World Wrestling Entertainment | 2019 & Beyond

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FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN ON FOX: NIGHT 1 OF THE WWE DRAFT
October 11th 2019 | Las Vegas, Nevada | T-Mobile Arena​

The stage is set! The lights? They’re bright! A career-altering evening is set to begin here in Las Vegas! Night 1 of the WWE Draft is set to commence in mere moments. Michael Cole and AJ Lee welcome us to the show, which is very star-studded tonight!

~ Bayley challenges Ronda Rousey for the Smackdown Women’s Championship!
~ Rey Mysterio defends the WWE Television Championship against Angel Garza
~ A special edition of MizTV with Intercontinental Champion, Sami Zayn! ​

Stephanie McMahon welcomes us to the show and says that tonight and Monday night will be historic nights, as the WWE Draft is going down. She thanks both NBC Universal and Fox for giving them an equal platform to host the Draft and thanks the cities of Las Vegas and Denver for their hospitality in hosting the Draft as well. A graphic then appears, explaining the rules of the draft:

~ Raw will get 2 picks for every 1 pick Smackdown has
~ 30 picks will be made this evening, 40 made on Monday night
~ Any NXT or NXT UK wrestler selected tonight is IMMEDIATELY eligible to join the roster
~ Contracts have a 10-DAY WINDOW to be signed from the night a Superstar is drafted. IF the two sides cannot agree on terms, that wrestler will become a FREE AGENT.

Ex.: Anyone drafted TONIGHT, October 11 2019, must sign their contract by October 21 2019 by 8 p.m. ET (the beginning of Raw)

Anyone drafted MONDAY, October 14 2019 must sign their contract by October 24 2019​

Stephanie says that this will be a monumental Draft with two pools across the two nights. McMahon wraps her statement up by saying that Fox won the coin toss earlier today, done between network representatives, so Smackdown will be picking first tonight! They will go second on Monday, when Raw has the first pick. And says that she will be making the first set of first-round selections in just a matter of moments!

Stephanie would then make her way out to the podium! After getting the green light, she then began reading off the FIRST five picks of the First Round…

1. Kofi Kingston - Friday Night Smackdown
2. Brock Lesnar - Monday Night Raw
3. Bayley - Friday Night Smackdown
4. 'The Inevitable' Daniel Bryan - Monday Night Raw
5. Seth Rollins - Monday Night Raw
​

Not too many surprises there! Kofi is seen reacting with a gentle fist pump to being the first overall pick! Meanwhile, we can see that a very banged-up Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins, newfound allies, are reacting positively to being picked in back-to-back selections.

Just then however we see someone who didn’t get picked… It’s The Phenomenal One!

AJ Styles is here! Styles comes out, feeling himself quite a bit, and for good reason! We are of course looking at the new #1 Contender for the WWE Championship! AJ makes his way to the ring and gets inside. He says that tonight, at some point, the world will know the future of the most important superstar in WWE. He says that man, of course, is The Phenomenal AJ Styles! He is the new #1 Contender, as he survived the Hell in a Cell Match on Sunday. Survived is the keyword here as it looks like Styles is still quite wounded from the Cell, as he’s sporting some bandages and is selling some injuries! But that hasn’t stopped Styles from shit-talking. He says that he knew the whole time that he was going to win the Six-Man Hell in a Cell. He says it was nothing more than a formality and everything went the way that he wanted it to. When it came down to it, Styles was the roughest, the toughest, and the BEST! Styles boasts about pinning Roman Reigns with the Styles Clash. He says that he heard Reigns' bones hit the chair and heard him let out a defeated sigh. Styles says that he wishes he could have bottled that emotion up so that he could taunt Roman about it for the rest of his life. But instead, what’s worse has happened: Roman has to live with that for the rest of his life anyway! Styles says that it will become an even bigger nightmare for Reigns when Styles becomes the next WWE Champion! Which turns his attention to the current champ.

Styles congratulates Kofi on beating Brock Lesnar. He says that it was an impressive defeat, he’ll give him that. He’ll even give him that beating Goldberg at Fall Brawl was pretty impressive. As with the rest of his title reign. But he said the word ‘impressive.’ Not ‘phenomenal,’ because there is only one Phenomenal One, of course. Styles tells Kingston that he has been WWE Champion for over six months. AJ says that people are calling it one of the greatest title reigns of all time. Styles asks how that can be when it doesn’t hold a candle to AJ Styles’ last reign as WWE Champion! Styles points out that he was champion for 371 consecutive days! Styles adds that he successfully defended the WWE Championship at WrestleMania and at SummerSlam as well as other places around the world. He calls Kofi great but says that there’s great, there’s amazing, and then there’s AJ Styles. So whatever Kofi has done does not even compare to what AJ Styles has done and will do. And well, enough shit-talking will usually elicit a response. And a response has been elicited! Here comes Kofi Kingston! The WWE Champion is fresh, so he gets to the ring without much ginger movement. Kofi gets into the ring and eyes Styles up here in between the ropes! Kingston asks Styles if he was done yet. Before AJ can get a reply, Kofi says that he doesn’t care to listen to his response because he was coming out here anyway! Kofi publicly thanks Fox for drafting him first overall. He says he’s honored to be here in this spot and hopes to make Smackdown his future for SEVERAL years, as we get our first dose of what could come here with the new contracts coming! Kofi then thanks Brock Lesnar for being a great opponent last week. He thanks him for the showing of respect and wishes him the best of luck on Monday Night Raw, not that he'll need it.

And now, Kofi switches gears and sizes up AJ Styles again. Kingston congratulates AJ on winning Hell in a Cell. As someone who’s been inside Hell in a Cell before, Kofi says that it is one of the most violent environments that he’s ever been in. He knows the kind of pain that AJ must have been in all week. He casually thanks the ladies for holding things down on Monday night so that all the boys could rest up! Kingston says that he imagines it’s been hard for him to get out of bed all week. But he imagines that one thing’s been keeping him afloat. And that’s probably the fact that he’s the new #1 Contender. Styles nods, seemingly indicating Kingston’s correct. Kofi goes on to say that AJ has probably been fantasizing about this moment since The OC came together. Kofi says he’s paid close attention to all that despite other things taking up his vision. He knows how good AJ Styles is too. He knows he’s the measuring stick for success worldwide. He refers to Styles as a living legend who has succeeded and been to the top of the mountain everywhere that he’s been. He says there’s just one problem: This mountain has already been claimed! Kingston says he has zero intention of moving from his spot at the summit. So the only way that he sees him taking the WWE Championship away from him is if he takes his life first! AJ says that to him, there’s no difference between that and kicking him off the top of the mountain, watching him fall and hearing him cry until he fades back to irrelevancy while The Phenomenal Champion assumes his rightful spot at the top of this industry! AJ says that he doesn’t want to be dramatic. He wants Kofi to know when he’s going to take the WWE Championship away from him. Styles says that no matter what show he’s going to be on, in three weeks in Buffalo, on the first day of November, he’s taking the WWE Championship from Kofi Kingston! Well there we have it, folks! They’re not waiting until Survivor Series for this one! A staredown between these two superstars is how we end this segment!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~
​

Back from the break, and we have our final five first-round selections made…

6. AJ Styles - Friday Night Smackdown​

And… just then, a PICK SWAP is announced! It turns out that Smackdown has just traded up to 7th!

7. Toni Storm - Friday Night Smackdown​

Wow! Well that’s huge!! Toni Storm is Smackdown-bound! And they just traded up to get her!

The rest of the Top 10 hashes itself out…

8. Sasha Banks - Monday Night Raw
9. Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott - Monday Night Raw
10. Rey Mysterio - Monday Night Raw​

Well… ain’t THAT something! Raw takes the #1 Contender in the Women’s Division, the ultra-competitive Sasha Banks!

They also take TWO champions: United States Champion ‘Swerve’ Scott and Television Champion Rey Mysterio! That’s quite the haul!

An updated look at the rosters is provided:

Match #1: WWE TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Rey Mysterio © defends against Angel Garza (w/ Zelina Vega)​

Angel Garza gets a crack at Rey Mysterio and the Television Championship to kick off Smackdown’s in-ring action. Garza came down to the ring with Zelina Vega of The Expat Express, a group that expanded to one more on Monday. With the inclusion of Niven! But we’re told an interesting factoid: Angel told Buddy Murphy to stay in the back! It is true that Murphy was the one who got pinned in last week’s TV Title Triple Threat, but has that caused dissension at a time where Vega hired one Bobby Roode to help fix the problems? We don’t know, but what we do know is that Garza gets easily his biggest singles opportunity to date. To his credit, he does make the most of it! He puts Rey on his heels as his youthful exuberance is carrying him. Remember: He IS only 27 years young. Garza does find himself in a precarious spot later as Mysterio’s set him up for the 619! But Garza moves out of the way! Rey comes off unbalanced and Garza pursues over, grabs him, powers him up, and hits a wheelbarrow facebuster! A 2 count ensues, but my goodness, what a move that was! Garza keeps the pressure applied and eventually sets Rey up on the top rope. Mysterio tries to knock him away, but the tenacious Garza stays on task! He stays up at the top, gets up on the top rope, and then hits a BEAUTIFUL Hurricanrana! The move didn’t result in a pin fall victory but it sure wowed some people!

Which proves timely. Ace reporter Renee Young, who teased big news cutting in, would chime in during the match. She said that she’s hearing that Fox and NBC Universal execs are very much watching this match intently. They are not ‘set’ on anything and Angel Garza’s draft status could be something to watch! AJ chimed in on commentary saying that she’s not surprised based on youth, pedigree, and obvious raw talent. Anyhow, as the match proceeds on, Garza keeps the heat applied HEAVILY on Mysterio. This is his biggest opportunity yet and he ain’t missing it. Mysterio is still staying in it though, banking on the youngster making a mistake. Turns out… he does! Late in the matchup, Garza takes a risk he didn’t necessarily have to! He would go to the top rope after planting Rey down with a Lifting Reverse DDT. He had Rey down HARD but he would go up, go for broke with a Frog Splash attempt… but Rey moved!! Garza ate canvas and Mysterio would take advantage of this mistake! And he would make Garza pay for it dearly and quickly. Mysterio got up to his feet and watched Angel get up to his. On Jell-O legs, Garza looked over but by then it was too late! Mysterio had already run over and hits a headscissors takedown on him, sending him down on the middle rope! Mysterio then dialed it up – 619!! Mysterio then ascended to the top rope, leaped off the top rope, and BOOM! Frog Splash, showing him how it’s done! And three seconds later, that’s all she wrote!

WINNER: Rey Mysterio via pinfall at 8:37. Mysterio RETAINS the WWE TV Title.
​

Mysterio retains!! Rey gets the job done again and in his third title defense since last Friday, he’s once again proved successful! Mysterio celebrates with the championship while we then see Zelina go and approach the ring. She walks right by Angel Garza and goes up to Rey again. She asks him what he thinks about her offer that she made him. Before Rey can even say anything, Zelina says that she wants an answer after their standing in the Draft is known. Rey can’t offer anything up to say as she walks away as Angel Garza then goes after her! Garza asks her what the deal is with that, and Zelina tells him that she’s just doing business. She chides him for not doing his job just now, and then sternly walks away! Trouble in paradise here?

Stephanie McMahon then makes her way back out here again and is set to make more selections, as Round 2 has begun…

ROUND 2
1. Sami Zayn - Friday Night Smackdown
2. Drew McIntyre - Monday Night Raw
3. The New Day - Friday Night Smackdown
4. Chad Gable - Monday Night Raw
5. Ali - Monday Night Raw​

And well, there’s our NEXT surprise! Chad Gable has been picked for the Raw brand…

But not his partner, Jason Jordan!

We see that things have seemingly gotten pretty awkward backstage with both Gable and Jordan looking at each other a bit awkwardly. They’re gonna be competing tonight too! In a tag match!

Oh no!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~
​

Reporter Renee Young joins us from backstage here, outside NBC Universal’s ‘Draft War Room.’ Renee reports that she spoke with several people in the know after the most recent round of picks and says that concerns over Jason Jordan’s medicals apparently chased them away from committing even a short-term deal after a selection as a tag team! That includes the hamstring injury he seemed to have suffered over the weekend at No Mercy! So that’s the rumored logic behind Chad Gable being selected, not Jordan, and it is currently ‘unknown’ whether Jordan will continue to fall in this Draft as she has not talked with Fox officials but hopes to before the end of the night. Jumping into the scene suddenly is Sasha Banks!

Uh oh…

Banks asks Renee if she plans on talking to people with Fox like she said. Renee nods her head as she’s a little nervous here, but doesn’t flinch. Sasha then tells, practically demands, that Renee gets to the bottom of why she wasn’t picked to Smackdown like Bayley was! She claims that she was promised a spot, but they just took Toni Storm instead! Well, that’s a HUGE allegation. Holy crap.

Just then though, the undisputed Raw Women’s Champion surfaces! Becky Lynch corrals The Boss here, telling her that this isn’t worth it. But Banks snaps on her! “Yeah, that’s real damn easy for someone whose spot isn’t in question,” Banks says with fire in her eyes. Becky tries to calm her down again but Sasha is not hearing ANY of it! In fact, she STORMS OFF!

Stephanie McMahon then comes on out for the remaining picks of the second round…

6. Candice LeRae - Friday Night Smackdown
7. The Street Profits - Monday Night Raw
8. Johnny Gargano - Friday Night Smackdown
9. Alexa Bliss - Monday Night Raw
10. Liv Morgan - Monday Night Raw​

And we’ve got some newcomers here! Namely The Street Profits, who are heading from NXT to Raw! And in addition, former NXT Champion Johnny Gargano is Smackdown-bound! We see all three of them in the back, high-fiving each other and they all seem very happy for each other! Meanwhile, three women were selected, and two big guns in Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan are heading to Monday nights! Candice LeRae, meanwhile, joins rival Toni Storm and Bayley in what’s looking like a very good women’s division already!

Walking out from the back is Raw draft pick, Ali! Ali is given a nice hand here by the crowd as he’s five days removed from coming up short in the hellacious Six-Man Hell in a Cell. Ali is visibly banged up from that matchup, not surprisingly. He’s sporting a black eye and plenty of contusions and visible bruises. He gingerly gets into the ring and takes the mic from Greg Hamilton. He looks out at the crowd here in Vegas and starts off by thanking them. He says that he’s appreciative of all of the support that he’s gotten over the course of the last 10 months. He says he can’t believe how crazy this year has been and says that Sunday was unbelievable. Ali says that he’s hurt. He’s wounded, as Ali alludes to a lot of wounds and a lot of pain that he’s been in all week. He says that he’s had trouble sleeping at times and it’s been a grind to get through the day. But every day he does, and he’s still standing, so he says that he must be doing something right. Ali says that he has everybody’s respect for what they went through in Hell in a Cell on Sunday, even AJ Styles. He says that he wishes him the best against Kofi Kingston, a hell of a champion, notes Ali. Ali says that he has something in mind though. He points out that Survivor Series next month is in his hometown of Chicago! Ali says that he did come up short in earning a title shot at No Mercy but says that he wants one at Survivor Series to have the happiest homecoming! Ali wraps up by saying that Smackdown has been his home for the last 10 months and he’s enjoyed every minute of it. He thanks the fans and says that he hopes they all follow him on Raw as he looks to continue to inspire and kick everybody’s ass!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~
​

We return and see someone walking through the hall. That someone… is Toni Storm! Toni heads along here as the newcomer with all the sizzle around her approaches a door. There’s a placard on the door, and it:

THE FOUR HORSEWOMEN!

Shit.

Storm goes to knock… but someone grabs her wrist!

Some pretty familiar-looking hands… it’s Sasha Banks!

Storm’s eyes bugs out a bit as she pulls her wrist away. Banks glares at Storm, Storm looks at Banks somewhat nervously. Banks asks what Toni’s doing here. Storm says she means no harm but just wants to talk because she heard what she said and just wants to try and smooth things out. Sasha shakes her head and scoffs in disgust, as she tells Storm that she better get out of here because she isn’t welcomed. Banks goes and enters but then SLAMS THE DOOR in Toni’s face! That jolts Toni more a little bit… as it sure seems like Banks is taking this situation quite a bit personally.

Becky Lynch, who we just saw with Sasha before, sighs as she looks at Toni. She indicates without saying anything that she hopes she doesn’t take anything personally as she goes inside the room.

Storm just kinda… stands there awkwardly, shaking her head.

Progressive MatchFlo: Ruby Riott attacks Brie and Nikki Bella at their Scottsdale, Arizona home, and then challenges them to a Double Jeopardy Match where they must risk their careers, should they accept!

Match #2: Singles Match
‘Ms. MITB’ Ruby Riott vs. Kacy Catanzaro​

Ruby is served a bit of a tomato can here in Kacy Catanzaro, who’s competing for the first time in a minute! Unfortunately for Kacy, despite an early run at it, Ruby dominates her pretty good in this one. Kacy’s attempted feistiness unfortunately doesn’t produce a winning result. Eventually, Ms. Money in the Bank looks to finish Catanzaro off. She looks to pull her in for the Riott Kick… however, she instead dips down, props her up on her shoulders… and delivers a RACK ATTACK to Catanzaro! The finisher for Nikki Bella! Ruby hooks the leg and shoves her forearm down into Kacy’s face, 1! 2! 3!!!

WINNER: Ruby Riott via pin fall at 3:45.​

Ruby gets up to her feet here and looks down at Catanzaro. She has her hand raised here but doesn’t look satisfied yet. We see why, as Ruby then pounces on her and puts in a … Yes Lock! Just like Brie Bella would use!! Kacy taps out quickly here as Ruby is intent on dishing out punishment in the form of this submission hold! The referee tries to get her off her but Ruby is showing no interest in that! She laughs as she then shoves her face down on the mat. She shakes her head in disgust and looks into the camera. She trash-talks The Bellas and then SPITS in the camera’s face and kicks it away! She rolls away but not before grabbing her case and then dusts by everybody, having proved a point I guess tonight.

A video package then runs, hyping up the accomplishments of the man returning later tonight: The Miz!

A frustrated Jason Jordan is then seen here with his father Kurt Angle. Kurt is trying to calm Jason down, but it’s obvious that he’s very distraught about American Alpha being broken up for the moment. Kurt assures him that it’s not over yet. They could convince them to draft him tonight, as there’s still time. Jordan says that he thinks that it might be too late for that. Kurt tells him that he never thought it was too late for ANYTHING in his career and it’s not over for Jason Jordan yet either. Angle attempts to hype his son up…but it falls short! Jordan walks away! Angle calls out for him and then follows in, as it seems Jason is pretty torn up about this!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

As promised, we’ve got Round 3 beginning here and now!

ROUND 3
1. The Miz - Friday Night Smackdown
2. Pete Dunne - Monday Night Raw
3. The Usos - Friday Night Smackdown
4. Fire And Desire - Monday Night Raw
5. The Southern Belles - Monday Night Raw​

And some pieces are off the board! Raw dug into the women’s tag team scene to grab two existing tag teams as well as former United States Champion Pete Dunne! And meanwhile, Smackdown does grab The Usos and.. the returning Miz!

As Miz makes his entrance and shakes Stephanie’s hand, we see he’s wearing a nice-looking blue suit, surely celebrating the fact that he is going to Smackdown! Miz gets in the ring where the MizTV setup stands. He welcomes everyone to the most must-see WWE talk show in history! He welcomes himself back to WWE as well, announcing that his lovely wife Maryse is doing well after the birth of their most-recent child, Madison Jade Mizanin! How nice! Miz says that he’s seen a lot of ‘wild’ stuff happen over the last few weeks, but hopes that we are now all free from the shenanigans handed out by Shane McMahon. Aren’t we all, Miz. Aren’t we all.

Miz says that he’s now moving on to bigger and better things. Miz says that he’s had an interesting year here in WWE but wants to put everything in the past now. He’s a member of Smackdown! The crowd cheers for that, and Miz then says that he’s excited about the future here on the blue brand and being on network television every single week is a pretty nice add-on. He says that he’s happy he’s on Smackdown for another reason also, which brings him to his guest on this episode of MizTV. Miz introduces everyone to another Smackdown draft pick, the Intercontinental Champion, Sami Zayn! Zayn makes his way out to the ring here as the IC Champion receives a nice hand. Zayn gets up and into the ring here as he takes a seat. Miz says he’s glad to see Sami and to see that he’s finally doing well. Miz says that he’s happy to see the Intercontinental Championship on MizTV again. The only problem in his mind though is the fact that it’s not around his waist again!

Ah, now we see! Miz touts himself as one of the most celebrated and greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time. He says he’s held that title more than just about everybody to ever hold it and wants to set the record for most Intercontinental Championship reigns. Sami says that he wants to dismantle the establishment and lead a revolution. Miz looks at him funnily and Zayn responds by saying that he’s saying that not everybody can always get what they want. Miz says that Sami’s talking tough for a guy who only won the Intercontinental Title because his best friend was knocked out on the mat at Madison Square Garden. Oooooh! Zayn fires back and says that he’s just as mad about that and wants everyone to know that he’s “working hard” to get another match with Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Title. Miz asks him if he’s really doing that, pointing out that he’s had multiple opportunities to give him a fair championship match but picked a Tag Team Battle Royal last Monday and wasn’t on the Pay-Per-View on Sunday. Miz says that when he was Intercontinental Champion he was always willing to defend it. Sami says that he’s ALWAYS willing to defend it, it’s just not up to him right now. Miz asks him if that’s really true or if he’s not trying to because he’d rather play games with his best friend. Sami says that it is, and Miz says that if that’s so, Miz says that he shouldn’t have a problem if he challenges him for it NEXT WEEK! Sami looks around and then tells Miz that he’s going to be having a conversation with Fox execs tonight and he’ll make sure he mentions it but is sure to not outright accept it. Miz says that he doesn’t have anything else to say to him but issues a warning to Sami Zayn. Miz says that if there’s anybody here who knows what a phony looks like, it’s the guy who’s been on several hit reality television shows, so he tells him to be careful. Sami says that he doesn’t need advice, he doesn’t want advice, and he plans on being a better Intercontinental Champion than Miz ever was. And with that, so ends a… very interesting episode of MizTV.

For the first time all night, we hear from Bayley, who’s narrating a video package with her as the feature. Bayley says that she’s been waiting for tonight since the night she lost her title in San Francisco. She says that she felt lost that night, admitting that with how everything had been going up until that point, she didn’t know if REvolution was even going to happen for her. But since last week, since The Four Horsewomen united, she’s felt invigorated. She’s felt different. She says the biggest sign that she felt different was on Monday. Bayley says that she admits that she liked kicking Ronda Rousey’s ass in her suite! Bayley says that she has had so much pent-up feeling and now tonight, she gets a chance to focus that energy and let it out on Rousey! She points out that two years ago, in Vegas, she won the Raw Women’s Championship. She says it’s a place that’s been kind to her before and will be kind to her again, saying Ronda might have forgotten what it’s like to win in Vegas, and she doesn’t plan on helping to remind her what it’s like tonight! Choice words by the challenger, who’ll get her shot to win back the Smackdown Women’s Championship tonight!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

We come back, and the FINAL batch of selections in the Third and FINAL Round of the night!

6. Angel Garza - Friday Night Smackdown
7. Rusev - Monday Night Raw
8. Jamie Hayter - Friday Night Smackdown
9. The Expat Express - Monday Night Raw
10. Baron Corbin - Monday Night Raw​

Our most shocking round yet! We’ve got a FASCINATING assortment of names! It turns out that Angel Garza’s performance just got him a solo spot on Smackdown!

Meanwhile, Rusev is heading to Raw and he might be dealing with the rest of The Expat Express if Lana and Zelina’s rivalry persists. And Baron Corbin remains on the red brand as well.

And… let’s talk about the biggest surprise! NXT UK’s Jamie Hayter has been drafted to Smackdown! And since she was actually DRAFTED, Hayter is IMMEDIATELY eligible to join the blue brand! This is NOT a draft-and-stash situation like what’s created in the NBA sometimes, folks. Nope, she’s coming to Friday nights!

Following this bit, Baron Corbin makes his way out! Corbin says that he would be torn up about not being on Smackdown, but now his Friday nights are opened up! Corbin says that he can go out and do something with his life unlike the rest of everyone here in Vegas! Corbin says that so many people come here thinking they’re gonna win ‘The Big One’ and then go off to live a rich life. Corbin says he doesn’t have to dream big because he’s already winning at life! Corbin says that he wanted to make sure that he competed tonight so that he could tell everybody here on Smackdown, all the fans, all the people working in the truck, to do him a favor and kiss his ass! Geez… Corbin then says that he’ll face off with anybody who’s been drafted to Smackdown tonight! And then this draws out…

The WWE Champion, Kofi Kingston! What a nice surprise this is!

Kofi comes out AGAIN with the rest of his New Day brethren, Big E and Xavier Woods, as they are feeling very jovial over there! Kofi says that he’s not sure why Corbin has so much resentment for Smackdown, citing that he hasn’t been around here lately. Kofi says that all these fans wanna do is come cheer for their favorites, but he guesses that Corbin doesn’t know what that’s like because he’s never seen a Baron Corbin fan before either! Kofi says that as the WWE Champion and as Smackdown’s #1 Draft Pick, he wants to take on the challenge that Corbin just laid down! But… he doesn’t wanna do it alone either! Corbin protests this but Woods asks him if he said that he’ll take on ANYBODY who’s been drafted to Smackdown tonight and never specified just one. E says that they got his ass in 4K, pointing to the Tron, as they replay the footage! Oh no! Corbin’s in some trouble now!

Match #3: 3-on-1 Handicap Match
Baron Corbin vs. The New Day​

Well THIS one goes about as you might expect. Baron Corbin eats a lot of offense and shows a lot of ass to all three members of The New Day. Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods seem to be on a completely different level these days! They show as much in this matchup as they are firing on all cylinders. Kofi in particular is white-hot and he builds off the momentum of the very BIGGEST win of his career last week over Brock Lesnar. E and Woods tee Baron up… and Kofi splits the uprights with the Trouble in Paradise! 3 seconds later and, boom! A win!

WINNERS: The New Day via pin fall at 6:16.
​

Backstage, there’s a visible disagreement going on between Angel Garza and Zelina Vega! Zelina seems incredulous to the fact that Angel Garza seems to like the idea of being on his own! Garza says that for a while he hasn’t been liking the direction of The Expat Express. Zelina becomes aghast to that, but Garza explains himself. He says that they were the Tag Team Champions when he came on the scene. When Zelina called him to do a favor for Andrade, he figured that at the very least, a favor would be done to them. But all of it was becoming all about Andrade and not the team. As evident by how since Andrade has been gone, The Expat Express is on the way to irrelevancy! Zelina is still very upset, but Garza says that he’ll wish them the best, but he’s not looking at this with any regret. Zelina then proceeds to slap Angel across the face! Geez! She tells him off in Spanish and then storms away as Garza’s feeling it after that one… but luckily for him… he doesn’t have to after tonight ever again!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

We receive footage from an ‘anonymous source’ which shows a still upset Jason Jordan who was seen leaving the arena earlier tonight. Jordan fought back tears as he put his bags away and then drove off. Unlike Angel Garza, Jason Jordan is NOT taking the tag team breakup thing well…

But another newcomer to Smackdown isn’t so unhappy! Johnny Gargano makes HIS way down to the ring for what’s going to be his first match as a member of the Smackdown roster! Gargano seems to be taking this in stride here as the former NXT Champion is playing the babyface role on his way to the ring. He climbs on inside and goes corner to corner here to hype the crowd up a bit and then gets on down on the mat here and is ready to go on the attack!

