becky and Trish eye each other warily, but both have the chance at getting back to the top. Will whatever this tenuous truce is last past next week? In the back, DIY are high fiving each other. When Raw returns, they make their in ring debut against Imperium…next. COMMERCIAL BREAK We go to the back and see Seth “Freakin” Rollins finishing some warm ups. While The Judgment Day hype up Finn Balor. The Heavyweight Championship of this World is on the line and it is coming up after this next match. DIY VS IMPERIUM W/GUNTHER *This is a fantastic and fast paced tag team match that sees both teams trading near falls and goes quite long as the semi-main event on Raw *Once GUNTHER grabs Gargano’s leg to distract him, Imperium double teams Johnny Wrestling and beats him down for a long time with the babyface in peril routine *The tide changes when Tommaso goes all violent and just beats the hell out of Vinci on the ground and that allows the double teams to stop. Johnny does a exploding Suplex on Kaiser and then tags in his partner *Tommaso takes over and destroys both men until he too is double teamed but that just brings in Johnny Wrestling and before long Kaiser is hit with Project Ciampa while Gargano has Vinci on the floor. GUNTHER is forced to watch as the pinfall is counted RESULT: DIY WIN BY PINFALL After the match, GUNTHER looks furious that his men have lost yet again. He berates Imperium as they go up the aisle. DIY celebrates their win and then a graphic appears on the screen telling us that next week, the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions - Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn will be on Raw…to talk to DIY. The announcers put over the show tonight but the time has come. When Raw returns, it's time for our main event - the World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line…next. COMMERCIAL BREAK SETH ‘FREAKIN’ ROLLINS VS FINN BALOR © *As soon as the match begins, Seth explodes with a Superkick and a Pedigree and covers….1…..2…..Balor out at the very last second. The champ goes to the floor stunned while Seth points out that he nearly beat Balor in seconds *Soon both men are trading near falls before Balor is able to bail to the floor and when Seth does a Suicide Dive, Balor side steps him and Seth lands right on the announce table *From there, Balor beats Seth up on the floor and injures his ribs and then rolls the former champ into the ring. Balor does some rib work and some submissions to punish Seth’s injury while protecting his own injured arm from SummerSlam *But things change when Finn forgets about his arm and goes for the Slingblade which ends up with the champ in agony! Soon, Rollins begins his comeback and eventually nails a Superkick for a near fall *Seth calls for the Curbstomp, but when he charges, Balor kips up and does a jumping drop kick right into Seth’s ribs and the former champ crumbles to the ground. Balor does knee drop after knee drop into Seth’s ribs before climbing to the top and finally hitting Coup de Gras…..1……2……3. RESULT: FINN BALOR WINS BY PINFALL TO RETAIN THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Damien runs into the ring to cheer on his friend and then Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio rush down and join in moments later. Finn Balor, on his own, defeated Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Raw truly does belong to The Judgment Day. While Balor is celebrating, Eric Bischoff comes out to the ramp and claps for the champ. Eric is handed a microphone and says that match is why Raw is the premiere destination for anyone who wants to be anything in this business. Congratulations to Seth Rollins on trying to get the title back in a hell of an effort. And even bigger congratulations to our World Heavyweight Champion Finn Balor. Eric says that he is proud of Finn and he is proud of Raw and that’s why he is out here right now. Earlier tonight, Eric kicked off the show to announce that someone not currently on the Raw roster would show up next week to kick off Monday Night Raw. What Eric did not share is why is that person showing up? The answer?....To challenge the World Heavyweight Champion at Payback….and that man is…Finn Balor. So champ, congrats tonight; the world will find out who the next challenger is at the start of the show next week on Raw! Finn Balor looks furious! Apparently he has a new challenger for Payback and only Eric Bischoff knows who it is! Who is the challenger for the World Heavyweight Championship? We will all find out next week on Raw!! Goodnight from Quebec!

Not sure if I'm allowed to speak in here, but @Pipers Pit is so freaking deserving of this award. He works so hard on his diaries (like obsessively hard lol) and I am so proud to see that he has this honor. It means the world to him and thank you to everyone that voted for him! Congratulations!!!!!

My recovery took longer than I expected and then I ran into real life again. I want to thank everyone for their patience, especially my partner in this. Fully healthy again and life is expected to slow down for the year, so I can devote time to this again. Raw to be finished in the next few days come hell or high water.