Raw 23.10.2023

Whoo-Hoo! The RadiantGame team is now in your city, and today is Raw in Dallas, Texas. I was so excited about this Raw - big announcements, huge fights, and loud names. Let's get into it, my friends.

The opening was in the hands of The Judgment Day. Yeah, these guys are ruling WWE right now after the Bloodline stepped back, and Roman is not in full control over Raw. The new tag team champions came to the ring and made some statements that today is the day of celebration for The Judgment Day. But The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes made his interference. When he came to the ring, he mentioned that Mami is the leader of Judgment Day because she makes decisions and handles business. Also, Cody challenged Damien for a fight at Crown Jewel. Priest was open to the challenge, but it wasn't Judgment Day if they didn't try to teach a lesson for the disrespect. Tag champions attacked Rhodes with Rhea and Dominik Mysterio. It seemed that it would be a bitter end for Rhodes, but his buddy Main Event Jey came to the aid. Sadly, Judgment Day has their own Irish Ace. JD McDonagh helped Priest, and together they managed to injure Cody's leg with a steel chair. That was nasty and quite similar to what Brock Lesnar did several months ago. Well, for Cody, coming through pain and big challenges is some kind of normal life.

The first match of the night was a challenge from the Alpha Academy to the New Day duo. The boys were investigating which team is the most dominant and deserves a challenge for the undisputed Tag Team titles. It was a more or less competitive match. Maxxine Dupri and Akira Tozawa were in the Alpha corner, but still, Coffee and Woods were able to deliver Trouble in Paradise and an Elbow Drop on Otis and get another victory. So sad that the Alpha Academy push is now stopped or even worse. I'm a really big fan of Chad Gable, and I hope WWE will not put him again on the second or third plan.

The Man vs. Indi Hartwell. Becky's title reign as NXT champion is a complete PR move. I can't understand why a WWE veteran holds the NXT title and defends it on Raw. Maybe WWE is trying to make NXT popular, but honestly, most viewers watch the main shows, not the secondary ones. Nevertheless, NXT nowadays is a solid and interesting product. Back to the match. Recently, WWE tries to push young stars like Tegan Nox, Tiffany Stratton, and now Indi. But people's reaction says more than enough. The Man's entrance, the crowd shouting and screaming. Indi - some kind of meh, who is that? The ex-champion. Okay, let's see. The match was a bit boring, and the result was understandable from the beginning. Hartwell tried her best, using her long legs and strength, but technically Becky was simply better and tougher. In the end, Indi was Disarmed, and STILL NXT champion, Becky Lynch. Well, at least they shook hands, showing respect. That was nice; I loved it. Going next.

Women's 5-way match for the Women’s World title. Classic contract signing. Do you remember when the last time it was peaceful? I honestly don't. All competitors came to the ring and put their signatures on the contract. But Nia Jax came last and refused to sign before Mami showed up. When Rhea came, Nia offered her that Nia would smash all other competitors, and then they both could deal with the championship. Proud and beautiful woman can't stand Nia running her mouth and starts fighting. Security in WWE, as always, was very helpful. Adam's day became a nightmare.

Backstage, Nick Aldis again confronts Adam Pierce. The general manager conflict grows.

Johnny Gargano vs. Giovanni Vinci. The DIY and Imperium conflict is like a forest fire. It is understandable that sooner or later Johnny and Ciampa could possibly win the Tag Team titles. But right now, they have a conflict with Gunther's army. Giovanni is now some kind of a weak link. Both General and Ludwig hold him under pressure. As I thought, he lost without any questions. Although last week he helped Kaiser, this week he couldn't repay his debt. One Final Beat, and Johnny emerges victorious. Imperium tried to attack Johnny, but Ciampa came back and protected his buddy. I guess next week, The Ring General will handle both Vinci and Kaiser in an old-fashioned dungeon master manner.