Match #4: Singles Match
Johnny Gargano vs. Wesley Blake​

The Forgotten Son who didn’t get Thanos snapped in this Universe proves to be nothing but a pin in front of Johnny Gargano here. In a match serving nothing more than as an introduction to Johnny Wrestling, Gargano puts together a highlight reel of his greatest hits pretty much! He hits all the right notes here and even after eating just a little bit of offense, Johnny is able to make moves and move forward towards the win column. Gargano eventually puts this one to rest here and takes Blake down with the Garga-NO Escape!

WINNER: Johnny Gargano via submission at 4:32.​

We see the Smackdown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey making her way towards the Gorilla Position!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

Because social media is a wonderful thing, an Instagram story message from Smackdown’s newest acquisition, Jamie Hayter, was just posted in the wee hours of the night out in the UK…

JAMIE HAYTER
WWE Universe… this is Jamie Hayter, Friday Night Smackdown’s newest superstar. I know there’s been a lot of talk lately… about the women of WWE. How they’re changing the game. How they’re taking over. Monday night I watched proudly with former NXT Women’s Champion Paige, as the women took over Monday Night Raw for the first time ever. Wednesday night, I got in there, and I got the pin in a match that included some of the finest young talent in the entire world. I can’t wait to be part of the next generation of women’s superstars that make an impact on everyone. I’m thankful for Fox for taking a chance on me… and I’m not going to make them regret it either.​

We then learn what’s to come for this Monday night in Denver!

~ Night 2 of the WWE Draft! Including the NXT DRAFT RIGHTS Round!
~ A massive SUMMIT between The Four Horsewomen and The Sisters of Doom to set the terms for REvolution!
That is… if Sasha Banks is even gonna be there!
~ Liv Morgan and Toni Storm battle Candice LeRae and Asuka in a preview of what’s to come at REvolution!
~ The Bellas talk with Renee Young!
~ Trish Stratus will appear after Alexa Bliss’ challenge last week!
~ Seth Rollins squares up with Drew McIntyre!​

Making her way out to the ring are the combatants, and second out is the NEW Smackdown Women’s Champion! Ronda Rousey comes out here in Las Vegas, a place she knows quite well. She’s been on the winning side and the losing side of things here, but Rousey is hoping for the former here tonight. The Baddest Woman on the Planet gets in the ring and then snatches the mic from Greg Hamilton. She stares him off and he rushes out of the ring. Ronda gets on the mic and looks at Bayley and says she had quite the rah-rah speech earlier. She says she hopes that she was able to get her b*tch in line, a distasteful remark about Sasha Banks most likely. Ronda says that she knows that Bayley is a phony and a paper tiger. But she will say that she was smart to use Anything Goes last time under ‘House Rules.’ Ronda says that she was able to physically assault her with any weaponry that she wanted to. She says that Bayley was actually smart to do that, a rare compliment, but says that it wound up being her undoing. Ronda says that it’s not just because she cost Shayna Baszler from becoming the Undisputed Raw Women’s Champion on Monday. Nope. She brings up how she won the match in San Francisco with Piper’s Pit through the table. She says that she rarely used tables in her first year here in WWE. She says he never understood why these idiots in the WWE Universe always chanted that they wanted tables. However, Ronda says that she liked it. Rousey admits that she heard Bayley’s soul crush and let out a sigh of despair after hearing the crunch of the table breaking… and she really liked that. Ronda says that she likes it so much that she wants to hear it again! Ronda says that Bayley did get the better of her Monday night, but so far, when it’s mattered most and when Charlotte Flair hasn’t been buzzarding around, she can’t get the better of her. And that will continue in a matter of moments… in a TABLES MATCH!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~

Match #5: Smackdown Women’s Championship Tables Match
Ronda Rousey © defends against Bayley​

Bayley has zero issue with the stipulation here, as evident by the fact that she’s come ready to fight either way! The hatred between these two isn’t quite Becky-Ronda level, maybe not even Charlotte-Ronda level, but baby these two DESPISE each other. And it’s all over the richest prize in the women’s game! Bayley and Ronda go strike for strike her and Bayley’s able to beat Ronda up a little bit after coming in with so much energy behind her. Vegas is a place she’s won before and she’s looking to do the very same tonight! Ronda tries to make that hard for her though and eventually stomps HARD on her ankle! Bayley is put in a very bad way here after that hard stomp and it’s made worse as Rousey grabs her boot, drags her through the ringpost from the outside now and slams the ankle up on the ringpost! A dastardly move by Rousey has just changed things completely here! Rousey keeps up the roughhousing here, figuring it’ll be easy to put Bayley through a table if she’s just a piece of meat!

But The Hugger’s resilience keeps her afloat! Rousey gets frustrated by this but hey I mean, what were you expecting here Rowdy One? Ronda tries putting Bayley away here as she has a table set up in the corner. But Bayley refuses to be tossed through it! Ronda goes to toss her like a javelin but Bayley falls off the shoulder of Rousey! Ronda comes back in and Bayley kicks her and drops her with a DDT!! She’s still working on that badly injured ankle here and the trouble for her is that it’s about to get worse! Because here comes Shayna Baszler! The woman who Bayley arguably cost the Undisputed Raw Women’s Title from last Monday! Shayna stalks down to the ring here, looking angry as hell. Bayley sees this and decides that she’s gonna try and meet Shayna head on! Bayley comes out here but this winds up being a trap! Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke jump over the barricade and start beating Bayley up!! Shayna comes up and smiles and starts wailing on Bayley as she’s held up by the two dopes!

But this doesn’t last for too long! Here comes the cavalry! Charlotte and Sasha come STORMING out and start to attack the trio!! They take away their attention here as they start fighting away from the ramp. Bayley tries to help herself up but suddenly the ring skirt is lifted. Underneath the ring is… Becky Lynch! What!! Lynch then tosses her a kendo stick and jokes with her about using it and then goes and hides under the ring again! Bayley gets up and then whacks Ronda as she goes to grab her! Bayley then climbs back into the ring and on one good foot starts to smoke Ronda with the kendo stick! She then pulls her back and hits a Russian Leg Sweep with the stick applied! Some might call it a White Russian Leg Sweep! Someone’s been watching their Sandman tapes. Bayley then gets up to her feet and looks to take a huge risk! She climbs up to the top rope here or at least tries to with the kendo stick in hand! Ronda is wounded so she’s slow to get up after the numerous kendo shots. Bayley then tries to balance herself and it’s clear she’s wounded bad! But she props herself up and then quickly launches off! And hits a KENDO STICK-ASSISTED ELBOW DROP ON ROUSEY!!

Bayley rolls away from the scene and knows she’s gotta put Ronda through the table! She gets up and then looks on as there’s trouble afoot! Beth Phoenix is heading down to the ring! Beth then gets up to the apron here but suddenly can’t pull herself up all the way! That’s because Becky Lynch is pulling down on her!! Lynch has surfaced again and is whacking Beth with a steel chair now!! But with Bayley’s eye off the ball she doesn’t know that Ronda’s ready for her! And Rousey comes in and lights her up with a HUGE Flying Knee to the face! Ronda then looks over at Becky and talks a bit of trash to her! Lynch doesn’t take the bait here but knows her presence at ringside is gonna get Ronda’s attention somehow. It does just that, but Ronda then grabs the table and starts to set it up. Bayley is then grabbed by Rousey and dragged up on her shoulders! She’s looking to do the same thing she did last time around! Ronda sets her up to drive her through the table with Piper’s Pit!!

But Bayley gouges the eyes!! Bayley comes to life here and is trying to collect some late Las Vegas magic!! Ronda struggles with her here but Bayley eventually is able to slip out!! And then she comes underneath Ronda here! She’s gonna try and Powerbomb her through the table!! Rousey holds on here for dear life as she doesn’t want her title reign to end this way! Bayley pulls with her might, but she can’t quite get all the strength off her legs because of the bad ankle!! And after her arms were weakened by a few armbar attempts in this match, it’s hard for her as it is!! Rousey then starts to pie-face Bayley!! She then gets her stunted for a moment here. And—she reaches into her trunks for something!! It’s brass knucks! Just like Shayna had on Monday!!

Becky sees this and darts over!!

Bayley tries to adjust as Ronda fits the knucks over her glove! She winds up!

BECKY SMOKES HER WITH THE KENDO STICK IN THE HEAD!!

Ronda is dazed!! And falls back!!

As Bayley drops down, grabs her, and…

POWERBOMBS HER!!

DOWN!!!

AND THROUGH THE TABLE!!!!!!

WINNER: Bayley at 12:07. Bayley WINS the Smackdown Women’s Title.​

And would you look at this!!!

Bayley has become the Smackdown Women’s Champion AGAIN!!

Becky Lynch jumps in the ring to help Bayley up to her feet!! Triumphantly, Bayley has become champion here and yes, not without an assist from Lynch. But Ronda was about to knock Bayley’s lights out with the knucks! Very legal of course, but Becky wasn’t going to let Bayley lose in that way! A TREMENDOUS display of loyalty by Lynch, four days after Bayley no doubt helped her by basically doing the exact same thing!!

And this championship victory also means one thing:

Three of The Four Horsewomen now have ALL THE GOLD!

The seesaw battle continues… and we are barreling towards the finality of this war. It’s only a wonder of what POSSIBLY could come next.

END OF SHOW

---

TALKING SMACK EXCLUSIVE ROUND
1. Heavy Machinery - Friday Night Smackdown
2. Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan - Monday Night Raw
3. Humberto Carrillo and Raul Mendoza - Friday Night Smackdown
4. Gran Metalik - Monday Night Raw
5. Lince Dorado - Monday Night Raw
6. Kalisto - Friday Night Smackdown
7. Titus O'Neil - Monday Night Raw
8. Aliyah - Friday Night Smackdown
9. Mike Kanellis - Monday Night Raw
10. Maria Kanellis - Monday Night Raw
​

WWE DRAFT RECAP​

Spoiler

1. Kofi Kingston - Friday Night Smackdown
2. Brock Lesnar - Monday Night Raw
3. Bayley - Friday Night Smackdown
4. 'The Inevitable' Daniel Bryan - Monday Night Raw
5. Seth Rollins - Monday Night Raw
6. AJ Styles - Friday Night Smackdown
7. Toni Storm - Friday Night Smackdown
8. Sasha Banks - Monday Night Raw
9. Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott - Monday Night Raw
10. Rey Mysterio - Monday Night Raw
11. Sami Zayn - Friday Night Smackdown
12. Drew McIntyre - Monday Night Raw
13. The New Day - Friday Night Smackdown
14. Chad Gable - Monday Night Raw
15. Ali - Monday Night Raw
16. Candice LeRae - Friday Night Smackdown
17. The Street Profits - Monday Night Raw
18. Johnny Gargano - Friday Night Smackdown
19. Alexa Bliss - Monday Night Raw
20. Liv Morgan - Monday Night Raw
21. The Miz - Friday Night Smackdown
22. Pete Dunne - Monday Night Raw
23. The Usos - Friday Night Smackdown
24. Fire And Desire - Monday Night Raw
25. The Southern Belles - Monday Night Raw
26. Angel Garza - Friday Night Smackdown
27. Rusev - Monday Night Raw
28. Jamie Hayter - Friday Night Smackdown
29. The Expat Express - Monday Night Raw
30. Baron Corbin - Monday Night Raw
31. Heavy Machinery - Friday Night Smackdown
32. Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan - Monday Night Raw
33. Humberto Carrillo and Raul Mendoza - Friday Night Smackdown
34. Gran Metalik - Monday Night Raw
35. Lince Dorado - Monday Night Raw
36. Kalisto - Friday Night Smackdown
37. Titus O'Neil - Monday Night Raw
38. Aliyah - Friday Night Smackdown
39. Mike Kanellis - Monday Night Raw
40. Maria Kanellis - Monday Night Raw

The following wrestlers were undrafted.

After Monday night's Draft, they are free to sign with the brand of their choosing OR return back to 205 Live, NXT, or NXT UK:

Spoiler

Emma
Noam Dar
Taynara Conti
The Brian Kendrick

 

[Order]

Hi mate, here goes my comment on your first draft show which as always was very entertaining. Intrigued by the shake-up and some of the new storylines emerging. I've just picked out a few of the main points.

-Bayley winning the title - This felt epic and like it would have been great television to watch with everyone involved. The fact Becky played the pivotal role was great and these two factions are at the height of their rivalry. I think Sasha Banks is going to be a key factor in her feeling overlooked. Looking forward to seeing what happens next and how long Bayley will hold the title for.

-Jason Jordan - I liked this and I'm fine with him splitting away from Chad Gable and them doing their own things. I'm wondering how it is going to work in the long-term but with Jordan and Angle together it could be really fun and you have a lot of possible directions that you could take. I always liked both on their own as well as when they were teaming.

-Miz/Sami Zayn - This perhaps wasn't the most obvious thing to pick out but I really enjoyed it and I can get on board with a rivalry between the two of them over the Intercontinental Championship. It could also just have been a one-off so we shall have to wait and see.

-Kofi Kingston/Baron Corbin - I'm in two minds on this one because on the one hand, I can't stand Corbin so having him being beaten down in a handicap match is entertaining. However, it is not a very babyface move at all and could do considerable damage to the New Day as a result. Having said that, Kingston is one of my favourite people in this BTB and I think he has been presented so well.

-Angel Garza - Not sure what to make of it. I have no problem with him leaving the Expat Express but I feel like he needed some momentum in doing so. The fact he lost a match to Rey Mysterio before deciding just didn't quite add up to me. There was something disjointed about it although I do feel Garza has a lot of talent and potential.

-AJ Styles - I don't have too much to say on this. Thought it was a good segment and he came off as a mega star. Looking forward to a rivalry with Kingston which will no doubt be superb and I am sure you have plenty of ideas for.

Great work as always my friend and I am looking forward to the RAW draft show.

 

[DamageCTRL]

Thanks for the feedback, Order! I know I need to get on that train myself and I will hope to do that as soon as I can.

Anyways...just a small update post to keep you guys occupied for the weekend. Raw will come on Monday!

TALKING SMACK: DRAFT SPECIAL​

We pick this particular episode up in progress…

KAYLA BRAXTON
And joining us right now on Talking Smack is our ace reporter here in WWE, the original host of Talking Smack, Renee Young, who has spent all night chasing after scoops and tidbits of information from network executives and other wrestlers. Renee, I understand that you have breaking news that you’d like to discuss with us right away.

A cut to Renee Young, who’s standing backstage at T-Mobile Arena in a hallway.

RENEE YOUNG
Kayla, thank you very much it has been an eventful day and evening here in Las Vegas. Night 1 of the WWE Draft has concluded and yes, I do have breaking news to share right away. As of right now, Sasha Banks is NOT planning to sign her contract with Monday Night Raw.

Kayla’s eyes widen on that particular note!

Kayla Braxton
Wow, that obviously is a HUGE story, Renee.

Renee Young
It is for so many reasons right now, Kayla. But prior to coming on the air tonight I had heard a rumor going on during the show and I was able to confirm it. Sasha Banks left Friday Night Smackdown during the show.

Kayla Braxton
Wow…

Renee Young
She expressed to me, as everyone saw during the show, frustration that Smackdown promised her a draft selection that was instead used on Toni Storm. Now that’s something that I was immediately taken by when she told me that. Over the past two hours, I have spoken to several people with Fox, and what I came up with was this: Sasha Banks excelled in pre-Draft meetings with both networks. She was pursued heavily by both brands and at one point, she figured to be a Top 5 pick. But, Sasha expressed in those draft meetings that she would like to be on the same show as her best friend and the new Smackdown Women’s Champion, Bayley.

The problem with that, of course, was the lack of picks that Smackdown had. Once the Top 5 went the way it did, Smackdown felt it was imperative to select AJ Styles so that they could get both Styles and Kofi Kingston on the same brand for their WWE Championship Match in a few weeks in Buffalo. Now, when it comes to Toni Storm, as the rumor mill suggested, network executives from both brands fell in love with her during the draft process. As did the fact that she has been a daring competitor, competing in the Mae Young Classic while trying to chase after the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. The networks loved her ambition and how she was carrying herself. And I was told by someone with NBC Universal that Raw was planning on selection Toni with the #7 pick. But Smackdown swooped in. The package for that pick was not just their pick this year, but two first-rounders, one next year and in 2021 as WELL as THREE third-rounders, one of which comes this year. So Raw simply could not pass that pick up, Smackdown couldn’t pass up Toni Storm.

A simple graphic comes up during this part, with terms of that pick swap:

MONDAY NIGHT RAW receives:
2019 8th Overall Pick (Draft Rights to Sasha Banks)
2020 First-Round Pick
2021 First-Round Pick
2019 Third-Round Pick
2020 Third-Round Pick
2021 Third-Round Pick

FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN receives:
2019 7th Overall Pick (Draft Rights to Toni Storm)

What that did do, however, is irritate Sasha, who believed that she was going to Smackdown. After all that’s happened in the last six months with her and Bayley being separated, she wanted to secure that. Bayley apparently worked to do that as well. I have no idea if she’s upset, but obviously, she won the Smackdown Women’s Championship for the second time tonight. She might not be so upset right now, or at least temporarily. But Sasha is, and now, Banks is refusing to sign a contract with Monday Night Raw.

Kayla Braxton
And they have that 10-day window to sign her. NBC Universal does that is. Do you believe a deal can get done?

Renee Young
As of right now, Kayla, I don’t believe so. A lot can change. Now, what I will say is that during the process, I heard from Fox executives that Banks, while she was in meetings with Raw, requested an opt-out in her contract. Such a request wasn’t made for Smackdown, because Bayley had received a guarantee from Fox that she’d be picked. Banks clearly did not want to go to Raw from the get-go if it meant separating from Bayley, and the only way she’d get her wish is if she could opt-out of the deal to, what I would guess, sign back with Smackdown.

Kayla Braxton
Would you say that’s the biggest hangup right now? That option?

Renee Young
Apart from it being suggested that Sasha was feeling insulted and lied to by Fox, I do believe so yes. I think that’s a relationship that’s not going to be fixed anytime soon unless a major offer is given to Banks before the 10-day window expires on the 21st.

Kayla Braxton
Goodness, okay. Ladies and gentlemen, if you’re just joining us here on Talking Smack on the WWE Network, huge news being reported by our Renee Young. Sasha Banks, frustrated and upset that she wasn’t picked by Friday Night Smackdown, is not planning to sign her contract with Monday Night Raw before the 10-day window closes and left Smackdown during the show tonight here in Las Vegas. Renee, we have a HUGE. I mean, HUGE Four-on-Four Showdown coming at WWE REvolution… if Sasha doesn’t sign her contract, I mean, what becomes of it?

Renee Young
Suddenly, that’s really in doubt. I’m told that Sasha is absolutely serious about holding out and isn’t planning on wavering. What that means for that match? I mean, unfortunately, just as quickly as The Four Horsewomen came together last week in what was one of the biggest moments of the year. If not THE biggest moment, now a lot of this is in doubt. And you have to imagine… this has to sway some momentum to The Sisters of Doom’s side. Even with all the losses they took this week. They lost all their titles. Now? Now they might fight them 4-on-3. They have already been a dangerous unit. This might cause a lot of issues.

Kayla Braxton
Well, Renee thank you for your reporting here. We know you’ll be giving us tidbits all weekend and all night on Monday night. Thank you very much.​

 

[DamageCTRL]

Anxiety and depression are -100/10, do not recommend. Anyways, let's get on with the show!

Monday Night Raw: Night 2 of the WWE Draft!
October 14th 2019 | Denver, Colorado | Ball Arena​

Night 2 of the WWE Draft is here! After an epic first night last Friday night on Smackdown, it’s time to round things up here tonight in Denver! Stephanie McMahon makes her way out onto the stage. Stephanie gets to the podium and before beginning the Draft, she thanks the city of Denver for hosting this big night. She expresses that there’s a lot of excitement and a lot of tension in the air tonight, and that’s when everyone performs better. She then reveals our first five picks of the night! And remember: Raw has the first pick tonight! And away we go:

1. Becky Lynch - Monday Night Raw
2. Ronda Rousey - Friday Night Smackdown
3. Charlotte Flair - Monday Night Raw
4. Roman Reigns - Friday Night Smackdown
5. Finn Balor - Monday Night Raw​

And what a Top 5 this is!! Star-studded in every way! The big news: Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey are separated! After REvolution there might not be a way for these two to clash for some time! Charlotte Flair stays on Raw with her pal and fellow Women’s Tag Team Champion, and Finn Balor stays on Raw as well. Meanwhile, The Big Dog? He’s going to be staying on Smackdown. Finn Balor seems quite pleased with this as we see the Universal Champion palling around with his buddies, as it’s clear that now the leaders of The OC are going to be split! But since AJ Styles is #1 Contender, we can’t imagine they’re too unhappy! And naturally, we don’t see the women, who’ve been ushered away from each other tonight because of safety reasons. And Roman, we are told, is still recovering from Hell in a Cell.

The ring is set up with a black carpet with a table and a contract lying on it. Which means it’s time for what’s sure to be a VERY eventful segment.

Robert Stone then introduces The Sisters of Doom, who receive a very unwelcome reaction from the Denver crowd. But none of that group gives much of a damn.

Stone then introduces The Four Horsewomen! Or uh… what’s currently left of them. Three lasses come out to Becky’s theme song, as Lynch leads Charlotte Flair and the NEW Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley out here to a hugely favorable reaction. Noticeably absent from the festivities? Sasha Banks, who Vic Joseph informs us is ‘holding out’ from signing a contract with Monday Night Raw. Vic promises an update later in the evening about that. The trio makes their way into the ring and almost immediately things tense up. There’s a lot of jabbing, a lot of jawing, a lot of fracas. But then Stephanie McMahon grabs everyone’s attention. Stephanie says, right away here, that things are not going to be spinning out of control anymore here. She says that he’s paid attention to every little move that’s been made over the last six months between the groups. She says he can’t understand why there has been so much inaction, and in her opinion a lot of people at the top, herself included, bear responsibility for how things have shaken out. A Compassionate Stephanie McMahon? Stephanie adds that since this all began… and she knows as well as everyone does that this didn’t just start six months ago. It started over five years ago. She presided over The Four Horsewomen’s epic rise in NXT, which coincided with the blow-up of Ronda Rousey in UFC. Stephanie says that there’s been a lot of buzz, and a lot of want from the fans, but McMahon believes that a lot of the wounds that have been created, the battles fought, and all of the trickle-down could’ve simply been avoided and that much of it was senseless.

She says they are here to agree to the terms of their four-on-four collision. She says that each of their groups was told earlier today that they could each come to one request. She would determine whether it would be fair or unfair. But first, she orders that from this moment on, unless it is in a SANCTIONED match, NOBODY from EITHER side will be allowed to lay their hands on the other, unless physically provoked! WOW!!

And to tack on, Stephanie says that should someone break that rule, then they will be REMOVED from the four-on-four at REvolution and NOT be replaced!

So in other words, if someone starts shit, they’re letting the whole team down! WOW!! Talk about a startling development! Especially considering that one side is already working with one party absent!

Stephanie then moves on, saying that both Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey, the captains for this four-on-four match, are to now submit their suggestions. Ronda takes the mic first, drawing boos from the crowd. Rousey calls them out for being disrespectful and then says that she doesn’t have an issue with the rule. She reminds Stephanie and the rest of the crowd that she said it at Raw at Madison Square Garden: They’re tired of kicking all of their asses anyway. They can wait until REvolution to get their hands on them. Rowdy Ronda then says that they want to make sure that they prove that they are the most dominant group to exist in sports entertainment, so on behalf of The Sisters of Doom, Ronda’s suggestion is: No Holds Barred! Let’s get violent! She says that that’s not going to be an issue, so it is accepted rather promptly.

It is Becky Lynch who then takes the mic next. The Man is greeted by some favorable chants as she, without quiver, talks on the mic. She says that it’s funny that she reminded them of that quote, because ever since then all The Sisters of Doom have been doing is getting their ass kicked. She says that in a matter of one week, they were able to wrangle in ALL the gold in the women’s division of WWE. Cut to Bayley with the Smackdown Women’s Title, her newly won title! And of course, cut to Charlotte Flair, the other half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions. Becky says that, no, they do not have the #1 Contender, which draws some heat. Becky says that she talked to Sasha earlier today and remains hopeful that she’s going to be right here on Raw with her next week. But she says that it does not change a damn thing. Lynch says that the warning signs for all of The Sisters of Doom are there. She says that they’re gonna get an ass-whoopin’ at REvolution and it’s going to be poetic. They’re going to prove in this four-on-four showdown that The Four Horsewomen, when TOGETHER, are unbreakable! But Lynch says something that she’s stayed consistent about. And so she agrees with Stephanie that this has gone on for too long. Lynch says that these are two extremely powerful forces, one far more powerful than the other seems to realize. She says that the fact that they’re all together, for as good as it is, is not something sustainable. Lynch says that she’s happy to be a Four Horsewoman, she always has been. She says she’s always took what it meant to be one, to be a trail blazer, and taken it to heart and wanted to make it mean something. And Lynch says that ever since 2015, when things really got going for them that summer, when they were main-eventing NXT live events and getting standing ovations after their matches, that they have BEEN that way. They set the standard, they pushed for change, they made it happen and the results have been amazing. Lynch, though, says that this responsibility is a lot. For the last six months, there’s been a lot of violence. A lot of chaos. People have been nearly run over with vehicles, bones broken, careers nearly threatened, and a lot of people’s physical, emotional, and mental states damaged forever. The Four Horsewomen are proud to be here, but they cannot fight The Sisters of Doom for much longer. Lynch and The Four Horsewomen’s request:

That this is the FIRST TIME…

AND THE LAST TIME EVER

That these two sides face each other!!

Holy MOTHER! It is all going to be OVER at REvolution then! McMahon says she doesn’t have an issue with that either. The contract is signed, but Stephanie says that there’s one more piece of business to discuss. Oh? Okay then. Stephanie reminds of the stipulation that she made earlier and then says that she still has the power to establish terms, and has one more term that he’s going to establish! Stephanie says that it’s good that The Sisters of Doom want more violence in this match and that it’s good that The Four Horsewomen want this to be the first and last time ever that this Four-on-Four ever happens…

Stephanie McMahon
…Because on October 26th 2019, in Brooklyn, New York, at WWE REvolution, an historic main event match is going to take place. The Four Horsewomen, as they are represented now or if anything changes -- Bayley, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Sasha Banks -- will take on The Sisters of Doom -- Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Ronda Rousey, and Shayna Baszler -- in a MASSIVE Four-on-Four Match… where ANYTHING Goes… because FOR THE FIRST TIME IN WWE HISTORY…

THIS MATCH…

…

WILL BE…

…

CONTESTED

IN

WAR GAMES!!!!​

OH SHIT!!!!

WAR GAMES!!! For the FIRST TIME IN WWE (Main Roster) HISTORY!!!

By God, what an announcement!! The two sides look to be in a collective shock for a couple of seconds and then start to look ready for the violence! All is now going to be settled inside the two rings and the big cage!! The Match Beyond is coming to WWE REvolution and no one might be the same ever again!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~
​

Following the break, we don’t waste any time in finishing the first round off!

