By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw (Episode 1,637)
St. Louis, Missouri at Enterprise Center
Aired live October 7, 2024 on USA Network
[Hour One] Joe Tessitore checked in on commentary while a shot aired of the St. Louis skyline. Footage aired from earler in the day of Sami Zayn signing autographs outside the venue, along with separate shots of Gunther, Pete Dunne, and Sheamus walking backstage, and the arrival of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, as well as Jey Uso…
Ring announcer Samantha Irvin introduced Sexyy Red, who was standing in the ring. Red played to the crowd and danced a bit. She is also scheduled to appear on Tuesday’s NXT show…
A video package recapped the WWE Bad Blood premium live event… Wade Barrett was on color commentary…
CM Punk made his entrance. Punk limped and had a wrap on his right elbow along with bandages on forehead and cheek. “Is it good to be not dead in St. Louis, Missouri on a Monday night or what?” Punk started.
Punk said he’d been through enough this weekend and if they were going to set him on fire, this was the time. Punk said he was in no condition to walk to the ring, so he’d be speaking from the stage. Punk said it hurt to smile, but he was happy to see the fans.
Punk said he’s alive and yet it doesn’t feel like it. He said he won and yet it doesn’t feel like it. Punk said the way the match made him feel left him with a lot of questions. Punk said he didn’t know what the future holds for him. He recalled saying he had no Hell in a Cell matches left in him and he was right.
Punk said he’s more banged up than he’s been in his entire life. He said as much as he loves the fans, he just doesn’t know. Punk thanked his “ride or die” fans. He said there’s never been in a second of his career that he didn’t think he could do it without the fans.
Punk thanked his peers and said he feels privileged to walk the hallway with. Punk said it’s been a joy and his life’s pleasure to work with most of them.
Punk said the third group of people he wanted to thank were those who don’t like him at all. He said there’s a thin line between love and hate, and he’s turned the hate into cash, so he thanks them. Punk looked into the camera and said he doesn’t know why they keep doubting him, but he hopes they keep doubting him.
Punk said he had to go home because he hadn’t seen his wife in five weeks. He said he had a lot of flowers to buy. Punk said he’d love to say he’d see the fans soon, but he just didn’t know. Punk thanked the fans.
Seth Rollins made his entrance and went face-to-face with Punk on the stage. Rollins headed to the ring while Punk headed backstage. Once in the ring, Rollins played to the St. Louis crowd.
Rollins said he had to do the right thing. Rollins looked to the stage and told Punk to get well soon. Rollins added that the sooner Punk gets healthy, the sooner he can retire him, so he wished him a speedy recovery. Nice.
Rollins said things have been crazy. Rollins mentioned Dominik Mysterio hanging from a shark cage and The Rock returning. Rollins said hell must have frozen over because Cody Rhodes teamed with Roman Reigns.
Rollins mentioned that Cody got punched in the mouth by Kevin Owens. Rollins said he wasn’t supposed to talk about that, so he would get things back on track. Rollins went through his catchphrase and said he is back to destroy Bronson Reed.
Rollins said Reed was not at Raw. The fans booed. Rollins said he knew Reed was somewhere watching. Rollins looked into one of the cameras and told Reed that he tried to end his career a few months ago just to make a name for himself.
Rollins congratulated Reed because after taking six Tsunamis, he knows his name. Rollins said if Reed wants to be famous, then he’ll give him his 15 minutes. Rollins challenged Reed to face him in a singles match and said Reed could name the time and place. Rollins said this time he’ll be expecting Reed. Rollins’ entrance music played.
Jey Uso’s entrance music cut off Seth’s theme. The Intercontinental Champion made his entrance. Rollins stood in the ring with his arms crossed. Rollins looked at Jey’s title belt for a moment and then left the ring. Jey played to the crowd heading into the first commercial break… [C]
Powell’s POV: I haven’t seen any reports of Punk suffering any injuries that would sideline him, so I’ll assume he was just doing a great job of putting over the brutality of the Hell in a Cell match. I love the work that Punk, Drew McIntyre, and the creative forces have done to turn HIAC back into the ultimate showdown match. They are obviously keeping the Punk and Rollins friction alive, but I was surprised to see friction between Rollins and Uso.
