WWE Raw went live from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on October 23. The show featured a one-on-one match between Jey Uso and Damian Priest. Logan Paul returned to the show. Drew McIntyre and Sami Zayn battled, and the NXT Women’s Title was defended on the show. Let’s review the October 23rd episode of WWE Monday Night Raw.
Judgment Day Celebration
As announced before the show, Judgment Day opened it to celebrate their Undisputed Tag Team Titles’ victory last week. The celebration was short-lived, however, as Cody Rhodes interrupted. Cody enraged the Tag Champs by mentioning Rhea Ripley as the leader of JD. Priest said that Cody’s story failed. Rhodes was ready for a fight, but Priest challenged him to a singles match at Crown Jewel. Rhodes accepted and talked about giving a little preview of that match. Ripley and Dom walked down the ramp. Jey Uso took out Dominik as Priest had a brawl with Cody. Cody got the upper hand momentarily, but JD McDonagh came out to help Damian. They attacked Cody’s ankle with a chair shot. Adam Pearce broke things up.
Grades: B+
Analysis
It was an excellent opening segment. From singing his theme song to chanting his name, Cody is very over among the crowd. The aftermath of this segment was that Jey Uso was alone in his match against Priest later on the show.
Tag Team Match
Alpha Academy vs The New Day
The match was solid from the beginning. There were dives, kicks, and splashes. The Caterpillar elbow drop from Otis looked smooth. Woods countered Ankle Look. The ending sequence was fun. Kingston and Woods hit a double superkick on Otis. Kofi hits Otis with Trouble in Paradise and sidelines Gable with a Trust Fall. Xavier Woods hit a flying elbow drop on Otis for the victory.
Winner: The New Day
Grades: B+
Analysis
It was an excellent Tag Team wrestling match. Kofi and Gable looked brilliant. It looked weird how Gable was on a high level a few weeks ago, and now he lost. Nonetheless, The New Day deserved this victory, too. Maybe a Tag Titles shot is waiting for them shortly.
Backstage: Rhea Ripley confronted Seth Rollins. She wanted to persuade Rollins in an alliance with Judgment Day. She said that Seth has a damaged back, and if he wants a long Title reign like Roman Reigns, he needs Judgment Day to watch his back. Rollins rejected the offer and walked away. Ripley asked Seth to think about it.
WWE NXT Women’s Title Match
Becky Lynch vs Indi Hartwell
It was an excellent encounter between Indi Hartwell and the defending NXT Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, who never lost the Title. The match went on at a good pace. Candice LeRae was watching from backstage. Indi counters the Manhandle Slam and connects with a big boot for a two-count. Hartwell also hit a spinebuster for a near fall. In the end, the champ submitted the challenger with Dis-Arm-Her.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Grades: C+
Analysis
Small things can make a bigger impact, as did the appearance of Lyra Valkyria at ringside. Becky confronted her after the match. They will face each other at NXT Halloween Havoc Night One.
Backstage: Xia Li attacked Candice LeRae backstage. Also, SmackDown GM Nick Aldis approached Adam Pearce and apologized for his behavior on SmackDown. Pearce told him to watch around how big shows work. As Aldis walked away, Pearce immediately doubled the security.
Women’s World Title Contract Signing
Adam Pearce was in the ring with security. Jax, Stark, Rodriguez, and Baszler came out. The other three signed the contract, but Nia Jax hesitated. Pearce said that she needed to sign the contract if she wanted Rhea. So, Jax angrily signed the contract, too. Rhea Ripley came out on stage. She said it was wrong that Pearce had her defend the Title in a Fatal 5-Way match. However, She looked confident and warned the Raw GM of losing four Women competitors after this match. Mami successfully erupted a brawl between them by manipulating Nia Jax. Security tried to break things up but went in vain. In the end, Nia Jax delivered a massive Samoan Drop to Raquel to close the segment.
Grades: B-
Analysis
Rhea Ripley worked wisely and did the work for her without effort. It will be a major factor in their upcoming Fatal 5-way match.
Backstage: Ludwig Kaiser addressed Giovanni Vinci backstage and said he needed to finish the work for Imperium. Bronson Reed also interrupted and said that Gunther gave him a good fight and he was ready for round two.