6. Samoa Joe - Monday Night Raw
7. Asuka - Friday Night Smackdown
8. Franchise Players, Inc. - Monday Night Raw
9. Bobby Lashley - Friday Night Smackdown
10. Shayna Baszler - Monday Night Raw
​

And so concludes an… interesting first round! Franchise Players, Inc. get picked but the Raw Tag Team Champions, The Revival, do not! That generates applause and good vibes in the locker room of Franchise Players, Inc. There’s befuddlement and some resentment bubbling though in Team Taz’s locker room as Dash and Dawson don’t seem to understand what happened there. Nor can we! It was said that there was a tag team given a Top 10 guaranteed pick… but surely it was the Tag Team Champions, right?



Before this next match, the WWE TV Champion makes his arrival! Rey Mysterio, a new staple of Raw, makes way to the commentary table to join ‘em for this upcoming match and for good reason! His next contender is being hashed out!

Match #1: WWE Television Championship #1 Contender’s Fatal Four-Way
Aleister Black vs. Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Christian
*WWE TV Champ Rey Mysterio on commentary*​

Given that three of these four’s futures are still in doubt, this is a very pivotal and important match! Aleister Black, Cedric Alexander, and Captain Charisma still have yet to be drafted this evening, and with execs watching, those three have a lot more than TV Championship aspirations at play. They’re trying to make money, baby! Positioning isn’t stopping Buddy Murphy from trying to eat here though. Murphy gives plenty of chase here with Rey Jr. watching at ringside. Buddy goes so far as to have Aleister set up on the ropes as he looks over at Rey. Murphy, knowing that there’s a lot of rumors about Rey with The Expat Express, runs off the ropes and delivers a 619 to Aleister!! My gracious! Christian eventually slips into control here and the veteran nearly nabs victory away from the three fresh faces! But he is unable to collect the win and in particular jostles with Aleister. Buddy and Cedric hash it out here like it’s 205 Live!! Buddy gets Cedric against the ropes and kicks him hard! Cedric springs off and comes up and kicks Murphy in the jaw! Cedric then jumps up, lands on Buddy’s shoulders, and flips forward! Code Red!! 1! 2!! 3!!!

WINNER: Cedric Alexander via pinfall at 11:07.​

A major win for the Queen City native! Cedric Alexander rebounds after a tough couple of weeks and scores a major win to vault him to the top contender’s spot! Rey takes note of Cedric here and goes in the ring and shakes his hand. Cedric nods his head and sizes Rey up and Rey tells him he’ll be more than willing to take up the challenge!

STILL TO COME ON RAW!
~ The Bella Twins are here! We’ll hear from them later on tonight.
~ Trish Stratus is also here! How will she respond to Alexa Bliss’ challenge for WWE REvolution?
~ Liv Morgan and Toni Storm team to face Asuka and Candice LeRae in Tag Team action!
~ Drew McIntyre faces off with Seth Rollins!

UP NEXT: We hear from Roman Reigns!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~
​

Commentary shifts gears here and highlights a pick off the Raw brand. That is; Roman Reigns! They announce that this Friday night, Roman will be making his official debut on Smackdown, indicating he has signed the contract to keep him on the blue brand! We then take a quick look at what happened to bring us to this point, as we get a video package of the vicious Six-Man Hell in a Cell Match that took place at No Mercy: Another Cold Day in Hell.

For the first time in eight days, Roman Reigns surfaces! Reigns is apparently important enough to draw viewership on both NBC Universal AND Fox’s products and, well, we’d hate to come off like we’re not acknowledging Roman Reigns here. Reigns is interviewed by Renee Young in a pre-taped interview out at his home. Renee asks him how he’s doing after Hell in a Cell. Reigns says that the pain he suffered that night was pretty much unlike any other pain he’s felt in any match before. He says he’s never wanted to take a break in his life but he felt he had no other choice but to take a break after No Mercy: Another Cold Day in Hell. Reigns says that he’s not the #1 Contender. He’s disappointed by that but he still wants to make it clear that he is going to become WWE Champion whether he has to beat Kofi Kingston or AJ Styles. Roman says it doesn’t matter if it happens on Smackdown, at Survivor Series, at the Royal Rumble, or at WrestleMania. He will be who he always was supposed to be so that he can be fully recognized as The Guy.

Reigns says he has nothing but respect for Kofi Kingston but doesn’t think much of AJ Styles. Roman says that AJ tried twice to beat him and couldn’t. He couldn’t with his goons and with Extreme Rules and he couldn’t without all that fluff either. Reigns says that if Styles wins the WWE Title then whoever he has watching his back better do a good job of it because nothing is going to save him from the ass-whooping he's going to give to him. Renee asks Roman about the potential new members of The OC that they keep teasing. Reigns says he saw the other day that Harper joined them. He says that he respects them but he will eliminate any threat that they present at him one way or another. In his mind, The Big Dog always runs the yard no matter what factions emerge from within. And The OC is just the same and can and will be conquered.

AJ Styles appears! The Phenomenal One is backstage here, having watched that interview with Roman. Styles flags down Charly Caruso and tells her that he’s got a big ‘scoop’ for her. Styles is challenging Reigns to a Six-Man Tag Team Match on Friday! AJ says that he can pick two guys he wants, because his TWO new members are going to be there for him! Intriguing!

A spiffy white Cadillac Escalade pulls into the Ball Arena parking lot here. The driver climbs out and opens the door and climbing out is none other than ‘The CEO of the WWE Women’s Division’ Trish Stratus! Trish is here in Denver! And we will be hearing from her later tonight!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

Before our next bout here, Harper makes his first entrance as a member of The OC! The reveal of his entry into the faction is shown and Harper isn’t alone as he heads down to ringside. Karl Anderson is trotting along with the big guy here and he’s hyping up their new weapon big time. He gets in the camera nd tells Swerve that this is a home invasion, since, well, y’know. It’s Swerve’s House and Harper is going for the U.S. Title!

Match #2: Singles Match
Harper (w/ Karl Anderson) vs. Lince Dorado​

This proves to be a quick showcase for Harper. The newest member of The OC gets a shot at proving his worth here and he more than achieves that. Poor Lince Dorado is no match for Harper, who’s fighting with motivation and purpose. It seems to be having a legit effect on him as he’s showcased a tremendous amount of urgency in this bout as it goes along. That’s why it’s no surprise that he folds Dorado up early. After getting him woozy, Harper comes charging in and CLOBBERS him with The Way! 3 seconds later, that’s all she wrote!

WINNER: Harper via pin fall at 4:36.​

A sizzle reel for the champions of Monday Night Raw plays! Highlighted are the likes of Finn Balor, Swerve Scott, Becky Lynch, The Revival, and Charlotte Flair!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~

There’s some noticeable dissension between members of The Expat Express as we arrive back in Denver! There’s a lot of arguing going on here as Zelina Vega is trying to get everyone to calm down. She’s unable to do that though here as Roode and Murphy continue arguing! And… then they all stop?! They appear to be seeing something… or someone…? We can’t tell, because then the camera cuts away!

We get highlights of the United States Championship match between Pete Dunne and Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott from No Mercy: Another Cold Day From Hell next! This match was of course won by Swerve, who’s staying on the Raw brand, as is Pete Dunne, who’s now likely to spin out of the title picture after losing not once, but twice to the relative newcomer. Swerve is interviewed afterwards by Charly Caruso out on stage. Scott says that it’s great to be here in the Mile High City, which draws a pop from the fans. He says it’s even better to be the United States Champion. Charly asks him if he’s given any thought to joining The OC after Finn offered him the spot. Swerve says that he was thinking about it, but then Harper decided to make his intentions very clear that he wanted the U.S. Title. So, NO, Swerve will NOT be joining! That gets some cheers as Swerve says that he got to the top on his own and right now, he wants to stay on his own. Charly asks him what he thinks of the performance that Harper just turned in on Lince Dorado. Swerve says he’s never questioned Harper’s abilities. He knows how good he is, which is why he thinks that The OC might be one of the most dominant groups in the world of sports entertainment now. But he says he is scared of no man, no matter who he is, where he comes from, who he’s involved with, or how badly he wants the U.S. Championship. Swerve says that he’s gonna keep this title as long as he sees fit, which draws a nice hand! Naturally though, this speech elicits a response… but not from who you might think!

“EL… IDOLO!” ​

Well, that’s a song we haven’t heard in a month! Making his way out from the back and on WWE TV for the first time in a while is Andrade! The King of the Jungle, El Rey de La Jungla - is here and is looking very spiffy in a nice white suit and red shirt and shades. Andrade walks over and Charly says that it’s shocking to see him, seeing as he was listed as a free agent. Andrade responds by saying that it’s true that he’s a free agent, but right now, he’s got some breaking news for her: Andrade is currently in negotiations to be here on Raw! He says that while he would like a piece of Roman Reigns still, he says that business between the two of them will have to remain unfinished because of the circumstances. He says that his group, The Expat Express, is in complete disarray right now and needs to stay around to keep them together. Well then! Andrade then looks at Swerve and congratulates him on his successes. He says that people are talking about him like he’s the next great sensation in WWE. Andrade says that Swerve might well be that and what he’s done so far is impressive. But… he warns Swerve that just because Harper is making his intentions clear does not mean that he’s the only one. Swerve tightens up a bit here but doesn’t flinch. Andrade tells him that now that he’s back on Monday Night Raw, he wants championship gold. So Andrade declares that he’s coming for Swerve and the United States Title! The U.S. Champion doesn’t seem to have much of an issue with this. He says to Andrade that he’s born ready to be champion and to STAY champion so whatever his best shot is, Swerve tells him to just know that his will be stronger!

An INTENSE showdown here between Andrade and Swerve has jumped this all off the mat! Very, very interesting…

A sizzle reel airs, highlighting one of the Raw brand’s newest additions, and a fan favorite at that: Ali!

~COMMERCIAL BREAK ~
​

We move to the next round of the Draft!

Round 2
1. The Revival - Monday Night Raw
2. Kevin Owens - Friday Night Smackdown
3. Ruby Riott - Monday Night Raw
4. Cedric Alexander - Friday Night Smackdown
5. The OC - Monday Night Raw
​

And so, The Revival are finally picked off the board! Despite the fact that they are the Raw Tag Team Champions, they were not the first tag team off the board today. Ruby Riott also joins The Revival, as well as Carmella, in going to the Raw brand, which doesn’t change a thing for Ms. Money in the Bank. Meanwhile, Kevin Owens and the new #1 Contender for the TV Title, Cedric Alexander, are blue brand bound!

Back in the ring and The Bella Twins are here! Renee Young introduces both Brie and Nikki Bella to this episode of Raw. Renee asks them how they’re doing after Ruby Riott’s ambush last week. Brie says that she’s had trouble sleeping and has been dealing with a lot of stress and trauma. Nikki says that she has to and they don’t feel safe anymore, she claims. Nikki says that although she was able to pay off the damages there’s no price that can be paid to take away the horrors that her and Brie have to deal with now. Brie says Ruby is resentful and angry at the world. She says that people like that are generally projecting so she accuses Ruby of being incredibly insecure and that’s why she’s always bemoaning everything. Well, maybe she has a point. Nikki agrees with her sister and then says that they will accept Ruby Riott’s challenge for REvolution! Nikki says that she’s tired of people trying to damage their reputation. She says they’ve dealt with that forever and that Ruby’s hatred of them is nothing but falsehoods and based on misconception.

This eventually draws Ms. Money in the Bank, who comes out here looking mighty irritated. Ruby gets to the ring and snatches the microphone away from Renee Young. Ruby tells her to hit the bricks and Young proceeds to do that, not wanting to deal with any conflict. Ruby looks at both Brie and Nikki Bella in disgust. Ruby says that it makes sense to her why they don’t get why Ruby hates them. She says that’s emblematic of a disconnect that they have with reality. Ruby says that they do have a lot that they can hang their hats on. But Ruby says that she needs to see them to their end. She says that she cannot sit around and watch them take up screentime or put themselves front and center around here anymore. Nikki says that that’s not even true here, but Ruby asks Nikki who it was that told her, at the Season Premiere, to hop the barricade and take the briefcase away from her. Nikki says that Ruby was going to cheat to win. Ruby says that whether or not that’s true, she had nothing to do with the match. She was a spectator with a ticket and if she wasn’t who she was she would’ve been thrown out of the building and had to spend the night in jail. But because privilege might as well be their middle name, she got away with it and directly influenced the result of a match.

Ruby says that that’s just another example in a long line of them sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong. She says that they don’t get why she hates them because they’ve never spent a day in their lives in their shoes. She accuses The Bellas of being nothing but shills and phonies, saying they don’t have a damn clue what the Ruby Riotts go through on a daily basis. Whether that is in the locker room or in the real world. Ruby says that at least she’s honest about everything that she is and what she’s done and how she feels. She tells Brie and Nikki that their opinions change depending on how the people writing their checks feel, suggesting that they are nothing but phonies. Ruby says she’s glad though that they accepted the match. She knows though that no matter who they decide is wrestling, one of the other is going to get involved. So, that’s why Ruby has someone in her corner! Riott says that she’s already made a deal with this person and plans to reveal who they are NEXT WEEK on Raw, five days before REvolution. But Riott clues us in, saying that her help is a lot closer than they think! Interesting…

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~

Backstage we suddenly find a commotion going on! It appears that Aleister Black and Christian are fighting backstage! Whoa! The animosity that developed in the Fatal Four-Way earlier tonight has appeared to pour over!

Next up… our next batch of picks!

6. Aleister Black - Monday Night Raw
7. Shinsuke Nakamura - Friday Night Smackdown
8. The Viking Raiders - Monday Night Raw
9. Mia Yim - Friday Night Smackdown
10. Team Taz - Monday Night Raw

Match #3: Tag Team Match
Asuka & Candice LeRae vs. Liv Morgan & Toni Storm​

An exciting tag team match takes the stage next! All four of these women will of course be participating in the Ladder Match to crown the First-Ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion in a few weeks at REvolution. Tonight though, they’re giving us a preview of that while having to take sides! Liv and Toni work pretty fluidly with each other, immediately gravitating to each other against a strong veteran team. Asuka and Candice work alright, but it’s clear that LeRae is a bit aggressive in trying to take Toni down. Toni, of course, nabbed a win over her at No Mercy eight days ago. LeRae is trying to avenge that, but as the match plays out, it’s clear that she’s getting a bit… ahead of herself, as there’s some miscommunications between her and Asuka. Not someone you’d want to piss off of course, and LeRae finds that out as Asuka tags herself in later on in the match after the two argued for a little bit in the corner. Asuka roughs Liv and roughs Toni up, showing her physicality, her dominance, and the aura that’s made her one of the best of this era. Towards the conclusion of the match, Candice decides to tag herself in! Uh oh! LeRae goes after Toni and after downing her with a Lifting Inverted DDT, she goes to the ropes to try and hit La Quebrada! NO! Toni puts her legs up! Just like No Mercy! Storm then dips down as LeRae charges forward with some anger! Storm catches LeRae, gets her up and BOOM! She hits an Air Raid Crash! She drops LeRae down and hooks the far leg, and three seconds later, Toni Storm has scored ANOTHER pin fall on Candice LeRae!

WINNERS: Liv Morgan & Toni Storm via pinfall at 11:08.​

Could it get any worse for Candice LeRae right now? Well… she did receive a kick to the freaking head by Asuka after the match! Asuka clearly gives no shits and wasn’t exactly happy with how that went down. Candice has wrestled what is her last match on Raw for the foreseeable, and it didn’t exactly end too great.

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

Backstage, Finn Balor is seen in great spirits here. Balor is seen talking to his OC mates, and says that he’s glad that everyone is sticking together. He displays confidence that AJ Styles is going to get the ship right on Friday, and can’t wait to see the reaction to how the new members of the other division of The OC are. He says that Raw is their show to run, nobody else’s, and they’ll prove that The OC is the most dominant faction in sports entertainment. Balor says that later, he’s going to make another proclamation in the ring, and that’s that he is going to be the BEST Universal Champion of all time!

Elsewhere, The Expat Express is indeed in some disarray. Bobby Roode and Buddy Murphy are going back and forth right now while Zelina Vega is on the phone, yelling at an exec it seems, as she’s talking about how she filed the paperwork in at the right time, but for some reason, it wasn’t accepted. Just then, bursting in the door is Andrade! And almost immediately everyone gets quiet. Andrade walks over to Zelina and tells her not to let this bother her. He says that everybody that needs to be here IS here. They don’t need to worry about potential risks, because right now, there are none. Andrade says that he watched them all from afar for the last month and is incensed with how they’ve fallen apart of late. He says that’s not going to be accepted anymore and intends to change that very quickly with him back on board. But he then drops a bit of a whopper: He tells Zelina to PULL the offer from Rey Mysterio! Andrade says that they represent the future of this business and Rey Mysterio is a relic of the past holding a little trophy right now, and he belongs NOWHERE near The Expat Express. Sheesh! Zelina says that she doesn’t have an issue with that, and Andrade nods his head and looks at everyone and says that they need to remember this moment, because it’s going UP from here. Not down.

Another SIZZLE REEL for us here, spotlighting some of the names coming to Monday Night Raw! Those include: Aleister Black, Alexa Bliss, Carmella, Chad Gable, Niven, Pete Dunne, Ruby Riott, and Swerve!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

To the delight of [checks notes] absolutely nobody, Baron Corbin makes his way out next. Corbin gets in the ring and unfortunately informs us all that he’s about to be competing tonight. Corbin demands respect from the crowd, reminding them all of the terrible but true fact that he retired Kurt Angle at WrestleMania. Corbin says then that he’s competing tonight against a new Raw superstar! Sorry to hear that.

Match #4: Singles Match
Baron Corbin vs. Danny Burch​

Cross this dream match off the list, folks! Corbin is teed up with a first-time match with one of Raw’s newest superstars, Danny Burch. Burch, not joined by Oney Lorcan tonight, gives Baron some chase here. But the 2016 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner is mostly dominant throughout the duration of this match. Corbin stomps Burch out and eventually sets him up and… END OF DAYS! You know the drill by now, folks. Academic. 1. 2. 3!!!

WINNER: Baron Corbin via pinfall at 4:07.​

Following this match, we get another batch of Draft picks!!

Round 3
1. The Sisters of Doom - Monday Night Raw
2. Dave Mastiff - Friday Night Smackdown
3. Christian - Monday Night Raw
4. Shelton Benjamin - Friday Night Smackdown
5. Nikki Cross - Monday Night Raw​

Wow! We’re all over the place here! So Christian and Aleister Black, who were seen fighting earlier on in the show, look like they’re going to continue to be scrapping away at each other on the Raw brand. Meanwhile, a surprise pick! Dave Mastiff of NXT UK is heading to Smackdown! That’s super interesting. Multi-time IC and US Champion Shelton Benjamin is heading to the blue brand as well and…

Oh dear. Nikki Cross has been picked by Raw. And backstage, we see that Nikki and her partner and friend Toni Storm have just come to realize this news! Aw… how unfortunate is this? Rude, Smackdown. Depriving us! Toni gives a sad Nikki a hug here and ensures her that she’s going to be alright around here. And she just has to keep her head up and fight like hell because she knows she can do it. Nikki somberly nods her head and Toni gives her another big hug as this likable but short-lived tag team has come to an end! Nikki walks away with her head slumped and turns a corner and suddenly bumps into someone!

It's… MOLLY HOLLY???! Oh THAT’S surprising! Molly apologizes to Nikki and tells her that she wasn’t paying attention, saying that she was asked to be here to do some promotional work for WWE REvolution. She asks Nikki what’s wrong, and Cross explains to her that she just lost a friend to Smackdown and is staying here on Raw. Molly shows sympathy and some empathy to Nikki and then says that if she needs a friend, she thinks she knows someone who could help her out. Nikki asks if it’s her, getting excited suddenly! Molly says that the answer is actually even better. She pats her shoulder and reminds her to just holler if she needs someone, and Molly walks away. Nikki looks on, feeling a little bit better…

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~
​

We come back to the ‘cast, and with that, we’re about to make the final regular round of picks!

6. Isla Dawn - Monday Night Raw
7. Drew Gulak - Friday Night Smackdown
8. Akira Tozawa - Monday Night Raw
9. Kayden Carter - Friday Night Smackdown
10. Katrina Cortez and Xia Li - Monday Night Raw

Match #4: Singles Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins (w/ Daniel Bryan)​

And we’re starting this hour with a HUGE match! The former Universal Champion Seth Rollins, alongside his newfound buddy Daniel Bryan, is tasked with taking on ‘The Scottish Warrior’ Drew McIntyre! Drew and Seth are no stranger to each other, and both of them highlight that fact on the way to the ring in insert promos (which were generic, but got the point home!). They certainly wrestle against each other like familiar foes, as there’s a lot of countering and a lot of knowing all the steps going on in the beginning of this match. It creates a situation where there’s a lot of counters, back-and-forth, which frustrates Rollins but seems to make Drew pretty happy. Bryan encourages Rollins not to worry about this on the outside here while Drew challenges Seth to get back into the ring! Seth eventually takes Drew up on his offer and the two grapple for a bit which McIntyre wins out with as he is the bigger and stronger man. Rollins’ wrestling ability is being hampered here and he might as well be the ’96 Red Wings because Denver is over the MOON with Drew like he’s Joe Sakic right now!

Rollins does eventually take hold here though as McIntyre went a bit too aggressive in the corner. This allowed for Seth to take advantage of a stunned McIntyre and got physical with him very quickly. Drew was defenseless while Rollins lit him up. Seth then kept things going here with Bryan coaching him up from the sidelines. Some might wonder how much coaching Seth Rollins really needs. Well, whatever Bryan is sharing with him is working because he begins to take advantage of Drew Mac in a big way. Seth is unsuccessful in his pin fall attempts but he is definitely wearing Drew out. And that’s the goal here as he milks this match. Commentary sheds light on the fact that this is Drew McIntyre’s first match on Raw in a long time. He was just over in Europe taking part in NXT UK and only got into town last night. Seth knows this, Seth knows also what the altitude might be doing to him too, so he’s trying to elongate this as long as possible. Drew’s early onslaught is looking like a thing of the past and The Inevitable looks like he’s enjoying the hell outta this on the outside.

Drew does make some inroads on a comeback though! And eventually, Seth finds himself on the apron. He saves himself from falling to the outside. Daniel Bryan jumps on the apron and Drew runs over and knocks him right back off!! Bryan eats the barricade and Seth then grabs Drew by the hair! They were working in chorus over there! But Drew breaks free and hits the Glasgow Kiss!! Rollins is in a daze and Drew then sends him on his way as he eats the commentary table!! And that’s just the comeback moment that Drew needs to get things roaring away! And he does! Drew then starts to get it rolling and while he can’t pin Seth for the count he’s reannounced his presence in a big way!! Bryan then tries to once again meddle with things later on as he grabs the official following a Powerslam by McIntyre! Drew goes outside and intimidates Bryan a bit. Bryan keeps him for a bit but Drew goes back on the inside. He then runs over and grabs a returning Rollins and slams him down HARD with an Alabama Slam!! He then goes over and tees Rollins up for a Claymore no doubt!! Drew then runs in as Seth tumbles away!! Rollins then goes over as Drew overpursued, and then tumbles back with him!! 1! Bryan reaches out as Seth grabs his hands! 2! They’re gonna get away with this?! YES!! 3!!!

WINNER: Seth Rollins via pinfall at 15:22.​

An upset Drew McIntyre, who knows he just got screwed, looks on as Bryan and Rollins celebrate their tainted victory. It might be about being the best to them, but Bryan and Rollins clearly just proved that they have a decided numbers game over this ally-less McIntyre.

We get yet another sizzle reel here now, as it highlights The Street Profits!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

We return to a vignette, highlighting Franchise Players, Inc.! The leader of the group, MVP, is treating his clients to a nice dinner here in Denver “right now.” MVP says it’s great that the best group in WWE was picked in the Top 10, as he says they are clearly better than the rest. Especially and notably Team Taz, who MVP is sure to mention a few times. Apollo Crews says that he’s glad to be staying here and says he’s feeling a bit overlooked right now. MVP agrees with him and says that he just needs to keep doing his thing. To be so good that they can’t ignore him. Crews nods his head at that familiar-sounding piece of advice. MVP tells Ricochet that he got him a match next week, and The One and Only is pleased to hear that. He says he’s gonna jump off the map on the new era of Monday Night Raw and continue to be undeniable. MVP then turns to Naomi and he tells her that she should be glad she took him up on joining the group. He points to others who’ve fallen in the Draft and Naomi nods her head, saying that she is grateful. She says she’s disappointed she won’t be on REvolution but she’s gonna use it to motivate herself when she returns from injury. MVP then says that he has a big phone call to make so he leaves the room, and Apollo then leads a toast with the group, as things are lookin’ up for them!

Making her way out to the ring next, with Renee Young inside, is another export from Canada. Arguably one of its greatest: Trish Stratus! Trish makes her way down to the ring wearing a black leather jacket that’s zipped up with jeans and Nike Blazers. Trish climbs inside the ring and comes up to Renee as she seems to have a lot on her mind. Renee doesn’t waste time in asking what Trish feels about Alexa’s challenge for REvolution. Stratus says she’ll get to that but she wants to make an analogy first. The CEO of the WWE Women’s Division says that Alexa Bliss, in her mind, is an awful lot like the Colorado Avalanche. Hey now… We’re in Denver, Trish. Easy. Trish says that the Avalanche were once a great NHL franchise. It took them one season in Denver to win a Stanley Cup back in 1996. Alexa Bliss became a champion in her first year in WWE. The Avalanche made a lot of enemies out of a lot of teams, especially the Detroit Red Wings. Alexa Bliss has made a lot of enemies out of a lot of the WWE women’s locker room. Trish says that now, much like Alexa Bliss, they are irrelevant, which doesn’t play well with the Raw crowd!

Stratus shrugs her shoulders, and brings up how they haven’t won anything in almost 20 years, which is exactly how long it feels since Alexa won anything of consequence either. Ouch. Trish says that she still feels disrespected that people would make the comparison from Alexa to her. It bothers her. She says Alexa’s accomplished a lot, she can’t take anything away from her. But Trish says that she did it year after year after year. Alexa hasn’t done anything in 2019. She didn’t do anything last year after she lost the Raw Women’s Championship. Trish points out that from 2001 to 2006, she was champion at one point in EVERY YEAR, SIX consecutive years! Nobody, Trish says, could escape her dominance.

Now that Bliss has fizzled out, Trish says, just like the Avalanche, all of her enemies are now on to bigger and even better things. Trish reminds the crowd that the Red Wings beat the Avalanche and won THREE Stanley Cups in the 2000s. Trish says that there was NEVER a time that she allowed anybody else in the women’s locker room to breathe as long as she was champion. She says she was champion for 448 straight days. She points out that they knew that she was that good because even while she was hurt for FIVE months, they didn’t take the title from her, because they knew that nobody else could live up to her standard. Trish says they wouldn't consider doing this with Alexa, who couldn't even prove that she could stay healthy to begin with last year. Low blow!