Logan Paul is back on Raw. A somewhat senseless show episode. Rey was not in the arena, and instead, Dominik showed up. They both talked about how similar they are. And then Logan started to harass Samantha Irvin, speaking about SummerSlam and his victory over Ricochet. In the end, Logan asked Samantha to come to the ring and crown him as the new USA champion. That was enough for Ricochet, and he kicked both Dominik and Paul's candy asses for his girl's honor. That was really nice. He was like a knight. But I don't understand why Logan, a week away from Crown Jewel, started another feud with Ricochet. We'll see next week what it will bring.

Piper Niven & Chelsea Green vs Natalya & Nikki Cross. Company veteran Natalya still trying to find someone she can help with their career. First, it was Tegan Nox, and now she got injured again. I don't remember how many times she has been injured since coming to WWE, maybe 100? Now Natalya has gotten into tag team rivalries, and she chose Nikki Cross. I haven't seen her for ages. I heard she is now on the Main Event show. I think WWE has no idea what to do with her character. In recent years, I saw her as a superhero, a crazy one, and she was some kind of dead inside with 0 reaction and attention to a match. She just left Natalya alone in a 2-on-1 situation. Of course, the result was predictable. The Unprettier + Piper splash left Natalya no chances. No idea what this is all about. Atlest we say Green. She is hot I love her :)

Drew McIntyre vs Sami Zayn. The main event of the evening. I was waiting for this match. The last time we saw these two warriors was about a year ago, before Sami joined the Bloodline and got "buffed." This time he didn't run or hide. A close man-to-man fight with Drew leading slightly due to his physicality. It was a hot and active match, with the crowd loud and chanting "This is awesome." The turning point of the match was the Blue Thunder Bomb and exploder on Drew. It looked like Sami was ready to finish, but Rhea, Mami, distracted Zayn, won several seconds for Drew, and then the Claymore. One, two, three. Drew McIntyre victorious. Rhea plays strange games. First, she speaks with Seth, then helped Drew. I think we may possibly see at Crown Jewel allies of the Judgment Day with either Seth or Drew. Or Damian will use his contract on the champion. One week, and we will see it for ourselves.

“Big” Bronson Reed vs Akira Tozawa. As everyone thinks, that was a fast and simple fight for the big one. Akira showed some good spots, but the Tsunami splash left no chances for the Main Event show star. At least we see Akira in Alpha Academy. Maybe it will help Tozawa, and we will see some interesting feuds in the future. But now we congratulate Bronson. Possibly, he may try another round with Gunther.

Damian Priest vs Jey Uso. It's time for the main event of the evening. Lately, Damian got a hard push, and it seems soon we may see him as the main champion. But today he must handle The Real Chief, Jey Uso. As expected, we got a tough and equal fight. For about 10 minutes, both superstars demolished each other. And Priest made one mistake. Jey instantly speared Priest and performed the Samoan splash! One, two, Finn Balor got his partner back. Confronting the referee and taking Jey's attention, Balor won enough time for Priest to catch his breath and perform South of Heaven, securing the victory.

There were no doubts that Judgment Day would try to dismantle Jey. Ballor took a chair, and they tried to break Uso's leg the same way they did to Cody. Who would save Jey? Of course, his partner. Rhodes, with a leg brace, hobbled to the ring with a steel chair in hand. First, he took out Ballor with a leg kick and several chair shots. Priest didn't avoid revenge either. Several chair shots, and Cody was ready to break Priest's leg, but Finn was fast enough to save one of the PLE matches for us. Faces were victorious at the end of the night, but I still consider that Judgment Day will fight back because they are running this show.

For this Raw episode, I would give it a 6/10. We got some good matches and several funny moments. No comebacks except Ciampa. The storylines didn't move forward either. Just a good average show. I think that the last week before PLE should be hot and contain a lot of memorable moments. Soon we will find out.

That's all for today. Leave your comments and opinions below. And remember - that is best for business.