By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw (Episode 1,642)
Grand Rapids, Michigan at Van Andel Arena
Aired on slight delay November 11, 2024 on USA Network
[Hour One] Joe Tessitore checked in on commentary while a hot aired of fans arriving at the venue. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill were shown arriving, and then a shot aired of The Judgment Day walking down the empty arena steps earlier in the day. Wade Barrett joined Tessitore on commentary…
World Heavyweight Champion Gunther made his entrance while being introduced by ring announcer Lilian Garcia. Gunther stated that the only thing that matters is that he is still the World Heavyweight Champion. He said he doesn’t live in the past and instead looks at what’s in front of him. Gunther said he had a lot to say about his next challenger.
Damian Priest made his entrance and joined Gunther inside the ring. Priest recalled some of the insults that Gunther dished on him in the past. Priest said that the title wouldn’t be around the waist of Gunther right now had it not been for his “so-called brother” betraying him.
Priest said Gunther has started to doubt himself. Priest said Gunther’s vibe has faded even more since he was pinned by Cody Rhodes in Saudi Arabia. Gunther showed that the comment got to him and a “Cody” chant broke out. Priest said Gunther couldn’t even speak because he had doubt.
Priest said Gunther can’t beat him. Priest said that if he were anyone else, Gunther would have taken a swing at him by now. Priest encouraged Gunther to take a shot at him. Priest said he knew Gunther wouldn’t do it because if he did he would drop Gunther’s ass in the middle of the ring.
Ludwig Kaiser walked out with a microphone in his hand and questioned what was happening. Kaiser reminded Priest that Gunther beat him once before. Kaiser entered the ring and told Priest to leave the ring and save himself because the result will be the same when he faces Gunther again.
Gunther covered the microphone and then poked Kaiser with his finger while talking to him. Kaiser said he wouldn’t let street trash like Priest speak to Gunther like he was. Priest punched Kaiser and then cleared him from the ring. Gunther teased making a move and then backed off when Priest spotted him. Gunther exited the ring…
Powell’s POV: Priest was really good in this segment. I’m happy they’re not just moving on from Gunther losing to Cody like nothing happened. Rather, they’ve turned it into a story that’s carrying over to Gunther’s next title defense and making him seem vulnerable due to his own insecurities.
Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed Iyo Ski and Kairi Sane. Sky said she is ready for her match with Liv Morgan. Sane said they had other business tonight. Kelley said they would be competing in a six-woman tag team match.
Dakota Kai joined Kai and Sky on the set and they were all smiles. Kai spoke about how Pure Fusion Collective took months off her career. Kai it was time to show them what Damage CTRL is capable of and then the trio made their entrance heading into a commercial break… [C]
A Veteran’s Day video package aired. Footage aired of the 30th Medical Brigade checking in from Germany and saluting. They also showed a Vietnam veteran in the crowd and the fans applauded…
Powell’s POV: To all of our great veterans out there, thank you so very much.
Backstage, Kofi Kingston thanked R-Truth for helping him out with The Final Testament. He also apologized for not helping him out. Kingston mentioned that Xavier Woods didn’t want to help. Woods showed up and asked what they were talking about.
Pete Dunne interrupted and took issue with Truth referring to him as Butch. Kingston spoke up on behalf of Truth. Woods said this had nothing to do with him and wasn’t happy with Kingston challenged Dunne to a match. Truth told Kingston good luck in his match with Pete, then said it’s Butch that you have to worry about…
Pure Fusion Collective made their entrance while their attack on Dakota Kai three months ago was replayed…
1. “Damage CTRL” Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane, and Dakota Kai vs. “Pure Fusion Collective” Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, and Zoey Stark. Sky was in offensive control when Baszler pulled her to the floor and clotheslined her while the referee was distracted. [C]
Late in the match, Baszler caught Sane in a sleeper. Sane backed into her corner and then Sky tagged in. Baszler put Sky in the same hold, but Kai broke it up with a kick. Sky hit the Over the Moonsault on Baszler and got the three count…
“Damage CTRL” Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane, and Dakota Kai beat “Pure Fusion Collective” Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, and Zoey Stark in 10:15.
