WWE Raw live results: Final episode on USA Network

Before moving to Netflix next week, WWE Raw has one final episode on USA Network.

Raw says goodbye to its longtime television home with tonight’s show from the Toyota Center in Houston. The final Raw of 2024 will feature a face-to-face with CM Punk and Seth Rollins as they get ready for their main event match on next Monday’s Netflix premiere.

The semifinals of the Women’s Intercontinental title tournament will also go down tonight with Dakota Kai vs. Zoey Stark and IYO SKY vs. Lyra Valkyria both taking place.

A six-man tag match is set with Judgment Day’s Finn Balor, JD McDonagh & Carlito taking on Damian Priest & The War Raiders. Two weeks ago, Erik & Ivar defeated Balor & McDonagh to become the new World Tag Team Champions.

A grudge match between Otis and Chad Gable is scheduled for tonight as well. Plus, R-Truth takes on Pete Dunne.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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– Following the WWE “Then, Now, Forever, Together” signature open, we were welcomed to the 1203rd episode of Raw by the voice of Joe Tessitore. Shots of Seth Rollins and CM Punk arriving at the arena followed, as we then took a look around inside the sold-out Toyota Center.

– Tessitore & Wade Barrett were at the commentary table talking about tonight’s Raw being the final show on USA Network, to be presented with no commercial interruption for the first 90 minutes. Before Barrett could welcome Jey Uso, the maligned New Day duo of Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods interrupted.

The New Day open Raw

Kingston demanded that their theme music be shut off as the crowd chanted “New Day Sucks” at the two. Woods tried to talk, but was drowned out by the loud jeers of the Houston crowd. The “New Day Sucks” chants continued as Woods & Kingston walked towards the ring. Woods asked “what did we even do to you?” incredulously at the crowd, while Kingston tried to speak. He was once again cut off by the increasingly-louder jeers from the Toyota Center crowd.

Before Kingston could say anything, the theme of “Main Event” Jey Uso interrupted, as Uso himself made his way from the crowd to a raucous ovation of cheers.

Woods complained how the fans liked Jey Uso more as the fans continued to boo him further. He asked Uso to tell the crowd to quiet down so he could speak. Even with Uso’s suggestions, the crowd continued to hate on the New Day.

Uso said that he and the New Day did go way back, but he only had one thing to say to the two: “New Day Sucks”. Woods stepped up to Uso and tried to confront him, but Kingston got his partner to back down for the time being. As the New Day left, Uso redirected his focus on the New Bloodline and Drew McIntyre, as he challenged the latter to face him now. He was interrupted by Solo Sikoa on the Titantron.

Sikoa said that Jey and Jimmy made a big mistake by siding with Roman Reigns. He promised that he would remain the Tribal Chief after next week’s Tribal Combat match on the Netflix premiere of Raw. Then everyone would have to no choice but to acknowledge him.

As Jey tried to respond, Drew McIntyre snuck up on him and proceeded to assault Jey with a sneak attack. McIntyre tried to size Uso up for a Clamymore kick, but he got met with a superkick. A Glasgow Kiss headbutt gave McIntyre the upper hand as the crew of officials and referees stepped in to stop him. McIntyre ran back into the ring and struck Uso with a Claymore Kick.

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– Cathy Kelley was with American Made ahead of Chad Gable’s match with Otis. Gable said that tonight he’d start checking off his bucket list by beating Otis tonight. Gable promised that the final lesson will be taught to Otis: with the master remaining the master.

Chad Gable (w/ American Made) def. Otis (w/ Akira Tozawa & Maxxine Dupri)

Gable started off by clubbing Otis with chops, but with little effect on his foe. Otis responded with a shoulder block that left Gable rattled in the corner. Otis lifted Gable over his head for the gorilla press drop, which sent Gable out of the ring.

