WWE Raw season premiere live results: Two title matches
Date: October 16, 2023
Location: Paycom Arena in Oklahoma City, OK
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Show Recap —
(Kevin Owens, recently traded to Smackdown, is gone from the Raw intro. All clips of Sami Zayn are of him alone.)
Sami Zayn entered to a big reaction. He wore a Kevin Owens shirt. He admitted it was weird entering alone. He had a lot of mixed emotions about Owens moving to Smackdown. He was upset their partnership ended this way but also excited for Owens because he knew Owens would do huge things on Smackdown.
Zayn was excited for himself, too. Zayn had a chance to stand on his own two feet and show everyone he was a World Heavyweight Championship-level superstar. The crowd chanted for Sami.
Zayn was initially excited that Jey Uso got moved to Raw but he was struggling with it now. After Zayn and Owens reached the highest of highs at WrestleMania, it was all tainted by Judgment Day. Now, after all of that hard work, Judgment Day was receiving a tag title shot tonight.
Zayn didn’t know what was next for him but said the past year of his career was by far the best year of his career and he reached those heights because of the fans.
Judgment Day interrupted. Finn Bálor mocked Zayn for being alone. Damian Priest said a thorn (Owens) in their sides has finally been removed. It would feel even better if they could remove Zayn, Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso and Drew McIntyre. Rhea Ripley told him to forget about McIntyre for now so they could focus on the tag titles.
Dominik Mysterio said Ripley would put the Women’s division on notice tonight. Ripley said Bálor and Priest would bring the tag titles home.
Ripley thought Zayn looked lost. Judgment Day used to recruit the lost but they had a different plan for Zayn: get rid of him permanently.
Judgment Day surrounded the ring but (conveniently) left one side open. Jey Uso ran out with steel chairs and slid into the open side of the ring to back up Zayn. Judgment Day backed off.
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Kevin Patrick, not Michael Cole, is on commentary with Wade Barrett tonight.
Shinsuke Nakamura cut a quick pre-taped promo on Ricochet.
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Jey Uso approached Zayn in the back. Zayn said he needed space and asked for a minute but Jey wanted to hear from him. Zayn appreciated that he had his back but he saw Jey in the ring and said it should be Kevin out there.
Zayn said he should be happy for Jey because he has everything going for him — a team with a friend and the tag titles. Zayn had none of those things. Jey said he still had him. Jey left.
Zayn was frustrated and pushed a ladder over. Zayn caught up with Jey and apologized. Zayn said he’s had a bad week but he was happy for Jey. He offered his hand and asked if they were good. Jey was serious but he smiled and yelled “Yeet!” Jey hugged Zayn and Zayn was happy.
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Falls count anywhere match: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Ricochet (approx. 15 minutes)
The fight spilled out of the ring and into Gorilla position. As they returned through the stage, Ricochet looked at Shane Helms and said, “Stand back, Hurricane, there’s a Ricochet coming through.” Ricochet showed off his athleticism by running up and off the stage before hitting a standing SSP.
They fought in the crowd after a break and there was a pretty spectacular spot. Ricochet climbed to the top of a railing above a vomitorium entrance (with the assistance of a fan) and hit Nakamura (and a few security guards) with an SSP.
Nakamura fought back once they got to ringside. He grabbed nunchucks and hit Ricochet with them (as Ricochet made sure to cover his head). Ricochet fought back and placed Nakamura on a table but Nakamura moved away. Nakamura hit his version of a GTS for two.
Ricochet blocked a Kinshasa and hit an enziguri followed by a springboard 450 splash (which got no reaction from PBP guy Kevin Patrick) for two.
Nakamura kicked Ricochet off the top rope and he crashed through the table that was set up outside the ring. Nakamura followed with Kinshasa for the pinfall win.
This was a very good match. I thought Ricochet might win but he got a ton of offence which should have telegraphed the finish.
