Our WWE Raw results for tonight include number one contender Damian Priest going face-to-face with World Champion Gunther, WWE Tag Team Champions Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair battling Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez, Bronson Reed has words for Seth “Freakin” Rollins. Here’s our review and grades for tonight’s show, live from Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
WWE Raw Card:
- WWE World Heavyweight Champion Gunther and Damian Priest Face Off
- WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair vs. Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
- ‘Big’ Bronson Reed Speaks
WWE Raw Results:
Guuuuuntaaaaaah!
World Heavyweight Champion Gunther makes his way to the ring with an even more sullen look than normal. Gunther exclaims that nothing matters because he is still the Heavyweight Champion. He isn’t going to bother looking at the past. Gunther is focused on the future and his championship. Damian Priest interrupts. Priest says he is here to see if Gunther will talk about him to his face. Gunther tries to speak, but Priest cuts him off, and B-Rabbit’d him; Priest says everything Gunther could say before Gunther can say it.
Read More: Gunther To Defend World Heavyweight Title Against Damian Priest At WWE Survivor Series
Priest notes that Gunther lost his swagger and dares him to take a shot at him. Gunther doesn’t leap. Priest laughs and says if Gunther tried it, Priest would drop his @$$. Ludwig Kaiser interrupts and yells at Priest for disrespecting Gunther. Gunther puts his hand over Gunther’s mic. Gunther whispers something to Kaiser. Kaiser pulls back and says he will not stand here and let this happen. Priest decks Kaiser, then clotheslines him over the top. Gunther slinks out of ring.
Grade: B
Good opening segment. Priest seems to have gotten his swagger back, and Gunther may be losing his. Interesting stuff. Also, Kaiser has one of the most punchable faces in WWE. Seeing him get clocked upside his head makes any segment better.
Damage CTRL vs. Pure Fusion Collective
SKY is in control early. Stark sends Sky flying with a back body drop. Stark and Deville land a double-team elbow strike. SKY kicks out. Deville is sent into SKY’s corner. Sane and SKY work over Deville and Stark. After a distraction, Baszler levels Sane with a clothesline behind the referee’s back. After the break, Sane manages to take in Dakota Kai. Kai lands a flurry of offense.
Baszler gets hung up in the ropes. Kai lands a stomp. Baszler kicks out. Face wash by Kai. Kai sets up her running boot. Baszler moves, and Deville eats the boot. Baszler locks Kai in a single-leg crab. Stark runs interference. SKY breaks free and breaks up Baszler’s submission. Everyone lands a big move. Baszler traps SKY in the Kirifuda Clutch. Kai surprises Baszler with a running boot. SKY lands the Over the Moonsault for the win.
Winners- Damage CTRL
Grade: B-
These teams have been circling each other for months, so it makes sense for this six-women tag match to happen, but the finish? Not so much. At some point, PFC has to win matches, right? Deville, Stark, and Baszler all add value to the women’s division, and this group should be a force, but it’s just… not. Damage CTRL shined here, but that’s not a surprise; they always do. Baszler got to eat another pin. Yay.
Kofi Kingston w/Xavier Woods vs. Pete Dunne
Dunne lands a few strikes. Kingston responds with an axehandle. Dunne backflips off the rope, but Kingston springboards into a dropkick. Topé by Kingston. After the break, Dunne works over Kingston. Kingston surprises Dunne with a dropkick. Kingston crushes Dunne with a frog splash to Dunne’s back. Dunne obliterated Kingston with a forearm strike to the face as he sailed through the air. Before Dunne can capitalize, Kingston lands Trouble in Paradise. Dunne falls out of the ring. Woods levels Dunne with a lariat. Kingston yells at Woods for getting involved. Dunne takes advantage and hits the Bitter End for the win.
Winner- Pete Dunne
After the match, Woods tells Kingston he told him so. Kingston pushes Woods. Both men argue.
Grade: B-
Dunne and Kingston work oddly well together. But this isn’t about the match. It’s all about the angle between Woods and Kingston. The New Day hasn’t been this interesting in a long time. This could go either way, but the journey has been fun regardless. This was the first time Kingston and Woods had gotten physical. Granted, it wasn’t an all-out fight, but Kingston finally shows some fire. The best thing about all of this is that Woods is right.
Excited Godzilla Noises; Here Comes Bronson Reed!
Reed says he’s here tonight to say Seth Rollins is a hell of a competitor. Reed is not a competitor; Reed is a monster. Last week, Reed took out Damian Priest and Sheamus. If Rollins wants his revenge, Reed is in the ring right now. Rollins’ music hits, and he strolls out on the stage. Rollins runs down to the ring. Reed swats Rollins like a fly. The fight spills out of the ring. Rollins manages to send Reed into the post.
