Welcome to the Wrestlepurists’ live coverage of Monday Night Raw for the October 30th, 2023 episode.
RHEA RIPLEY IN-RING PROMO
We are kicking off Monday Night Raw somewhat differently, with WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley out first flanked by Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh. So it’s half of the Judgment Day to start instead of all of them. But I assure you, they still run Monday Night Raw. Rhea says it’s not just a catchphrase, they have taken care of every superstar that has been in their way. Rhea brings up Damian Priest taking out Cody Rhodes leg last week. She says Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre have decisions to make, and alludes that whoever decides to link up with the Judgment Day will be walking out Crown Jewel as World Heavyweight Champion. Rhea admits that in her five way match at Crown Jewel, the odds are not in her favor. But it is just another opportunity to prove to everyone why she is the most dominant woman in all of WWE. “World’s Apart” blares through the speakers and Sami Zayn is here to a huge pop. Sami says he is so sick of hearing Rhea talk about power and the Judgment Day. Amen brother. Sami says his entire life, his entire career, he has spent fighting people like the Judgment Day. Sami cuts an incredible promo about fighting against power. “If you’re game is all about power than my name is REBELLION. My name is RESISTANCE.” Super hot babyface fire from Sami. He says he will fight them with everything he has until the Judgment Day is no more. Rhea says he can resist all he wants but it won’t matter. “We don’t need the numbers when it comes to you.” Rhea books Sami Zayn v.s. Damian Priest which…sure but we’ve definitely seen that enough. I’d rather see Sami v.s. Finn to change things up. Dominik yells that they should teach him a lesson right now. The three of them circle Sami until Ricochet runs down as backup. Rhea thinks better of it and pulls the Judgment Day boys from the ring. JD tries to ambush Ricochet but gets tossed over the top rope. Dominik goes for the sneak attack but pulls up before eating a punch. The Dominik/Ricochet match is next!
DOMINIK MYSTERIO DEFEATS RICOCHET
We come back from break and the Dominik/Ricochet match is already underway. I actually like that change, instead of always waiting to be back from break. Dominik has Rhea and JD at ringside but Sami has split, presumably to get ready for his match against Priest tonight. Dominik is dominating the early part of this match ever since catching Ricochet with a corkscrew leg whip into the ropes. Ricochet gets the upper-hand with his agility and plants Dominik with a dragon suplex into a falcon arrow combo. JD and Rhea try and wake Dominik up on the outside. It works, but Dominik eats a dive as soon as he gets up! During the break, the Judgment Day get involved and help Dominik take back the advantage. Wade Barrett points out on commentary that this kind of help is what could be waiting either Seth or Drew at Crown Jewel if they decide to accept Rhea’s offer. Dominik goes for the 619 but Ricochet moves and hits a springboard back elbow on the NXT North American Champion. Ricochet hits a beauty of a crossbody off the top, followed by a Lionsault, but it only gets a two count. Ricochet being featured more has been one of the big highlights of the Triple H regime. Dominik goes for the Frog Splash but misses, and eats a nasty looking superkick. Ricochet goes up top but Rhea distracts the referee. JD tries to get involved but Ricochet is able to fight him off. Through all that chaos, Dominik rolls up Ricochet and both grabs the tights AND puts his feet on the ropes for the win. JD and Rhea celebrate like Dominik has just won the World title. Ricochet gets some heat back on Dominik and JD, before Rhea pulls Dominik to safety. Really seems like, at least after Sami’s promo, they are setting up Sami to be the one to take down the Judgment Day.
DIY VIDEO PACKAGE
We see a cool DIY video package, which is very smart considering its been three years since they’ve even teamed up. They should have no problem getting over to the fans who aren’t familiar with them just by competing.
RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ VIDEO PACKAGE
We see a Raquel Rodriguez video package talking about being the underdog in the five way match at Crown Jewel. She said more than that but I would think that actually goes to Zoey Stark. Raquel finishes by saying she is the most dominant woman in WWE.