Trish is about to continue here, but someone has heard enough! That someone is Alexa Bliss! Bliss makes a beeline for the ring as Trish talks a little bit of smack from her place in the ring. As Bliss angrily gets into the ring and rushes her, Renee is put in front of Trish – by Trish! Alexa shakes her head as Renee pulls her arm away. She looks at Trish in some shock as Stratus is displaying some very arrogant behavior. Trish gets the mic again and tells Bliss that she isn’t going to touch her. She knows this because once she’s done in the ring right now, she’s leaving the city of Denver. Stratus says that after all this though, she does have some good news: She ACCEPTS Alexa’s challenge!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

A vignette airs again tonight! Lacey Evans is seen driving along here on the countryside with Mickie James. Lacey says, through narration, that The Southern Belles are turning a corner. Conveniently, we see the car turning a corner on the interstate. Lacey says that the past few weeks as a unit haven’t gone as planned. Footage of their unfortunate turns in their matches are shown. Lacey says that admittedly, she got a bit too obsessed with spending her Great Aunt’s inheritance. Footage of Lacey buying ridiculous garments, outfits, and outrageous iterms is shown. She says that her and Mickie are going to pay the price that they need to be the BEST women’s tag team on the planet. Evans says that before long, everybody will understand what they do… And as the car passes by, a mileage sign can be read.

‘NASHVILLE 10’

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Match #5: Raw Tag Team Championships Match
The Revival © (w/ Taz) vs. American Alpha (w/ Kurt Angle)​

There couldn’t be a more different dynamic than the one presented in this matchup, folks. The challengers came out rather disjointedly. Jason Jordan indeed went the WHOLE Draft without being picked. Those injury concerns are apparently pretty real! Meanwhile, The Revival come out pretty ticked off. They weren’t the first tag team taken off the board tonight! The Franchise Players were. Now they’re out with a chip on their shoulders and it ain’t a small one. These two take on each other but it mostly feels like it’s Chad Gable against The Revival. Jason Jordan doesn’t really show a lot of ‘want’ in this match. At times, it almost looked like he was gonna give up! But Gable had to break up several pin attempts because Jordan just wasn’t doing his job!

Late in the match, Gable is working this on his own basically. Jordan has practically taken himself out of the matchup as he’s nursing his hamstring again. Angle tries to get in his head here but Jordan is just outright refusing to listen. Gable meanwhile fights back from an onslaught by Dawson. He strikes him and then sends him into the ropes. Dawson hits them and ducks a shot by Gable. Dawson goes for a right hand but Gable ducks that! He then picks up Dawson and hits him with a Belly-to-Belly Suplex! Wilder then sneaks into the ring and tries to take advantage of the situation with Gable’s back turned. Turns out, Gable saw him coming! Mule kick to Wilder! He then pulls him in and hits a Belly-to-Belly throw again! RIGHT INTO A NOW STANDING DAWSON!!

Gable is certainly doing HIS job! That’s for sure!! Gable then takes Wilder and sends him out of the ring. Dawson then gets up and he boots an oncoming Gable away! Dawson then applies a Million Dollar Dream!! Gable tries to fight out of it as Dawson takes hold and Gable IS eventually able to snapmares Dawson away! He gets up and kicks Dawson in the back! Gable then grabs Dawson by the ankle! ANKLE LOCK!! ANKLE LOCK TO SCOTT DAWSON!! Dawson is trapped by the hold as Angle has decided to turn away from Jordan as he cheers Gable on!! Dawson reaches out for the ropes but Gable pulls him away!! He twists the ankle and twists it more! Dawson tries to kick him away but Gable is just relentless! He keeps the hold applied as he stands back up!! And Dash comes in and just hits him in the back!

Angle gets up and starts protesting this!! He gets the official and Dash’s attention here as Dash comes over and he slaps Angle in the face! Dash tells him to stay retired but while this is going on, with the ref’s attention, we see Jason Jordan has grabbed one of the Raw Tag Team Titles!! Taz then tries to get in on the scene, but Jordan kicks him away!! Jordan then gets into the ring as we see Dawson getting up to his feet on a hobbled ankle. Gable is also getting up to his feet favoring his back! Jordan looks at Dawson who has a heightened sense of awareness and covers up! Jordan lunges with the title belt—

BOOM!!

HE HITS

HE HITS CHAD GABLE IN THE FACE WITH IT! WHAT THE HELL!?!?

…

…

…

Oh my God! Jordan’s just turned on his own partner!!

Kurt looks on at his son, who just betrayed him!

Dawson hurriedly just covers Gable as he shouts at the ref! He goes down!

1! 2!! 3!!!

WINNERS: The Revival via pinfall at 14:06. The Revival RETAIN the Raw Tag Team Titles.​

I mean, what can you say! Jason Jordan has left the building here, Angle and Gable are in shock and confusion, and The Revival are still the Tag Team Champions! What a wild situation has developed here!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

Before the break, a wild turn of events happened! After that short recap, Charly Caruso catches up with Jason Jordan. Charly gets right to the heart of it and asks him why he just did that. Jordan says that he’s not going to say a word tonight, but will when he gets his first chance to… which is going to be on Friday night. Wait what!? Jason says that it’s true that neither Fox nor NBC Universal used a pick on him, but now… that makes him a free agent. And, Jordan lets on that he’s signing for the minimum with Friday Night Smackdown! Wow! Jordan says that on Friday, he’ll explain everything, and heads on off! Crazy!

And now it's time for the much-anticipated NXT Draft Rights Round!

Stephanie reminds us of the rules of this round, stating that all NXT and NXT UK superstars are eligible to be picked. But once they're picked, they do not HAVE to report. Their contracts will be selected by the brands when they choose to. A superstar may refuse rights and forgo it until next year's Draft, and a network will have until next year's Draft to select the contract or they will forfeit their rights to that superstar.

NXT DRAFT RIGHTS ROUND
1. Io Shirai - Monday Night Raw
2. WALTER - Friday Night Smackdown
3. Bianca Belair - Monday Night Raw
4. Keith Lee - Friday Night Smackdown
5. Roderick Strong - Monday Night Raw
6. Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox - Friday Night Smackdown
7. Kyle O'Reilly - Monday Night Raw
8. Damian Priest - Friday Night Smackdown
9. Kairi Sane - Monday Night Raw
10. Kay Lee Ray - Friday Night Smackdown
​

What a fascinating group this is! Representative of perhaps the near and not so distant future!

Anyways, let’s full promo time:

“CATCH YOUR BREATH (REMIX)”​

And the most important man on Raw makes his way to the ring! Finn Balor walks out with the Universal Championship wrapped around his waist and with his two best buddies beside him. Balor walks down the aisle with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows flanking him to the left and right. The trio climbs into the ring and all put up the ‘Too Sweet’ sign! They converge and there’s a loud pyro bang behind them and a banner drops down! And it reads RAW IS THE OC! That’s some very neat presentation eh? Finn takes the microphone from Mike Rome and looks out at everybody here.

FINN BALOR
Now that’s more like it!

~ “Not short on arrogance is Finn Balor” – Byron Saxton

Finn Balor
That is how Finn Balor always should be treated around here. The signature music, the prime-time lights, the pageantry. The fact that there’s no one BIGGER or BETTER than me and everybody on this show knows it!!

Finn is certainly feeling himself. And is very sure of himself also.

Finn Balor
Yeah, Raw has a roster. Raw has a really strong group after this Draft. We’ve got ‘The New’ Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins…

Boos. Finn seems to agree with the sentiment.

Finn Balor
Yeah, I don’t like them either. Who else? We’ve got Drew McIntyre and Samoa Joe.

Some cheers from the crowd!

Finn Balor
Two guys, much as they’ve accomplished all over the world, can’t hold a candle to me. And I proved that to Samoa Joe eight days ago and now he’s not even daring to cross paths with me ever again!

Those are some pretty strong words!

Finn Balor
We’ve got the WWE Television Champion of the World, Rey Mysterio. A living legend. An icon of the business. Yeah… yeah, I’ll give Rey his due, but only as long as he accepts the fact that he’s not the only icon walking around this show.

You just had to figure that that was coming.

Finn Balor
Who else? Becky Lynch…

HUGE cheers. Finn acknowledges them.

Finn Balor
The OC isn’t endorsing any dog in that fight… but Becky, when you’re through with your sisters and you wanna be beside your fellow Irishman… you know exactly where to find me.

Wow! Finn grins after that one.

Finn Balor
Hopefully Becky, you’ll listen to that offer and you won’t wind up like Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott. The current United States Champion is clearly defiant of The OC, and Swerve, I think after Harper gets done with you, and he’s gonna get his shot at the United States Title, and he will put you down, you’re gonna regret choosing to be against us instead of riding with the hottest commodity in professional wrestling.

Balor sneaks that one in there. He gets a smirk out.

Finn Balor
And despite the fact that somebody walked in here tonight through the side door and made a big show of their intentions, I can assure you that nobody except The OC is going to house the United States Championship. Harper knows that, Swerve knows that, and Andrade knows it deep down too.

Finn is VERY unafraid right now. Hey, who could blame him?

Finn Balor
Just like The Revival are on a runnin’ clock right now. We’re already down one tag team to worry about and we didn’t even have to do a damn thing!

Some laughter from Anderson and Gallows with Balor chuckling as well.

Finn Balor
Everybody is so threatened by The OC it’s getting in their heads. It’s getting in their mentals. Everybody’s spooked, and that’s why we are the hottest commodity goin’. And if you think we’re red-hot right now? Just you wait until Smackdown.

Finn smiles. The teasing continues!

Finn Balor
Because AJ Styles is going to shock the whole freaking world on Friday night on Fox when the two newest members of The OC are revealed to the rest of the world. And I wouldn’t dare think that we can’t meet the hype for that either…

Finn keeps that Cheshire Cat grin on his face there… boy they have been touting that for a few weeks now…

Finn Balor
And y’know, when that happens, all that will be left is for AJ Styles to defeat Kofi Kingston. And when AJ Styles beats Kofi Kingston to become the WWE Champion then The OC is going to have the two most powerful men in the entire industry at the TOP of their brands!

Finn hoists up his championship. Karl and Luke clap and tout their guy as Finn puts the title on his shoulder.

Finn Balor
We are not stopping until we achieve our goal of complete domination. And everybody is going to find out that we’re gonna achieve whatever the hell that we want to. Because this business revolves around us. WE are the business. WE are professional wrestling. WE are THE OC!!

The three put up their ‘Too Sweets’ and Finn grins and nods his head.

Finn Balor
And most of all, this… is MY show!

Ah, there’s the arrogance again.

Finn Balor
Deny me at your own risk because I am undeniable. The first time I ever wrestled on this show I beat Roman Reigns in the middle of the ring. I was the first Universal Champion. Had it not been for Seth Rollins I would be the GREATEST Universal Champion of all time. And looking back… I can’t even look at my old self in the mirror anymore.

Finn stops his movement here and looks disgusted with himself.

Finn Balor
After I came back from being injured, I got lost in the lights. I played to all of you fans. I picked up too many bad habits. I sat around, feeling sorry for myself. I was a shell of my former self but I kept thinking, ‘Man, maybe if I just try hard, and wish that it would all end, one day I’d wake up and be the man again.’ Well if I ever came across myself again when I was acting that way, I’d slap the taste right outta my own damn mouth!

The anger in Finn’s voice is apparent and the rage is easy to see.

Finn Balor
But that’s why THIS is my greatest year of all time. Because I learned that nothing gets done waiting around. Everything gets done by TAKING… I TOOK Money in the Bank. I TOOK the Intercontinental Championship. And then I TOOK the Universal Championship at Madison Square Garden!

Seems easy-ish to understand why THAT happened, huh?

Finn Balor
And now that I lead The OC into the new era in WWE, I will keep taking. WE will keep taking. Anything that we want will be ours. We are not going to shy away from anything or anyone! Because we are this show and there’s NOBODY who can tell us otherwise!

Ah, oh no, Finn. You did the worst thing you could do.

You led us to believe that someone was going to protest that statement.

And well…

…

…

…​

“NEXT BIG THING (REMIX)”​

UH OH!!

OH MY!!! FINN BALOR FORGOT ABOUT SOMEBODY!!!

HERE COMES BROCK LESNAR!!

Lesnar receives a monster reaction here in Denver. The Beast will always attract a huge following wherever he goes! Brock points at Finn as he comes down to the ring here. Balor is unwavering in his stance here, but as Corey reminds us on his way to the ring, Brock Lesnar is one of the few men, if not the ONLY men, to defeat Finn Balor this year! Lesnar licks his lips here as he jumps up on the apron! BOOM! Pyro bangs off the corners! Anderson and Gallows get jolted here and stumble while Finn turns away and just looks annoyed. Lesnar gets into the ring here as Heyman shortly follows after. He waddles over and grabs a microphone from the stagehand at ringside. He comes back over towards Brock as his music cuts. We get ourselves quite a staredown right here! A few moments later, Heyman speaks.

PAUL HEYMAN
FINN BALOR… so we meet again…

Some cheers here! Finn nods his head as he stares and sizes Brock up.

Paul Heyman
Nine months ago we shared this ring together and that championship on your shoulder was on the shoulder of ‘The Beast’ Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar nods his head.

Paul Heyman
Nine months ago, you went one on one with The Beast at the Royal Rumble. You yourself said you wanted to make people believe that you could win the Universal Championship. Flash forward nine months later, here you stand with the Universal Championship on your shoulder.

Finn looks on, nodding confidently.

Paul Heyman
But here’s the thing, Finn. For as great as you are, and let’s be serious, you are an international attraction. You’ve won everywhere that you’ve been. You did take some time to find your groove again but you obviously have it and you had the cojones to cash in your Money in the Bank contract at THE signature venue in professional wrestling, Madison Square Garden.

~ “That’s right” – Finn Balor

Paul Heyman
BUT… nine months ago you wanted to make people believe that you could be the Universal Champion. What you tried and what you failed to do was beat ‘The Beast’ Brock Lesnar.

Ooooh… oooh he’s got a point…

Paul Heyman
It is TRUE that ‘The Beast’ could not defeat Kofi Kingston nearly two weeks ago on Smackdown. But Kofi Kingston is one of the best champions that this industry has seen in a very, very long time.

Exemplary levels of ‘Yes’ Paul.

Paul Heyman
And Brock Lesnar isn’t a man of shame. Brock Lesnar respects his opponents. Brock Lesnar respects Kofi Kingston.

Brock then interjects here, grabbing the mic from Paul! Well that’s interesting…

BROCK LESNAR
But I DON’T respect YOU!

Wow! Finn looks “so offended” here as he brings his mic up.

Finn Balor
Oh… Brock, I’m so hurt that somebody who I don’t even see here every week doesn’t respect me.

Dang, Finn.

Finn Balor
I don’t respect you either, Brock. You’re in my ring right now and that makes me sick.

Brock Lesnar
Your ring??

Lesnar laughs

Brock Lesnar
Bud, even if that were true, THIS is MY WORLD!

Lesnar points at himself here as he exclaims!

Brock Lesnar
And I’m not gonna waste my time or anybody else’s. I’m the only guy that you can’t say you’ve beaten this year. So this is what’s gonna happen. November 24th. Chicago, Illinois. Finn Balor is gonna walk into Allstate Arena, do his little entrance, and get into the ring with The Beast!!

Wow! Lesnar seems to be demanding a title shot at Survivor Series!

Brock Lesnar
And I’m gonna kick your ass. I’m gonna hit you with an F-5. And I’m gonna take the Universal Championship back!!

Where has this talkative Brock been!? Finn looks at Lesnar here, not backing down an inch!

Brock Lesnar
And next week? I’m gonna be back on Monday Night Raw in Cleveland.

Oh!

Brock Lesnar
And I’ll kick your ass there too!

Wow! Finn talks some trash here and then Anderson tries to cheap-shot Lesnar! He succeeds and Gallows follows in too!

Anderson and Gallows try attacking Brock Lesnar and we say “try” because it’s not successful! Lesnar headbutts Gallows! And then he clotheslines the HELL out of Anderson! He then grabs Gallows from behind here as Finn as gotten out of the ring. And he takes Gallows to SUPLEX CITY! And he grabs an oncoming Anderson and sends HIM to SUPLEX CITY too! He then runs over and clotheslines Gallows over the top rope and to the floor! He then turns around and sees Anderson stumbling over. WELP!

Brock dips down and grabs Anderson and puts him up on his shoulders.

F-5!!!

Finn can only watch as his cronies have just been taken out by The Beast! And that declarative challenge will certainly be remembered as we head into next week in Cleveland! Brock owns the ring and patrols it while Finn barks from far away as we’re outta time here!!

END OF SHOW

---

BREAKING: Brock Lesnar to challenge Finn Balor for Universal Championship at Survivor Series!

There’s gonna be a fight for gold at Survivor Series this year in Chicago!

The first match announced for the signature WWE event of the fall is a battle for the Universal Championship. Reigning champion Finn Balor, who shocked the wrestling world when he cashed in Money in the Bank on Seth Rollins at Madison Square Garden, will enter Survivor Series for the first time as champion. Balor will have a big test in the form of Brock Lesnar, who has built up a penchant for big performances at Survivor Series the last few years.

More matches are set to be teed up for this annual event in the coming weeks! But this is a stellar start to what should be a gigantic show on November 24th!

---

Current Card for WWE REvolution
Date: October 26th 2019
Event Location: Brooklyn, New York; Barclays Center

! ~ THE WAR TO FINALLY SETTLE THE SCORE ~ !
! ~ FOR THE FIRST TIME … AND THE LAST TIME ~ !
!!! ~ THE FIRST-EVER WOMEN’S WAR GAMES MATCH ~ !!!
The Four Horsewomen vs. The Sisters of Doom
Bayley --- Beth Phoenix
Becky Lynch --- Natalya
Charlotte Flair --- Ronda Rousey
Sasha Banks (???) --- Shayna Baszler

2019 Mae Young Classic Final
‘The Virtuosa’ Deonna Purrazzo vs. Tegan Nox

NXT Women’s Championship Match
‘The Genius of the Sky’ Io Shirai © defends against
‘The Pirate Princess’ Kairi Sane OR Shotzi Blackheart

NXT UK Women’s Championship Match
‘The EST of NXT’ Bianca Belair © defends against Kay Lee Ray

The First-Ever DOUBLE JEOPARDY Match
{If Brie or Nikki Bella lose this match, The Bella Twins MUST leave WWE}
‘Ms. MITB’ Ruby Riott (w/ ???) vs. Brie OR Nikki Bella

Fatal Four-Way Ladder Match to Crown the First-Ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion
Asuka vs. Candice LeRae vs. Liv Morgan vs. Toni Storm

---

Current Card for WWE Survivor Series: A Fight for the Gold
Date: November 24th 2019
Event Location: Chicago, Illinois; Allstate Arena
Event Music: 5 Seconds of Summer; Teeth

WWE Universal Championship Match
Finn Balor © defends against ‘The Beast’ Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman)​

 

[DamageCTRL]

ROSTER MOVES ANNOUNCED​

WWE announced the following roster moves on Tuesday following the completion of the 2019 WWE Draft.

The following wrestlers have returned to either NXT or NXT UK:
~ Anthony Henry
~ Boa
~ Bobby Fish
~ Dorian Mak
~ Emma
~ Flash Morgan Webster
~ Kelly Oliviera
~ Kona Reeves
~ Mark Andrews
~ Noam Dar
~ Sadie Gibbs
~ Taynara Cont
~ Vanessa Borne

The following wrestlers have declared free agency:
~ The Brian Kendrick
~ Jinder Mahal
~ Riddick Moss
~ Samir and Sunil Singh

Cora was signed to a minimum contract (1 yr/$500,000) and will report to NXT UK
Hook was signed to a minimum contract (1 yr/$500,000) and will report to NXT US

(In the process of adding some cool roster cards to the roster post on Page 2. Just wanted to make this next leg clear)​

 

[DamageCTRL]

ROSTER MOVES ANNOUNCED​

Raw signed Andrade to a five-year contract (5 yr/$15.5 million)
Raw signed Riddick Moss to a one-year contract (1 yr/$500K)
Raw currently has no plans to select any contracts from the NXT Draft Rights round.

Smackdown signed Jason Jordan to a one-year contract (1 yr/$500K)
Smackdown selects the contracts of Dakota Kai, Damian Priest, and Tegan Nox.
(All three will be called up to Smackdown by or before Survivor Series. Specific dates will be settled soon.
All three will make the minimum $500K salary on a one-year contract.)
Smackdown is in negotiations with Jinder Mahal and The Singh Brothers
Smackdown is rumored to be deep in negotiations with Dolph Ziggler
​

SASHA BANKS CONTRACT UPDATE​

The latest development in the Sasha Banks contract saga is that unfortunately, The Boss still hasn’t signed her deal.

Banks is said to be “very serious” about this holdout and is not bothered by missing WWE REvolution later this month. A source close to the multi-time Women’s Champion suggested that the prideful Banks wants what she believes she is owed. She still desires a move to Smackdown to be with her best friend Bayley. Many in the industry are puzzled as to why she wants that, considering she is still the #1 contender. There was a rumor going around that Banks attempted to cut in line in front of Bayley and therefore challenge Ronda Rousey for the Smackdown Women’s Championship in Las Vegas. But that rumor was stamped out quickly.

Banks’ team’s latest offer to NBC Universal is for a mega front-loaded 3-year contract but with a six-month opt-out. Banks’ team believes this is the best option because their belief is that she will hit the open market at an even higher level after putting on a memorable performance at WrestleMania. NBC Universal has been steadfast in disagreeing with that offer, fearing Banks will just take off for Smackdown on Fox and never look back.
​

ALEXA BLISS TAKES A SWIPE ON TWITTER​

Alexa Bliss is a five-time WWE Women’s Champion, a former Ms. Money in the Bank, and part of only a select few to defend the Women’s Championship at WrestleMania in a 1-on-1 match. These accolades, among others, might be why Ms. Five Feet of Fury put her brand on blast today.

“So not only have I had something to prove all year long, now my job wants to underpay me?” Bliss asked in a tweet. She continued in a thread. “Okay, cool. @trishstratuscom you made the worst mistake at the worst time in your life. See you at #WWEREvolution. @NBCUniversal @USA_Network pay attention to everything I do.”

Bliss was inked to a three-year deal by NBC Universal after they selected her in Friday’s second round. The pay slot for her spot in the draft could not exceed an average annual value of $2 million. But Bliss will only be making $1.25 million in each of the next three years.

While Bliss’ accolades are known far and wide, she had spent much of the end of 2018 on the shelf because of concussions suffered in the ring. She has been unable to really find her footing and has only had one Women’s Championship match in the last calendar year.

By AAV, Bliss is currently set to make as much money as Carmella will at $1.25 million. That rate is still behind: Becky Lynch ($5 million), Ronda Rousey ($5 million), Bayley ($5 million), Toni Storm ($4 million), Asuka ($3 million), Charlotte Flair ($3 million), Shayna Baszler ($3 million), Ruby Riott ($2 million), and Candice LeRae ($1.5 million).​

Just a bit more news to tidy everybody over. Roster cards up on Page 2 are there and I’ll add the brand new ones coming soon after Priest, Kai, and Nox all make their debuts on Smackdown.

Salary Tables (because I was bored to death on my day off and thought about doing something fun): https://bit.ly/3Gcd6pP

 

[Rasky]

Hi all. Previously Rasky over at the old place and need to get this name changed I know. For those who don't know - I write the NXT side of things for DamageCTRL.

--

No intro tonight - NXT Commissioner William Regal is in the ring with the roster on stage. William Regal announces he is stepping away from his duties in NXT to further assist the McMahon’s with Raw and Smackdown. The crowd chanting “Thank you Regal” as the legend stands in the ring. An ovation from the entire roster and the packed Full Sail University. A replacement will be named in the extremely near future, but it will be run by Triple H and Shawn Michaels behind the scenes for the time being. Tom Philips thanks Regal for all he has done as NXT would be nothing without the Blackpool native. Then it cuts to black.

NXT
October 16th, 2019
Live from Full Sail University
Winter Park, FL

#1 Contenders Match | Winner Faces Roderick Strong Next Week
Damian Priest versus Bronson Reed versus KUSHIDA

The three men are already in the ring after coming down to the stage following Regal’s exit. This triple threat starts off with the attack on Bronson Reed between both competitors, but there is a struggle for KUSHIDA to maintain momentum with Damian Priest. However, KUSHIDA was able to find holes when his opponents were focusing on each other.

Reed hit a running somersault off the apron to KUSHIDA as Priest moves out of the way! The Archer of Infamy throws Reed into the steps then drags KUSHIDA back into the ring. Mercy being shown how quick this is moving now with Hit The Lights, and Damien Priest has a match with Roderick Strong!

Winner via Hit The Lights (16:45): Damian Priest

Damian Priest's hand is raised as the victor when he is knocked down by Roderick Strong! The champion quickly throws rights and lefts down onto Priest as the referee pulls him away. Damian Priest is given the time to go on his feet, and Strong comes running in.. to a knee across the face from Priest! The champion quickly rolls away from the ring while his contender is ready for the fight. Roderick Strong retreats to the back and this must wait until next week.

Cathy Kelley is standing by with Vanessa Borne who speaks on her vision for the NXT women’s division - which ends with The Vision being at the absolute top as champion. Tonight there is a vision to get her towards that belt: ruining the return of Ember Moon as Vanessa makes a name for herself.

Commercial Break

Singles Match
“The Vision” Vanessa Borne versus Ember Moon

Ember Moon makes her return to action tonight in NXT after an injury on the main roster after a confrontation with Io Shirai two weeks ago. Vanessa Borne already made her intentions clear - showing them with a more aggressive offense on the previously injured leg of Ember.

The ending moments favored Vanessa Borne so much that she almost hut the Night Night (Swinging Neckbreaker), but Ember Moon pushed herself out of it followed a quick step up enzuigiri. She followed that up with a low dropkick that put all momentum to the former NXT Women's Champion. Ember Moon hits the Eclipse and that is all she wrote! Ember Moon is victorious in her return to NXT as she takes the steps towards Io Shirai.

Winner via Eclipse (05:17): Ember Moon

Tag Team Match
The Outliers (Dorian Mak and Riddick Moss) versus Breezango (Fandango and Tyler Breeze)

Breezango and The Outliers have had their issues since being hired for work by Roderick Strong to increase Strong’s odds of defeating Breeze. That resulted in The Outliers sidelining Fandango. Tyler Breeze has his tag team partner back allowing this match to happen. Tom Phillips points out how this important to deciding a number one contender for Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly.

Overall - this was a standard tag team match with Fandango getting the spotlight in his hot tag. Riddick Moss and Dorian Mak strategize outside of the ring as Dexter Lumis crawls out from under it! Rather than attack - Riddick Moss makes the dash towards backstage while Mak goes to the ring. Dorian Mak’s focus is towards Lumis, which makes him turn right around into a Beauty Shot from Tyler Breeze to end the match.

Winners via Beauty Shot (08:31): Breezango

Breezango is victorious while Dorian Mak is coming to his senses for Dexter Lumis to crawl towards him. Mak turns his head, sees Lumis just inches away, and he rolls to quickly go backstage as NXT cuts to commercial.

Commercial Break

From commercial break, The Outliers are backstage angered with their loss when they find NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong holding onto the side of his jaw.

Strong tells The Outliers that he lived up to his end of the deal by helping the duo make names for themselves. He has his own things to worry about like being the only member of The Undisputed Era here this week, and now a scheduled match with Damian Priest next week.