Akira Tozawa was wearing an oversized Alpha Academy shirt. He confronted Reed and wanted a match with him. Bronson declined, but Tozawa chopped him. Reed didn’t even feel that and said it would be Tozawa’s funeral.
Singles Match
Johnny Gargano vs Giovanni Vinci
Next up was a match between Gargano and Vinci. Vinci delivered vicious backbreakers, but Johnny was kicked out. Johnny’s slingshot spear and superkick were also not enough. There were continuous distractions by Kaiser. Ciampa returned to wipe out Kaiser, and Gargano won with One Final Beat.
Winner: Johnny Gargano
Grades: C
Analysis
This match highlighted the DIY reunion as Ciampa returned and helped Gargano. On the other hand, tensions kept increasing between Imperium members as Vinci once again fell short in proving his worth to the Ring General Gunther.
There was a Shinsuke Nakamura video promo.
Logan Paul Segment
Logan Paul entered the ring and talked about Dillon Danis for a while as the crowd booed him. Dominik Mysterio interrupted him with a chorus of boos. He was barely audible. Both spoke about deadbeat Rey Mysterio and said Logan would be the new US Champion. Logan brought Samantha Irvin into the fray, which led to Ricochet coming out. The One and Only fought off both Dom and Paul and stood tall in the end with her fiancée to close out the segment.
Grades: A
Analysis
This was a spectacular segment. Both Logan and Dominik work great as a heel. It is good to have Ricochet involved in the feud.
Non Title Tag Team Match
Chelsea Green and Piper Niven vs Natalya and Nikki Cross
Nikki Cross was the mystery partner for Natalya in this non-title match against Women’s Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green and Piper Niven. Cross was weird and walked away in the midst of the match. Green hit an Un-Pretty-Her, followed by Niven’s cross-body splash for the win.
Winner: Chelsea Green and Piper Niven
Grades: C-
Analysis
No one can explain what’s happening with the Women’s Tag Team Division.However, Green is a star WWE must focus.
Backstage: The Miz confronted Adam Pearce backstage and claimed his spot on weekly TV. Rhea Ripley interfered and signed the fatal 5-way match contract.
Singles Match
Sami Zayn vs Drew McIntyre
Sami Zayn and Drew McIntyre faced off in a fantastic match. McIntyre dominated early on. He delivered vicious chops. Zayn also delivered his signature somersault plancha and sunset flip powerbomb. McIntyre kicked out of a Blue Thunder Bomb. There were “This is Awesome” chants many times in the match. Rhea Ripley interfered in the end as Sami was going for Helluva Kick. This allowed Drew to hit Claymore for the win.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Grades: A
Analysis
These two delivered what you would expect from them. Ripley is continuously trying to get Drew to the Judgment Day. McIntyre will face Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at Crown Jewel.
Backstage: Nick Aldis was talking to Katana Chance and Kayden Carter backstage. Pearce appeared and told him not to talk to his superstars. Aldis shook hands with Pearce and left the arena.
Singles Match
Bronson Reed vs. Akira Tozawa
This was a short, almost a squash match. Reed dominated and won by Tsunami.
Winner: Bronson Reed
Grades: C
Analysis
Bronson Reed needs a bigger feud. He faced Gubther last week in a hell of a match. WWE should capitalize on his momentum.
Singles Match
Jey Uso vs. Damian Priest
Damian Priest got the upper hand early on in the match. Jey bounced back with a clothesline, followed by a suicide dive. Priest’s Broken Arrow went for a near fall. Uso hit a flying cross-body from the top rope for a two-count. As Jey successfully hit a Spear, followed by an Uso Splash, Finn Balor ran down to the ring. Jey took Balor out with a suicide dive, but Priest got enough time to recover. A South of Heaven got the work done for Damian Priest.
Balor and Priest continued the attack. Cody made the save as he hobbled to the ring, selling his ankle injury. Rhodes dropped Balor on the ramp. He took out Priest and prepared for a chair shot similar to what Damian did to him earlier on the show. Balor pulled Priest away, and they retrieved.
Winner: Damian Priest
Grades: B+
Analysis
Cody Rhodes survived with one leg. Priest will target this injury in the upcoming weeks. Jimmy Uso was not on the show anywhere.
It was a great show overall. According to the storyline progression, almost everything that happened on the show made sense.
