On November 6, 2023, WWE Raw went live from Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey’s Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It was a fall-out show for Crown Jewel. But it also featured some of the builds for WWE Survivor Series WarGames.
A fatal 4-way was on the show to determine Gunther’s next opponent. Let’s take a look at everything that happened on Monday Night Raw.
Seth Rollins Kicks-Off
Seth Rollins welcomed fans on Raw. He talked about his Crown Jewel match against Drew McIntyre. He thanked McIntyre for not aligning with Judgment Day and having a fair match.
Seth also thanked Sami Zayn, who prevented the cash-in and called him to the ring. Zayn came out and said that he did what was right.
He thought that Judgment Day would be Bloodline 2.0 after the World Heavyweight Title win, so he prevented that. Rollins gave him a title opportunity. Sami called it for tonight’s main event, and it was official.
Grades: B
Analysis: It was an excellent welcoming segment with both crowd-favorite superstars. Sami getting the opportunity was a new and accepted move. It will be a fun match.
Non Title Tag Team Match
Judgment Day vs New Day
Next up were Finn Balor and Damian Priest, going against Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. The match started quickly, and New Day showed some dominance.
There was a top rope crossbody, lariats, and the signature Boom Drop from Kofi. In the end, Kofi was sidelined at ringside with a Sling Blade by Balor. Priest hit a South of Heaven on Woods, followed by Coup de Grace from Balor for the win.
Winner: Finn Balor and Damian Priest
Grades: B+
Analysis: It was a good win for the champions against a veteran team, New Day. Balor and Priest have improved as a tag team and bring so much new. It will be interesting to see if WWE gives a permanent tag team feud to the Judgment Day or waits for the Survivor series to pass.
Backstage: We saw Drew McIntyre refusing an interview. He was shown leaving the arena.
Singles Match
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Akira Tozawa
Akira Tozawa’s attempts to impress Alpha Academy continued as he challenged Shinsuke Nakamura to a singles match.
Tozawa hit a German Suplex and a suicide dive early on. In the ring, he was going for a diving Senton, but Nakamura got the knees up. Kinshasa delivered, and Nakamura got the win. Otis confronted Shinsuke after the match.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
Grades: C
Analysis: It was a short, fun match. Tozawa has a great set of moves. The former 205 star got more offense than one would expect. Nakamura’s dominance continues until he gets a better opponent.
WWE Intercontinental Title #1 Contendership Fatal Four Way Match
Ivar vs Bronson Reed vs The Miz vs Ricochet
Ivar, Bronson Reed, The Miz, and Ricochet fought for an Intercontinental Championship opportunity. The match featured all the action, from high-flying Ricochet to classical wrestling moves by The Miz. Reed and Ivar showed their strength.
Gunther was watching from backstage. A deadlift front suplexfrom Ivar on Ricochet looked tremendous. A Tower of Doom spot was amazing, taking everyone down.
We also saw Ricochet being used as a weapon by Reed. The big man also delivered a World’s Strongest Slam. The ending was confusing as The Miz won via a folding press. Ivar angrily attacked Miz after the match.
Winner: The Miz
Grades: A-
Analysis: The Miz got the deserved win, especially after his face turn last week on the Miz TV segment where Imperium disrespected him. All superstars got their moments to shine in this match. Ivar of The Viking Raiders has much to offer as a singles star.
Backstage: We saw Alpha Academy backstage. Akira Tozawa apologized, but Gable told him to focus on his Heritage Cup match. Maxxine said she was ready for the battle royal. Gable advised her to learn a lesson after Tozawa’s mistakes and stick around people of her size.
Tag Team Match
DIY vs The Creed Brothers
The Creed Brothers continued their run on the main roster with a bout against Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano. The match started well at a good pace.
One sequence was awesome, as we saw an elbow from Julius on Gargano. After that, there was a Diving Knee from Ciampa on Julius. Brutus Ball by Brutus on Ciampa, and everybody was down. Gargano hit a superkick, followed by lariats from Ciampa to take the Creed Brothers down. We saw an inverted DDT from Ciampa.
A Samoan Drop by Julius and a Shooting Star Press by Brutus, followed by a standing moonsault. Somehow, Tomasso broke the pin. Julius kicked out of a Fairytale Ending, which was outstanding.
Ludwig Kaiser interrupted in the end and delivered an enzuigiri on Gargano. This allowed The Creed Brothers to get the win after their Brutus Ball Doomsday Device finisher.
Winner: The Creed Brothers
Grades: B
Analysis: The Creed Brothers getting the win was a wise move. Also, the story continued between Imperium and DIY.
Backstage: Jey Uso gave a pep talk to Sami Zayn about his Title bout later tonight. Uso also told Zayn he and Cody have a Tag Team Titles match next week.
WWE Women’s World Title #1 Contendership Battle Royal
A Battle Royal determined the #1 contender for Rhea Ripley’s Women’s World Title. Becky Lynch was in the match, too, but Xia Li took her out during the entrance. Adam Pearce took Lynch out of the match. Nikki Cross stood in the ring like a statue. She was eliminated, but she still stood near the commentary table like that. Maxxine eliminated Piper Niven. Chelsea got eliminated by Natalya and Raquel.
Ivy Nile took out Natalya with a boot. Ivy Nile, Zoey Stark, Raquel Rodriguez, and Shayna Baszler were in the final four as they eliminated Nia Jax. However, Jax eliminated Nile with a cheat move. Stark and Baszler eliminated Raquel. Shayna got the Kirifuda Clutch. Stark got the win in the end after three superkicks and a DDT.
Winner: Zoey Stark
Grades: C
Analysis: Zoey Stark getting the opportunity is a fresh thing. The match had some entertaining spots, as we expect from these sorts of Battle Royals. Stark vs Ripley will happen at Survivor Series, and we got a backstage little promo war between the two.
WWE World Heavyweight Title Match
Seth Rollins vs Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn got a shot at Seth Rollins’ World Heavyweight Title, as made official earlier on the show. It was a fun match. Rollins had his signature moves like buckle bomb and suicide dive. Sami delivered a Blue ThunderBomb for a near fall. It was a superkick and pedigree by Rollins, but Sami was kicked out. Sami used a Boston Crab as well. Ultimately, it was a roll-up victory for Seth, and he retained the Title.
Judgment Day attacked Sami and Seth after the match. Jey Usomade the save with superkicks and a spear to Finn Balor. Priest took Jey out. Cody made the save this time, and the brawl continued. Adam Pearce got frustrated and announced a WarGames match to settle this.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Grades: A
Analysis: It was an amazing segment. Sami Zayn is an absolute star performer. The tensions ended as expected, and we have Judgment Day vs. Rollins, Zayn, Jey, and Cody in the brutal WarGames structure.
It was an average show overall. It looked better than the previous Monday Night Raw.