It is up to The Outliers now, and the champion does not want a single thing to do with this ongoing feud with Dexter Lumis.

Strong walks off as someone else enters the scene… Tino Sabatelli?!?!

NXT: Chi-Town Rumble
November 23rd, 2019 | Chicago,Illinois
"Chicago.. Prepare for War"

Falls Count Anywhere Match
Taynara Conti versus “The Slayer” Kelly Oliveria

The action is quick at the top of the hour as this intense feud comes to a head. Consistent brawls and no contests since The Slayer's debut has forced one of William Regal's last rulings to be this match. The need for this match was proven as only one minute of this match was even near the ring,

A big moment saw Conti push Oliveria off a production crate through a table backstage. Conti could not capitalize fast enough resulting in a two. Beyond that, the women used surrounding environments to punish each other. Throwing each other into steel gates, using chairs, and even a Full Sail parking sign!

The fight went ringside which spoke the beginning of the end of the match. Oliveria threw Conti back first into the steel pole, and it was followed up with a Pump Kick. Oliveria rolls the Brazilian into the ring, locks in her Dragon Sleeper just seconds later. Falls Count Anywhere ends in the middle of the ring - Taynara Conti has passed out!

Winner via Dragon Sleeper (09:54): Kelly Oliveria

The Slayer has choked out Taynara Conti, and her actions after the match sends messages.. She wants the NXT Women's Championship!

Commercial Break

Alex Shelley is in the ring following commercials to a huge ovation.

Alex Shelley: Last week - I was not expecting to do what I did last week. I was just visiting when I saw what Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly were doing to my friend.

A quick spur of KUSHIDA chants fill Full Sail University.

Alex Shelley: Because of that...

Alex Shelley: I signed a contract with NXT, and I am sticking right by KUSHIDA’s side the entire time.

A huge pop from Full Sail followed by Shelley chants.

Alex Shelley: I shocked the world last week, I shocked the world more than Undisputed Era has shocked this system.

Alex Shelley: As far as I am concerned, I am here for two other reasons… To become the NXT Tag Team Champion..!

Quite the goal...

Alex Shelley: And to put The Undisputed Era in their place once and for all!

And an even bigger goal!

Alex Shelley: I know none of those guys are the same men they were three years ago, but I know I am not the same man I was three years ago.

Alex Shelley: Cole, Strong, O'Reilly, Fish.. All of you.! Listen up. When you step into this ring with me, I am going to remind each and everyone of you who the hell Alex Shelley is.

The words are quick and to the point as Alex Shelley is officially in NXT!

Mercedes Martinez makes her NXT debut - Next Week!

Tag Team Match
Ever-Rise (Chase Parker and Matt Martel) versus The Dragon’s Mercenaries (Boa and Mars)

Dating back to August: Mars took Boa to his training grounds following the latters loss to Bronson Reed. Wade Barrett puts into the fact that Boa has been training at Fire Dojo where leader Dragon has listed Boa and Mars as the top mercenaries.

Ever-Rise continues to get their way searching for a tag team wins with any dirty tactic. Throughout the short match, it was mainly Mars trying to gather offense until Boa got to shine. Boa's training paid off hitting Chase with a Roundhouse Kick for tonight's win.

Winners via Roundhouse Kick (04:32): The Dragon’s Mercenaries

Commercial Break

Following commercials, Ever-Rise is backstage slamming their hands and fists onto William Regal’s office door. Seemingly for getting about the news that kicked off the show. That leaves the two to discuss their match with The Dragon’s Mercenaries prompting Martel to point out that no matter what there is no better team in NXT. Enter Santana and Ortiz.

The brothers impact cannot be forgotten, assaulting The Street Profits then defeating them two weeks later. They have an issue with Ever-Rise, and they also have an obvious solution - a match next week! Matt Martel accepts on behalf of the team reminding Santana and Ortiz that this is their tag team division. Parker adds in their plans to embarrass the brothers, but he is cut off with Santana pushing him against the door.

Ortiz speaks over Ever-Rise as doesn't want to hear talking, and he'll wait for the fight next week.

--

A vignette airs of Mia Yim who is announcing her return to NXT next week to fulfill previous obligations - And she challenges her rival Deonna Purrazzo! Yim knows Purrazzo talked down on her Toronto street fight win, and she is going to prove The HBIC is superior to The Virtuosa. Next week - Mia Yim versus Deonna Purrazzo II!

--

Singles Match
Shane Thorne versus Jordan Myles

Jordan Myles requested this match following consistent loses to Thorne and Bronson Reed as he hopes to turn his luck around. Without Reed out here, this is definitely a potential victory coming for Jordan. Myles in fact holds control until a misstep then being dropped into the second turnbuckle by Thorne.

The most important piece to take away from the match is the debut of six foot five Brendan Vink. Thorne fakes an eye injury allowing Vink to come in through the crowd, big boot Jordan Myles, and quickly escape. Shane Thorne quickly capitalized to win in a dirty fashion,

Winner via Big Boot (06:32): Shane Thorne

Shane Thorne's win comes off to boos from the Full Sail crowd with Brendan Vink joining him in the ring. Thorne introduces six foot five Aussie as an old friend who is ready to become the next big star like Bronson Reed. Vink understands that he needs people by his side to get ahead, but he also realizes how mighty he is. Not just in height but in ring knowledge. Brendan Vink just like Thorne and Reed refuses to kneel.

While The Mighty Don't Kneel continues to establish dominance, we cut to another trio.

--

Before the main event, we hear from Deonna Purrazzo as she is flanked by Chelsea Green and Rachael Evers.

Deonna Purrazzo accepts Mia Yim’s challenge for next week while asking Chelsea Green and Rachael Evers to focus on their own issue. Which seems to be with Ember Moon?! The hot mess and second generation star already “put a beating” to The IIconics for trying to share their space. Now they are going to do the same to Ember Moon.

--

Commercial Break

#1 Contender’s Match | Winner Faces Io Shirai at Revolution
Kairi Sane versus Shotzi Blackheart

Shotzi Blackheart's rise to NXT should be one to watch after she defeated Candice LeRae then took NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai to the limit. Some believe Shotzi could be champion if Kairi Sane did not help her friend in the final minutes of the match. Throughout the match, Shotzi proved herself as a top contender while bringing her competition to the limit.

Nail-biting ending as Shotzi meets Sane at the top rope to stop the InSane Elbow. The struggle between the competitors leads to Sane hitting a Sunset Powerbomb. Then, rather going for the pin, she uses Blackheart's legs to go into a Modified Anchor submission. Shotzi reached for the ropes, but she just barely reaches and is forced to submit.

Winner via Insane Elbow (12:33): Kairi Sane

Kairi Sane is victorious and she has a championship date with... The woman making her way to the ring now - NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai! Kairi Sane and Io Shirai shake hands as the champion pulls her friend close. The stare-down with tension only a knife can cut. Kairi Sane versus Io Shirai in ten days time - The Sky Pirates go one on one, who will walk away as NXT Women’s Champion?


Next Week on NXT:
October 23rd, 2019
5 Shows to NXT: Chi-Town Rumble

NXT North American Championship Match
Damian Priest challenges Roderick Strong of The Undisputed Era

The HBIC vs. The Virtuosa II
Mia Yim versus Deonna Purrazzo

Santana and Ortiz versus Ever-Rise

Dexter Lumis and Riddick Moss Go One on One!

Mercedes Martinez makes her NXT debut!

Plus More!​

 

[DamageCTRL]

W in the chat for Rask finally making his debut over here!

Let me make this announcement here. And then move on to the latest NXT UK tomorrow. I will be posting NXT UKs through the month of October so that everyone can get to know our characters, where the universe is at, and how it will proceed. From there, expect some 2-week recaps on the in-betweens. TakeOvers will be done though. Rask and I also have a plan about how we're approaching NXT-NXT UK in the future that we can't wait to shine through.

Anyways, here's Wonderwall.

WWE ANNOUNCES FIRST-EVER ROCK 'N WRESTLING CUP BATTLE ROYAL​

20-WOMAN BATTLE ROYAL SET FOR WWE REVOLUTION, WINNER TO RECEIVE TROPHY HANDED OUT BY ROCK & ROLL ICON CYNDI LAUPER​

World Wrestling Entertainment announced Thursday that another match has been tabled for WWE REvolution next Saturday in Brooklyn.

The first-ever Rock 'N Wrestling Cup Battle Royal will take place at the event. The match will have 20 women's superstars, including three unannounced WWE Hall of Famers, competing to win The Rock 'N Wrestling Cup trophy.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and preeminent pro wrestling celebrity Cyndi Lauper will hand out the trophy to the winner and will do so annually at the event. Lauper is set to be a guest of honor at the event after she attended the All-Women's Spectacular in Bakersfield, California.

The announced participants for the match come to us from all four brands of WWE. They are listed below in alphabetical order.

Rock 'n Wrestling Cup Battle Royal Announced Participants
Aliyah
Carmella
Dakota Kai
Emma
Jamie Hayter
Jinny
Kayden Carter
Mandy Rose
Maria Kanellis
Mia Yim
Nikki Cross
Niven
Rhea Ripley
Shotzi Blackheart
Sonya Deville
Xia Li
Zelina Vega
3 Unannounced WWE Hall of Famers

---

​

 

[DamageCTRL]

So... my external hard drive got screwed up and I can't connect it to my computer. NXT UK was on there.

So!

I'm going to merely post the results in some sentences below from what I remember the show being. Luckily, all the other shows were preserved.

So as a special treat, here comes the first post-Draft era episode of Friday Night Smackdown on Fox!

Stay tuned until the very end.

---

NXT UK​

October 17 2019 | Brentwood, England

Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox def. Indi Hartwell and Stevie Turner

Nigel McGuinness congratulated the multiple NXT UK wrestlers who were drafted earlier this week. McGuinness then revealed plans to replace Dave Mastiff in the NXT Heritage Championship Match that will crown the first champion. He announced that next week, there would be a match between Cesaro, Fabian Aichner, Mark Andrews, and an unannounced participant. The winner would join Ilja Dragunov, Killian Dain, Noam Dar, and Zack Gibson in the match.

Rhea Ripley squashed a local talent.

Rhea got on the mic afterwards and blasted Jazzy Gabert! She demanded that Gabert meet her in the ring next week!

Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews discussed the latter's involvement in the Heritage Title play-in. Andrews thanked Webster for his encouragement. Newcomer tag team Pretty Deadly then walked by. They said they couldn't help but overhear their conversation. Kit Wilson joked that it wasn't the only thing they overheard but the two backed off from that and deflected when pressed. Anyways, they said that Andrews had no chance of winning next week. Andrews challenged them to put their money where their mouth was. Elton Prince then said that Andrews needs to do the same thing and that he should worry about his own house.

Bianca Belair def. Emma

After the match, The New Frontier beat Bianca up. This set the stage for Kay Lee Ray to come down... and do nothing! She watched as they beat the NXT UK Women's Champion up from the aisle. They finished their work and left. Paige could be overheard telling Kay Lee that anytime she needed a favor to hit her up. Ray ignored that but then went down to the ring. Ray then got on the mic and blasted Belair. She said that last week Bianca questioned why she was out there. Kay Lee said she was helping her friends out, something Ray said that Bianca would have no idea about.

Ray said Bianca was an 'outsider' and has been since she got here. Kay Lee said she couldn't stand the way Bianca beat her friend Toni Storm at TakeOver: 25. Ray also said that it made her sick that her friends would align themselves with someone so self-centered and conceited like Bianca. All the while, 'The EST' was getting medical help, so this was adding salt to the wounds. Ray said that when that happened last week, she knew what the game was. Ray told Belair that she didn't help her tonight because of her own choices. So now, Ray is going to choose to do something more hurtful - take her championship away at WWE REvolution!

Ray would leave the ring but as Belair was about to be helped out, Ray ambushed her!! Kay Lee came back down and assaulted Bianca on the outside. Kay Lee then threw her back into the ring and DROPPED HER with the Gory Bomb!

Ray, afterwards, was confronted by Dakota and Tegan. They asked why Kay Lee just did that. Kay Lee asked them why they had such a problem. She told them what Bianca said, all that she did, and they're defending her? Dakota said that they didn't ask her to do all that though. KLR looked at them with disgust in her eyes and then walked away! Yikes...

Sheamus def. Tyler Bate

---

Friday Night Smackdown on FOX
October 18th 2019 | Indianapolis, Indiana | Bankers Life Fieldhouse
​

The very first OFFICIAL edition of Friday Night Smackdown on Fox has begun! A much more proper intro video featuring ALL the right superstars from the brand, set to “Are You Ready?” by AC/DC plays at 8 p.m. ET. Then we hopped into Bankers Life Fieldhouse here in Indianapolis, Indiana! A pyro show began our night! Then, after that concluded, Michael Cole and AJ Lee welcomed us to the broadcast tonight and started off by running some things down. There’s a lot going on tonight!

But we begin inside the ring as we come to find Renee Young standing in the middle of the Friday Night Smackdown ring. Renee welcomed us to the show tonight and hyped the Indianapolis crowd up. She then introduced her guest – the first woman to become a Grand Slam Champion, first woman to win the Women’s Tag Team Championships, and one of the first women to enter War Games! She is the newly-crowned two-time Smackdown Women’s Champion: Bayley!

Bayley then made her way down to the ring. ‘The Hugger’ received a loud reaction from the crowd. Some boos snuck in there, but mostly cheers for the battle-tested Smackdown Women’s Champion. She’s wearing one of her signature shirts – a Grand Slam Champion one – as a muscle shirt and jeans. So she’s not dressed for competition tonight unfortunately. She gets in the ring and Renee gets right down to business. Young wants answers. So she asks Bayley what she knows about the status of Sasha Banks.

“I had a feeling that you were gonna ask me that,” said the champion. “Now I know there’s been a lot said. I know there’s been a lot of rumors. A lot of people are caught in the middle of all this right now. But knowing Sasha like I know Sasha… she wants to be in War Games. That’s a fact.” Quite the proclamation. “So she might not have a contract right now. She might not be part of a brand. She’ll get that done before War Games. She is going to be fighting on our side when we get in that cage in those two rings next Saturday at WWE REvolution.”

Renee challenges her statement by pointing out the difficulties that Banks has shown of late. She points out that there’s been no reported communication and asks her where her confidence in her comes from. “Renee. Really dude?” asks Bayley. “You’re asking me? I know Sasha Banks better than anyone. I am her best friend. I am her ride-or-die. That won’t ever change. I know Sasha. She’s going to be there a week from tomorrow in Brooklyn.” Bayley’s confidence in the situation stems from years on the road with Banks, dating back to their time in NXT. So Bayley isn’t wavering here: She trusts Sasha Banks.

“I might be in the minority right now, and I understand that,” Bayley admits. “But I have seen Sasha Banks at her lowest before. Sometimes, she’s an emotional person. She wears her heart on her sleeve and she puts everything into this business for each and every single member of the WWE Universe.” Sounds more like a plea than a statement of fact. “So sometimes, she lashes out. Sometimes she misdirects her anger. She’s only human. Things happen. I don’t put any stock into what she’s doing. She wants what she wants, and eventually, she’s going to realize that she can’t keep making history from her couch. So she’s going to be there at War Games fighting with The Four Horsewomen.”

Such obvious trust draws reactions. One of them being relatively unexpected!

“RECOGNITION”​

Oh my! Here comes The Queen! Charlotte Flair has made her way to Smackdown! The WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion is allowed to be on the show because of the title, but an appearance by The Queen surprises us all here in Indianapolis. Flair marched to the ring with an unhappy look worn on her face. Bayley and Renee looked on as the legendary Flair got into the ring and grabbed a microphone.

“Bayley…” Charlotte started, gathering WOOOOs from the crowd. “First of all, let me publicly congratulate you on becoming the two-time Smackdown Women’s Champion last week in Las Vegas.” A positive response is drawn. “Admittedly, it’s better to have spectated that than to be on the other end like I was two years ago.” Humility from our Queen. “Now, Bayley. Listen. I can’t say that I’m surprised that you are publicly supporting Sasha Banks.” Nor should anybody be! For the reasons laid out! Flair continued, “But… I mean, Bayley. She hasn’t communicated with any of us. We… right now, have no idea what she’s thinking. She hasn’t even talked to you!” Well, that’s a shocker revealed by Flair. The champion brought her mic up.

“Now, hold on Charlotte, let’s be real here for a minute, okay?” Bayley sized Charlotte up after. “Of all the people in the world, and there are a lot of people. But of all them, you, Charlotte Flair? I don’t want to offend you, we’re fighting together in a week. I’ve enjoyed having you on my side. But… let’s be real, you don’t like Sasha Banks.” Hoo… Charlotte brought up the mic almost immediately. “No, no, no, we’re not doing this.” Charlotte stared Bayley in the eyes. “We did this and we almost lost before we even got started. Don’t play like that, Bayley,” Charlotte threatened. Bayley gripped her title a bit tighter. “I am putting ALL of my differences aside. I am making ALL the sacrifices that I have to make. Six months ago, if Sasha Banks beat me in a #1 Contender’s Match? I would have came up with a scheme to take her out of the match as soon as the referee counted to three!” Hard to disagree with that one. “So I get where you’re coming from, Bayley. But what I’d like for you to maybe take into consideration right now is reality.”

Bayley looked down at the mat for a few seconds and then back up at Charlotte as she continued. “We are a three-person unit for the time being. It does not seem like that’s going to change anytime soon. So the fact is Bayley… we are not in a position to wait around. And as much as I want to, as much as I’ve put my differences aside, as much as you have, and as much as Becky has, Sasha Banks is now unwilling to do that. Again.” Charlotte pointed out that Banks said that two months ago she was done with all this. She’s shown before that her heart isn’t in it and now she is risking doing that again. She says that once is a coincidence and twice is a pattern! Charlotte says that Bayley doesn’t need to axe her from being her best friend and she’s not asking her to. What she is telling Bayley is that she might trust her but until she gives Charlotte a reason to, she doesn’t think that she can do it!

Bayley took a moment to collect after hearing what Charlotte had to say to her. Then the champion brought up the mic. “I’m not gonna tell you that you’re right or that you’re wrong. But I know that Sasha will show her true colors next Saturday.” Well…that’s about all that you can say there isn’t it? With that, the Smackdown Women’s Champion gets out of the ring. Her opinion isn’t even popular in her group right now, a group that looked strong two weeks ago… and now might be nothing!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~

NOVEMBER 1 2019, ONLY ON FOX​

Backstage, Bayley was seen walking, but she wasn’t the only one in focus for long.

The Smackdown Women’s Champion didn’t seem too thrilled. A lot is on her plate obviously as we just saw. She then crossed paths with somebody who played a hand in her best friend not being around – Toni Storm! The 23-year-old prodigy and future Hall of Famer had an awkward staredown. Storm apologized to Bayley about all that’s happened in the last week. She said that while she had no say in when she was going to get picked, she’s felt guilty about all this and hopes everything is made right. She pointed out how much respect that she has for all of The Four Horsewomen, especially her and Sasha, who made history and inspired an entire generation four years ago in Brooklyn.

Bayley says Toni has nothing to worry about. She says that she could’ve done nothing and that Sasha isn’t mad at her. She projected her anger on her for the situation, which stems back to even before Toni got to WWE. Bayley assures Toni that she knows how much she respects her and that she would never double-cross them. She said Toni clearly knows her place and looks up to her like a role model. Storm nodded her head and said she has a match now that she has to get to. The Smackdown Women’s Champion wished the rookie good luck and sent her on her way.

1 – Singles Match
Kayden Carter vs. Toni Storm​

A pair of newcomers to the Smackdown brand got the spotlight here. Kayden Carter is first, as she was in the ring when the camera went back to ringside. She was ready but she had her work cut out for her. The exciting sensation Toni Storm made her way out with a lot of fanfare. Fitting that it is Toni who starts things off, as she might represent the future of the blue brand’s women’s division. She sure is being paid like it.

Kayden put up a good early fight. Credit to her, she came out of the gate swinging to try and take Toni Storm off her game. But Storm eventually took control and that was it. There’s a reason why to this point that Storm’s only losses are to Bayley and Mae Young Classic finalist Deonna Purrazzo. Storm is one of the best around right now and while she’s humble, she looked damn good again in this opening bout. A quick one, at that.

Storm eventually was ready to put this one to bed. After stunning Carter in the corner she came in and hit her with a running hip attack that sent her down on the corner. Slumped, Carter could only look on as Toni slapped her side, gathered up reaction, and came in with ANOTHER running hip attack in the corner! Storm then dragged Carter in, pulled her between her legs, butterflied the arms and drilled her with Storm Zero! 1! 2! 3!!!

Winner: Toni Storm via pinfall at 4:32.​

Kayden Carter wasn’t interested in any post-match pleasantries. She dumped herself out of the ring while Toni took hold of it. Storm grabbed the mic and went to speak. Before she could though, she was interrupted-

“I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE!”​

Storm expressed displeasure as she put her hands on her hips. Walking out from the back was Candice LeRae. LeRae, who has had trouble putting Storm down on the mat lately, walked out with an annoyed look on her face. “As if I could be more annoyed by you, Toni Storm,” Candice said. She admitted it! Right there! Storm rolled her eyes. She wasn’t surprised. “Not only do you cut in front of me and other deserving women who’ve been waiting for an opportunity around here. Not only do you think that you belong hanging around some of the best of the best. Not only do you think that you’re becoming the first-ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion… but now you’re being paid more than me?” Oof. Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, Candice. Neither does pocket-watching. “No, no, no. That’s too far. Someone like you, who’s only been around here. In this business. Compared to some of us? You’re here for a cup of coffee and they’re paying you how much?! I mean, this is ridiculous, I did not spend twice the amount of time in my life wrestling than you did just to get paid half of what you are. No.”

Whew, was Candice angry. “I don’t think that there is a single woman around here who I am more annoyed to see than you, Toni.” Ouch. Toni looked on, looking hurt. Storm brought the mic up and asked Candice if that’s how she really felt. Candice said yes and Storm shook her head. “Y’know, I looked up to you, Candice. You’re one of the people who doesn’t get the credit that they’ve earned for being a pioneer in women’s wrestling. Your name carried a lot of respect. But I say carried because now? I don’t respect you.” Storm glared as she walked over to the ropes. “I don’t respect you, Candice, because now all I see when I look at you is a petulant, jealous woman. Somebody who was doing just fine around here, as I expected you to. As anyone with knowledge of you would, Candice. But you’re gonna come here and you’re gonna tell me that I haven’t earned anything??” Toni looked at Candice incredulously. “I took a gamble on myself at 13 years old. I put everything on the line just to get a start and you think I haven’t earned anything!? Let me remind you Candice that you and I have each had at least two chances at winning the Mae Young Classic. There’s only one of us who actually did it.” Whew… “I don’t just think that I can hang around the best of the best by the way. I’m already one of the best of the best and I can tell that it makes you less secure, Candice. That’s why you keep following me around no matter how many times I put your shoulders to the mat!” Wow! “So you can stand there with your jealous gripes and try to talk down on me and all that I’ve accomplished in my life. Or,” Toni says as she then leaves the ring.

Storm then climbs out as Candice gets ready to fight here! Storm reached underneath the ring. The budding superstar pulled out… a ladder! Storm grabbed the ladder and then set it up to much applause! Candice looked up as Toni began to scale the ladder. She got near the top and brought the microphone. “Or, Candice, you can come and try to take me off the top like you’ve unsuccessfully tried two times before!” Well damn! Storm made her challenge very clear! LeRae obviously didn’t expect this and brought her mic up again. “No, no, you don’t call the shots, Toni. I do. I am in control and next Saturday at WWE REvolution I am going to be in control again. You… are not the one. You… are not who they say that you are. You’ve gotten lucky and I will not only prove that. But I will also finally get what I am OWED! And that is the honor of being the first Women’s Intercontinental Champion!” Toni shook her head in disagreement here as she stepped over the ladder and sat atop it!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

A sizzle reel aired next. The reel focused on one of the brightest young stars on Smackdown: Jamie Hayter! The hard-hitting Hayter will make her debut in three weeks when Smackdown is in London! Big news!

Backstage, Kayla Braxton caught up with ‘The Phenomenal’ AJ Styles! The #1 Contender for the WWE Title has a big match tonight, a six-man tag where he’s promising that two new members will be joining him to lead The OC on Smackdown. Styles says that everybody’s gonna have to wait and see who it is. However, Styles indicates that the new members are walking among us! AJ says that it’s going to give shockwaves to WWE like they’ve never felt before. Styles grins as he says that he can’t wait to see everybody’s reaction, ESPECIALLY Roman Reigns’ reaction. And with that, we’re left with a lot of intrigue!

2 – Non-Title Tag Team Match
SD Tag Team Champs, The New Day vs. Drew Gulak and Shelton Benjamin​

The New Day get their whole kit and kaboodle off in their entrance after Styles’ interview. After that, the ragtag team of Drew Gulak and Shelton Benjamin came out. On their way to the ring, we were informed about the relationship here. Drew Gulak wants to be a champion if he’s gonna be here and he wants to get there the easiest way in his opinion. Gulak wants to be a Tag Team Champion, so he was able to convince multi-time Tag Team Champion Shelton Benjamin to be his tag team partner! Quite a get as Shelton has proven for decades that he’s one of the best tag wrestlers going.

For a little while here, Shelton is able to really hold his own. There’s some experience here with the subjects. Shelton of course challenged Kofi Kingston for the WWE Title earlier this year. He had some interaction with The New Day. There’s clearly respect there between them, but Shelton doesn’t have a difficult time here at all. But eventually the tide turned in New Day’s favor. The champs, since SummerSlam, got in business. They sent Shelton away and eventually zeroed in on Gulak. Drew did his best to stave the wave off. But unfortunately, it was all for naught. Gulak fell victim to the Midnight Hour an that was all she wrote!

Winners: The New Day via pinfall at 6:15.​

Some disappointment in the camp of Gulak and Benjamin was evident after the match concluded. Shelton stood with his hands on his hips as Gulak tried to explain everything. Benjamin shook his head and instead of helping his tag team partner up, he left him in the ring and walked away.

Bayley was shown backstage. The Smackdown Women’s Champion didn’t stay grounded for too long though. Charlotte Flair quickly rushed over to her. Flair alerted Bayley to the fact that something was going on in the parking lot! The duo then raced off in the parking lot’s direction. As they arrived, we could see what was going on!

Natalya and Shayna Baszler were destroying Bayley’s car! Bayley and Charlotte darted over as Nattie and Shayna realized they were being pursued! A motorcycle, clearly driven by Ronda Rousey, then drove by! And another driven by Beth Phoenix! Shayna and Nattie jumped on the bikes and they drove away without any harm! They can’t be harmed anyway without physical provocation but they really just pissed them off here!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

Another COMING SOON trailer drops! This one, set to a futuristic-type, synthesizer-type beat, gives us a look at an incoming TAG TEAM to Friday nights! That team? None other than Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox! COMING SOON to Friday Night Smackdown on Fox!

Backstage, Roman Reigns can be found! Reigns walks along here and then approaches The Usos! The Usos are seen with black hoodies and baggy pants, and Reigns nods and asks them if they know why he’s here. Jey Uso says of course he does, pointing out that he needs some friends for the main event! Roman nods his head and Jimmy says that he has something different than friends coming with him in the main event tonight! That’s family for ya! Reigns bumps both of their fists and embraces the two of them as we seem to know who he’s coming to the ring tonight with!

