By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw (Episode 1,427)
Live from Orlando, Florida at Amway Center
Aired September 28, 2020 on USA Network
[Hour One] Ric Flair’s entrance music played and he made his entrance. The broadcast team of Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, and Samoa Joe checked in from ringside. Big Show made his entrance, followed by Christian, and Shawn Michaels. Still shots aired from the pay-per-view of the legends getting revenge on Randy Orton during the Ambulance Match.
Michaels welcomed viewers to Raw and said it had been a long time since he’d done that. Michaels introduced WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, who joined the legend in the ring. McIntyre hugged Show, Flair, Michaels, and Christian, then held up his title belt while some pyro was shot off in the arena.
McIntyre said it was pretty cool to be in the ring with four legends. He said he’s known them all for a long time. He said he grew up with Big Show and Christian. He said they traveled the world together and Christian always stood up for him, and Show was always a big brother to him. McIntyre said Michaels was a mentor to him and mentioned their time together in NXT. McIntyre said he appreciated Flair’s stories. He recalled being in awe of being on the same roster as Flair at one point.
McIntyre turned the focus to beating Orton in the Ambulance Match and remaining WWE Champion. Michaels said he and the legends came out to thank McIntyre for whooping that Orton ass. Michaels said they got together with the goal of evening the odds and seeking revenge. Michaels noted that McIntyre didn’t know about it and hoped that he wasn’t upset. Michaels said that if McIntyre was upset, then it was Flair’s call. McIntyre said he welcomes people beating up Orton and it would be fine with him if people did it on the street.
Randy Orton appeared on the big screen. Orton said he hoped McIntyre was enjoying the moment because it would not last. He said that if McIntyre thinks they went through hell at Clash of Champions, he hasn’t seen anything yet. McIntyre assumed that Orton was going to beg for another match. Orton said he didn’t need to beg, he’d be given a rematch because of who he is.
Orton said there’s a price to be paid for crossing the Legend Killer. Orton walked away from the area where he was delivering the promo from and wheeled his luggage into a parking lot area. McIntyre said it appeared as though Orton had left the building. McIntyre went back to talking about the legends in the ring. McIntyre said he wanted to defend his title. He issued an open challenge to anyone backstage who he hasn’t faced to meet him for the WWE Championship during Raw. “Somebody, please, step up,” McIntyre concluded…
Powell’s POV: A good segment. It’s great for McIntyre to be shown as a champion who is respected by the legends. I like that Michaels was scripted to mention that McIntyre didn’t know the legends would be interfering on his behalf. Orton dropping references to hell is a pretty obvious hint that they will be having a rematch in the Hell in a Cell structure, but the match was not officially announced. It was also a good call to go with an open challenge. There’s a big Monday Night Football game tonight, so that tease could get some fans who are flipping over for the Chiefs vs. Ravens game to at least check back to see who faces McIntyre.
The broadcast team hyped the Raw Women’s Championship rematch. Footage aired of Asuka beating Zelina Vega at Clash of Champions, followed by Vega taking a cheap shot at Asuka after the match…
Backstage, Kayla Braxton spoke with Vega. She said Asuka is not ready for her. Asuka showed up and told Vega that she’s ready for her. Asuka said she hopes that Vega is ready to lose to her one more time. A producer and a referee showed up to keep the women apart while Phillips hyped their title match for after the break… [C]
Phillips put over the ThunderDome and once again stated that it was made for the WWE Universe. Saxton hyped McIntyre’s opening challenge, and Philips hyped the King’s Court with the Mysterio family as his guests…
1. Asuka vs. Zelina Vega for the Raw Women’s Championship. Vega’s entrance was not televised. Ring announcer Mike Rome delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Asuka applied an armbar roughly ten seconds into the match, but Vega reached the ropes to break the hold. Vega targeted the left arm, which the broadcast team said she injured the night before. Vega kicked Asuka to ringside. Vega leapt from the apron at Asuka, who caught her with a kick. [C]
Vega was in offensive control coming out of the break. Vega slapped Asuka, who smiled at her and then took offensive control. Asuka performed a release German suplex, then threw a knee to the head of Vega and covered her for a two count. Vega caught Asuka in an armbar, but Asuka eventually powered out with a suplex.