Rollins clears off the commentary desk. Reed boots Rollins onto the desk. Reed starts to climb the barricade to put Rollins through the table. Rollins dives off the table and lands on Reed. Security separates both men. Rollins rolls out of the ring, runs to the other side, and hops on the apron to punch Reed again. Security pulls Rollins off the apron. Reed takes out the security with a suicide dive. More security and Raw GM Adam Pearce arrive and finally pull apart Reed and Rollins.
Grade: B
This writer is a big fan of Kaiser. He’s great in the ring and an awesome flunky. That said, he gets way too much in his matches, taking people who are feuding with Gunther to the limit, where he should just be shining them up to face him. This was not that. This match was exactly what it needed to be. Kaiser got just enough offense to look credible, and Priest ended it quickly. That’s how you shine up, your conquering hero.
Backstage, The Miz runs into the Final Testament. Karrion Kross demands Miz tell him where the Wyatt Sicks are. Miz says he’s done with this. He’s taking a leave of absence. Kross says what happened to Paul Ellering last week was Miz’s fault. Kross asks Miz if he remembers when Kross told him he was going to break his legs. Akam and Rezar grab Miz and drag him to the ring.
Miz’s Final Testament
Kross demands answers from Miz. The lights go out, and the Wyatt Sicks surround the ring. Miz hits Rowan with a chair. A brawl breaks out. Kross and co leave the Wyatt’s laid out. Kross and Miz hug. Uncle Howdy laughs as Kross walks away. Kross looks disturbed by Howdy’s laughter.
Grade: C
WWE gets points for letting the Final Testament look strong here. Maybe if we get more of this, people will actually care that the group exists. That isn’t shade; this is frustration. The final Testament is the men’s division version of the Pure Fusion Collective. They SHOULD be a force, but all they ever do is lose. Is this the first step in turning that around?
Read More: The Miz And Final Testament Attack Wyatt Sicks On WWE RAW
WWE Women’s Tag-Team Champions Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair vs. Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
As soon as the bell rings, Belair decks Morgan. Morgan and Belair trade shots. Belair spears Morgan in the corner. Morgan avoids another spear from Belair. Belair eats the ring post. Morgan stomps Belair in the corner. Belair tosses Morgan into the corner. Belair lays in a few punches. After a distraction from Rodriguez, Morgan yanks Belair off the second rope by her braid. Belair is dumped out of the ring. Cargill steps in to stop Rodriguez from cheap-shotting Belair. Belair almost runs into Cargill, but she manages to put on the brakes.
Rodriguez pushes Cargill into the apron. Belair elbow Rodriguez. Morgan dives off the stops and dropkicks Belair. After the break, Belair manages to tag in Cargill. Cargill clears the ring. Cargill hits Jaded 2.0 on Morgan. Rodriguez breaks up the pin. Rodriguez and Cargill boot each other in the face at the same time. Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton run down to ringside. Stratton distracts the referee. Jax Samaon drops Cargill on the apron. Jax sends Cargill back into the ring. Rodriguez lands an elbow drop. Belair breaks up the pin. Naomi runs down to the ring and takes out Stratton. Everyone brawls. Belair hits the KOD on Morgan for the win.
Winners- Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill
After the match, Nia Jax attacks Cargill and Belair. Naomi gets it, too. IYO SKY makes the save. The faces stand tall.
Grade: B
This was a fun match, but it seems they were a bit pressed for time, as they were moving a mile a minute to start. If these three superstars and Raquel Rodriguez had had more time, this thing would have really come together. The ending was a bit of an overbooked mess, but at least Belair and Cargill’s win was technically still a clean one. I have to be honest here. I’m disappointed this eight-way brawl didn’t end with William Regal walking out and announcing WarGames.
WWE Raw Review:
Raw was a mixed bag of hot segments and okay matches. The interaction between World Champion Gunther and the number one contender Damian Priest was entertaining and built significant interest in their upcoming match (which was different from the last these two met). The match of the night was the Women’s Tag Team Championship match. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill are doing something for the tag titles that no other team has done before: they are making them actually matter.
“As the Bloodline Turns” continued tonight, with both Bloodlines scrambling to find a 5th member for their respective teams. This writer called Bron Breakker as the 5th man for the OG Bloodline, and it seems we will be headed in that direction. Who do you all think will be the 5th man for the Bloodline WarGames match? Tell us what you thought of the show in the comments!
Rating: B-
This event is ongoing. This information will be updated as the event progresses.
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