Outside the ring, Gable yelled at Tozawa and Dupri, which gave Otis an opening to throw his former mentor around. Once the action returned to the ring, Gable’s attempt at a comeback was snuffed out as he got thrown into the corner hard. Otis rolled under a Gable clothesline and answered with a clothesline of his own.

Gable created an opening for himself by avoiding a shoulder charge from Otis, which sent the big man into the ringpost. Otis’ left knee was targeted by Gable after that misfire. Gable’s leg lock on Otis didn’t last long as an attempted big splash by Otis was dodged at the last second.

On the top rope, Gable’s own diving headbutt was missed as Otis rolled out of the way. Gable tried to run away, but Otis caught him and unleashed his flurry of offense. Gable got rattled by a freight train spear from Otis, which led to the Caterpillar Elbow. Pinfall stopped as Gable’s foot was on the rope. The Creed Brothers attacked Tozawa at ringside, which promted Otis to get involved. Maxxine tackled Ivy Nile. As Otis re-entered the ring, Gable locked in the ankle lock on him. After a long struggle, Otis managed to power his way out of it to push Gable out of the ring. The Creeds entered the fray and got taken out by Otis tossing Gable into them. Otis ripped out his shirt and locked in an ankle lock of his own on his former teacher.

Gable escaped and nailed an impressive deadlift German suplex on Otis. Gable went up top but was met by Otis clotheslining him. Nile tried to grab at Otis from ringside, which created a momentary distraction and another ankle lock by Gable. Grapevine applied on the leg created enough pressure for Gable to get the win via submission.

Fantastic opening match. Though the feud between Gable and Otis went cold a few months, back, I found myself enjoying this quite a bit. Not a bad way to kick off the in-ring action on Raw tonight, and the match unfolding with no commercial interruption helped keep things easy to follow.

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– We got a promo from Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan ahead of their Women’s World Title match next week on the Netflix Raw premiere.

– Backstage at the Judgment Day clubhouse, they commiserated amongst themselves with where Liv Morgan was. Finn Balor tried to passive aggresively change the subject on the tag match against War Raiders & Damian Priest, as he then told Raquel Rodriguez to tell Liv that he wishes her good luck on her title match next week.

R-Truth versus Pete Dunne

Dunne interrupted Truth’s entrance by attacking him from behind. The incredibly-busy staff of officials and referees ran in to stop the attack. “I’m nobody’s Butch!” shouted Dunne as the segment ended, presumably meaning that this match would not take place.

– Backstage, Cathy Kelley talked to IYO SKY and Dakota Sky about their matches in the Women’s Intercontinental Championship Tournament later tonight, as well as the prospect of the two Damage CTRL members facing each other in the finals.

Women’s Intercontinental Championship Tournament Semifinal #1: Dakota Kai def. Zoey Stark

Kai started off with a boot to the face of Stark, as she attempted a monkey flip from the corner. Stark landed on her feet, but she couldn’t avoid a knee to the face from Kai. On the apron, Stark and Kai had a dogfight as the latter got the upper hand. That upper hand lasted for all of a few seconds as Stark nailed a dropkick on Kai. We headed to picture-in-picture at this point in the action.

We returned to Raw with Stark still in full control of the match as she taunted Kai with lackadaisical kicks to the head. Kai fired back with an offensive assault that capped off with a rolling backcracker. Across the ring, Kai cracked Stark with a boot to the head that lead to a near-fall.

Stark answered with a back exploder suplex and a big knee to the head of Kai. One, two… not quite. Kai rolled through on a powerbomb attempt by Stark and got yet another near-fall. Big kick by Stark is followed by mounted fists to Kai’s face. Attempted springboard attack by Stark is caught by a superkick from Kai, who finished things off with the fireman’s carry and Pele kick to punch her ticket in the Women’s Intercontinental Championship final.

A solid match with an intriguing result that could potentially pave the way for the all-Damage CTRL Women’s IC Title final if IYO SKY wins later tonight.