Tessitore and Barrett were shown at their desk. Tessitore pointed out a “St. Lou Yeet” fan sign behind them while Barrett acted annoyed by it. Xavier Woods made his entrance with Kofi Kingston…
1. Jey Uso vs. Xavier Woods (w/Kofi Kingston) for the Intercontinental Championship. Samantha Irvin delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Jey caught Woods with a kick. Woods rolled to the apron. Jey went for a spear, but Woods caught him with a kick.
Both men fought on the apron. Woods caught Jey with a kick that sent him to ringside. Woods followed and hit a Death Valley Driver on the floor heading into a picture-in-picture break. [C]
Woods jumped from the ropes for his elbow drop and was caught by a superkick. Jey followed up with an Uso Splash and scored the pin…
Jey Uso defeated Xavier Woods in 6:35 to retain the Intercontinental Championship.
After the match, Jey joined Kingston in helping Woods to his feet. Jey and Kingston exchanged pleasantries, but Woods blew off Jey’s handshake offer. Kingston joined Woods at ringside and asked him what was going on. Woods blew off the idea of congratulating Jey for beating him.
Jey was celebrating inside the ring when Bron Breakker appeared and speared him. Woods tried to stop Kingston from trying to help Uso, but Kingston broke free and rushed to the ring. Breakker put Kingston down with a spear.
Kingston ended up at ringside where Woods was tending to him. Breakker exited the other side of the ring, got a running start, and then speared Woods. Breakker returned to the ring and ran the ropes before spearing Uso again. Breakker picked up the Intercontinental Title belt and held it up before dropping it on Uso…
Powell’s POV: The match was well worked and yet a little underwhelming if only because of it aired during the PIP break. But I enjoy the way that Woods’ frustration continues to build. Breakker taking out all three men was well done. It looks like he’s not finished with the IC Title yet.
A Rhea Ripley video promo aired with highlights of her match with Liv Morgan aired from WWE Bad Blood. Ripley brought up the attack by Raquel Rodriguez and said Morgan continues to prove that she can’t beat her by herself. Ripley said Morgan just guaranteed herself and delayed the inevitable. Ripley told Morgan to bring Rodriguez because she will go through both of them…
The fire letters vignette aired and the letters PFR appeared on the screen… [C]
Tessitore narrated a spot for fans to donate to the American Red Cross for the Hurricane Helene relief effort…
Powell’s POV: And here’s wishing everyone in the Florida area the best with the Hurricane Milton.
Backstage, Jackie Redmond caught up with Bron Breakker and said everyone was confused because he showed Jey Uso respect a week ago. Redmond asked Breakker wasn’t going on. Breakker looked at her and walked away. Redmond said it seemed like Breakker had a change of heart…
Highlights aired from Bad Blood of Paul Levesque introducing the Crown Jewel Championship…
Tessitore and Barrett were shown talking at their desk. Barrett tried to bring up Kevin Owens attacking Cody Rhodes after Bad Blood. Tessitore cut him off and read the tweet from Paul Levesque about how the matter would be dealt with internally.
A shot aired of Cody Rhodes walking backstage with his title belt in his hand. The feed cut out and the broadcast team said they had technical issues…
Powell’s POV: I’m not crazy about Tessitore being scripted to interrupt Barrett. It’s a little thing, but the play-by-play voice is supposed to be portrayed as a voice that fans can trust, not a corporate shill whose first priority is toeing the company line.
A Sheamus and Pete Dunne video package aired to set up their Donnybrook match…
The ringside area had barrels and other items used for the Donnybrook match. Sheamus made his entrance… [C]
Backstage, Karrion Kross was speaking with The Miz, who said there is no Miz and Final Testament. A Wyatt Sicks symbol flashed. Miz said he did what he did to R-Truth for himself.
R-Truth entered the room and said he’d been texting Miz. He said Miz was confused, he’s not in Judgment Day anymore. Truth said he forgave Miz, who told him that Awesome Truth is done.