Powell’s POV: The good news is that Damage CTRL received a better reaction from this live crowd than they typically do. The bad news is that PFC was greeted by near silence during their entrance. Sky getting the win for her team was logical given that she’s next in line for a title match.
The broadcast team set up a Smackdown video package that recapped the original Bloodline reuniting to fight off Solo Sikoa’s version of the Bloodline…
Backstage, Jey Uso spoke with Sami Zayn about saving the group on Friday. Jimmy Uso showed up and then Zayn turned away. Jimmy asked what Sami’s problem was. Jey tried to get them on the same page.
Jimmy said they need a fifth member for WarGames. Jey said they don’t have friends on Monday or Friday. Zayn said he might know someone. Zayn told Jey that he would text him. After Zayn walked away, Jey told Jimmy to be nice…
The broadcast team agreed that Zayn shouldn’t reach out to Kevin Owens given his state of mind…
Kofi Kingston made his entrance with Xavier Woods… [C]
Damian Priest was shown stretching out backstage while sporting a Bad Bunny t-shirt. Tessitore said Priest will face Ludwig Kaiser…
Pete Dunne made his entrance…
2. Kofi Kingston (w/Xavier Woods) vs. Pete Dunne. Kingston cleared Dunne to ringside and then hit him with a flip dive heading into a break. [C] Kingston hit Trouble In Paradise, but Dunne tumbled to the floor. Woods hit Dunne with a cheap shot clothesline while the referee was tied up with Kingston, who went to ringside and bickered with Woods. Kingston returned to the ring and ate a kick from Dunne, who hit The Bitter End and scored the pin.
Pete Dunne defeated Kofi Kingston in 9:00.
After the match, Woods was helping Kingston at ringside and still trying to make his point. Kingston shoved him and they bickered…
Powell’s POV: They’ve told a nice story with the New Day duo that started with some small signs of trouble and now reaching a near breaking point. I’m curious to see how it all plays out. Quick correction. I mistakenly listed Alicia Taylor as the ring announcer, but it’s actually Lilian Garcia. I corrected the mistake that was listed above just to avoid any further confusion.
Highlights aired of Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill being pulled out of last week’s battle royal by Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, and Iyo Sky eventually winning the match to earn a Women’s World Championship match…
The Judgment Day were speaking in their clubhouse. Finn Balor took issue with Dominik Mysterio coming up short in the four-way last week and allowing Damian Priest to earn a title shot. Dom mentioned that Balor was nowhere to be found.
Balor said he was focusing on the tag team titles, just as Liv Morgan told him. Dom said he beat Priest and told Balor not to get upset because he did something that Balor couldn’t do. Balor got in Dom’s face until the other members of the faction pulled them apart.
Balor spoke of being a team payer and said Dom and Carlito could face the War Raiders next week on behalf of him and JD McDonagh. Dom said he would go make it official. Carlito was worried about it. Balor told the remaining members of the faction that they were one big happy family…
Bronson Reed was shown walking through the backstage area. Jey Uso could be seen speaking with Rey Mysterio in the background… [C]
[Hour Two] An ad aired for Elimination Chamber in Toronto…
Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill spoke during a promo video about their upcoming title match…
UFC Light Heavyweight fighter Jamahal Hill was shown in the crowd…
Bronson Reed made his entrance and delivered an in-ring promo. Reed told Seth Rollins that if he wants his revenge, he was waiting for him in the ring. Reed said the only thing Rollins had to do was come out.
Seth Rollins’ entrance music interrupted Reed and then he walked onto the stage with a microphone in his hand. Rollins rushed to ringside and got the better of Reed initially. Rollins cleared the broadcast table, but Reed caught him with a shot.
Reed went to the barricade, but Rollins shot up and attacked him. Security guards ran out to pull them apart. Shockingly, both men broke free. Security pulled them apart while the obligatory “let them fight” chant broke out.