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– We got a highlight package commemorating the best moments of WWE Raw on the USA Network throughout the years. Notably, clips of Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson (fka Daniel Bryan) were shown in the package. We also learned that John Cena will appear on next week’s Netflix Raw premiere.

Damian Priest and the War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) def. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, Dominik Mysterio)

Judgment Day entered to a brand new theme song ahead of this match, eschewing “The Other Side”, which was their former theme.

Priest and Balor started off for their teams. McDonagh got the quick tag as Balor avoided Priest in the corner. Priest got the tag to Erik, who nailed consecutive slams on the Judgment Day trio. The War Raiders nailed a unique double team move on McDonagh as Erik lifted Ivar up and trhrew him onto the prone McDonagh.

Balor saved McDonagh from a War Raiders double team, but he and his former co-World Tag Team Champion partner were sent flying onto the commentary table by a double charge from Erik and Ivar, which gave us a break in the action.

We returned to Erik attempting to fight this way out of the Judgment Day corner, but he got put down by a neckbreaker from Balor. Erik tried to power out of Balor’s rest hold to make the tag, but couldn’t. Balor kicked away at Priest, which gave Erik an opening to ram his foe into the corner as Ivar entered the fray and was a house of fire.

Ivar missed on the Bronco Buster as Balor got outof the way at the last second. Ivar leapt to his corner to make the tag to Priest, who proceeded to clean house on the Judgment Day trio. He had Dominik in his sights for the fierce clothesline. South of Heaven attempt was interrupted by Carlito, who provided a distraction long enough for Dominik to clip Priest in the leg.

Action outside saw Balor and McDonagh taken out of the equation by the War Raiders. In the ring, Priest put an end to the action with a South of Heaven on Dominik for the win.

After the match, Balor got the jump on Priest and attacked his knee. Erik and Ivar stepped in before Balor could do any more damage.

Standard six-man tag match here. Not much to say, but the Judgment Day vs. Damian Priest feud has kinda run its course. It’s honestly hard to get invested in a feud that’s been rather one-sided.

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– Adam Pearce informed an irate Jey Uso that since Drew McIntyre got escorted from the arena tonight, he’ll get his match against the Scotsman next week on the premiere of Raw on Netflix.

– As we headed to break, a teaser for Penta aired, this time showing the Ø icon, followed by his mask design being shown briefly.

Ludwig Kaiser in-ring promo; Sheamus returns

Kaiser talked about how he was A+ everything and that he was European Elegance. He demanded that Bron Breakker face him now, but was met by Sheamus instead. The Celtic Warrior didn’t waste any time and stormed the ring to attack Kaiser with vicious ferocity. Kaiser tried to take advantage with a rake to the eye, but that didn’t last long as he found himself on the wrong end of a Brogue Kick from Sheamus.

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– Backstage, Rey Mysterio gave Otis encouragement after his great effort against Chad Gable earlier tonight. As Alpha Academy left, the New Day approached Mysterio and began to condescendingly mock him. Mysterio issued a challenge to Woods and Kingston for a tag match, which was promptly accepted by the New Day.

Women’s Intercontinental Championship Tournament Semifinal #2: Lyra Valkyria def. IYO SKY

The match started off with neither woman getting a clear advantage as they exchanged holds and armdrags early on. Fast-paced dodges and rollup pins from SKY and Valkyria kept things fast-paced here. Valkyria finally gained control with a dropkick to SKY’s knee. She applied a unique pendulum submission hold on SKY to keep the advantage. SKY went up top, but got slammed knee-first by Valkyria as we got a break in the action.

Raw returned with SKY in pain as Valkyria looked on from the opposite corner. SKY mounted a rally as she left Valkyria flatfooted with her comeback. Off the top rope, SKY soared with a missile dropkick on Valkyria that got a close two. SKY looked to continue the momentum, but she was intercepted by Valkyria at the top rope. Standoff up top ended with Valkyria escaping SKY with a flip, followed by a shotgun dropkick. Tornado DDT and suplex by Valkyria on SKY was not enough for the victory.