Truth took issue with Miz attacking him on purpose. Kross spoke and then Truth said he would fix it by going to Adam Pearce. Miz stopped him and challenged Truth to face him in a match on next week’s show…
Pete Dunne made his entrance…
2. Sheamus vs. Pete Dunne in a Good Ol’ Fashioned Donnybrook match. The match spilled over to ringside. Dunne stood on a bar and stomped Sheamus’s hand. Sheamus came back and slammed Dunne on top of the broadcast table heading into a PIP break. [C]
[Hour Two] Sheamus worked over Dunne and hit him with a shillelagh. Sheamus set up for Ten Beats, but Dunne blocked it and clotheslined him over the top rope. Sheamus came right back with an Irish Cruse backbreaker.
Sheamus went for the Brogue Kick, but Dunne avoided it. Sheamus slammed Dunne and covered him for a two count. Sheamus went to the ropes and was cut off by a shillelagh shot. Dunne superplexed Sheamus for a near fall.
Dunne climbed onto the whiskey barrels at ringside and was cut off. Sheamus joined him on top of the barrels and hit him with Ten Beats while using the shillelagh to lock Dunne’s arms behind his back.
Sheamus performed White Noise from the whiskey barrels through a table at that was set up on the floor. The crowd was censored as they chanted “holy shit.” A “this is awesome” chant followed.
Sheamus rolled Dunne back inside the ring and followed. Sheamus hit a running knee and then performed a High Cross for a near fall. Sheamus, who had a bloody right elbow, jawed at Dunne, who then used joint manipulation on his fingers.
Dunne hit Sheamus with a cricket bat to the back and then covered him for a near fall. Back at ringside, Dunne pulled a drawer out of the bar and hit Sheamus with it twice. Dunne used a zip tie to put Sheamus’s hands behind his back. Dunne booted Sheamus and covered him for a two count.
Dunne yelled about his name and then picked up the cricket bat. Sheamus hit him with two Brogue Kicks and scored the pin.
Sheamus defeated Pete Dunne in 12:55 in a Good Ol’ Fashioned Donnybrook match.
Tessitore called it a legendary moment for Sheamus. The referee cut Sheamus free from the zip tie…
Powell’s POV: A legendary moment? It was a good brawl and the live crowd enjoyed it, but it was my least favorite of the three Donnybrook matches.
WWE Champion Cody Rhodes was interviewed by Cathy Kelley in the backstage area. Cody has bandages across the bridge of his nose. He said he couldn’t speculate on what happened at Bad Blood and said he was sure you’d hear more about it on Smackdown. Cody said he was just there to find out what it takes to be the first Crown Jewel Champion.
Cody walked away and crossed paths with Sami Zayn, who told him that he plans to be the person he will face at Crown Jewel. Zayn tried to bring up what happened with Kevin Owens, but Cody cut him off and said they didn’t have to talk about that now. Cody said he hopes he faces Zayn and wished him good luck…
The broadcast team set up a video package on last week’s Last Monster Standing match and noted that it was so violent that Bronson Reed nor Braun Strowman were at Raw tonight…
Footage aired from earlier in the day of Raquel Rodriguez driving a black SUV into the arena parking garage. Rodriguez opened the rear door and then Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan exited the vehicle.
Jackie Redmond approached Morgan and asked her for a comment on Rhea Ripley. Morgan said Ripley may have technically beat her by disqualification, but she still has her title and Dom. Redmond tried to ask Rodriguez if she’s a member of Judgment Day, but Morgan cut her off. The trio decided to leave the venue… [C]
The broadcast team did the fan sigh spotlight bit. They focused on a “just married” couple. The bride held up a sign stating that they postponed their honeymoon to see Rhea Ripley…
Raw general manager Adam Pearce was backstage talking with NXT GM Ava when Ethan Page interrupted. Page said CM Punk cost him the NXT Championship when he was special referee for last week’s match. Pearce said he didn’t appoint Punk as special referee.
Ava said she was so flattered that Page came all the way to St. Louis just to confront her. Ava said it was so sweet and she’d like to hear him yap like he does every week, but she was off the clock. Page asked what she was doing there.