Security got Rollins to ringside. Reed fought free from security and went for a suicide dive, but Rollins moved and Reed took out the security guards. Adam Pearce and a group of producers ran out to help keep the duo apart. “Look at his eyes,” Tessitore said regarding Reed… [C]
Powell’s POV: I’m having flashbacks to my younger days as a football fan when every Chicago Bears national broadcast inevitably included one of the announcers saying, “Look at the eyes of Mike Singletary.” This was always followed by a closeup of the legendary linebacker looking like a complete lunatic moments before he destroyed some offensive player.
Highlights aired from during the break of the brawl between Rollins and Reed that continued…
Backstage, Seth Rollins yelled at Adam Pearce about wanting a rematch. Pearce got worked up and told him he’d had enough and he had his match.
Sami Zayn entered the room after Pearce left and made a pitch to Rollins about being the fifth member of the WarGames team. Zayn said he’d looked up and down the rosters on Raw and Smackdown and there was nobody else.
Rollins looked like he was contemplating and then said, “I think you’re out of your damn mind.” Rollins said he knows who Roman Reigns is and he’s shocked that anyone would stand next to him, especially after what he put Zayn through. Rollins said he respects Zayn, but the answer is no…
Powell’s POV: Hey, what’s that Dean Ambrose guy up to these days? Oh, never mind.
Damian Priest made his entrance. Tessitore noted that Slayer guitarist Kerry King plays the guitar parts on Priest’s entrance theme. Ludwig Kaiser made his entrance…
3. Damian Priest vs. Ludwig Kaiser. Kaiser kicked Priest to ringside during the first 30 seconds of the match. [C] Priest eventually hit the South of Heaven and scored the pin.
Damian Priest defeated Ludwig Kaiser in 7:40.
After the match, Gunther walked onto the stage and looked at the ring. Barrett said it was a pensive and nervous looking Gunther, then questioned if he could beat this version of Priest…
Powell’s POV: A pretty basic showcase for Priest. Kaiser feels like he’s been moved back into the role of Gunther’s setup man as opposed to getting a real singles push.
Tessitore hyped Rock being named GQ’s entertainer of the year and also plugged his Red One movie. He also hyped Rock’s appearance on The Tonight Show for later in the evening on NBC…
Highlights aired of Bron Breakker and Sheamus fighting to a three-minute draw on WWE Speed and then fighting afterward…
Cathy Kelley spoke with Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker, who said he’s looking to expand his trophy case. Breakker said that as the fastest WWE wrestler in history, the WWE Speed Title interests him. Breakker complained about Sheamus getting in his way.
Sheamus walked onto the set and said Breakker has a lot of arrogance. Sheamus said it was disrespectful because he’s been with the company for 15 years compared to Breakker’s 15 minutes. Sheamus recalled putting his foot on John Cena’s chest when he won a world title and said that was arrogance.
Sheamus challenged Breakker to put the one title on the line that has eluded him. Breakker said he didn’t listen to a word that Sheamus said, but he’d give him a title shot because nothing would please him more than kicking his old ass. Sheamus told him to shine up the title because he’s taking it home.
Jimmy Uso approached Breakker after Sheamus left. Jimmy asked Breakker if he had a second and said he wanted to talk to him. Breakker said he had a second… [C]
Tessitore spoke about WWE’s relationship with veterans as clips were shown of WWE wrestlers at Tribute to the Troops events… They did the weekly sign spotlight segment…
The Miz was walking backstage when he was greeted by The Final Testament. Miz told Karrion Kross that he was going to Adam Pearce’s office to ask for a leave of absence. Kross said Miz gave him nothing. He questioned if the Wyatt Sicks just let him go.
Miz said he settled his business with the Wyatt Sicks. Miz said he’s a better man now and they let him go. Miz told Kross that he should move on. Kross brought up Paul Ellering and blamed The Miz.
Kross asked if Miz remembered when he said he was going to break his legs. Kross had “AOP” Akam and Rezar grab Miz and bring him to the stage and then to the ring. Scarlett got a mic and handed it to Miz. Kross said The Miz was lying to him and added that his story wasn’t adding up. Kross shoved Miz down and asked him where the Wyatts were.
