WWE Raw live results: CM Punk appears
Date: September 16, 2024
Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR
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Show Recap —
Rhea Ripley (who was limping) and Damian Priest, Judgment Day, Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane, Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair, Braun Strowman, Bronson Reed, and CM Punk (wearing a Bret Hart sweatshirt) were shown arriving at the arena.
The camera followed a stern Punk as he walked through the back and to the ring.
CM Punk promo
Punk spoke slowly and deliberately throughout his promo. He said people asked him how many more matches he had left. The answer would make some very happy and others wildly disappointed. He had way more matches left than you think. (The crowd cheered.)
When Punk returned, he said he was not there to make friends. He wasn’t there to make mortal enemies either but that’s exactly what he’s done. The only way to end things with Drew McIntyre was in Hell in a Cell. He was naive to think this was over just because he touched four turnbuckles in Berlin. McIntyre was naive to think it was over too.
This probably should have been over when McIntyre sent him to a hospital again but Punk was too damn stubborn. People asked how many HIAC matches he had left in him. The honest answer was zero. His little sister and his wife begged him not to do this. The angel on his shoulder begged him not to do this.
Punk wanted everyone to know exactly why he was going to do this. Punk once told McIntyre that if he’s pushed far enough he can become the devil. Well, the devil was here. The devil in his heart told him the only way this ended was in Hell in a Cell. The same heart McIntyre promised he would stop.
Punk said, “Drew McIntyre, I can’t promise I’m gonna kill you because I won’t make promises that I cannot 100% cannot deliver on. So here is my promise: I’m gonna make you bleed. And I promise that you’re gonna have to kill me because I am prepared to die. I am prepared for my heart to stop beating. I am prepared for this to all be over with. I had a great career and if this is the end, so be it. I am prepared for this to be the end of CM Punk. And if you’re prepared for this to be the end of Drew McIntyre then I’ll see you in hell.”
Punk dropped the mic and left.
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Cathy Kelley interviewed Sheamus about Pete Dunne. Sheamus said Dunne really hit him where it hurts. Not because she smashed his hand or his back but because he took his dream away from him. The one mountain Sheamus had left to climb was to become the IC champion. Now it was time to inflict pain on his protégé. Dunne hated when people called him Butch. Tonight, Dunne would become his butch. (The crowd chanted “Butch.”)
(I think Sheamus misspoke on his promo because he said winning the IC title would make him the first grand slam champion in WWE.)
Pete Dunne defeated Sheamus (11:15)
Dunne tried stomping Sheamus’ hand against the steel steps but Sheamus saw it coming and gave Dunne a soft-looking Alabama Slam on the announce table. After a break, Sheamus tried an avalanche White Noise but Dunne countered with a sit-out powerbomb for two. The crowd chanted “Butch” at Dunne who hammered away at Sheamus.
Sheamus called him a bitch and came back with a powerslam and diving knee drop for two. Dunne escaped a Razor’s Edge and went to the top but Sheamus brought him down with a middle rope powerslam for a nearfall. Sheamus followed with sixteen beats of the Bodhrán. Dunne grabbed the shillelagh but Sheamus nailed a knee strike.
Sheamus saw the shillelagh and was tempted to use it but the ref took it away. As the ref put it away, Dunne grabbed a cricket bat and hit Sheamus in the arm. The spot didn’t look good and Dunne knew it because instead of going straight for the cover, he followed with a running boot for the pinfall win.
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Jey Uso approached Ripley and Priest. Jey knew Priest wouldn’t want him out there for his match against Dominik Mysterio but he wanted Priest to know that he’d be keeping his eye on it. Priest appreciated it.
Xavier Woods approached them. Woods and Jey were happy to see each other but Priest wasn’t so happy. Woods acknowledged they had their differences in the past. Woods said Priest wanted to do things on his own as champion and New Day wanted to do it on their own tonight against Judgment Day. Woods asked them to stay in the back during their title match. Priest was good with that and told Woods to beat their asses.
Woods and Jey left. Ripley seemed smitten with Jey and did his “Yeet” hand gesture.
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Miz wished Braun Strowman luck against Bronson Reed. Miz also wanted to know what Strowman meant when he said he was not a match for Reed. Strowman meant no disrespect at all. Miz began running down his accomplishments. Strowman knew the career he had but said sometimes it takes a monster to beat a monster. Miz seemed fine with this and gave some words of encouragement.