Asuka threw kicks to the head of Vega, who ended up flinging Asuka to the mat. Vega went for the pin, but Asuka countered into an Asuka Lock attempt. Vega reached the ropes before Asuka could apply it. Asuka bickered with the referee, allowing Vega to hit a Backstabber. Vega covered Asuka, who put her foot on the ropes to break the pin. Vega went up top and went for a moonsault. Asuka put her knees up, then put Vega in the Asuka Lock for the submission win…
Asuka defeated Zelina Vega in 8:15 to retain the Raw Women’s Championship.
Powell’s POV: There were a couple of clunky moments, but the good definitely outweighed the bad . This match was more entertaining than their pay-per-view outing on Sunday.
Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Big Show, and Christian were shown playing poker in a backstage room… Phillips hyped McIntyre’s open challenge… [C]
Andrade was standing in the ring coming out of the break. Andrade told Vega, who was at ringside, that she is nothing without him. Andrade said Vega blames him for everything, “but look at you.” Vega headed to the back. Andrade continued his promo while looking into the camera. Andrade said Garza was a weak link and that’s why he was hurt the night before. Andrade boasted that he is the greatest in WWE and asked who wanted to face him. Keith Lee made his entrance…
2. Keith Lee vs. Andrade. Phillips noted that it was a match involving two former NXT Champions. Andrade was in offensive control when Lee suddenly hoisted him up and gave him a Spirit Bomb before pinning him…
Keith Lee beat Andrade in 2:50.
Powell’s POV: I’m surprised they didn’t put Andrade and Vega back together. I wonder if they are planning to have them on opposite brands. The match was disappointing. I’m sure these two could have had a hell of a match, but they weren’t even given three minutes.
Footage aired from earlier in the day of MVP and Shelton Benjamin eating lunch together when a random guy sat down at their table. Bobby Lashley told up and told the guy that he was in his seat. The man moved over. Lashley told him that he was still in his seat. The man apologized and started to leave, but Lashley asked him where he was going with his plate. The man left his plate, which MVP dumped onto Lashley’s actual plate… [C]
Powell’s POV: Eating food off a stranger’s plate is just plain gross during normal times, but apparently the Lashley character is happy to eat someone else’s food during a pandemic.
An NXT Takeover 31 ad aired. Samoa Joe spoke about his excitement for this Takeover event. Phillips set up footage from last week that apparently resulted in the death of Akira Tozawa via shark attack…
Backstage, R-Truth was playing chess with Little Jimmy (his invisible friend). A ninja showed up and bowed, then handed Truth an envelope. Truth opened what turned out to be a message from Tozawa, who noted that he’d been eaten by a shark if Truth was reading the letter. The ninja presented Truth with a briefcase, which contained Tozawa’s black belt.
Tozawa appeared (he lives!!!) and rolled up Truth for a three count to become the new 24/7 Champion. The ninja hit Tozawa with the briefcase and pinned him to win the title. The ninja unmasked and revealed himself to be Drew Gulak. Truth hit Gulak with the briefcase and pinned him, then ran off with the 24/7 Title…
Saxton hyped Truth vs. Tozawa vs. Gulak for the 24/7 Title for later in the show…
Powell’s POV: Really, that segment wasn’t enough? We need more of the 24/7 Title?
Phillips set up footage from last week of the Seth Rollins and Mysterio family segment…
Backstage, Murphy was texting on his phone when Seth Rollins showed up. Rollins greeted a confused Murphy with a hug. Rollins told Murphy it was a big night because the Mysterio family is on the King’s Court. Rollins noted that Murphy didn’t have a match and told him to go get dressed up. Murphy left his phone behind. Rollins picked it up and put it in his pocket… [C]
An ad aired for the WWE Draft that will be held October 9 on Smackdown and October 12 on Raw…
Jerry Lawler stood in the ring and hosted the King’s Court segment and introduced the Mysterio family. Rey, Angie, Dominick, and Aliyah Mysterio all headed to the ring. Angie and Aliyah sat on a couch in the ring while Rey and Dom stood behind them.
[Hour Two] Rey said Seth Rollins can’t control his own house and now he’s trying to disrupt his. Rey said he is the father of Dom and Aliyah. Rey said they have been his entire life since they were born. He said Rollins is an evil human being. Dom said it’s gone on too long and the next time he sees Rollins he will put an end to it.