CREED BROTHERS DEFEAT THE ALPHA ACADEMY
Oh man I’m hyped up for this one folks. The Alpha Academy is here, including Maxxine and Akira Tozawa. On Twitter they issued an open challenge and it was answered by the Creed Brothers. If you’ve seen them wrestle then you know what you’re about to see. If not, just sit back and enjoy. For help, the Creed Brothers get a nice video package to introduce them to the Raw audience. I’m surprised it took them this long to get the call. The Creed’s come out flanked by Ivy Nile, also really glad she didn’t left behind in NXT (which tends to happen to the women in a group that gets called up.) Julius starts off with Chad Gable and so far so good as Julius holds his own on the mat. Julius lifts Gable up in a suplex position from a seated position and then tags in Brutus. He hands Gable off to Brutus, who hits the suplex. Wade and Michael Cole are putting the Creed Brothers over HARD on commentary. Which is great, I never understood when they would call someone up from NXT and not do everything in their power to present them as a big deal. Otis is able to out power the Creed Brothers for the moment and Gable launches off his partner’s shoulders to take down the NXT newcomers. Otis and Gable nails dueling suplexes as we send this match to break. Back from break and Gable grabs an Ankle Lock on Brutus, but the big man is able to reverse it into a pinfall attempt for a nearfall. Gable nails Brutus with a stalling German suplex and both men tag out to their partners. Otis ducks two double clothesline attempts before rolling through and clotheslines both men! We are going to have to start a conversation about an Otis singles push at some point folks. Otis plants Julius with the Caterpillar elbow but Julius kicks out at two. Julius hits a standing Shooting Star Press and Brutus hits a Standing Moonsault. My god these two are good. Otis is just too strong and won’t go down to Brutus’s strikes. Brutus jumps off the ropes but is caught by Otis! He hits a World’s Strongest Slam on Brutus but OH MY GOD A 450 from Julius on both of them. They are still stacked and WOW Chad Gable hits a moonsault on the pile. Maxxine gets up on the apron but Ivy Nile pulls her down. The two want to go at it but Tozawa tries to get in-between them. Ivy hits Tozawa with a German though on the outside. Off the distraction the Creed Brothers get Otis isolated. Julius lifts Otis over his head and Brutus hits the Brutus Ball for the win! Wow wow wow. Couldn’t have booked this debut much better. After Tuesday, these two should never see NXT again. Gable and Otis shake the Creed Brothers hands as Wade says that Raw and Smackdown officials have to be printing up contract offers as we speak. Love it. Honestly Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis should be actively recruiting them on TV.
BACKSTAGE WITH THE JUDGMENT DAY
We see a recap of what Damian Priest and the Judgment Day did to Cody Rhodes last week. Priest and Finn are in the Judgment Day hideout and the New Day come in for Trick-Or-Treating. They are dressed as the NEW Judgement Day. Hilarious. Rhea, Dominik, and JD come in and Priest is pissed that the Judgment Day wasn’t out there together tonight. He says there are supposed to be no leaders, so did he miss a meeting where we said we could make matches for each other? Rhea smartly pivots to Priest being the “Punishment” of the Judgment Day and the one who handles problems. Priest seems satisfied and says let’s make tonight all about the Judgment Day. My man you gotta open your eyes.
NIA JAX VIDEO PACKAGE
Nia Jax gets her video package, saying that since her return to Raw she has squashed everyone she has gotten her hands on. She also mentions showing the world that she is the most dominant woman on Raw. Now I’m thinking Jade Cargill is going to show up and be THE most dominant woman.