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Natalya (w/Zelina Vega & Lyra Valkyria) defeated Zoey Stark (w/Sonya Deville & Shayna Baszler) (7:02)
After a break, Natalya blocked a springboard dropkick and hit a German suplex. Stark blocked a clothesline and hit a thrust kick for two. Natalya countered Stark’s finisher and Stark countered a sharpshooter. They traded cradles until Natalya finally won with a schoolboy.
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Kelley tried interviewing Ripley but Finn Bálor interrupted. Bálor said Ripley was just as bad as Priest. She acted like they were a family but she only cared about herself. He blamed her and Priest as the reason he wasn’t the world champion last year. It was also their own fault that they weren’t world champions now.
Ripley said Bálor wasn’t going to lie straight to her face and rewrite history. They were a family. All she tried to do was make opportunities for them and stop them from fighting every week. He could make her the bad guy in his story if he wanted. She and Priest would show them how bad they can be at Bad Blood.
Bálor had one more thing to tell her. When Liv Morgan put the moves on Dom and Dom was trying to resist, Bálor was the devil on Dom’s shoulder. “I told him to go at Liv. I told him to forget about you. It was me!”
Jey stepped in and asked if there was a problem. Bálor said no and told him to concentrate on the IC title because he was out of his league here (referring to Ripley). Bálor left.
Ripley told Jey that Bálor had a point. Not about Jey being out of her league — that he should focus on becoming IC champion. He told her not to worry and he was on his way to the ring right now.
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[SECOND HOUR]
Jey Uso will face Bron Breakker for the IC title next week on Raw.
Jey Uso/Bron Breakker segment
Jey entered and cut a promo as the crowd chanted “Yeet” between sentences. He said he has wanted to become a singles champion since coming to Raw and since leaving the Bloodline. He didn’t need anyone’s help. He would finally win a singles title and become Main Event Jey Uso.
Bron Breakker interrupted. Bron previously told Jey to stay away and yet here he was going after his title. Bron knew Jey wanted to prove to his family that he could do it on his own. Jey has been there for fourteen years and was one of the biggest stars in WWE. Bron has done more as a singles star in six months than Jey has in his entire career.
Bron said he did it without his father or uncle. He didn’t need his family’s help or their name. The championship was his family. He fought for the title and it fought for him. “I’m a dog. That’s what I do.” Bron said he would expose Jey next week because he was nothing without his family.
They got face-to-face and the crowd chanted “Yeet.” Jey removed his shades. Jey said, “I see it. I see it in you, Bron. You got that dog in you, Uce.” Jey wouldn’t take Bron lightly but let him know he’s been winning championships for fourteen years—since Bron was in diapers. Jey said he would dog-walk him next week and Bron’s reign would be short just like his NFL career.
That pissed off Bron who got in his face. Bron backed off but then decked Jey with a right hand. Bron went for a spear but Jey speared him instead.
This was good.
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Iyo Sky confronted Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair in the back. She was pissed at Belair for challenging Kairi Sane to a match despite her eye injury. Belair told Sky she didn’t make the challenge, she was booked, and she never backed down from a fight. Belair said if Sane was injured, maybe Sky should take her place. Sky accepted.
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Finn Bálor & JD McDonagh defeated Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods to retain the World Tag Team Championships (8:30)
New Day wore mismatching gear. Kingston wore green, Woods wore black.
New Day were in control when they went to break a minute into the match but Judgment Day were in control after the break. Kingston hit Bálor with an SOS and Woods made the hot tag to run wild on McDonagh. Kingston and Woods knocked Bálor out of the ring and Kingston dropped him with a flip dive. Woods gave McDonagh a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall.
Morgan, Dom and Carlito marched out. Woods was perplexed upon seeing LWO run out to even the odds. As the teams brawled, McDonagh used the distraction to apply a cradle but Woods kicked out and superkicked him. Kingston wiped out Judgment Day and LWO with a trust fall dive.
Woods hit McDonagh with a springboard elbow drop and had it won but the ref was outside the ring dealing with the outside parties. Woods and the crowd counted the pin before Woods went out to grab the ref. The crowd loudly chanted “Ref you suck.”
Woods tried to roll up McDonagh but Bálor had tagged himself in. McDonagh grabbed Woods as Bálor hit him with Coup de Grace for the pinfall win.