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Chelsea Green and Tegan Nox got into a spat backstage. Green tried to act tough but Nox wasn’t worried about her and wondered how quickly she would hide behind Piper Niven. Green was offended and left with Niven. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance were with Nox and they were amused by all of this. (Nikki Cross was there too being Nikki Cross.)
Nox came across well here.
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There was a Gunther video package.
Tag Team Champion Piper Niven (w/Chelsea Green) defeated Natalya (6:16)
Natalya fought back after a break but a distraction by Green allowed Niven to hit a running crossbody for the pinfall win.
— Green and Niven put the boots to Natalya after the match but Nox ran out to make the save.
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Priest told Bálor he kind of wanted to see JD McDonagh get beat up last week but also felt bad seeing him get beat by McIntyre. Priest wanted to go after McIntyre and Bálor agreed. Dom interjected and reminded them that Ripley said to leave McIntyre alone.
Ripley showed up and said she was on a phone call. Priest noted she’s had a lot of calls lately. Ripley said she’s been handling business. Dom asked if she needed him at ringside. She said no. She would remind the rest of the division why Mami was always on top and Judgment Day would remind the rest of Raw who runs it.
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[SECOND HOUR]
Seth Rollins/Drew McIntyre segment
Rollins entered. He recapped the events of last week and called out Drew McIntyre for answers.
McIntyre entered. He said he wasn’t going to babysit Rollins for the next few weeks. Rollins said he could handle his own business but he wondered if McIntyre could handle his own business or if he had enlisted help.
McIntyre told him to elaborate. Rollins had footage played from last week where McIntyre could be seen speaking to Ripley in the back.
Rollins asked him to elaborate. McIntyre said he wasn’t a thirsty creep like Jey Uso. Ripley came to him and what they discussed was none of Rollins’ business — he just needed to worry about defending his title. Rollins said nobody was taking the title from him, especially not McIntyre.
Rollins said the last few years have really messed with McIntyre. McIntyre has had big matches that have ended with failures and he was afraid of failing again, so he enlisted the help of Judgment Day. McIntyre said Rollins sounded rattled and he should. The last time they had a world title match, McIntyre beat his ass.
McIntyre reminded Rollins of the reasons why he’s come up short lately, including the Bloodline, but Rollins told him to get over it.
McIntyre said Rollins was living his dream as the champion with the fans singing his song. There was a time when McIntyre wanted that too but when he achieved that dream and he beat Brock Lesnar in five minutes to win the title — nobody was there.
It was a tough time for the company during a worldwide pandemic and they needed someone to step up — and he stepped up. (Fans applauded.)
McIntyre thought the moment passed but he got a second chance against Roman Reigns in the UK, but the Bloodline screwed him over so Rollins could forgive him if he wasn’t over it. McIntyre has a third chance now and Rollins will have to reinvent himself for the 53rd time after McIntyre beats him to win the title at Crown Jewel.
Rollins knew what McIntyre was going through and knew how hard it was to get back to the top of the mountain. It took Rollins four years of scratching and clawing to get back to the top but all he was hearing from McIntyre was excuses.
Rollins would beat McIntyre at Crown Jewel and it would be the best thing to ever happen to him because, for the first time in a long time, McIntyrte would have no one to blame but himself.
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There was a Bronson Reed video package.
The announcers congratulated Logan Paul on his win over Dillon Danis and aired the clip of him challenging Rey Mysterio for the United States title. There was also a clip of Rey Mysterio on the Michael Kay Show where he said he looked forward to hearing what Paul had to say on Friday’s Smackdown.
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Ludwig Kaiser (w/Giovanni Vinci) defeated Johnny Gargano (approx. 10 minutes)
Vinci almost inadvertently cost Kaiser the match after he got in Kaiser’s way, leading to Gargano hitting him with a draping DDT and One Final Beat DDT. However, Vinci poked Gargano in the eye which caused him to let go of the cover.