Backstage, Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn was heard on the phone with someone. He talked to this person about how he was impressed with what they had to say earlier and thinks he’d like to know a bit more. Whatever that means. Kevin Owens entered screenshot, which meant it’s time for Sami to hang up the phone. Zayn asked KO if he planned on being in attendance later when he beats The Miz and proves that he’s nothing more than a loudmouth phony. KO said he would… but he knows exactly what Sami knows, and that’s that this should be an IC Title Match between the two of them.

KO said that the last few times that they’ve competed for the IC Title, something has inexplicably gone wrong. And Sami seemed intent on making good on that, but for the last few weeks, he’d been ducking that. KO wanted to know if Sami is sincere when he says these things, and Zayn questioned how he could think anything else. Zayn pointed out all he’s done for Owens over the years, even after Owens brutally attacked him several years ago SEVERAL times and ruined the biggest night of his career. Zayn said that he should be angry with The Miz for butting in. Miz was picked before Owens and that shouldn’t have happened. Zayn, clearly trying to pit Kevin against his opponent tonight, kept this effort up until Owens just says he’s tired of the talk. KO said that first of all, The Miz wasn’t in the same draft pool as Owens was, so he was picked earlier for that reason. Duh. Owens said he wants the Intercontinental Championship back, and if Sami isn’t going to give him a match with no shenanigans, then perhaps he needs to go see Commissioner Regal! Uh oh…

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

Tensions arose again in the back after returning to the air. Toni Storm was seen in the back, in catering, getting a coffee. She turned around and nearly bumped into… you guessed it - Candice LeRae! Candice yelped and scoffed. She told Toni to stop getting in her way. She swatted the coffee cup out of her hand! Oh…that lit the match! Toni threw a right hand at Candice and a brawl broke out!! The two were quickly pulled apart though by the people in the room! Candice eventually broke through and got shots in on Toni! Storm answered back with more but was then suddenly hit from behind! By Mia Yim! But then Mia and Candice were chased away moments later by… Asuka! The presence of The Empress bought Toni some time to cool off and recuperate. Asuka and Toni, opponents in eight days, were on the same side of the coin again!

3 – Intercontinental Championship Match
Sami Zayn © defends against The Miz​

This one gets quite a bit of time here as Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn defends the title against one of the best Intercontinental Champions of his era. He knows he’s gonna have to get crafty with this one as Miz has been around the block more than once. He knows how to win a big match and from the outset here, these two tangle in a high-energy match. There’s a definite sense of urgency from both men, but those mentalities colliding turn this into a bit of a fight here. A lengthy one at that! Towards the end of the matchup, Sami’s losing a little bit of steam. He goes for a Blue Thunder Bomb on Miz, but Miz counters! And then hits a Russian Leg Sweep! Miz then gets up to his feet moments later as Sami comes charging in. But Miz ducks it and Zayn goes over the top! He lands on the apron and goes to Hangman’s him but Miz breaks out and then runs his head into the corner! He then pulls him up and over into the ring going for a Suplex! And he hits Zayn then suddenly screams as he grabs his ankle! Oh no! It seems Sam might have landed awkwardly after the Suplex! He continues to scream as he grabs the ankle in pain. Miz is unsure of what to do here as the referee backs him off. Sami unties his boot as the referee asks him if he can go. Sami scoots himself away here as he tries to get himself some more room. He gets on the apron here and keeps untying his boot. And he then hobbles fof and falls on the floor! He grabs the ankle as Miz looks down at him. The referee goes out to check on him again as he calls more trainers out! Miz can’t quite believe what’s going on, or the crowd really, as Zayn appears to be really hurt!

Wait a minute! Miz turns around—

AND HE IS FLATTENED! WHAT THE HELL!?

A MASSIVE individual just took Miz off his feet! The big man in the ring here then picks Miz up and puts him on his shoulder! And he slams him down HARD! The man rolls out of the ring here as the camera can’t really get a good look of his face!

Meanwhile on the outside, Sami Zayn is up and testing his ankle! And he’s good to go now it seems! He fights away the trainer as the official goes in and only sees Miz laid out! Sami then looks around and picks him up and whips him into the corner. Miz is standing lifeless here and Zayn runs in—HELLUVA KICK! Zayn drops down and hooks the leg! 1! 2! 3!!

Winner: Sami Zayn via pinfall at 12:26. Zayn RETAINS the Intercontinental Title.​

And Sami Zayn’s retained the title! By hook or crook it seems, Sami is victorious because of a mysterious attack on The Miz!! We get a replay of the ambush, and with the work of our cameramen and production team, we see who it is: It’s new Smackdown superstar DAVE MASTIFF!? Well, that’s a STUNNING surprise! And incredibly random! But that’s who it was and he dealt The A-Lister a TON of damage! Zayn meanwhile can be seen with the IC Title in his clutches. He backs away from the scene here and winces as he stands up on his ankle. He holds the title up, still champion, but under very crazy circumstances.

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

Johnny Gargano was seen backstage. The newcomer to the Smackdown brand entered Commissioner Regal’s office. There was an exchange of pleasantry and familiarity next between Regal and Gargano. Regal told Gargano he was excited for him here on Smackdown. He told Gargano that he wanted him to face “the best of the best” around here because he knew the type of competitor he was. So, Regal told Gargano that he made a suggestion to Fox executives about signing a talent. Gargano remarked curiously. Regal nodded his head and said that he’s been on the mend for a bit but he’s ready to get back in the game. Regal then informed Gargano that next week Gargano would face this new talent! Regal boasted that he was a FORMER WORLD CHAMPION who was returning to Smackdown! Shit, I wonder who that could be!

Renee Young is back! She then introduced Jason Jordan to us all here. Talk about a whiplash of emotions. Jordan came down to the ring not to too much applause. He got into the ring and Young cut to the chase. She asked him why he acted the way that he did on Monday night. Jordan said that this all started for him a long time ago. He said that back before in NXT when Chad Gable was looking to break out, he couldn’t get it done. Jordan said that he was looking for a tag team partner in the summer of 2015. He said that Gable and Jordan came together that summer and went on to become one of the best tag teams in NXT history. Jordan then brought us back to the summer of 2016, one year later, as he set the scene of American Alpha arriving onto the blue brand. At the start of a new era, American Alpha was supposed to be the next big tag team on the scene. But Jordan said that they didn’t become the first-ever Smackdown Tag Team Champions and he says that that’s because Chad Gable never had the ‘want’ that he had. Wow!

That got some poor reactions but Jordan wasn’t finished. He said they lost out because they didn’t have that ‘want’ against The Usos. Jordan said that he knew then and there what everything was but he was willing to give Gable a chance to prove himself and to prove him wrong. Jordan then brought us back to December 2016 in Chicago, when American Alpha became the Smackdown Tag Team Champions! Jordan says that moment should’ve been the beginning of the run of their lives. But… once again, Jordan says that Gable didn’t have it in him. Jordan says that if he did, if he had that dog in him, then they wouldn’t have been forgotten about. They wouldn’t have been complete afterthoughts and not even compete at WrestleMania as a tag team. And then he left to go to Monday Night Raw because of the Superstar Shakeup.

Jordan said that at that moment, he was perfectly content with NEVER teaming with Chad Gable again! Wow! He said that Gable is his friend, at least was, and that he respected him, but he never wanted to be in a tag team again with him. But he said that changed earlier this year and not because of him… but because of his dad Kurt Angle. Jordan said he and Kurt had a conversation with each other after he had his final match at WrestleMania. That weekend, Jason explained that he found out he was going to be able to compete again. They had an emotional weekend. Jordan reveals that it was then that Kurt offered to be his manager. Jordan didn’t quite understand why until this past August. Jordan reminded everyone that they won the Raw Tag Team Titles in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh isn’t his hometown, it isn’t even where he went to college, even though Jordan says he should’ve been somewhere that wasn’t The University of Indiana! While the school is in Bloomington, there’s quite a base in Indianapolis! And that got some heat!

Jordan realized that night that Kurt wasn’t trying to help American Alpha. He wasn’t trying to help lead them to prominence. Jordan accused his father of wanting to steal the spotlight from him because he was retired by Baron Corbin at WrestleMania! Jordan depicted Kurt as a guy trying to preserve his legacy and made it all about him. It was never about American Alpha to Kurt, it was about Kurt. And if it were about the team, then he would’ve made sure the match happened where they could get paid more – at SUMMERSLAM in Toronto – or compete at ALL, pointing out how infrequent they were! It was Jordan that went to the people in charge to be part of the United States Title Series. He was asked if Chad Gable was also going to be part of it, but Jordan told everyone he didn’t feel Gable deserved it, pointing out that he already LOST his shot at the U.S. Title in May, so he says that he blocked him from competing in it! WHAT! Jordan says that he’s done with people trying to control his career. He’s done with trying to have partners or allies. He says that he’s going to do this on his own because just like his theme song says, he IS the NEXT GENERATION of GREAT!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

Backstage, we find Sami Zayn walking to his car here with the IC Title on his shoulder. He seems to be going… pretty quickly, perhaps frightened of Kevin Owens after what happened earlier tonight. And he arrives at his car and drives away.

Prior to this next match, we get an insert promo from Cedric Alexander! The challenger for the WWE TV Title says that he is honored to share a ring with a living legend like Rey Mysterio tonight. Cedric says that when he aspired to be in the Cruiserweight Classic and to be the Cruiserweight Champion, Rey Mysterio is one of the wrestlers he’s always looked up to because of his never-say-die attitude. And he knows this match is big because he had to beat one of his biggest rivals from 205 Live and a former Cruiserweight Champion, a former NXT Champion, and a former World Champion just to get this title shot. Cedric says he’s got all the respect in the world for Rey, but hopes he understands that it’s nothing personal when he wins and becomes the TV Champ!

4 - WWE Television Championship Match
Rey Mysterio © vs. Cedric Alexander​

This proves to be a really fun contest! Cedric and Rey definitely show their mutual respect for one another in how they attack this matchup. There’s no shortcuts. There’s no corner-cutting. Just two high-flyers trying to out-athlete and out-aerial the other! The end result is a stirring contest that gets Indianapolis pretty fired up on a show that had a LOT of fresh faces on it, and now we see someone who’s been a STAPLE of the Smackdown brand in Rey Mysterio while new kid on the block Cedric Alexander is trying to collect singles gold! Late in the matchup, Rey is up on the middle rope in the corner with Alexander seated. Rey hits a series of punches and then goes up, presumably looking for a Hurricanrana! But Cedric hits him in the abdomen! He then hits him again as Rey favors the area, taking his head down and grimacing. Alexander then takes this opportunity to get up, leap forward, AND HITS A SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMB ON MYSTERIO! WOW! HE COVERS!! 1! 2! NO!! Rey kicks out just in the nick of time! Alexander is stunned his high-risk move didn’t pay off, and he stands and waits for Mysterio to get up. He kicks him in the gut and then looks for the Lumbar Check! NO! Mysterio lands on his feet from behind! DROPKICK!! Alexander is sent to the middle rope! Mysterio runs forward…619!! Mysterio then scales up to the top rope… FROG SPLASH! 1! 2!! 3!!!

Winner: Rey Mysterio via pinfall at 9:47. Mysterio retains the WWE TV Title.​

And that’s a wrap on that! Rey is successful in another Television Championship defense! He’s certainly been a fighting champ, this his FOURTH successful title defense since winning the title on September 30! It’s gonna take a lot to beat Rey, as evident by how QUICKLY he finished the match off with the Dropkick-619 combo. Cedric eventually gets up to his feet and Rey shakes his hand! Cedric nods his head and Rey offers him some encouraging words which Alexander nods and accepts! Cedric heads on outta here while Rey takes the ring and celebrates with the title!

Just then, we’re sent to the back! Something’s happened! The cameraman is racing back and we see Bobby Lashley’s been laid out! What the hell!? We then hear the voice of one AJ Styles who’s audibly laughing! It seems the bad blood between AJ Styles and The All Mighty isn’t done coursing through yet!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

Back from the break, and we’ve got a lineup for next week! Yes we do!

~ A MASSIVE MAIN-EVENT TAG MATCH: Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch tags with Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley for the FIRST TIME EVER against Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, who ALSO will team for the first time ever!
~ Johnny Gargano is in action against a FORMER World Champion!
~ Kevin Owens gets a title shot! A TELEVISION TITLE shot against Rey Mysterio!
~ ‘The Empress’ Asuka is in action!
~ Jason Jordan in action as well! ​

And with not too much left on the show remaining, Roman Reigns made his entrance with The Usos tailing behind! The Usos were seen wearing black hoodies and black baggy pants while Reigns was of course in his usual getup. The trio got to the ring and then ‘The Phenomenal’ AJ Styles makes his way to the ring! Styles was noticeably absent his partners, the new members of The OC! But he still looked confident. AJ got on the mic after getting to the ringside area and said that his new friends are in the building tonight! AJ said just before, they were just busy kicking Bobby Lashley’s ass backstage, as he took responsibility for the attack on The All Mighty! AJ said that they got lost from him on the way to Gorilla, but told Roman that they’ll be here. Reigns got on the mic and asked why they have to wait! AJ responded by saying that he’s not stupid and he’s not going into a 3-on-1 situation like that! Reigns implied that Styles is cowardly and telling a tall tale, pointing out that all of his buddies are on Monday Night Raw! Reigns said Smackdown might as well be his show because he’s The Big Dog and he has his family with him too!

Styles then looked at Reigns in the ring here and tells him that it’s not his show. Smackdown is the house that AJ Styles built! Ever since their last encounter, all AJ Styles has done is be better than Roman Reigns and that’s going to remain true in this new era of Smackdown on Fox. Styles then looked like he just had a lightbulb go off in his head.

“You know what, I’d like to apologize to everyone. I was wrong,” said Styles. “My partners aren’t lost. They were just hiding here in plain sight.”

Styles looked on at Reigns, who doesn’t seem to know what the hell AJ is talking about. Styles remained steadfast in looking in the ring as Roman then shook his head. He could be seen asking, “Man isn’t he crazy?” as he turned around back towards The Usos.

Who Superkick him!

What-

What?

WHAT?

WHAT?!??

THE USOS SUPERKICKED ROMAN REIGNS!!! ​

​

WHAT THE HELL?!?​

“YOU—YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!” ~ Michael Cole

“No way! NO WAY THAT THAT JUST HAPPENED!” ~ AJ Lee

AJ Styles jumped on the apron here… and SMILED!

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN… welcome with me the newest members of The OC… One of the most SUCCESSFUL tag teams of the 21st Century… THE USOS!!!!”

HOLY SHIT!

Jey and Jimmy can then be seen bullying the official into starting this match! And, by God, the match begins alright!

5 - Six-Man Tag Team Match 3-on-1 Handicap Match!
AJ Styles & The Usos vs. Roman Reigns​

And The Usos stay in the ring here and start to stomp all over Roman in the corner!! AJ has dragged him over here and has him held up as The Usos are mugging their flesh and blood!! This is absolutely shocking television here as Jey and Jimmy then step away and take their zip-up hoodies off! Revealing OC shirts! Styles laughs and smiles in delight as he keeps Roman held up here as he is COMPLETELY defenseless! Jey and Jimmy then get Roman up and they then send him into the opposite corner. Jey runs in and hits a Splash in the corner! Followed by Jimmy with a Splash of his own! Jey then taunts Roman and cocks his fist! So does Jimmy! And they run up and—Double Superman Punch! Down goes Roman!! Roman who notably hasn’t put up a single fight against his family! Jey and Jimmy hype themselves up here as AJ then gets in and clears the way! The Usos stand by here and watch as AJ then grabs Roman. He pulls him in, spreads his arms out, props him up…Styles Clash!! AJ turns Roman over and pins his shoulders to the mat! 1! 2!! 3!!!

Winner: AJ Styles & The Usos via pinfall at 3:07.​

A STUNNING RESULT!

AJ Styles has not only pinned Roman Reigns, but he has THIEVED away Roman’s own flesh and blood to join The OC!

The Phenomenal One smiles wide as he gets up and celebrated the win! Jey and Jimmy watched on from the corner here at the work that they’ve done. Are they proud of themselves? It sure seems like they know what they’ve done! After a series of replays here, Styles looks to bring The Usos together here with him over Roman! But then someone began rumbling down to the ring!

It’s

BOBBY LASHLEY!!​

And we say hobbled because he’s definitely not 100 percent but he’s definitely barreling for the ring! Lashley got inside and begins to eat an early onslaught from The Usos! But The Usos were soon thrown back by Lashley!! The All Mighty started to take charge of the situation and gt The Usos off their feet! He then went and he grabbed Roman, his newfound ally, and shielded him from trouble as he got him out of the ring! Lashley then turns back around but his generous maneuver has a cost—and it’s a steel chair to the ribs by AJ Styles!! Styles then swung the chair and hits Lashley in the back with it!!

AJ then calls for The Usos to get back in and get back in they do. AJ then instructs them to hold Lashley down and they do exactly that! AJ then begins to drive the chair into Lashley’s mid-section! Styles keeps driving it down and down but then Jey says something and then they look over and begin to skedaddle out of the ring! And why!?

THE NEW DAY HAVE HIT THE RING!!​

And The OC hightail it out of danger here as they leave the ring! Big E, Xavier Woods, and most notably, WWE Champion Kofi Kingston saw the new dastardly trio who have made a mark to say the very LEAST!

Big E and Woods looked over the fallen Lashley. A sight we might not have thought about seeing just a few months ago in the summer! Kofi looked for Styles and The Usos, who’ve seemingly left the venue!

And a closing shot of a visibly hurt Roman Reigns, perhaps in more ways than one…

END OF SHOW​

 

[Order]

Time for a few thoughts on your SmackDown show mate which I'm sure is going to deliver as always. As you know I always very much enjoy your shows.

-Bayley/Charlotte interaction over Sasha - This came off really strong to me. I could really imagine both women saying what they were saying and it is a good storyline of jeopardy heading into the War Games match. The attack on Bayley's car was clever in getting round the no physicality rule too. I don't know, something is telling me that Charlotte Flair shouldn't be trusted though.

-Toni Storm - A good person to have on the show and immediately having an issue with Candice LeRae which gives you another strong women's rivalry. I don't know how I feel about the Women's IC Title as I just feel there are too many already. However, with your booking and the focus you put on women if anyone can pull it off then I believe you can.

-Sami Zayn/KO and the shock debut of Dave Mastiff - Sami is definitely going into a weasel of a heel mode then and I am okay with that I think. Dave Mastiff was a big swerve but he could really work as a heater thinking about it. Sami having some muscle to do some of his dirty work is a good idea and adds a different element to a feud with Kevin Owens that we have seen so many times in the past. Intrigued to see where this one heads for sure and these weird combos is the reason I love the BTB world.

-Jason Jordan's explanation - This reasoning will always work in wrestling where the father or legend is seen to be wanting the attention and that leads to a turn. No problems with it at all and intrigued to see just how hard you push Jason Jordan. I think he has big potential although I did always think Gable had a little more despite his size.

-The Usos turning on Roman Reigns - This was a great swerve and would have got a really good reaction in real life but I am going to reserve my judgment on it because I'm not sure how you are going to explain it. Usos turning on their blood is a massive deal and AJ is going to have to have some big reason for it for me to buy into it being believable. A great moment but I'm on the fence as to whether it can work at the moment. Having said that, Lashley and the New Day also getting involved means AJ Styles has so many enemies and it gives the show a great chaotic feeling. Looking forward to seeing how this all unravels and whether I can see The Usos aligned with AJ or not in the next few shows.

Overall, a really fun show as always and lots of interesting developments. I have no idea how you make The Usos work with AJ Styles so that is one I will be watching very closely.

 

[DamageCTRL]

Monday Night RAW

October 21 2019 | Cleveland, Ohio | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse​

The voice of Vic Joseph welcomed us to the program as our cameras swept around the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Long Live the Q! A new era has ushered in on Monday Night Raw. 8 p.m. Eastern had come and gone. That means all the rosters, as of now, are officially set. And speaking of that, we immediately sent it to ace reporter Renee Young.

“Gentlemen, thank you,” Renee said as she stood backstage. Renee was seen wearing a red blazer and black pants. “8 p.m. Eastern has come and gone and rosters are set. The window to sign a contract if you were drafted has been shut. Every superstar was able to sign their contract and thus locked themselves in. Except for Sasha Banks.” Oh! Oh my goodness…

“Sasha Banks met with NBC Universal executives one last time this morning. The two sides pitched their offers. NBC Universal offered more money than their previous offer to Sasha, but Banks refused to accept it. She wanted her option and they were unwilling to grant her request. At 10 a.m., Banks left the undisclosed location without a contract. And now, she is a free agent.”

Wow. What an unbelievable development. Sasha Banks won’t be joining us tonight and might not for a long time!

“Next Big Thing (Remix)” brought out The Beast Incarnate to a BIG ovation from the Cleveland crowd! Brock Lesnar had arrived and all attention went on him as always. Led by Paul Heyman, Lesnar walked down to the ring as Raw’s first draft pick this year. A highlight reel of Lesnar’s incredibly long list of accolades and achievements then ran. After, Lesnar had made his way into the ring with Paul beside him.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,” started Heyman. He went through his typical introduction, so we’re going to fast-forward to the meat. “Last week, the people at the top made it official. On November 24th, on the outskirts of Chicago, Illinois, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar will FIGHT for the WWE Universal Heavyweight Championship of the WORLD!” That is correct! “What a tangled web we weave. At the start of the year, Brock Lesnar opened up a can of whoop-ass and beat Finn Balor at the Royal Rumble. And now, to END the year, Brock Lesnar is going to DESTROY Finn Balor at Survivor Series!” Quite a declaration! Hard to argue! “Brock Lesnar has DOMINATED at Survivor Series the last two years. He defeated the one, the only, ‘The Inevitable’ Daniel Bryan last year in Los Angeles,” said Heyman, reminding us all of that classic. “Then, in 2017, Brock Lesnar beat AJ Styles, a man that YOU obviously know quite well, Finn!” Heyman went on. He talked about how impressive it was that Brock Lesnar not only beat those individuals, he beat them on five days notice. So, Paul questioned Finn’s confidence. “If you see what Brock Lesnar can do with five days notice, what makes you think this would go differently when he has over a MONTH!?”

A fine point indeed! Heyman kept boasting his Beast up. He talked of his win at the Royal Rumble. How all he said after was he wanted to “make people believe.” Heyman said the match won’t happen in Imaginationland, it’s going to happen in the squared circle where Brock Lesnar is at his BEST!

After more boasting, the party was finally crashed. Finn Balor arrived!

Finn was joined by his two friends Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Finn said that he was here to save us from the same rambling Heyman has done around Brock for the last 17 years. Finn said that Lesnar had a point. He didn’t beat him at the Royal Rumble. He did want to make people believe. And it made him sick. “I let all of these losers, who wouldn’t know success if it hit them in the face, give me their energy. It’s no wonder that I couldn’t beat you, Brock. I was after the wrong energy and I’ll never look there again!” Finn’s admission didn’t draw him any positive reactions. That’s not too surprising at all.

“But Brock, I have different energy now. You are going to find out what Kevin Owens found out. What Seth Rollins found out. What Samoa Joe found out. I’m a different Finn Balor now. And it’s one that you can’t handle.”

Lesnar let out a laugh. Then he grabbed the mic from Paul. “Finn, a lot of people might call you ballsy, but I’m not one of them. I think you’re stupid.” Wow! That draws a pop and a reaction from the crowd. “But hey, it’s good you came out here. You see because Finn, I don’t know if you saw what happened on Friday. But you and all the other guys in your faction are being hunted.” Finn smiled. He knew what Lesnar meant. He didn’t seem to mind being pursued either. “I don’t think you’re going to smile much longer. Because I’m one of the people that’s on the hunt for you, you little b*tch!” Whooaaaaaaaa!

Finn was ready to retaliate. “Brock, you’re as stupid as you look. And I can tell already that you look really stupid.” Sheesh. Uncalled for. “I’ve got three, you’ve got o-” Finn was cut off by Lesnar! “I’ve got one problem. I’m not kicking any of your asses right now!” Pop for the talkative Lesnar!

“I see three pieces of meat hanging in front of me right now. I’m a hunter. I do this for money and I do this for sport. As far as I’m concerned, one by one, I’m gonna take ALL of you out!” What a declaration from Lesnar that was!

Finn responded, asking if that was a challenge. The Universal Champion then offered up something to Lesnar. “Next week… this is a new era for Monday Night Raw, right? So, new era, new Brock? Could I get that right? If you’re so confident that you can take us out. Then why don’t you step in the ring with my two brothers, my two best friends in the whole world, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows!”

Um… … … WHAT??? WHAT did Finn just offer??

Karl and Luke looked flabbergasted here. Lesnar laughed. “Oh, that’s what you want? You know what, challenge accepted, cowboy!” WOW!! “And y’know what? I’ll humor you. I’ll bring a partner.” Oh!! WOW!! “Yeah, I got someone. After last week, they’re itching to kick somebody from The OC’s ass. And I think that they’ll like that they’ll get a chance to kick TWO of your sorry asses in St. Louis!” And what a start to the new era of Monday Night Raw!

Brock Lesnar is getting his feet wet in the ring! On Raw! NEXT WEEK!! SERIOUSLY!!!​

Next week was looking OUTRAGEOUS already with what was in store. Now? WHEW!!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

We came back and the announce team couldn’t get over what we just heard and what was made official by Commissioner Regal during the break. Next week, LIVE on Monday Night Raw, for the first time in almost TWENTY years, BROCK LESNAR IS IN ACTION! Lesnar will team with a mystery partner, who isn’t a mystery to Lesnar. Brock said he already knew a guy! That team will take on Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. It’s gonna be one hell of a Showdown in St. Louis next week!

Then we came back and found someone in the crowd! United States Champion Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott! Swerve was seen enjoying the show tonight here in Cleveland with the people.

1 – Singles Match
Chad Gable vs. Pete Dunne​

The fans in Cleveland were given a treat here as these two young stallions were given the floor to try to outdo the other. A new era has ushered in, and these two might be emblematic of it. Not surprisingly this match was fought on the mat for much of the opening sequence. Dunne and Gable traded holds in the ring, which provided a fun exchange for the crowd watching on. Gable started to throw Dunne around though, which frustrated The Bruiserweight quite a bit. But Gable remained focused and looked as driven as we’ve ever seen him. No doubt he’d heard the words of Jason Jordan. No doubt he's heard plenty of self-doubts. But in the early goings it was Gable who was out in front. The two chain-wrestled some more here as Dunne looked to break himself out of Gable’s grasp. But Chad was no easy puzzle to solve and so Dunne was at his mercy in the early goings which frustrated the former United States Champion quite a bit.

Dunne though was able to bust out of his grasp after BITING HIS FINGERS! OW! Dunne then took advantage after and chop blocked Gable. He tried to take out his knee! Dunne then took control into his favor here as he stomped all over the knee. He jumped on it and pretty much closed in on it and made it a point of attack. Dunne put a couple knee submissions in on Gable and constantly attacked it over the next few moments. He went out of the ring at one point, dragged Gable’s leg under the rope near the ringpost as he slammed it up on the post! Dunne then started to wail on it before heading inside. He grabbed Gable and suplexed him down HARD but only got a 2 count!