Lawler brought up the issue between Rey and Aliyah, and Murphy apologizing to her. Aliyah said she is 19. She said she doesn’t know what to make of Murphy, but she said whoever is around Rollins needs to reevaluate their lives because Rollins is a fraud.
Seth Rollins appeared on the big screen. He said one of the Mysterios was not telling the truth. He said Aliyah might not be telling the truth about how she feels about Murphy. Rollins said they didn’t need to believe his word when they could see it for themselves.
Rollins had Aliyah and Murphy’s text exchanges, which included a happy birthday message. Aliyah told Rey that Murphy isn’t like Rollins, then left the ring. Rey and Angie left the ring and followed their daughter while Rollins was shown still looking at the phone.
Murphy showed up and wasn’t happy with Rollins, who accused him of lying and hiding things. Murphy grabbed Rollins by the collar. Rollins laughed. Dom arrived and attacked Murphy. Dom and Murphy had to be pulled apart…
Powell’s POV: So this is a warped WWE version of Romeo and Juliet? Far be it from me to spoil a play written in the late 1500’s, but here’s hoping it ends better for Murphy and Aliyah.
Natalya and Lana made their entrance… [C] Phillips announced Dominik Mysterio vs. Murphy for later in the show…
Natalya and Lana stood in the ring and said they would stay out there all night if Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax weren’t stripped of the WWE Women’s Tag Titles. Adam Pearce came out and said they can’t strip Baszler and Jax of the titles, but they could give them a match against the newest members of Raw’s women’s division. Mandy Rose made her entrance and was joined by Dana Brooke. Phillips said Dana Brooke was now a member of the Raw roster…
3. Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke vs. Natalya and Lana. Phillips noted that Jax and Baszler will defend the tag titles against Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan once the champions are medically cleared. Rose performed a suplex on Lana and had her pinned, but Natalya broke it up. Brooke took out Natalya, then Rose hit Lana with a clunky knee strike and pinned her…
Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke beat Natalya and Lana in 3:05.
Powell’s POV: So Rose and now Brooke were both traded to Raw, yet we still don’t know who Smackdown received in exchange for Rose. Worse yet, we are supposed to believe that there would be another trade just a couple weeks before a draft. Strange. Is Bill O’Brien of the Houston Texans the genius behind these trades?
Aleister Black delivered a backstage promo from a dark setting. He said Kevin Owens claims to be a good man, but good men don’t let bad things happen. He said Owens said he had to be with his family and that was enough to make everyone else forgive and forget. Black said family represents cruelty from his father. Black removed his head wrap and showed that his “injured” eye was black. Black said he would not forget what Owens did…
Kevin Owens made his entrance… [C] The legends’ poker game continued backstage. Michaels was almost out of chips. Show noted that he had not retired, so he could technically accept the open challenge. The Street Profits showed up… Aleister Black made his entrance…
4. Kevin Owens vs. Aleister Black. Owens attacked Black the moment the bell rang. Later, Owens performed a senton and then a German suplex. Black rolled to ringside. Owens performed a senton off the apron onto Black on the floor. [C]
Black caught Owens with a kick to the back of the head and covered him for a two count. Owens dodged another kick, then superkicked Black and covered him for a two count. Owens fired punches at Black, then sold a leg injury while slowing climbing the ropes. Black cut off Owens and tried to superplex him, but Owens punched him off.
Owens went for a senton, but Black put his knees up. Black hit Owens with a knee to the head and got a near fall. Black covered Owens two more times and got the same result. The referee pulled Black off from attacking Owens. Black turned into a punch from Owens. Black fought back and accidentally hit the referee, who called for the bell.
Kevin Owens defeated Aleister Black by DQ in 13:20.
After the match, Owens put Black down with a Cutter. Saxton said Black was seeing red and didn’t realize he hit the official…
Powell’s POV: The replay showed that when Black was pulling back to throw a punch at Owens, his elbow hit the referee in the gut. Meh. Both men need wins and it seems like the creative forces are hesitant to put over either man clean.