MIZ TV WITH GUNTHER
Miz, finally with some TV time before the third hour of Raw, says after the announcement of the German PLE “Bash at Berlin” he was able to secure GUNTHER as a guest. Miz gives a big introduction for the Ring General and….nothing. Miz gives it another go…still nothing. Miz wonders if he has to speak in German but out comes Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci. Kaiser says he hates to break it to the Miz, but GUNTHER isn’t going to walk down to the ring just because the Miz tells him to. Kaiser says the Miz is everything wrong with the WWE Universe today. “You are the embodiment of everything we despise, you are nothing but a clown.” Miz says he has been a lot of things, but he’s never been another mans sidekick. Then he looks at Vinci and says “and you must be the third wheel.” Vinci has a pretty good rebuttal saying “weren’t you the sidekick to your wife on Total Divas.” The Miz is shocked and goes “HE TALKS?!” Okay this babyface turn could work if they don’t strip everything about the Miz that works as a heel. Miz pokes at the tension between Kaiser and Vinci which brings out the Intercontinental Champion. GUNTHER says he is not the Miz’s guest. He came here to make two things clear to him. One, its the year 2023 and the Miz still tries to run a talk show? I mean, fair point. The second point, is that the ring is sacred and everything the Miz does is beneath him. “Miz, I do not respect you.” Miz says he interviewed an invisible John Cena that was more entertaining than GUNTHER. Miz says he is the biggest star that WWE has. Welllll I don’t know about all that. GUNTHER says that’s the issue, once the bell rings it only matters how good of a wrestler you are. He says that’s why Miz is a talk show host, and GUNTHER is the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time. Miz says he can be serious when he wants to be. He was serious when he won the WWE title against Randy Orton. He was serious when he beat John Cena in the main-event at Wrestlemania. And most of all he was serious when he made the championship on GUNTHER’s shoulder the most important championship in WWE. “And I have no problem doing it again.” GUNTHER is amused at this, but the crowd is definitely coming around to the Miz. GUNTHER calls the Miz one of the greatest Sports Entertainer’s in history. So of course the Miz wants to create another memorable Miz TV moment. GUNTHER says something to Kaiser, who then takes one of Miz’s pumpkins and smashes it. Billy Corgan is beside himself. They start to trash his set as GUNTHER taunts him. Miz throws Kaiser and Vinci out of the ring but gets dropped by one chop from GUNTHER. GUNTHER tells the Miz he isn’t in his league but Miz throws some punches at the Intercontinental champion. Vinci and Kaiser jump in and allow GUNTHER to hit a boot. As Miz is walking out DIY comes out for their match.
Okay a few things, the DIY theme sounds pretty good so thank god there. And look I know people are not into the idea of Miz as a babyface again. But I will say he has run through most of his feuds as a heel. And this segment made me feel a lot better about it. The fact that GUNTHER did not feel scared at all was the right call. Nothing the Miz has done lately warrants that. But it’s also true that the Miz has resuscitated the Intercontinental championship more than once, and there is absolutely a story there. I know there are plenty of opponents we’d rather see GUNTHER face, but winning a feud against the Miz isn’t the end of the world.
BACKSTAGE WITH ADAM PEARCE & THE MIZ
Adam Pearce is in his office when the Miz barges in. Miz says he has never been so disrespected in his career and he wants a match with GUNTHER for the Intercontinental championship. Pearce says we all know the credentials but he can’t just give Miz a title shot. But he can give him the opportunity to earn a shot. Pearce says he has a meeting scheduled with someone else who is line for the same opportunity. Bronson Reed comes in and the Miz points out the Reed already got an opportunity. Reed gives him a look and Miz backs off. Seems like we might get Reed versus the Miz next week?
DIY DEFEAT IMPERIUM
DIY have the matching gear as well as the new theme. Vinci and Kaiser are cutting the ring in half and isolating the recently returned Tomasso Ciampa, but Johnny Gargano is able to get the blind tag and swing momentum. Gargano and Ciampa get jumped on the outside with Kaiser hitting a nasty uppercut and Vinci planting Gargano with a side slam on the ring apron. Back from the break and Gargano is able to get away from Vinci with an enziguri, but Kaiser drops Ciampa off the apron before Gargano makes it to the corner. Gargano reveres a Vinci powerbomb in to a wid DDT, and is able to tag in Ciampa while Kaiser gets the tag for his time. Ciampa is a house of fire taking both men out by himself! Ciampa goes for the Fairy Tale Ending but Kaiser fights out of it and nails the Rolling Firemans Carry Driver. Both team trade shots with Impreium taking advantage. They go for their fnish, with Gargano trying to nail Kaiser with a superkick but it looks like they knocked heads. Hope they are alright. Vinci tries for an impressive moonsault but hits nothing and Ciampa hits a knee. Ciampa and Gargno Meet in the Middle for the win to start their Raw run off with success. Not gonna be a fun night for Vinci when they get back to GUNTHER.