(The crowd didn’t cheer that loudly for New Day during their introduction but they were super into this by the end.)
— Kingston tried consoling Woods but Woods brushed him aside in frustration. Woods was tired and said things had to change.
The match itself was fine but this was a strong segment.
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Kelley tried interviewing Kingston but he left to find Woods. Woods was down the hall screaming at LWO for getting involved. Kingston said he was the one who asked for their help. Woods argued with Kingston and wondered why they suddenly needed help when they hadn’t for all these years.
Kingston said they never needed help before because they had Big E but now it was just them. Woods took that to mean they weren’t good enough to win without E. Kingston said that’s not what he meant. Woods wondered why LWO knew the plan but he didn’t.
Woods said Kingston was leaving him in the dark and he didn’t know what the hell was going on anymore. Woods stormed off.
This was great.
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Rey Mysterio and Dominik were shown at UFC 306 at the Sphere over the weekend. Rey gave Dana White his mask. Joe Tessitore noted that Rey and Dom sat separately.
There was a Bronson Reed video promo.
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Bronson Reed vs. Braun Strowman
The match didn’t happen because they had a chaotic brawl instead.
As soon as Strowman entered the ring, Reed tried a charge but Strowman moved and Reed crashed into the turnbuckle. That snapped the turnbuckle and the top rope came undone. (The ref checked on Reed just in case.)
Strowman was going to run around the ring for a shoulder tackle but Reed threw a “fan” at Strowman, knocking him down. Reed celebrated his actions but Strowman got up and tackled him through the barricade. (Wade Barrett called this the greatest 60 seconds in the history of the industry.)
The ref called for help but they weren’t done. Reed tried leaving through the crowd but Strowman went after him. Strowman chucked him into an equipment box and into a wall backstage. Strowman tossed around some security guards and tipped over a golf cart. Reed splashed him through some tables moments later.
Reed stumbled toward an obviously fake wall and Strowman tackled him right through it. Officials checked on them as the crowd chanted “Holy sh-t.”
After a break, a million officials and medical personnel checked on both men who were still down.
(This was great outside the fake wall spot.)
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Ludwig Kaiser approached a stressed-out Adam Pearce. Pearce told him he’s been working on Gunther’s next challenger because he doesn’t want to face Sami Zayn even though he makes a great case. Kaiser was baffled at Zayn as a potential challenger. Zayn’s music hit and he was shown on the screen making his entrance. Pearce told Kaiser that Gunther should speak to him personally if he had a problem.
[THIRD HOUR]
Sami Zayn segment
Zayn entered to a big reaction. All week he has been locked in the memory of standing in the ring with Bret Hart in Calgary. He meant what he said last week when he called Hart his hero. Last week was very motivational because he heard what Hart said about what it meant to be a champion.
Zayn wanted that to be him. He needed that to be him. He needed to become the World Heavyweight Champion. He needed to be the guy who defended his title week in and week out and that was the kind of champion the fans deserved. (They chanted for Zayn.)
Unfortunately, the current champion Gunther has repeatedly declined his challenge. Gunther claimed Zayn was not on his level. Zayn didn’t believe that and didn’t think Gunther did either. Zayn thinks he’s in Gunther’s head. Gunther remembers what happened at WrestleMania. Gunther knows Zayn beat him before and can beat him again. Gunther was scared.
Kaiser interrupted. Kaiser called it nonsense that Gunther could be scared of Zayn. Gunther was the most dominant force in WWE and, if anything, he was trying to save Zayn from the worst embarrassment of his life.
Kaiser called WrestleMania the greatest moment of Zayn’s career. It was the first time Zayn’s family looked up to him instead of down at him. Miracles didn’t happen twice so he encouraged Zayn to enjoy his moment because it would never happen again.
Zayn said Gunther didn’t need Kaiser to speak for him. In fact, he didn’t need Kaiser for anything. Zayn told Kaiser he didn’t need Gunther either. Zayn knew Kaiser had the same desire he did. That’s why he ditched his tag partner Giovanni Vinci. But he wouldn’t earn respect as Gunther’s mouthpiece. Zayn told him to have the balls to speak for himself.
Gunther entered. Gunther asked Kaiser if he had anything to tell him. Kaiser had something he had wanted to get off his chest for a very long time. It seemed like he would address Gunther but he attacked Zayn instead. Kaiser held Zayn down as Gunther answered his challenge. Gunther said his answer was still no. Gunther left the ring.