The Hurt Business trio of MVP, Bobby Lashley, and Shelton Benjamin were shown walking backstage. Mustafa Ali exited their locker room. Ali said he must have been lost. MVP said he must have lost his damn mind. MVP shoved Ali. Apollo Crews and Ricochet showed up and held back Ali, then the two sides bickered… [C]
5. R-Truth vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Drew Gulak in a Triple Threat for the WWE 24/7 Championship. None of the entrances were televised. After some early bickering, Tozawa and Gulak worked together briefly. Gulak grabbed Tozawa and tried to throw him out of the ring, but the official was in the way. Tozawa still found his way to ringside. Gulak caught Truth in his submission finisher. Truth escaped the hold just before Tozawa leapt off the top rope and landed on Gulak. Truth worked over both men and ended up pinning Gulak…
R-Truth defeated Akira Tozawa and Drew Gulak in 4:20 to retain the WWE 24/7 Championship.
Powell’s POV: The 24/7 Title nonsense is so bad that I actually wanted to see a Retribution attack.
Charly Caruso interviewed Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke and asked them how their team came to fruition. Rose said she’s had some ups and downs, but Brooke has always been there for her. Brooke said Rose is an inspiration because she gets knocked down and always fights back. Rose said they were coming for the winners of the WWE Women’s Tag Title match. They oddly looked off camera and then the camera showed Dom Mysterio preparing for his match… [C]
Powell’s POV: I have no idea why the women looked at Dom so oddly. Brooke nudged Rose and motioned in his direction. Before they showed Dom, you would have thought that the women spotted Lashley eating food off someone else’s plate again or something equally disgusting.
A graphic boasted about the number of WWE Instagram page followers…
6. Dominik Mysterio vs. Murphy. Once the bell ran, Mysterio went on the offensive. Murphy fought back and caught Mysterio with a kick. Mysterio tossed Murphy to ringside, but Murphy pulled Mysterio to the floor. Mysterio ran Murphy into the barricade and then tossed him back inside the ring. Mysterio went up top for a move, but Murphy rolled back to the floor. A short time later, Murphy tossed Mysterio of the broadcast table.
[Hour Three] Mysterio blasted Murphy with a forearm. Murphy came back with a knee strike. Mysterio performed a jawbreaker. Murphy came right back with some strikes. Mysterio came right back with a nice tornado DDT.
A short time later, Dom pulled a kendo stick out from underneath the ring. Aliyah headed to ringside and asked her brother to put it down. Dom told her to go away. Murphy rolled up Dom and pinned him with a handful of tights.
Murphy defeated Dominik Mysterio in 7:25.
After the match, Aliyah asked Dom to stop. Dom told her that he was doing this for their family and their legacy. Dom told her that their dad was right, she is naive. Aliyah slapped Dom and then stormed to the back…
The Hurt Business were shown walking backstage while Phillips hyped their six-man tag match. MVP threw a water bottle at a big janitor whose face couldn’t seen seen and told him to pick it up… [C]
Powell’s POV: Dominik’s in-ring work has been a very pleasant surprise, but his inexperience really shines through when he’s asked to act.
Highlights aired of Bobby Lashley beating Apollo Crews to retain the U.S. Championship at the Clash of Champions event…
Backstage, Dolph Ziggler spoke with Adam Pearce about Drew McIntyre’s open challenge. Ziggler indicated that he had someone else in mind for the match…
Powell’s POV: Bobby Roode? Better yet, Bobby Roode’s glorious mustache?
The Hurt Business made their entrance. MVP cut a promo on Apollo Crews and said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. MVP said they sent Cedric Alexander to Hurt Business bootcamp so that he could avoid slipping up like he did last week against Crews. MVP ran through Crews’s failures against Lashley…
Mustafa Ali, Ricochet, and Apollo Crews made their entrance. The babyfaces knocked MVP and Benjamin off the apron and then tried to triple team Lashley before the referee could call for the bell. The Hurt Business fired back. The lights flickered and the Retribution logo appeared on the ThunderDome screens. [C]
7. “The Hurt Business” Bobby Lashley, MVP, and Shelton Benjamin vs. Mustafa Ali, Ricochet, and Apollo Crews. The match was joined in progress and there was no sign of Retribution. Ricochet tagged in and had a nice offensive flurry on Benjamin, who eventually cut him off with a knee to the head.
Later, Crews and Ricochet took out Lashley and Benjamin with dives fro the apron. Inside the ring, Ali performed tornado DDT on MVP, who basically did a somersault while taking the move. Ali followed up with a 450 splash and scored the pin…
Mustafa Ali, Ricochet, and Apollo Crews defeated Bobby Lashley, MVP, and Shelton Benjamin.