SHINSUKE NAKAMURA VIDEO PACKAGE
Shinsuke Nakamura is backstage and says he is still looking for his next sacrifice. He asks if they will step forward or if he will have to choose. “Poke the lion, that is what a strong brave, hero does.” Awesome, really wondering who this could be
XIA LI DEFEATS CANDICE LERAE
Michael Cole throws to a video package for “Candice Michelle” whoops. But we do indeed get a video package for Candice LeRae who is in action tonight against Xia Li, after Xia attacked Candice last week. Back from the video package and Wade has a go at Michael Cole for being stuck in 2008 LOL “Getting old is a terrible thing” Man Cole is great. We go to break, but then get a Xia Li video package when we get back. We are package heavy tonight and I don’t hate it. No reason to not use thirty seconds here and there to catch fans up on talent. Candice starts off hot with nonstop offense, which I appreciate as this is supposed to be revenge for her. Xia quickly turns things around with a knee and then nails Candice with a spin kick that seems to knock her out. The referee is checking on Candice and then rings the bell. Xia has won by TKO. Candice is selling getting her bell rung, and this is definitely a good way to put over Xia’s strikes. The crowd is just dead for this though. Wish they had called the match sooner, I get what they were going for but the crowd was just too dead.
BACKSTAGE WITH SAMI ZAYN & JEY USO
Backstage Sami Zayn is contemplating, but Jey Uso comes in to hype him up. Jey says Sami has Jey ready to run through a wall. Jey wishes Sami luck tonight as Jackie Redmond comes in to talk to Jey. She asks Jey about the Judgment Day. Jey says Sami is going to handle business tonight. Cody Rhodes will handle business at Crown Jewel. And then Jey and Cody might just get their titles back from the Judgment Day. “After that we will see what Miss Rhea Ripley thinks about that. Yeet.”
SHAYNA BASZLER VIDEO PACKAGE
Shayna Baszler says you are what you do, not what you say you do. She will rip all four women apart at Crown Jewel, and she will show the world she is the most dominant woman on Raw.
BACKSTAGE WITH CANDICE LERAE
Backstage Candice LeRae is getting checked out by the trainers while she is surrounded by Indi, DIY and Kayden Carter and Katana Chance.
DREW MCINTYRE VIDEO PACKAGE
We get a video package for Drew McIntyre. He walks through the Performance Center as we see shots of him winning the WWE title at the Pandemic Wrestlemania. Drew says there are times where he questions if it was all worth it. Twenty years of giving everything he had to this industry, he won the Royal Rumble in 2020. “There was going to be a stadium full of people chanting my name when i slayed the Beast in the main-event of Wrestelmania.” Drew says that even though WWE carried on, he was all alone. Drew though did what he always did, and defended his title in every brutal match he could. When the fans returned, his moment had passed. And then the WWE came to the UK and his moment was there again. But the Bloodline cheated and took it away from him. “Unlike everyone else, I can’t forget the Bloodline.” Drew says at Crown Jewel he can finally make things right. “Seth is willing to break his back to keep his championship, and I’m willing to break his back to win it.” Oh man there are a lot good quotes here. “In 2020, Seth Rollins was my first championship defense. At Crown Jewel, I will be his last.” I think this might be the most hyped I’ve been for a World title match in some time, I’ve LOVED this storyline.
ZOEY STARK VIDEO PACKAGE
Zoey Stark has her video package. She says when she is in the ring she is the hunter, and the others are her prey. She says that at Crown Jewel, you guessed it, SHE is the most dominant woman on Raw.