Sexyy Red entered the room and hugged Ava and Pearce. Page cleared his throat and offered Red a handshake. Red shook his hand and asked how he was doing. Page said he’d done better and walked away…
Entrances for a ten-woman tag match took place…
3. Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark, Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn vs. Natalya, Lyra Valiyria, Kayden Carter, Katana Chance, and Zelina Vega in a ten-woman tag match. Chance performed a big dive from the top rope onto a couple of opponents on the floor. Deville ran Natalya into the ring steps. [C]
Late in the match, Vega put Deville in a sleeper. Deville backed her into the corner while trying to break the move. Valkyria made a blind tag. Deville was able to fling Vega to the mat, but then Valkyria hit Deville with a leg drop from the top rope and then pinned her. Barrett said Valkyria used the same move in NXT UK…
Natalya, Lyra Valiyria, Kayden Carter, Katana Chance, and Zelina Vega beat Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark, Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn in 7:10.
Powell’s POV: Fast forward to next week and we’ll probably get a Pure Fusion Collective promo where Deville will talk about her faction’s dominance and tell potential opponents to shoot their shot, all while acting as if this match never even happened.
The Crown Jewel poster featuring Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther, and Nia Jax vs. Liv Morgan was shown. Tessitore noted that it could change as soon as tomorrow if Sami Zayn beats Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship…
A video package aired on the build to the Gunther vs. Zayn match… Sami Zayn made his entrance for the main event… [C]
A video package aired with Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill talking about defending the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles against Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane on next week’s show…
Tessitore hyped a video premiere for “It’s Supposed To Hurt” featuring footage from the CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre Hell in a Cell match…
The following matches were listed for next week’s Raw: Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill vs. Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles, and Bron Breakker vs. Kofi Kingston… Gunther made his entrance…
4. Gunther vs. Sami Zayn for the World Heavyweight Championship. Samantha Irvin delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. The match started roughly 18 before the top of the hour. Zayn pulled the top rope down, causing Gunther to tumble to the floor. Zayn teased a dive and didn’t go through with it heading into a PIP break. [C]
Gunther took offensive control and drilled Zayn with some chops. Zayn came back and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb going into another PIP break. [C] Gunther set up for a powerbomb on the floor, but Zayn backdropped him in front of the broadcast table.
Zayn performed an exploder suplex into the ringside barricade. Zayn followed up with a Helluva Kick. Zayn struggled to get Gunther back inside the ring. Zayn gave up and rolled back inside the ring to break the referee’s count and then went back to Gunther.
Zayn hoisted up Gunther and dumped him on the apron to get him back inside the ring. Zayn hit another Helluva Kick. Zayn went back to the corner and charged for another Helluva Kick, but Gunther turned him inside out with a clothesline. Gunther draped his arm over Zayn for a near fall.
Zayn caught Gunther in an inside cradle for a near fall. Gunther came right back with a dropkick and a powerbomb for a near fall of his own. Gunther expressed surprise and frustration over not getting the pin. A “Sami” chant broke out.
Gunther turned Zayn inside out with another clothesline. Gunther powerbombed Zayn and covered him, but Zayn kicked out at one and sat right up. Gunther put Zayn in a sleeper hold. The referee checked Zayn’s arm, which stayed up. Zayn showed signs of life and reached for the ropes before fading, causing the referee to call for the bell.
Gunther defeated Sami Zayn in 16:40 to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
The broadcast team recapped highlights from the match. Gunther held his right wrist as he walked to the stage. Gunther held the title belt over his head.
WWE Champion Cody Rhodes’ entrance music played. Rhodes walked onto the stage and went face-to-face with a smirking Gunther to close the show…
Powell’s POV: A strong television main event version of Gunther vs. Zayn. They worked hard and managed to take a live crowd that didn’t seem fully invested when the match started to making them believe that Zayn just might win the title. The post match angle was brief, but they are taping next week’s Raw tonight, so perhaps we’ll get more from Gunther and Cody Rhodes on next week’s show.
Overall, a good show that peaked with the main event. I really liked the way Punk sold the HIAC match. I did not miss the third hour. I will be back later tonight with my weekly same night audio review of Raw for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of Raw by grading the show below.
Is it St.Louis or Indiana?
I saw where someone far dorkier than me (amazingly enough) pointed out that the letters in that fire vignette are norse ruins and it spells “war” so it looks like it’s for the returning viking raiders. And maybe they get their indy name back?