Dunne kept the aggressiveness on here but Gable was resilient. He ate a lot of offense but still kept on ticking here. Dunne got irritated by this, no surprise, and so he started to throw heavier strikes with his boots. He set up for a third boot to the face here, running forward, but Gable jumped up as he avoids it! Dunne was then pulled back by Gable who threw him back with a German Suplex!! Gable held on and hit a second German Suplex! He then went for a third, but Dunne blocked it! He mule kicked Gable in the knee and then runs forward and landed a running knee to the head! Gable fell to the mat as Dunne pinned him! 1… 2… Kick out at 2!

Dunne kept working Gable over here as he eventually put him in a Single Leg Boston Crab! Gable’s knee was the point of emphasis and it’s took a lot of punishment here. Dunne stretched it out here as Gable had to dig for the ropes. He pushed and pushed, using his forearms and core strength to get him over to near the ropes. Dunne pulled him back a little bit, but Gable then lunged for… and made the ropes! Dunne threw the leg down and kicked at it in anger which obviously doesn’t go well with the crowd. Pete cared not for that though as he scooped up Gable. He looked to drive him back on his neck with a Back Suplex! No!! Gable landed on his feet and pulled him down into a pin! 1… 2… Kick out! Dunne sent Gable to the ropes and through but Gable landed on his feet on the apron. He then put his forearm up to an oncoming Dunne!

Gable then climbed through the ropes again and kept striking Dunne. He went to clothesline him, but Dunne countered and went to clothesline him now! No! Gable grabbed him. German Suplex! Gable kept him held here and gt up. SECOND German Suplex! He went for the trifecta last time and Gable got Dunne up, ran into the corner, hit it, rolled back… ROLLING GERMAN SUPLEX FOR THE TRIFECTA!! Dunne was sent flying away from Gable as he got turned INSIDE OUT! He crashed face-first onto the mat! Gable crawled over, but a bit of time to get there, and went for the pin anyway! 1… 2… KICK OUT AT 2.5! Gable’s knee seemed to have been the reason that near fall happened, because Dunne was out like a light!

Gable helped himself up here and then chopped the chest of Dunne! Dunne responded with a chop of his own, as he scorched the chest of the former Olympian! Gable then hit him AGAIN with a chop, and Dunne responded with ANOTHER of his own! Dunne went for another right after, but Gable blocked it, spun him around, grabs him—OLYMPIC SLAM!! Gable then digs deep here and crawled to the corner. He’s DETERMINED and climbed up to the top rope, still hobbled by his bad knee. But he’s gonna fight through that! Dunne was down and out after the Olympic Slam. The Bruiserweight as lying face up, and Gable got up to the top rope!

AND GABLE FLEW THROUGH THE AIR AND CONNECTED WITH A BIG MOONSAULT ON DUNNE!! HE HOOKED THE LEGS! 1! 2!! 3!!!

Winner: Chad Gable via pinfall at 14:12.​

What a way that was to kick things off tonight! Gable celebrated the hard-earned victory in the ring. Dunne opted to sulk out of it as The Bruiserweight might be in need of a serious regroup.

Backstage we saw Seth Rollins along with his newfound pal, ‘The Inevitable’ Daniel Bryan. The two of them apparently just watched that match between Chad Gable and Pete Dunne as they bantered about it a bit. Seth told Bryan that tonight, he hd the chance t do what he did last week: And that’s beat Drew McIntyre! Seth said that before that, he couldn’t wait for everyone to see ‘it’ and Bryan smiled. Bryan agreed with him and said that their Special Presentation of a video later was going to have everyone talking. Um. What the HELL does that mean???

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

Backstage, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair were discussing the absence of one Sasha Banks. Charlotte said that she tried to trust her. Charlotte made every concession in the book. She fought her one-on-one for the contendership and Banks earned that status. Charlotte didn’t pitch a fit. She didn’t go to anyone to complain. She banded everyone together. She helped find Cora. She did everything that she had to do… and still, Banks is now not complying with anybody. Charlotte sounded extremely upset and who could really blame her?

Becky said that she understood where Charlotte came from. She’s not happy about it either. In fact, Becky admitted to being pissed off. But, Becky said that right now, they cannot afford anything like this. Becky said that she has now tried to set another meeting up between Sasha and NBC Universal. Charlotte said that wasn’t up to her. Becky challenged that statement.

“Is it not up to me? Or is it, Charlotte?” Becky set the stage for something here. “I am one of The Four Horsewomen. I’m the Raw Women’s Champion. One-half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. I’m a leader in this locker room. Everyone that’s a fan of me is impressionable. I have a responsibility. And that is to maintain order in this group. That is to ensure that we are ready for the fight of our lives on Saturday. I am very confident in this group…but we need a fourth for War Games. Sasha needs to come back.”

Charlotte alerted Becky to the one problem: She’s not here. And she’s threatened to hold out past REvolution. Becky told her that “money talked” and promised her that she was going to see to it that they were ready. For now, Becky told Charlotte to get ready for tonight’s main event for the War Games advantage. Charlotte then asked when Bayley was going to get here. The Raw Women’s Champion told her that the Smackdown Women’s Champ was on her way. Charlotte nodded and that was it from there.

But then things soured a little bit. Becky began to cough pretty hard. Alarmed, Charlotte looked over as Becky called her off. Lynch told her that she was fine and that this was still from the car accident in the summer. The one that took her away from The Great American Bash. Bad night for Ms. Flair. Becky explained she hurt her ribs really bad, and then they were aggravated again a few weeks ago at the All-Women's Spectacular. So she's been feeling it.

Charlotte asked if anything ever came of that. Becky said no but she recently told Mister Regal that she wanted that sorted out. So, she called in a detective. Charlotte looked surprised. Lynch said that she wanted everything to be squared away and that if this had anything to do with The Sisters of Doom she wanted to know going into Sunday. So she said the detective would be there tonight!

Becky also said that Bayley told her she was running late, and that's why she's not here. Bayley said it's not like her to be late, so she hopes nothing happened to her.

Making their way out, officially for the first time as Raw wrestlers, were the new tag team on the scene – The Street Profits! Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford brought a ton of energy with them to the ring for their debut match!

2 – Tag Team Match
The Street Profits vs. Boa and Mansoor​

So The Street Profits debuted on Monday Night Raw! And they’re up against two NXT talents brought up for this matchup… and as you might expect, are treated as such. They’re paint cans for Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford to kick over, is what we’re basically trying to say, Fortunately for Mansoor, he got the least of the damage as he was sent outta the ring late. Boa was hit hard here and then Dawkins teed him up. SPINEBUSTER! He scooted out of the way as Montez Ford went FLYING through the air with a BIG FROG SPLASH! It connected! 1! 2! 3!!!

WINNERS: The Street Profits via pinfall at 3:02.​

Baron Corbin could be found backstage. He walked over to the office of Commissioner William Regal. Corbin went in and Regal thanked him for being so prompt. He invited Tiffany Stratton over, and Ms. Stratton informs “Mr. Corbin” that he was being assigned a special task. Corbin seems perplexed. He claimed Regal said he has a huge opportunity for him. Stratton confirmed that this is that opportunity. Corbin said that’s preposterous! Baron said that Regal made it seem like a title opportunity. Stratton said that there was no way that could’ve happened because she was there when Mr. Regal left the voicemail on his cell phone. Stratton said that all Regal said was that he had a huge opportunity for him, nothing explicit was said.

Stratton said that that’s because it’s out of confidentiality. Corbin didn’t understand. Regal then informed Corbin that ELIAS was MISSING!

MISSING!?!?

WHAT?!?!?

Corbin looked a bit shocked here. Regal filled him in that he no-called no-showed several weeks ago and nobody’s been able to find him since. So he said that he needs someone who’s brave enough to go on a quest like this. Corbin says that’s RIDICULOUS and says NO DEAL and waves this off!

Regal doesn’t seem bothered by this as Stratton asks if they should go after him. Regal informs Stratton that “He’s not going to have a choice,” which is an interesting thing to say! Regal then turned to her again as she was ready to speak. “Also, Mr. Regal. Detective Casanova called me before the show. He’s on his way to discuss something important with you, he said.” Regal nodded, confirming some previously and heavily alluded to stakes. Regal said he was expecting that and looked forward to hearing from him.

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~
​

Backstage, The Street Profits were seen discussing their victory.

Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford were both fired up. The Profits definitely felt great after their victory earlier tonight. They proceeded through the hallway here and then came across a wrestling legend.

It was Rey Mysterio! The crowd popped for Mysterio appearing backstage. Mysterio congratulated the newcomers on their victory tonight. He said he remembered being young, optimistic, and full of promise. He said that he would root for The Street Profits’ success going forward and hoped the two of them had long, fulfilling careers.

Montez said he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Tez expressed great gratitude to Mysterio for the kind words. Dawks followed with similar vibes, as he called Mysterio a legend and said it meant a lot. Rey said he always wanted to just give back and help out, and said if they ever need anything, dial up 619. The Profits said that they owed him one for this and said they’d hope to see him again soon.

Elsewhere, Sarah Schreiber was seen. Schreiber was beside Liv Morgan. Eager to compete, Morgan requested a match for tonight as we take one more step to WWE REvolution. She was set to face Sonya Deville who could have Mandy Rose around her. Morgan said though that she wasn’t scared. She wanted to go out there like it was any other match. She had bigger things to look forward to. The Ladder Match to crown the First-Ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion, to be specific. Just then, the sound of some bubble gum popping is heard. Liv and Sarah’s attention are sent over… to Smackdown’s Candice LeRae! Joined by Mia Yim, LeRae came up and well, didn’t look all that impressed. Candice mocked Liv and said her fairytale dream wasn’t going to come true. Because it wasn’t about Liv Morgan, Asuka, or Toni Storm. It was about Candice LeRae. That selfishness and jealousy we’ve seen from LeRae snuck out again. She said she was going to outlast them all but threatened Liv that she might not make it to Saturday!

…That begets the arrival and response of someone! Toni Storm! Candice looked sick to death in seeing Storm, who had her number big time. Toni said Candice looked surprised and must’ve missed the Storm Warning in effect for Cleveland. How cheeky. Candice rolled her eyes and took Mia away with her. Toni looked at Liv and said they’d make a hell of a team. Liv nodded her head but Toni then said that if it was between her and Morgan on Saturday, she wanted Liv to know that she will do anything to make sure she becomes the first-ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion. Liv said that was fine as long as she knew that she was willing to go to any end too! Toni nodded and some mutual respect was on display here.

A video package for the fiery Liv Morgan then aired! Not so surprisingly after all that and it’s been the theme of the night!

3 – Singles Match
Liv Morgan vs. Sonya Deville (w/ Mandy Rose)​

With five days to go until the biggest match of her life, Liv Morgan drew Sonya Deville for a match tonight. Morgan and Deville squabbled in this one as Liv looked to build some momentum. Sonya would love nothing more than to curb Liv’s momentum and perhaps vault herself into the Women’s Intercontinental Championship scene after not getting to be in a qualifier! But unfortunately for Sonya, she is not the New Jersey native who got the dub here. No that’s Liv, who impressed many more in this one. Morgan teed Deville up after hitting her with a Codebreaker-like move! She then ran in and BAM! OBLIVION! 1! 2! 3!!!

WINNER: Liv Morgan via pinfall at 4:26. ​

We saw that Alexa Bliss was backstage, being set up for her interview with Renee Young after the break!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~
​

A video package ran for the feud between Alexa Bliss and Trish Stratus. The package hyped up their big match this Saturday at WWE REvolution.

(I wrote this one in full originally. So y’all get this one in full)

Alexa Bliss was seen sitting on a couch in her locker room. Bliss is wearing one of her signature T-shirts, a leather jacket, leggings and boots. Renee Young meanwhile is seated on the other side in a chair.

RENEE YOUNG
Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Renee Young and welcome back to Monday Night Raw. In five days, WWE will present REvolution, the second-annual All-Women’s WWE Network event. And joining me right now is a woman who is in a featured match this Saturday in Brooklyn. Please welcome, the five-time WWE Women’s Champion, Alexa Bliss.

Alexa smiles and nods her head confidently.

Renee Young
This Saturday, Alexa, you will be competing at REvolution against none other than WWE Hall of Famer, six-time Women’s Champion, and trail blazer Trish Stratus. The self-dubbed ‘CEO’ of the WWE Women’s Division. And as most know, this has been a long time coming for you. In fact, about a year or so. Can you provide, for the WWE fans, just what’s been on your mind throughout this entire process?

ALEXA BLISS
Y’know, Renee, it’s… it’s tough. It’s really tough. Everyone knows about my concussions last year, how they prevented me from competing at Evolution. I feel like… sometimes I don’t get the respect and credit I deserve. Sometimes I feel like maybe I earned that by being a b*tch, sometimes I feel like people are just mad that I beat everyone that they liked. But whether people think so or not, missing Evolution last year, in my opinion, is the lowest point of my entire career.

Bliss takes a breath here. She’s said a lot already.

Alexa Bliss
Despite everything that I did, that I accomplished, I missed out on history. I sat on the sidelines. Yes, I was out there. Yes, I was so happy for Mickie James and Alicia Fox. That they got to compete against Trish Stratus and Lita. I was so happy for someone like Toni Storm who arrived with big dreams and she won the Mae Young Classic. I was happy that Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler could represent NXT. That women like Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair could have a Last Woman Standing Match and have everyone in the crowd hanging on their every move. But… selfishly, I wish I was part of it too. And it broke my heart that I couldn’t be.

Bliss is certainly getting emotional here.

Alexa Bliss
I have had to live with that for the last year. And let’s be honest? What have I done for the last year? I might as well have been on the shelf or not even on the show. The best thing, the BEST thing that I can say is that I’ve beaten Sasha Banks. Okay? That’s the best thing. But what did I do with it? I didn’t win Money in the Bank after qualifying. I then lost to the same person who won it from me at Money in the Bank at SummerSlam. I lost a fight and got embarrassed and I didn’t even want to bother showing my face. It’s only gotten worse and until recently… I thought that I was about done here.

Well, damn.

Alexa Bliss
But luckily? I got the idea to challenge Trish Stratus again. And, of course, at first she wasn’t going to accept it. I mean, in her position, why should she? But then it becomes… why shouldn’t see? I mean, Trish Stratus is the Greatest of All-Time. She is everything that they say that she is, even to this day. When Trish Stratus enters an arena, the entire crowd goes crazy. Everyone’s eyes go directly to her. There aren’t a lot of people out there in any realm that you can say that about. But. You can about Trish Stratus.

Lexi’s got a point here.

Alexa Bliss
So, why shouldn’t Trish wrestle me at REvolution? Why shouldn’t Trish Stratus keep wrestling? Yeah. I mean, we all know how amazing the shape she’s in. All the time. Why shouldn’t she give it a whirl again? What is stopping her from seeing the lay of the land, knowing everything after Saturday night is going to change forever. Knowing that everyone that goes inside the War Games cage is going to be beaten up for months. So what better a better time for a legend, the definitive GOAT, who can still go, who can still wrestle with the best of them, to come back and wrestle again? And not just once.

Alexa looks over at Renee with a fire in her eye.

Alexa Bliss
Why shouldn’t she face me? I mean, everyone always says it, right? ‘Bliss Stratus?’ Since Day 1 that I walked into this company, people wanted to compare me to Trish. I took it in stride and before my concussions? I mean… I was right on the line. I was a five-time Women’s Champion. I wrestled at WrestleMania not once… but twice. And I also entered WrestleMania as BOTH the Smackdown and then the Raw Women’s Champion. And you can only say that about Charlotte Flair. And everyone knows how great she is, and I was just that damn good.

There’s that fire, that EDGE from Bliss.

Alexa Bliss
Trish, you better hope that I lose my way on my way to Brooklyn. You better hope that I don’t come in there to Barclays as sharp as a tack. That I don’t walk down that aisle, in that ring, up in your face and don’t show you why if I retired today, they would make a whole wing for me in the WWE Hall of Fame.

CONFIDENT, are we Bliss?

Alexa Bliss
Yeah, Renee. That’s where my mind’s been. It’s been everywhere. For an entire year, my mind has been everywhere. From thinking that I was never going to wrestle ever again. Wondering if I would ever salvage my career. To open windows that get slammed shut right as soon as they seem there for the taking. To finding. My edge again. And now on Saturday? I get to carve Trish Stratus up with it and remind everyone just who the hell I am.

Bliss leans forward here.

Alexa Bliss
I am Alexa Bliss. I never had a TakeOver match, but I sure as hell took over the women’s division. I did it once and I’ll do it again… and I’m gonna start by taking out the biggest one of all at REvolution.

Whew. Bliss tore through that one and Saturday figures to be EXTREMELY interesting.

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

Footage from earlier today was shown upon return from the break. It showed The Revival getting into an argument with The Franchise Players in the parking lot! A dust-up nearly happened between the two sides! There’s plenty of tension there, draft position-related tension to be exact.

4 – Tag Team Match
The Franchise Players (w/ MVP) vs. The Lucha House Party​

Apollo Crews and Ricochet elected to take this match for The Franchise Players. They battled with Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado who were now without Kalisto. That didn’t deter The Lucha House Party, as their experience as a team helped them out in the early goings. Apollo and Ricochet were rough around the edges at first. A sight that didn’t please MVP at all. He pulled his guys aside and lit them up. He told them both to wise up because he didn’t want to say that he made bad investments. That pep talk seemed to light a fire in them because they came back with a lot of energy here.

Dorado and Metalik still showed their experience to be an asset. While TFP’s onslaught increased, they stood firm. They kept the vibes going up in their favor and kept showing off their athleticism. But Apollo and Ricochet had plenty to dish out themselves too. There were a lot of spectacular dives and aerial assaults. They brought the energy, the enthusiasm, and enough to really juice this match up. Ricochet particularly wowed when he called for Apollo to head down by the ropes. Apollo got on all fours and Ricochet ran up and hit a Whisper in the Wind down on Metalik and Dorado on the outside! Ricochet cockily promenaded around, saying that he was the only man on planet Earth to pull that off!

The match continued on a furious pace. After disposing of Dorado, Crews got in a sparring match with Gran Metalik. But Crews won that sparring match with a big knee to the jaw! He then vaulted him up in Suplex position and Ricochet dove off the top rope and cross-bodied him down as Apollo suplexed him hard down on his back! Apollo rolled through and covered! 1! 2! NO!! One gasp from Metalik there was able to continue the match. Apollo worked with Metalik as the match wore on. Metalik stunned Crews momentarily and then ran to the ropes. He jumped up to the top rope, stepped UP onto the top rope and leapt off! And looked to take Crews out! But Crews answered him with a HUGE dropkick! Crews then picked him up and delivered The Chariot! 1! 2! 3! IT WAS OVER!!

Winners: The Franchise Players via pinfall at 9:47.​

After the match ended, we went up to the Titantron! Dash and Dawson were found outside of Team Taz’s locker room. Dash spoke first and said that they’re sure that The Franchise Players must think that they’re impressed with them. Dash said that they aren’t impressed at all. He said that was just one win on one night. He said that The Franchise Players did not deserve to be picked higher than them and they don’t deserve the Raw Tag Team Titles either. When they start proving they can do this thing each and every week, then they’ll consider it. Damn!

Afterward, we shuffled back over to the office of Commissioner Regal. He was there with a young, black man dressed in a blue top and black pants. “Detective Casanova, thank you for joining me,” Regal said. Detective Casanova nodded his head. “No problem, Commissioner. I’m glad we could convene tonight. I wanted you to know that our investigation into who tried to run down Becky Lynch outside of Philadelphia is officially closed.” He continued. “After you told me that you were informed, on the All-Women’s Spectacular, that Becky wanted to find out who did it, we believe we have found our assailant.” Well… that just got more interesting… Commissioner Regal asks Detective Casanova if he can share those findings. He replied saying that right now, he cannot. But he promised to deliver those findings to him next Monday. Oh! Well I guess we need some more eyes for Monday!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

Backstage, we found Drew McIntyre. The disgruntled McIntyre revealed something on his way, as he seemed to be on the phone with someone. He told whomever it was he was talking to that Rusev was injured last night at a WWE live event! That’s majorly unfortunate! In the background, curiously, someone in black just ran over and grabbed something off a chest and took off?!

Anyways, Drew closed his phone here after telling the person that he had a backup plan. He then hung up and then went up to a locker room with ‘ALI’ plastered on it. He knocked and didn’t get a response at first. Puzzled, Drew called out for Ali. He knocked again, didn’t hear it. He went to open the door and it opened! That caused a brief hesitation and you could see why he was unsettled. Ali was laid out in his locker room! Oh no… …. … is this the work of Bryan and Rollins!?

“BOOYAKA (619)” greeted us next as the Television Champion descended on us. Rey Mysterio was here and the crowd in Cleveland was delighted to see him. Mysterio walked down the aisle in style, wearing a designer LV mask, a nice shirt and pants and clean and crisp-looking Jordans. Mysterio got in the ring and showed his delight with being here on Raw! Mysterio said that it’s been an honor to be in the back and look at the way the new era of Monday Night Raw has panned out. He praised the likes of Chad Gable, Liv Morgan, and The Street Profits! He also was sure to note some praise for Apollo Crews and Ricochet. That didn’t jive too well with the crowd, but Mysterio is a man who respects many. The Franchise Players among them.

Mysterio continued as he talked about being the TV Champion. He said it was unfortunate that John Morrison got hurt because he’d love to defend his title against him. Rey said that he’s been happy to face every single wrestler that he’s faced thus far. Mysterio praised Cedric Alexander, Buddy Murphy, Angel Garza, and Gran Metalik. He said that all four of them have either just gotten started or have been unnoticed for too long. He said he hoped that as Television Champion, that he’d not only give guys like them an opportunity to showcase, but to be one of the best champions in the world today. Rey said that he welcomed ALL comers to try and take the Television Championship from him. Mysterio said that goes for anyone on Raw, anyone on Smackdown, anybody in NXT, anybody in the UK, anybody in the WORLD of wrestling!

Mysterio talked about the great champions in WWE history. He said that the one quality that all of them shared was a desire to be the best. Rey said that he wants to make the Television Championship the most prestigious and most sought-after championship in wrestling! He said that he wants to do that by raising the game every time he wrestled. He wanted to bring out the best in everybody he faced. Rey said that if someone wanted to take this title from him, that he wanted to make sure that they earned it. So Rey promised that in every title defense of his he was going to give it 100% as he already has. But he wanted to make sure that everybody heard him say it and that he wasn’t just about walking the walk. He can talk the talk a bit too!

Rey wouldn’t be monologuing alone forever though. No, someone made their presence felt.

“EL… IDOLO…”​

And out came Andrade! Andrade wasn’t done meddling with Rey Mysterio it seemed. Last week after he returned, Andrade told Zelina Vega that he wanted her to pull the offer to Rey to join The Expat Express. Now La Rey de la Jungla was set on confronting Mysterio. The two of course weren’t strangers to each other. Earlier in the year, they had a series of great matches on Smackdown. So there’s still a lot of fruit on that vine. Andrade gets in the ring and demanded respect from the Cleveland crowd. He said that greatness stood in front of them. Andrade confronted Rey and told him that he was disgusted when he heard that Rey was offered a spot in The Expat Express. He said that Rey didn’t belong anywhere near him.

Andrade said that initially he planned to go after Roman Reigns on Smackdown. But because The Expat Express was going through such a tumultuous time and because Zelina Vega became misguided, he needed to become the savior. So Andrade made an agreement with Monday Night Raw. Andrade said last week he confronted Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and said he wanted the United States Title. Andrade is not just satisfied with one title, he wants them all! Andrade said that he would make this very easy for Rey Mysterio. Andrade got in his face and told him that for a very long time, Rey Mysterio has been the greatest luchadore of all time, the greatest wrestler with Mexican blood in them. Andrade said that in 2019, that is a disgrace, and he wants to change it! He told Rey that he is so disgusted with the idea of Rey Mysterio being the best luchadore ever in 2019 that he changed his ENTIRE career path just to prove a point!! Andrade said he’d make it easy for him again: The King of the Jungle told Rey that he DEMANDED a shot at the WWE Television Championship!

Rey responded to that demand with a smile. Rey said he’s glad that Andrade was man enough to come out here and say he wanted a title shot. He said he could’ve easily just had his boys come out here and make an example of him. He said he expected him to do that. Rey said he doesn’t have a problem with his opinion. Mysterio said that he’d be embarrassed too if somebody kept outpacing me. Oh! Rey said that next week in St. Louis he has zero issue defending the Television Championship against Andrade! Andrade grinned and said the best man is going to win. Andrade then responded to Rey’s claim before about his boys not coming out. Andrade simply asked him, “Why not both?”

Oh… oh no… oh no! Rey was then ambushed from behind by Buddy Murphy! Andrade backed away with laughter as Bobby Roode then slid in the ring and they started stomping on Mysterio! Andrade then proceeded to join in on the assault! And that’s what it was! An assault! Andrade, Bobby, and Buddy stomped and stomped and stomped some more! Andrade then looked over and told his boys to skedaddle! The Expat Express left in a huff and we were soon to see why! It turned out that The Street Profits made their way to the ring! The newcomers!! Montez Ford checked on the legendary Mysterio while Angelo Dawkins stared them all down. It seemed like battle lines were being drawn here! And immediately thrusting their way into the scene were two new kids on the block!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

We learned upon return that during the break, The Expat Express were chased down by Rey Mysterio and The Street Profits! They weren’t able to get EE though, as they made their getaway thanks to Zelina Vega.

It was then officially announced that next week: Andrade will do battle with Rey Mysterio with the WWE Television Championship on the line!

Then we took a look back to last week. Ruby Riott made a declaration: At WWE REvolution, she planned to have help in her corner against The Bella Twins! But who would that help be?

We went backstage. Ms. Money in the Bank was seen in the depths of the arena with a chaotic background behind her.

“So, Bella Twins, wherever you are,” Ruby said, arms folded. “Hope you’re enjoying your last full week of being contracted wrestlers. You better have all your backup plans ready. ‘Cause on Saturday, it’s all over,” she said, laughing. Ruby shook her head. “I am so glad that we can finally put this chapter to bed. This chapter held up by the two of you miserable opportunists.” Ruby has been steadfast in claiming that The Bellas are opportunistic and don’t care for anyone but themselves.

“It’s going to be glorious. At the event that neither of you two would EVER get responsibility for happening, whereas other women have made MUCH bigger impacts on this industry, I’m going to put The Bella Twin narrative in the dirt. For good. Never to be returned to ever, EVER again.” Quite the unwavering declaration. “And the thing is? I’m not going to do it alone.”

Ruby smirked and she looked to her right. Someone emerged on the screen. We see that it’s a short figure, feminine, noticeably black and red hair. With riot gear on. Ruby talked up the help again as someone that is closer to the Bellas than they think. She said that it was funny to her that they haven’t figured it out. Then again, Ruby said, they’ve never been able to read a room in their lives. So it wasn’t surprising to her. But, so that everyone wouldn’t be in suspense, she decided to reveal who it was that would be in her corner.

Ruby reached back and pulled the riot helmet off the woman…

…

OH!

IT WAS SMACKDOWN COMMENTATOR AJ LEE!​

Oh! Oh, what a coup for Ruby Riott! Ms. Money in the Bank let out the widest of smirks here as Lee did also. She nodded at her and looked out at the screen. That’s quite the message to send!