Powell’s POV: Congratulations to Ali, as I assume this means he is next in line to lose to a bunch of U.S. Title matches to Lashley. The match was entertaining aside from that tornado DDT, but these babyfaces have been damaged and it’s going to take a lot more than this win to change anything.
The poker game continued between the legends. Flair won the pot and then strutted…
A Bianca Belair vignette aired. She beat two men and a woman in a race. She said she wanted to race again. She gave a man and a woman a head start and still beat them. She ran hurdles in a final race while the last man ran a standard race and she still beat him…
Phillips hyped Murphy, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, and Mustafa Ali for Raw Talk on WWE Network…
A Retribution video package aired with footage from their recent appearances…
Powell’s POV: Where is Raw Underground tonight? Was it traded to Smackdown for Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke?
Drew McIntyre made his entrance for the open challenge… [C] McIntyre wondered who was ready. Dolph Ziggler’s awful f’n entrance theme played and he walked out in street clothes. Ziggler pointed at McIntyre and said this would be special. Bobby Roode made his entrance sporting a bushier beard than he had when he last appeared on WWE television…
8. Drew McIntyre vs. Robert Roode (w/Dolph Ziggler) for the WWE Championship. Mike Rome delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. A couple minutes into the match, McIntyre catapulted Roode head-first onto the ring apron. [C]
McIntyre continued to dominate Roode until he got caught up in working over Ziggler. Roode took advantage of the distraction and clipped the knee of McIntyre. Roode ran the bad knee into the ring post. Roode applied a figure four in the middle of the ring. McIntyre eventually rolled over to reverse the hold. Roode reached the ropes to break it.
McIntyre caught Roode with a Glasgow Kiss headbutt. McIntyre followed up with a couple of big suplexes. McIntyre kipped up, but he acted like his knee buckled. Roode performed a spinebuster on McIntyre for a two count. McIntyre came back with a Future Shock DDT for a near fall of his own.
McIntyre went for a Claymore Kick, but Ziggler pushed Roode out of the way and took the kick. Roode performed his Glorious DDT finisher on McIntyre for a near fall. McIntyre avoided a second Glorious DDT, then ran the ropes and hit Roode with a Claymore Kick before scoring the clean pin.
Drew McIntyre defeated Robert Roode in 12:40 to retain the WWE Championship.
Backstage, the hooded janitor from earlier was shown pushing his cart. The janitor pulled a chair off the cart and approached the “Legends’ Lounge” where Flair, Michaels, Show, and Christian were still playing. The janitor unmasked and revealed himself to be Randy Orton. He put on a pair of night vision goggles.
Orton entered the room and closed the door behind him, then turned off the lights while he had a chair in his hand. The sounds of commotion could be heard. Eventually, Orton turned on the lights and the legends were all lying on the ground in the trashed room. Orton exited the room and pulled the hood over his head again, then pointed at the room while a bunch of referees showed up…
Powell’s POV: The main event was a well worked match. It was impossible to view Roode as a threat to win the title, but they did a nice job of working in Ziggler interference to keep it interesting. The post match angle with Orton attacking the legends was clever and provided him with revenge for the night before. And given the McIntyre character’s affinity for the legends, he now has the incentive to call for a rematch in Hell in a Cell to settle things once and for all if that’s where they want to go.
Overall, this was mostly a nothing happening edition of Raw. It was a watchable episode and the opening and closing segments were solid, but it just wasn’t very eventful or newsworthy. I can’t say that I missed Retribution or Raw Underground. Let me know what you thought of Raw by assigning it a letter grade in our weekly post show poll. I will return shortly with my same night audio review of this episode for Dot Net Members.
“Michaels said he and the legends came out to thank Orton for whooping that Orton ass”
Oh really?
Where the hell is Raw Underground? Our night is ruined.
…under the ground?
Raw Underground and Retribution were both cancelled by Covid 19. WWE tapes in a state that just lifted all corona restrictions and it immediately changes it’s show. Nia,basler,cross, Retribution, and most of raw Underground people around the ring have corona in Florida
Moderate comments damn Jason how jebaited or tilted have these comments made you
I guess it is possible that creative understands that Retribution and Raw Underground are not working at all as concepts and have pulled the plug on both. Nah, what am I saying? They’ll probably both be back next week with no explanation for their absence this week at all.
Raw Underground has been moved to a very special timeslot, and will appear in the 3rd hour of Smackdown.