SETH ROLLINS IN-RING PROMO
This is Seth’s first match on Raw in four months. But before we can get to that, the champ has something to say! Seth says he will beat the breaks off of JD in preparation of the World Heavyweight Championship match with Drew McIntyre at Crown Jewel. He says he is a fan of Drew so he is going to say this as respectfully as he can. “Boo freakin hoo.” He says cry me a river. Cue the CM Punk gifs lol Seth points that in 2020 we were all fighting our own battles. “Some people didn’t know when they were going to get see their loved ones again, some of them didn’t get to.” GOD DAMN. That’s tough but true. “So I’m sorry that you didn’t get to win the WWE championship the way you wanted to.” Seth says that if Drew wants to really complain about the Bloodline, he needs to get in line behind people like Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes. He says if Drew beats him at Crown Jewel, he will shake his hand just like he did back in 2020. But Seth is not the same man he was in 2020. Before he can finish his promo JD jumps him from behind. The referee makes sure Seth is okay to start the match, which leads us to…
SETH ROLLINS DEFEATS JD MCDONAGH
JD runs right into a big boot and the World Champion is just pissed off. JD tries to (smartly) leave but Seth is having none of it. He is whipping JD’s ass all over ringside. Seth throws him back in the ring, and JD is begging off. JD tries to catch him with a cheap shot but Seth is ready. JD goes for a chop and yells “HOW DO YOU LIKE IT,” completely misses, and eats a chop from Seth lol JD with an impressive counter to Seth as he traps Seth’s legs with his own which causes Seth to fall to the mat. JD hits a twisting springboard crossbody that gives the Judgment Day recruit the upper-hand. I still don’t anticipate JD winning this match, but the longer Seth has to deal with someone dangerous like JD, the more his championship might be in trouble at Crown Jewel. JD is launched over the top rope by Seth, and the World Champion follows it up with a suicide dive to take us to break! Back from break and JD now has the advantage with a bear hug on the back of Seth Rollins. Would love to see a match against Seth where the challenger goes for almost nothing but the back. Someone like Gable could make that very fun. Seth hits a couple of clotheslines on JD as the fans sing Seth’s song. Slingblade from Seth and then a running knee that crumples JD for a two count. Seth goes for the stop but JD moves out of the way. Seth then goes for the Pedigree but JD connects with a headbutt to lay out the champion. JD tries for it all with a moonsault, misses, but rolls through. Seth and JD exchange counters with Seth still not being able to hit the Pedigree. JD hits the C4 on Seth off the ropes and gets a nearfall. JD wants a powerbomb but Seth reverses, and nails JD with a buckle bomb. Seth is up on the apron but here comes Priest with a referee and the briefcase! Seth dives off for the Frog Splash but JD gets his knees up thanks to Priest’s distraction. Now things become a lot dicier for the World Champion. Seth jumps to the top rope and hits a back drop superplex on JD! JD wants the Pedigree but Seth rolls through, flips JD up in the air, and then finally nails the Pedigree. Seth hits the Stomp and wins the match. Seth makes sure he pins JD so that he can keep Priest in his eye sight. Seth slides right out of the ring and gets face to face with Priest. Priest tells him that the briefcase is inevitable, while Seth tells Priest not to waste that on him. Smart of them to bring Priest back into Seth’s orbit before the already intriguing match with Drew.
BACKSTAGE WITH ADAM PEARCE
Adam Pearce is backstage with Ricochet who is complaining about the Judgment Day interference from earlier. Pearce tells him that he will give Ricochet an opportunity to earn a shot at the Intercontinental championship. Ricochet says that’s great but he also still wants to get his hands on Dominik. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven come in and they are dressed as Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart. It’s amazing. They complain about the street fight that is next, when Valhalla and Ivar come into frame. According to Valhalla the God’s have demanded they speak to Pearce about the Intercontinental championship. They did? Man that’s mad specific. I am hyped we might get that GUNTHER and Ivar match now though.
INTERVIEW WITH BECKY LYNCH
Jackie Redmond is backstage with the former NXT Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. Jackie asks Becky what her takeaway from her NXT title reign was. Becky says if someone was going to take that title from her, it was going to be someone who is passionate and hungry for this business. Lyra Valkyria is that person. She says in forty two days she defended her title more times than Rhea Ripley defended her title this year. More times than Roman Reigns did this year. So like she says; she doesn’t need the title, the title needs her. Xia interrupts and complains that Becky finally gave her a shot and then lost the title. Becky says we can fight right now, but Xia says it will be on her time. Becky says “on her time? It’s been three weeks!”