The Wyatt Sicks entrance theme started and then Uncle Howdy, Erick Rowan, Nikki Cross, Dexter Lumis, and Joe Gacy appeared on the ring apron. The group entered the ring and went face-to-face with The Final Testament.
The Miz slammed a chair over the back of Rowan. Howdy looked at Kross and laughed. The Final Testament members worked over the Wyatt Sicks with help from Miz, who had some blood on his eye. Kross closed out the beatdown by slamming Howdy to the mat.
Kross and Miz shared a hug and then they left the ring together. Howdy crawled over and leaned on the bottom rope. Howdy looked at Kross and laughed as Kross was backing up toward the stage… [C]
Powell’s POV: Well, I would not have predicted six months ago that The Miz was be aligned with The Final Testament. I guess we’ll see where it goes.
Backstage, Cathy Kelley approached Seth Rollins as he was leaving the building and asked him about his match with Bronson Reed. Rollins told her to give him a minute and looked into the parking lot.
Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu stood in front of a car that Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa were in. Sikoa made his pitch to get Rollins on their WarGames team. Rollins said he will never team with Roman Reigns and the next time he’s in the ring with him it will be to Stomp his head. Sikoa got excited, but then Rollins told him that he will never team with a wannabe Reigns…
Powell’s POV: Hey, The Wiseman has a friend from Chicago who has never had any issues with the Roman Reigns’ version of The Bloodline.
A tale of the tape aired for next week’s Seth Rollins vs. Bronson Reed match, and a graphic listed Bron Breakker vs. Sheamus for the Intercontinental Championship…
Powell’s POV: Next week’s Raw is being taped tonight in Grand Rapids for some reason. If you attended the show, you are encouraged to send a report or basic results to dotnetjason@gmail.com.
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez made their entrance for the main event. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill made their entrance…
4. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill vs. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. Tessitore said this was the 20th time the titles were being defended during the calendar year. All four women were down a couple minutes into the match heading into the final break. [C]
Cargill hit her finisher on Morgan and had her pinned, but Rodriguez broke it up. Rodriguez tagged in and then she and Cargill took each other out with simultaneous big boots.
Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton ran out. Stratton distracted the referee while Jax dumped Cargill on the apron. Rodriguez hit her elbow drop from the ropes and went for the pin, but Belair broke it up.
Naomi came out and pulled Stratton from the apron before running her into the barricade. Morgan put Naomi down with a DDT. Morgan tagged herself into the match and went for a move from the ropes, but Cargill caught her with a kick. Belair tagged in and hit the KOD on Morgan and pinned her…
Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill defeated Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez in 7:30 to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.
After the match, Jax clotheslined Belair and Cargill from behind, and then put Naomi down again. Iyo Sky ran out and threw a kick at Jax and then hit her with a springboard dropkick. Sky put Stratton down and stomped her. Belair and Cargill clotheslined Rodriguez to ringside.
The four babyfaces ganged up on Jax. Belair and Cargill performed a double suplex on Jax and then the babyfaces celebrated to close the show…
Powell’s POV: An entertaining main event, but they didn’t make much of a fuss over Belair pinning the Women’s World Champion. For that matter, WWE didn’t do a great job of making the tag title match feel important throughout the night. Sure, they showed the obligatory shots of both teams at the top of the show and had a brief promo video, but they didn’t go above and beyond to make the match feel as big time as other television main events.
Overall, a solid show (have I mentioned that I don’t miss three hour shows?). I will have a lot more to say about Raw during my weekly same night audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let us know what you thought of the show by grading it below.
So a five on five anyway?
I thought IyO sky got the PIN?
Not sure what you’re missing. “Sky hit the Over the Moonsault on Baszler and got the three count.” No, I didn’t change it.
I think the confusion is stemming from this immediately after:
“Sane getting the win for her team was logical given that she’s next in line for a title match.”
From the POV below that: “Sane getting the win for her team was logical given that she’s next in line for a title match.”
Speaking of old school football players, Powell-a-mino just did his best Mike Adamle impersonation.
Thanks.