Gargano attacked Vinci who actually escaped by running right through the ring. The ref was fine with all of this and the distraction allowed Kaiser to hit Gargano with an enziguri and reverse STO into a DDT for the pinfall win.
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Becky Lynch bumped into Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae. Hartwell was instantly heated and confrontational upon seeing Lynch. Hartwell said Lynch was giving everyone opportunities but wondered when she would get a shot at the title she never lost. Lynch said she would talk to Pearce and make it happen. Hartwell quickly became happy and impressed.
As Lynch walked away, she came face-to-face with Rhea Ripley. Ripley left.
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McIntyre approached Zayn in the back. McIntyre couldn’t believe he forgave Jey so easily. Zayn agreed with Rollins that he needed to put the Bloodline in the past. Jey has done everything he can to make people believe in him and McIntyre was the only one who didn’t buy it. Mcintyre said Zayn can’t understand because he’s never been a world champion. Zayn said McIntyre could find out what level he was at in a match next week. McIntyre accepted.
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Ripley cut a promo ahead of her match. She basically said what she already said earlier, that this was her division and, “Mami will always be on top.”
Non-title match: Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley defeated Shayna Baszler via disqualification (5:37)
I erased my match recap because of the very dumb finishing sequence.
Nia Jax marched out so Raquel Rodriguez followed and went after her. Jax knocked her down anyway. Zoey Stark appeared through the crowd and knocked Jax down with a cannonball. Rodriguez chucked Starks in the ring and tried charging at Jax but Jax moved and she crashed into the steel steps. (So Rodriguez tried and failed twice in going after Jax.)
Starks kicked Ripley in the head for the DQ. Ripley chucked Starks into Baszler.
— Ripley called Jax into the ring and Jax obliged. Ripley ducked a clothesline and Starks superkicked Jax. Starks knocked Jax into Ripley before kicking Jax out of the ring.
This was a waste of time.
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Adam Pearce told Lynch he would speak to Shawn Michaels and make her title match against Hartwell official. Xia Li showed up again and wondered when she would get a shot. Lynch said she already had a contender but Li could be next, she just needed to say the word. Xia was suddenly in no rush and responded, “On my time.”
Jade Cargill showed up and told Lynch, “Nice title.” Lynch told her to get in line and left. Cargill chucked. (Cargill wore blue and Pearce suggested she get some red.)
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[THIRD HOUR]
Jackie Redmond interviewed Rhodes and Jey. They said some stuff before Rhodes told Jey to say the word. Jey said Yeet.
Gunther defeated Bronson Reed to retain the Intercontinental Championship (12:39)
Reed went up for the Tsunami but Gunther stopped him. Reed gave Gunther a back body drop onto the apron before knocking him over with a shoulder tackle.
They exchanged chops after a break. Reed blocked a chop and hit a headbutt and Gunther responded with a clothesline. Reed followed with a thrust kick and powerslam for two. Gunther chopped and clubbed away at Reed but Reed grabbed him and hit a DVD for two. Reed went for a senton but Gunther got his knees up and hit a running clothesline for two.
They battled on the top until Reed hit a superplex for a nearfall. Reed missed a Tsunami and Gunther followed with a dropkick, clothesline and splash off the top for a nearfall.
Gunther didn’t waste time and planted Reed with a powerbomb for the pinfall win.
This was great. The crowd was quiet when it started but was very much into it at the end.
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Redmond interviewed The Miz. Miz was offended that Pearce waited until the third hour to get him on the show. They should’ve started the show with him and not Zayn. He mocked Zayn for missing Owens and also suggested Nick Aldis take over for Pearce on Raw.
Jax showed up and grabbed the mic. She said everybody had hit her with their best shot but she was still standing there looking pretty. When she hit people with her best shot, they stayed down. On Raw, she did the squashing. She left.
Miz tried to continue the interview but Redmond said they were out of time.