Kaiser tried attacking Zayn again but Zayn gave him a German suplex and Helluva Kick as Gunther looked on.
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Kelley tried interviewing Priest but Morgan interjected. Morgan called Priest a former champion who was already a has-been. She called them losers. Priest couldn’t believe someone in Judgment Day actually had a set. He encouraged her to hold on to them because Ripley would shove them down her throat.
He also told her to kiss Dom goodbye because he was putting her boyfriend down. He warned her that he was just getting started with those boys. Priest said, “Bye sucia,” and left.
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Jade Cargill is part of the DLC for WWE 2K24. Her rating is 85.
Iyo Sky (w/Kairi Sane) defeated Tag Team Champion Bianca Belair (w/Jade Cargill) (12:20)
They mirrored each other early on and had a back-and-forth exchange. Sky was in control after a break but Belair powered out of her submission. Belair hit shoulder tackles, a dropkick, a corner shoulder tackle and ten punches in the corner. Sky fought back with uppercuts, a dropkick, Meteora in the corner and a missile dropkick for two.
Belair came back with a spinebuster and moonsault for two. Belair tried a press slam but Sky slipped out and hit a German suplex into a bridge for two. The crowd chanted “This is awesome.” Sane hit a suicide dive.
Belair grabbed Sane in a vertical suplex position and actually carried her up the steps and chucked her into the ring. That was impressive and the crowd popped for it. Belair went for a 450 but Sky got her knees up. Sky went a moonsault but Belair grabbed her in KOD position. Sky countered that into a small package for the pinfall win.
There were some rough spots but this ended up being quite good and it felt like a big win for Sky. Tessitore really put it over big.
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There was a video package for American Made. It was a montage of them training while saying they were done with those Wyatt freaks. They posed on a Jeep with an American flag.
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Kaiser told Kelley that he would expose Zayn in the ring next week. Kaiser said Zayn wanted to speak about his past and loyalty but Kaiser wanted to talk about Zayn’s. Zayn was best friends with Kevin Owens but the two of them always turned on each other the second the other found more success. That’s the kind of man Zayn was—a sad, bitter man, jealous of his best friend and jealous of what he once was. Owens was once what Zayn will never be: a world champion.
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Next week on Raw in Ontario, California:
- Sami Zayn vs. Ludwig Kaiser
- Drew McIntyre “returns”
- IC title match: Bron Breakker vs. Jey Uso
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Ilja Dragunov congratulated Jey Uso and wished him luck against Breakker. Jey said Yeet and they bumped fists. Jey left.
Judgment Day approached Dragunov. Bálor advised him to choose his friends more carefully. Dragunov said he respected Ripley, Priest and Jey and that was more he could say about them. Bálor warned him that they wouldn’t deliver their message so nicely next time.
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Judgment Day wore matching “Street Trash” t-shirts.
Damian Priest (w/Rhea Ripley) defeated Dominik Mysterio (w/Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan & Judgment Day) (12:09)
Priest completely dominated and set up for Razor’s Edge. Bálor was about to slip into the ring so instead of just hitting the move, Priest let go and Dom escaped the ring. Priest went after Dom and chucked him back in the ring. As Dom distracted the ref, McDonagh distracted Priest and Bálor shoved him into the ring post. Dom followed with a suicide dive.
After a break, Dom hit a tornado DDT for two. Dom chopped Priest but that just tired him up. Priest punched and kicked Dom and hit a flatliner for two. Priest hit a Broken Arrow but Morgan put Dom’s foot on the rope for a rope break.
Ripley tackled Morgan over the announce table and they wiped out Barrett in the process.
Dom tried a dive but Priest caught him and shoved him into Bálor before superkicking Carlito. Dom dropkicked Priest into the rope and hit a 619 but he missed a frog splash. Priest dropped him with a clothesline and hit South of Heaven for the pinfall win.
— The male members of Judgment Day swarmed Priest as soon as the match ended. The crowd chanted “Yeet.” Ripley went after Dom but Morgan shoved her into the steel steps.
Jey Uso entered to his music but before he hit the ring, Breakker flew in and speared him.
Morgan gave Ripley an Oblivion while Bálor gave Priest a Coup de Grace three consecutive times. Judgment Day stood tall as the show ended.
The crowd was hot for this.