CHELSEA GREEN DEFEATS NATALYA (TRICK-OR-STREET FIGHT)
Natalya comes out in a bunny costume for this Trick-or-Street Fight. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven make their way to the ring to Bret Hart’s music, just perfect. Chelsea immediately hits Natalya with a pie that Piper passed to her. I’ve looked at these matches a tad differently after the New Day talked about them on their podcast. They talked about how fun these type of matches were and how much of a nice break they were from the normal tough matches. Natalya takes Cheslea over the barricade but Cheslea grabs a trashcan lid and nails Natalya with it. This is uh…not great. “Whelp, one night only folks” Cole knows. Chelsea dives off the barricade but Natalya moves and Chelsea goes through the table. Natalya helps Chelsea bob for apples against her will. Natalya tries to hook both Tag Team Champions into a Sharpshooter on the outside, but she’s thrown into the ring post. The two fight over near the pumpkins on the…wait. Nikki Cross is just sitting under the table with her head poked out. It was covered by a pumpkin. It scared Chelsea so bad that Chelsea accidentally dropped the pumpkin on her own head. Piper hands Chelsea a bag and its Candy Corn. NOT THAT CANDY CORN! “Sickos” says Wade. Natalya powerbombs Chelsea onto the Candy Corn. Natalya locks Chelsea in with the Sharpshooter but Piper jumps on the apron. Natalya ducks a pie shot and Piper gets it. Chelsea reverses an attack from Natalya and hits her with an Unprettiher to mercifully end this one. Wade and Cole were fun here though.
RHEA RIPLEY VIDEO PACKAGE
We finally get Rhea Ripley’s video package talking about the fatal five way at Crown Jewel. She says this match has nothing to do with the other women. it’s Rhea’s chance to claim this as Mami’s show. She mentions being the most dominant woman on Raw. Yea I think Jade is definitely showing up there.
DAMIEN PRIEST DEFEATS SAMI ZAYN BY DQ
Hopefully next week on Raw we get some significant build towards Survivor Series, we are just running up against it with the Raw babyfaces against the Judgment Day main events. I’m okay with this one because of Sami’s singles story, but I’m looking forward to some story progression. Sami starts off hot but Priest catches Sami with a kick that allows him to take over. Sami dives off onto Priest on the outside but Priest goozles him. Senor Money in the Bank chokeslams Sami onto the ring apron to send us to our last break of the evening. Back from break, Sami springboards back and over Priest and then clotheslines Priest. And of course that brings out Dominik and Finn to aide Priest. Priest grabs Sami for the South of Heaven but Sami rolls him up for a two count. Dominik distracts Sami and it allows Priest to hit the Reckoning! Oh wow, he hasn’t used that since Cody joined the company and Cole puts that over as a huge slight to Cody. Finn distracts the referee and Dominik nails Sami with a punch. Jey Uso has seen enough, as he runs down to the ring to fend off both Finn and Dominik. Jey comes in the ring and superkicks Priest so….that’s it. DQ and Priest wins, but it was never much of a match with this amount of interference. Dominik and Finn join the fight and it’s three on two until it isn’t! Cody Rhodes is here to a massive pop. Cody is limping but its much better than last week. Cody takes it right to Priest and the babyfaces have completely turned things around. Jey and Dominik clear the ring as Cody doesn’t stop attacking Priest. Cody clears off the announce table and tries to hit a Crossrhodes on Priest. JD runs down and pulls Priest to safety. JD isn’t so lucky as Sami hits a Helluva kick on JD. Cody is begging for JD and Sami gives him to Cody. Crossrhodes on the announce table and Cody has something to say. Well not yet, as the crowd is chanting one more time! Cody hits another Crossrhodes and now the American Nightmare has the mic. Cody says last week Priest was unsuccessful in taking Cody out. But Cody got back up. That’s his story. What is Priest’s story? Six foot six and twenty years in this business. Priest has a briefcase that has him just a whisper towards immortality. But Priest isn’t a leader. He is behind Rhea. He is behind Finn. He is even behind Dominik. “When you think it might be someone else. When you think it might not be Cody Rhodes. Just remember, it’s always going to be me.” My GOD what a fired up promo from Cody. War Games is heating up but this was also a great promo to heat up the Priest/Cody match for Crown Jewel. They sold me a ticket for Saturday that’s for sure.