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Ripley confronted Pearce. She was pissed people kept interrupting her matches. Pearce, who’s in charge of the show, said Ripley had the chance to control her division but he only got chaos. Pearce said she would defend her title at Crown Jewel in a fatal five-way against Jax, Rodriguez, Starks and Baszler. Ripley was pissed but said she would eradicate them all.
Jinder Mahal showed up with Indus Sher to talk to Pearce.
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Alpha Academy was training with Akira Tozawa in the back. Chad Gable had Otis chop him as a signal to Gunther. Gable also announced that they intended to go after the tag titles.
New Day showed up because the mere mention of the tag titles was their signal. Xavier Woods swivelled his hips so Otis did the same. Kofi Kingston joined them until Gable told them to shoosh. Gable said we’d get Alpha Academy against New Day for the first time ever next week. Tozawa did a little exercise dance for comedy.
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Next week on Raw in Dallas:
- Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre
- Becky Lynch vs. Indi Hartwell for the NXT Women’s Title
- Logan Paul appears
- New Day vs. Alpha Academy (unofficial)
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They showed Kofi Kingston opening a library and computer centre in Ghana.
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Imperium applauded Gunther on his win. Gunther congratulated Kaiser on beating Gargano. But he wasn’t impressed with Vinci. Vinci tried to defend himself by saying he helped Kaiser win.
Gunther said he saw Gargano walking around backstage. He looked at Kaiser and said Vinci had a match with Gargano next week and expected to see him stretchered out afterward — and the responsibility was Kaiser’s. Kaiser looked at Vinci and calmly said, “No pressure.”
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Finn Bálor & Damian Priest defeated Jey Uso & Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed Tag Team Championships (14:09)
This was a typical WWE TV main event but it also felt like they sprinted right through it.
Jey got in some early trouble so Rhodes tagged in and handed out powerslams to both opponents before hitting Priest with a Disaster Kick for two. Dom ran out but Rhodes chased him off the apron. Bálor tried to attack but Jey superkicked him.
Rhodes hit Priest with Cross Rhodes but the match was only three minutes old so you knew it wouldn’t be the finish. In fact, Dom placed Priest’s leg on the rope to get a rope break. Rhodes knew what happened because he isn’t as stupid as the referee. He chased after Dom but Bálor dropped him with a clothesline.
Rhodes and Priest traded blows after a break. Priest took too much time so Rhodes dropped him with a Pedigree. (It looked like the ref was telling them how much time they had left.)
They each tagged out and Jey hit Bálor with a Samoan Drop, enziguri, and flying crossbody for two. Bálor raked Jey’s eyes and dropped him with a headlock elbow drop. Jey responded with a superkick.
Jey and Rhodes hit Bálor with their 1D/Cody Cutter finisher but Bálor actually kicked out. (Rhodes didn’t land awkwardly this time.)
Rhodes went for a dive but Priest caught him and chokeslammed him onto the apron.
Jey went to the top and Dom tried to stop him (as Priest distracted the ref) but Jey shoved him aside. The delay allowed Bálor to get his knees up and apply a rollup for two.
Zayn ran out to beat up Dom but Priest posted Zayn. Rhodes chucked Priest into the crowd and called for a tag but Bálor knocked him off the apron. Priest gave Rhodes a low blow outside the ring.
Priest gave Rhodes a Razor’s Edge through the announce desk so Jey wiped out Priest with a suicide dive.
Jey checked on Rhodes before hitting the ring where Bálor hit him with a slingblade and dropkick. Jey avoided a Coup de Grace and hit a spear. Jey went for a splash but Priest hit the ring so Jey speared Priest.
Jey went toward the corner again for a splash but Jimmy Uso suddenly appeared and superkicked Jey. (The ref didn’t see this, either.)
Bálor hit Jey with Coup de Grace for the pinfall win. Judgment Day regain the tag titles.
— All four members of Judgment Day posed with belts in the aisle as fireworks went off.