O’Connor Roll by SKY turned into a bridging German suplex on Valkyria. One, two… kickout! Spinning heel kick from Valkyria couldn’t get it done as she headed up to the top rope again. SKY met her there and began to batter Valkyria with strikes before she hit an incredible avalanche rolling victory powerbomb for the 2.999999 count.

SKY headed up to the top rope and hit a moonsault on Valkyria at ringside. With Valkyria stunned, SKY looked to have the match won with her moonsault, but she couldn’t connect. SKY’s O’Connor Roll was reversed into a bridging pin by Valkyria and that’s it, over. Lyra Valkyria advances to the Women’s Intercontinental Championship Finals.

A fun little match we had here. SKY and Valkyria have impeccable chemistry and it’s always a real treat seeing these two go at it in the ring. Valkyria getting the win was a genuine surprise and I can’t wait to see her and Dakota Kai battle for the Women’s Intercontinental Title in two weeks time.

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Seth Rollins & CM Punk Face Off

Rollins entered first and after the commercial break, he welcomed Houston to Monday Night Rollins. He went through his “I am a Visionary” spiel before he said that it was time to go out with a bang for the final episode of Raw in 2024. He called CM Punk the “self-proclaimed” Best in the World before boasting that he himself was the true Best in the World. Rollins said that he’d be here every Monday fighting because that’s what he does and that if things don’t go Punk’s way, he’ll whine and cry about it.

At that point, the static of CM Punk’s theme interrupted Rollins’ tirade, which brought out Punk himself. He walked down to the ring with a purpose and entered to stare down Rollins before he started with his own promo.

Punk said that “took his ball and go home” was the biggest industry bootlicker cliche planted lie he had ever heard of. Punk asked did Stone Cold Steve Austin take his ball and went home? He also took a jab at Becky Lynch, asking Rollins if she took his ball and went home, and that Rollins is crying because of him. Punk said that both he and Rollins made their own decisions and he did not regret making them.

Punk asked Rollins how his neck and knee were. He asked Rollins how his insides were after Bronson Reed crushed him, and how his pride was after he was denied of getting revenge on Reed, while Punk broke the big man’s ankle at WarGames.

Rollins fired back by saying that Becky took a break to take care of his kid, something that Punk does not know how it feels like. Rollins continued by taking a dig at Punk going on Colt Cabana’s podcast to complain about WWE, and then signing with AEW (calling them “the competition”), asking him how it worked out for him. Rollins stated that he stayed in the trenches and helped win “the war” because that’s how revolutions are made and that he will not be “little brothered” by Punk because he is the big brother now.

Punk shot back by saying that he left the place because of the guy in charge, someone who loved Rollins. He said that when he left, Rollins turned around and betrayed Roman Reigns and played victims for years. Punk stated that he came back because for seven years, fans chanted his name (mostly during Rollins’ time, Punk noted). Next week, Punk said, the same arrows that were supposed to do him in, he now holds and he’s going to jam them right down Rollins’ “corporate throat”.

Rollins responded by saying that maybe Punk was a pioneer once upon a time, but he’s now become a cancer, and that the only way to defeat the cancer is to cut it out. Rollins promised to burn Punk to the ground next week on Raw on Netflix.

The final Raw on USA Network (and broadcast television) closed out with a final tense staredown between Rollins and Punk as the former’s music played us out.

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A rather intense way to close out the final Raw before the dawning of a new era, and Punk and Rollins gave as good as they got in a rather heated promo segment. Their showdown didn’t need any physicality ahead of next week, but the shots both men got in on one another made for a hell of a parting shot for Monday Night Raw on the USA Network. In fact, I enjoyed this two hour show from start to finish and if WWE was wanting to get people hooked for the first episode of Raw next week on Netflix, I’d say they did a great job based on the closing segment with Punk and Rollins alone.