5 – Singles Match
‘The Inevitable’ Daniel Bryan (w/ Seth Rollins) vs. Drew McIntyre​

As the shock wore off from the AJ Lee reveal, commentary pivoted to discussing this feud. They reported that Rusev was indeed injured at a house show last night and will be out of action for an undetermined amount of time. So Drew had to go it alone tonight against Daniel Bryan. Bryan had the great Seth Rollins at his side of course. It seemed the tw had made a pact recently to be a unit. While their intentions remain unclear, there’s no doubt that mystery is dangerous. Especially since they also teased a video reveal later? We aren’t sure the reason, but Bryan and Rollins were an intimidating group. One that Drew had to deal with completely alone tonight with few allies around him.

Certainly, it’s true that McIntyre had a size advantage on Bryan. But Bryan eats, breathes, sleeps, and does it all again the next day with wrestling. He’s a hard guy to get a win on and he proves that here as well. Bryan chopped McIntyre down like an axe on a tree. Bryan skillfully worked through the size disadvantage and kept Drew down. Drew piled up a lot of wounds at the hands of The Inevitable. Rollins took advantage when Bryan had the ref away and once again showed the mighty challenge McIntyre had here. Frankly, the duo looked unbeatable! But McIntyre wasn’t satisfied with being defeated. He wanted more, so he dug deep and delivered a comeback effort in the end.

McIntyre piled up the attack on Bryan who started to take serious lumps. Rollins could only look on as things started to slip away! Bryan was thrown into the ropes by McIntyre who picked him up and slammed him face first down on the mat! He then picked him up and BANG! Future Shock DDT! Drew then went into the corner as he was ready to hit him with the Claymore! But then Seth Rollins jumped on the apron! Rollins attempted to distract the referee. Drew saw this and ran over and grabbed Seth! He tossed him in the ring and then ran over and clotheslined him right out of the ring! But then Bryan tried running up on him with a roll-up! 1! 2! BRYAN HOOKS THE TIGHTS! 3!!!

Winner: ‘The Inevitable’ Daniel Bryan via pinfall at 14:30.

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

As we went to the back, Drew McIntyre looked despondent. McIntyre’s efforts weren’t enough against the two men he had to basically fight out there. He needed help. Where would he turn? That’s the question that needs to be answered next.

Meanwhile, out in the production truck, a ruckus is being thrown! We see that ‘The Inevitable’ Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins are arguing with crewmembers. They seem to be talking about the tape that was promised. That’s weird… why? Apparently, the wrong tape was shown! Bryan is still in disbelief and asked them to show it to them again.

The crewmember then plays it as we see it’s … a… car on a road?

And then the car is HIT!? What!?

Wait…

...

…

…

Bryan, befuddles, just tells them to cut and walks away in a huff. Rollins, angered, cusses which is bleeped, as he kicks the trashcan and bolts out the door.

We then come backstage. Detective Casanova is on the phone and seems like he’s in a bad mood. And flustered. “I don’t know. I put it in a secure place, and now it’s missing,” pleads Casanova. Hey… wait a second… “Yeah, the whole video. It’s gone. I tell you what, this criminal activity in wrestling? It’s unbelievable.” Casanova then turns around and then tells the person he’ll call them right back. He then calls someone over…

…the someone is…

Daniel Bryan!?

Casanova introduced himself. He asked Bryan if it was true that he had a tape about something. Bryan said yeah it is but now he doesn’t have it. Instead, Bryan said that there’s some video that I thought was it, in the truck of a car crash. Casanova’s eyes widened. He asked him to repeat himself. Bryan said it again: There’s a tape of a car crash in the production truck. Casanova told Bryan that he’s absent a piece of evidence in a case he’s trying to solve, and that evidence was a video of a car crash.

Bryan said that he had nothing to do with it. Casanova said he wasn’t going to accuse him of anything. In fact, Casanova said that he believed that he’s a victim also. Because now he thinks someone’s tampered with evidence. Bryan asked him to get his tape back and told him that whoever is behind this has a new pair of enemies behind them. And if they have a job here, Bryan said that he might get them fired. Wow!

Bryan leaves in a huff. Seen walking behind the Detective? The trifecta of Toni Storm, Liv Morgan, and Alexa Bliss! The trio talked to each other about Saturday’s big show. Toni and Liv wished each other good luck again. Morgan left and that left Alexa with Toni. Bliss sized Storm up. This is the first time they’ve really had time to each other…

“Y’know when I see you Toni… it’s like looking in the mirror,” Bliss said. “You have it all. The look. The presence. The charisma. When I look at you, I see the same woman who took WWE by storm three years ago. When I became the first woman to win both the Smackdown and the Raw Women’s Championships and it took me less than 12 months. Since then? Yeah… I’ve had my ups and downs. I’ve spoken about them. Critics can say what they want. But I’m winning my match against Trish Stratus. And then? I’m going hunting for gold. For real.”

Bliss locked eyes with Storm, who didn’t flinch. “And maybe… if you win the Ladder Match to become the first-ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion? Maybe… you’re gonna run into me first in your victory parade. And I do… I do like a good parade to rain on sometimes.” Bliss said, laughing. Clearly, she tried to intimidate Toni. But Storm wasn’t having any of it. She stayed sturdy and went right back.

“Y’know Alexa? It would be an honor to share a ring with you,” said the respectful Storm. She smiled. “You’re a five-time Women’s Champion. You’ve beaten Becky Lynch, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Mickie James, and a dozen others. You are so impactful that even though you were hurt, they felt they couldn’t run WrestleMania this year without you. Despite what critics might think, let’s face the facts. You’re one of the best of all time.” Alexa smiled just a little bit at that. But not too much. “But whether you are headed to the Hall of Fame or not… I won’t back down from anybody. Ever. So if you want first after I win on Saturday? Be my guest. Because I would love to share the ring with you…”

Toni got right up to Alexa’s face.

“And I’d love to win against you more.”

Whew.

The intensity was off the charts. Storm winked at Bliss and left. Alexa folded her arms, as she knew she didn’t get to her. She’ll have to find another way…

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~​

An eerie vignette aired. The vignette saw Aleister Black sitting in a dark room. Black said that he felt he hadn’t had the opportunity to really make an impact yet in WWE. He said that there’ve been challenges. They’ve challenged him in ways that he hadn’t foreseen. So he was not able to get off to the start he wanted. But he said that’s okay because he had nothing but time. Black said that he was going to finally make the moves that he wanted to make. He promised he was going to make everyone know who he was. He also said he wasn’t going to do it alone. Black threateningly said that everyone needs to watch their back.

Then Harper made his arrival. The #1 Contender for the United States Championship had some impressive backup. Finn Balor showed his face yet again tonight, as he accompanied Harper down to the ring. We saw that United States Champion Swerve Scott was seen in the crowd! Swerve, a man of the people, was seen hanging out with the title on his lap, continuing to enjoy his night off.

6 – Singles Match
Harper (w/ Finn Balor) vs. Oney Lorcan​

While Swerve looked on from the crowd, the #1 Contender for the United States Championship got to work. Harper beat up Oney Lorcan pretty good in this match. Lorcan proved a tough nut to crack at first. But eventually Oney just got leveled. Harper hit him hard and aggressively over the next few minutes. Finn cheered him on from ringside and inspired him to attack him with greater force. To send a message to Swerve. Swerve paid close attention to what was going on in the ring. It could be what’s coming his way next week! After slamming Lorcan down on the mat, Harper walked over to the corner. He put up a ‘2 Sweet’ and hit Finn with it as he stepped up on the apron. How disrespectful… and Harper ran in and LEVELED HIM with a Discus Clothesline! 1! 2! 3!!! All she wrote!!

Winner: Harper via pinfall at 5:24.​

After the match, Swerve got on the mic. Swerve told Harper that he was out of his mind if he thought next week was going to be that easy. Finn then decided to intervene. “Don’t be so presumptuous, Swerve,” Finn angrily said. “Who said that Harper was overlooking you? Are you that insecure Swerve? Was nobody talking about you enough the last couple of weeks that you feel you need to present yourself like some sort of underdog?” Ouch… “Swerve, nobody is talking about you because you don’t jump off the map.” Mega OUCH. Swerve looked on with some anger in his eyes. “Ever since you rejected my offer to join The OC, nothing’s really gone that well for you has it? You’ve been a background character. You’ve gotten beaten up. You’ve gotten smoked. You’ve gotten lapped. Swerve, you could’ve gotten the good life but like every naïve SOB that comes in here thinking they’re gonna be the one to break out and be different, you are on a misguided path that you’re forging yourself. The only problem, stupid, is that you’ve forged a path that ends with this tough bastard next to me right now!”

Harper laughed and nodded. “Next week in St. Louis Swerve, the Gateway to the West. In the Gateway to the West, you’re going to realize that you made your gateway to losing the United States Championship to Harper!” Swerve looked like he wanted to challenge that statement as he hopped over the barricade. Swerve got up on the apron here with the championship in his hand. He told Harper that he wasn’t stupid, he wasn’t going into a 2-on-1 situation. He told him he’d see him next week and he said he looked forward to proving Finn wrong.

Outside we went. Detective Casanova was seen. Casanova seemed to have commandeered the tape that he needed from the production truck. He was seen leaving the truck and seemed like he was ready to head out. Casanova looked around and then saw something. He called out to someone. They didn’t respond so he went over in the direction of the parking lot. He again called out to someone but they didn’t respond. He got closer to them as we saw that the person was on the phone with someone.

The person was…

Bayley??

Detective Casanova reached his destination. Bayley hung up the phone. Casanova asked Bayley why she was out here. Bayley said that she had to take a phone call, a personal one. Casanova nodded his head and apologized. Bayley said that she was now due back out in the arena. Before Casanova could say anything, Bayley went out in a flash. That was… odd? Maybe? Or maybe our detective needs some rest.

Behind the Detective’s back we noticed something though. Bayley had left her phone out on the car… … … and someone just went and took it! What the—

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~
​

We returned and received a much-awaited update on the progress of Lacey Evans and Mickie James. Lacey, who you might remember, inherited a ton of money from her Great Aunt. Now, she has decided to spend a portion of it on something that’s going to help them get to the top of the women’s tag team division. In the car with Mickie, Lacey went on a spiel about how some of the GREATEST tag teams in history have had one thing in common:

A manager!

Mickie guessed right that Lacey has gone and bought the services of a manager for them! Mickie asked Lacey whose services she bought, and as they pass by a sign welcoming them into Nashville, Mickie’s mind appears to go in only one place…

After coming back on the air, commentary ran down a BIG show next week:

~ The FALLOUT from the epic WWE REvolution!
~ Brock Lesnar returns to the ring on Raw for the first time in almost 20 years! Lesnar will team with ??? to face Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows
~ WWE Television Championship: Rey Mysterio defends against Andrade
~ WWE United States Championship: Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott defends against Harper​

Our commentating team then spent some time hyping up WAR GAMES!! They then sent it to a video hyping up the storied battleground match. In the video, we got some important information:

WAR GAMES RULES
~ There are SEVEN periods in the War Games Match
Period 1: 5 minutes
Periods 2-7: 2 minutes each
~ One woman from each team in Period 1
~ Winning Team of the Advantage Match sends in second woman after Period 1 expires
~ After Period 2 (2-on-1 advantage) ends, Losing Team sends second woman, making War Games 2-on-2.
~ After Period 3, team with the advantage sends in third woman
~ Teams alternate until all 8 women are in the cage
~ After all 8 women are in the cage, THE MATCH BEYOND BEGINS!
~ There are only TWO WAYS to win:
Submission OR Surrender
~ No pinfalls, countouts, or disqualifications
~ The head referee’s ruling is FINAL​

Out walked The Sisters of Doom and they did so in full force. Shayna Baszler led the squad down to the ring. Conspicuous by their absence was Ronda Rousey. Speaking of, her and Baszler’s match this Friday night on Smackdown was then hyped up by our commentating team. They got in the ring and Baszler swiped the mic away from ring announcer Mike Rome. Baszler walked around the ring confidently. Why shouldn’t she? Shayna said that everything that they prophesied has come true – just sooner than they ever thought! Baszler reminded everyone that they called every single thing that’s gone down in the past few months.

It was Baszler, she said, that predicted that the Four Horsewomen’s egos would get the best of them. Already, Shayna said, there’s been unrest. They don’t even have a full set. They think that they stand a chance Saturday? Shayna said that they took that as complete disrespect. The Queen of Spades explained that the mere thought of three of them beating all four of them was the most disrespectful thing that they have done this entire time. Shayna said that she looked forward to teaching them all the lessons that should’ve been taught to them long before on Saturday.

Baszler said that she’s so eager, she planned on starting the match! Well, there’s a big card played. Shayna kept on, as she talked about how she was ready for whoever they threw at her. She said that those first five minutes are grueling. She said that she couldn’t wait to make them even worse. Intense was Baszler, who was dead set on winning the advantage tonight for her team and to give them momentum heading into the War Games on Saturday. She said that it was fitting to her. The Four Horsewomen had their seminal moment in Brooklyn four years ago and now, in Brooklyn, at the second All-Women’s WWE event, we were set to witness the death of The Four Horsewomen!

Not if the group had anything to say about it! Those comments drew the Women’s Tag Team Champions Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, and the Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley out! Charlotte, mic in hand, called everything that Shayna just said bluster. All of it! Charlotte said that if there’s anybody in WWE who even has a FRACTION of feeling what War Games is like, who understands the environment, the grueling nature of it, it isn’t anybody in The Sisters of Doom. It’s her! Fair play to Charlotte for obvious reasons. Charlotte said that all of that knowledge has been shared to her partners. Her team members. Even if they might not be here right now.

Becky then took the mic and took the time to ask where Ronda was. Shayna said that it was none of their business but Ronda, who’s here tonight, is attending to business. Becky looked pissed off and who could blame her? More mind games! Lynch said that she couldn’t wait until she got in the cage with her and with all of them because after Saturday there wasn’t going to be anymore running, hiding, games, tricks, or anything else! Lynch said that The Four Horsewomen WILL be at REvolution and they’re going to be TRIPUMPHANT! Shayna just laughed at that notion, but there’s gonna be a war coming on Saturday!!

~ COMMERCIAL BREAK ~

7 – War Games Advantage Match
Charlotte Flair vs. Shayna Baszler​

There was a big fight feel to this match. With War Games in five days, this was one of the final clashes on the way to the event! And if the decrees stay strong enough, it’s the last time these two will face each other on Raw for the foreseeable! The two sides stayed at ringside and with the order that none of them could touch hands, there were a lot of words exchanged! There was just a lot of testiness, a lot of tension, and a powder-keg situation had developed here.

Charlotte and Shayna continued to try and outwrestle the other as the match wore on. Shayna wanted to win this on her laurels and Charlotte was willing to oblige. Very willing in fact. Baszler and Flair traded holds on the canvas. Baszler was a bit annoyed, visibly, that Charlotte was trying to beat her at her own game. But Charlotte seemed to dare Baszler on. She wanted her to get frustrated, but Shayna was never willing to bite the bullet. It created a situation that was up in the air: Who was going to score the advantage?

Towards the conclusion of the match, Charlotte and Shayna traded ‘bows. They were trying to beat the tar out of each other now that their strategies didn’t work. Neither were willing to submit so now they tried to maim each other. Bayley and Becky watched on as they cheered Charlotte on. Nattie and Beth cheered The Queen of Spades on in the other contingent. Charlotte got the advantage and really began to turn the tide in her favor. Faith was in the corner of Flair? Even by the crowd? Crazy times!

Charlotte leveled Baszler with a series of chops. She then whipped her across the ring to the opposite corner. Charlotte ran in and BANG! Big boot into the corner! Baszler was sent down in a heap! Charlotte popped the crowd and her team with that move. But then Beth got the official’s attention! Charlotte went in to confront her. Meanwhile, Bayley and Becky shouted out to the official! Why? Baszler was untying the middle turnbuckle pad! Shayna looked at them and flipped them off! And then tossed it off!

Bayley, in a huff, ran over and tried to fix it! Becky told her to leave it alone but Bayley was already trying to fix it! The referee looked over and saw her meddling with it as she pulled it off to readjust! But the ref didn’t know she was readjusting! So he THREW BECKY AND BAYLEY OUT OF THE MATCH! OH NO!! Becky looked a bit disappointed with Bayley that she didn’t listen to her but Bayley said she was just trying to help. Becky understood, but now they’re at a clear disadvantage!

They were sent to the back and Flair and Baszler meanwhile kept teeing off on each other. Shayna tried to send Charlotte into the exposed steel on the corner! One BIG problem with that: She didn’t realize that the official was trying to fix it and she just threw Charlotte into the official! But Charlotte stopped herself! Flair and the official Charles Robinson – Lil’ Naitch! – nearly collided! Baszler capitalized and put on the Kirifuda Clutch! Oh NO!! Charlotte had been trapped and without help outside might be at Shayna’s mercy!

But no!! Charlotte held on here!! Flair refused to go away and tried to wrestle her way out of the Clutch! And after being a nuisance Baszler had to relent! What a win that is for Charlotte! Charlotte got up and measured Shayna. She then ran in and BOOM! BIG BOOT TO BASZLER! She got all of it! 1! 2! SHOULDER UP!! A near fall and a big near fall!! Charlotte then picked Shayna up and mouthed off to her. She told her she wanted her to pay for nearly breaking her neck! She hit her with a big chop and then several more! After she rattled off several chops on Baszler’s chest, Baszler answered with shots of her own! She went for a knockout blow however Flair refused to fall!!

Baszler went for a lariat! No! Charlotte ducked it and then went for a BIG chop on Shayna! No! The Queen of Spades ducked the shot and then grabbed her and put on the Kirifuda Clutch again! NO!! Charlotte STUNNED Shayna! She hit her with a by God Stunner!! Charlotte peeled herself over and covered! 1! 2! ADVANTAGE TO THE HORSEW—NO! Kick out by Baszler! Charlotte nearly clinched it! But Shayna got her arm up off the mat just in the nick of time. Flair hit the mat, showing visible frustration. But she was geared up to keep going.

Charlotte mightily fought on. Things reached a fever pitch here as Flair was battling back. But as that happened, Natalya threw a pair of brass knuckles into the ring! Referee Charles Robinson saw it fly across the ring! Lil’ Naitch went over and it was clear that it was a diversion! Nattie went to send in more brass knucks! NO! Charlotte stomped on them before they could reach Shayna! In a moment of fury, Flair grabbed the knucks and threw them in their direction! Flair mouthed off to her and then turned around—INTO A KNOCKOUT SHOT FROM SHAYNA BASZLER!

WHAT THE HELL—SHE HAD BRASS KNUCKS ON HER THE ENTIRE TIME TOO! SHE BURIED THEM IN HER PANTS AND CALLED ROBINSON OVER AS SHE PINNED FLAIR! 1! 2!! 3!!!

Winner: Shayna Baszler via pinfall at 13:20. ​

And that was a wrap – The Sisters of Doom clinched the War Games Advantage! And they did so in very dubious fashion! But they didn’t give a damn because they just got away with it! Shayna celebrated the win with her friends in the ring. They mocked Flair, who was rendered unconscious after a pretty heroic effort here. Have to give Charlotte her due – she fought hard, she did her best, but the numbers game and the in-sync behavior from The Sisters of Doom was too powerful on this night!

Backstage we then went. Bayley and Becky Lynch were far apart from each other. Bayley was walking away from the scene. Becky caught up to her. Bayley told her that she felt bad and didn’t need a reminder of it again. Becky said that she wasn’t going to remind her of that. She was, however, going to remind her that they HAVE to be on the same page on Friday and they HAVE to be on the same page on Saturday. She wouldn’t settle for anything less. Bayley swore that she would be on the same page. Lynch took that as all she needed.

Just then… The TV near them suddenly turned on. We saw…

Ronda Rousey!

Where was the Rowdy One? She was headed for the production truck! A popular place tonight! Rousey walked up and stormed the truck! What the hell!? Rousey demanded they play a tape! The truck seemed very irritated by that premise. But Rousey threw her weight around and demanded again that a flash drive be put in and the video on there be played. What in the world… Ronda stepped back and smiled. She looked on with all of us here as the feed then cut, and a video played.

Appearing on the video? And on the TV that Bayley and Becky were watching?

SASHA BANKS!​

The Boss started speaking…

“Dude, listen. This isn’t changing. At all. Okay? I have no reason to come help The Four Horsewomen in War Games at REvolution.

I’M the revolution. I’m better than Becky. I’m better than Charlotte. I’m better than EVERYBODY! This isn’t about anyone except me. I’m the best women’s wrestler in the world.

I’m not where I’m supposed to be.

And I’m not doing anything unless they give me what I want.

They’re unwilling.

So it’s over.”

Banks could then be seen walking up to a private jet.

“I’m going to Aruba. And until I get what I want… that’s where you can find me.”

…

…

…

The video signs off.

Bayley and Becky both looked on with shocked faces.

And so did everyone else.

END OF SHOW

Confirmed Card for WWE REvolution

*No predictions, please*

FIRST-EVER WOMEN’S WAR GAMES MATCH
!!! FIRST TIME EVER, LAST TIME EVER !!!
The Four Horsewomen (???) vs. The Sisters of Doom

NXT Women’s Championship Match
Io Shirai defends against Kairi Sane

NXT UK Women’s Championship Match
Bianca Belair defends against Kay Lee Ray

2019 Mae Young Classic Final
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Tegan Nox

Past Meets Present
Trish Stratus vs. Alexa Bliss

Double Jeopardy Match
(If Nikki or Brie Bella loses, they must leave WWE FOREVER)
Nikki Bella or Brie Bella vs. ‘Ms. MITB’ Ruby Riott (w/ AJ Lee)

Fatal Four-Way Ladder Match to Crown the First-Ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion
Asuka vs. Candice LeRae vs. Liv Morgan vs. Toni Storm

The First-Ever Rock ‘N Wrestling Cup Battle Royal
Alphabetical Order:
Aliyah, Carmella, Chelsea Green, Dakota Kai, Emma, Isla Dawn
Jamie Hayter, Jinny, Katrina Cortez, Kayden Carter, Lacey Evans, Mandy Rose
Maria Kanellis, Mia Yim, Mickie James, Nikki Cross, Niven, Rhea Ripley
Shotzi Blackheart, Sonya Deville, Xia Li, Zelina Vega
Plus 3 Mystery Entrants from the Past!​

 

[DamageCTRL]

​

LAS VEGAS TO HOST 3RD ALL-WOMEN'S WWE EVENT IN 2020​

World Wrestling Entertainment can reveal that on October 24, 2020, the city of Las Vegas will host the third-annual all-women's spectacular event.

T-Mobile Arena will hold the event, titled '3volution', the third installment of the Evolution series that began with a bang in 2018. The event will take place on Saturday, October 24, 2020, and will begin at 4 p.m. local time on the WWE Network.

"With the second all-women's event coming Saturday, we're so happy that we can announce the third coming next year," WWE CBO Stephanie McMahon said. "Our women's wrestling fans are some of the most passionate fans on the planet and we're so excited to continue to serve them as we continue the Women's Evolution into the next decade and beyond."

 

[DamageCTRL]

And so it begins... the great undercurrent of our time...

FOX and WWE can officially announce that two NXT blue-chippers will officially join the Friday Night Smackdown roster this week.

After FOX selected them in the NXT Draft Rights round, the broadcast conglomerate officially selected the contracts of superstars Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox on Tuesday.

The move comes as both Dakota and Tegan ready for the historic WWE REvolution event this Saturday in Brooklyn, New York. Kai and Nox both made it through to at least the Mae Young Classic quarterfinals and Tegan has a chance to win the entire thing. Tegan faces fellow finalist Deonna Purrazzo in the MYC Final on Saturday.

Dakota, meanwhile, is one of 20 superstars who will compete in the first-ever Rock 'N Wrestling Cup Battle Royal. Kai joins a slew of Smackdown superstars in that Battle Royal including Night 1 draft pick Jamie Hayter, Aliyah, and Mia Yim among others.

Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox have gained fame as a tag team known as 'Team Kick.' The pair has also shown to have had a lengthy friendship with rising star Toni Storm, who is also on the blue brand.

Kai and Nox are expected to be in attendance when Smackdown comes to Kansas City, Missouri this Friday night for a special presentation oN FS1. Renee Young is expected to interview the new tag team who've recently erupted on the scene after they each returned from serious knee injuries.​

 

[DamageCTRL]

Dave Meltzer: 'Picture will become clearer' regarding departing WWE women's star after this weekend​

For several months, there have been rumors that a huge women's star in WWE will depart the company this fall. And by this time next week, we could know who it is based on details provided early Wednesday morning.

Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter spoke on WON Live and revealed that he believes, based on a variety of discussions he's had, that the picture will become significantly clearer after this weekend.

"In talking to a lot of people, the person is being very professional," Meltzer said. "That isn't a surprise. Based on who it is, and that will become a lot clearer after this weekend, I believe. After REvolution. It's a big star. They're in a huge match this weekend, something big scheduled for Survivor Series. Then they're done. That's what I've been told."

Colleague Bryan Alvarez asked why Meltzer believes this. He responded. "It's a situation, you know, I've had a variety of talks with people. Wrestlers, people in WWE. They all know it's coming. Everybody knows that this is going to happen imminently. They are preparing. That's part of why you've seen such a surplus lately. Toni Storm, she's going to the moon, from what I've heard. They have huge plans for Toni. Then Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Tegan Nox, all these new women that they're getting ready. Piper Niven, formerly Piper Niven, now just Niven. Isla Dawn, she was drafted to Raw. I know Bianca Belair is on her way, sometime in 2020. That's why you've seen all this. They want these women to be ready, not only because Hunter has valued them so much, and wants them to go up the ladder. But because their hand is being forced. This woman is a huge deal in this company, well-respected throughout the industry and the WWE locker room. They've handled everything well, she's handled everything well. But this will become very clear after this weekend. Whether it's clear after REvolution, after Raw or Smackdown, that's not something that I know concretely. But after this week, the picture will become clearer as to who it is that's leaving."

The top women's star's contract will expire, according to Meltzer, sometime within the next month. It is expected that this wrestler will sign with All Elite Wrestling.

Just buying time before Rasky posts the next NXT. Been busy on our front! However, Smackdown? Done. REvolution? Almost done. Raw and Smackdown the following week? Raw is done. Smackdown is just about. Some big shows coming, y'all!

And I can't stress this part enough: Without playing my hand too much, EVERYTHING is about to change...

 

[Rasky]

The NXT News Report
October 23rd, 2019
Live from Full Sail University
Winter Park, FL
​

NXT started off with hot action as rivals Deonna Purrazo and Mia Yim went one on one to put their heated rivalry to a rest. The match was evenly paced throughout with both women coming close to victory numerous times; even in the last minute. Mia Yim looked for Protect Yo Neck, but Purrazzo sweeped out the leg to bridge into a Fujiwara Armbar. Purrazzo added pressure to her Fujiwara Armbar by pulling Yim's fingers away from the others, forcing Yim to tap out. Deonna Purrazzo defeats Mia Yim in 15:29.

Purrazzo's celebration was cut short as Tegan Nox came face to face with her fellow Mae Young Classic finalist and Revolution opponent. Wade Barrett reminds us what other Mae Young Classic winners Kairi Sane and Toni Storm have accomplished, and Revolution will be a life changing night for the winner.

Cameron Grimes returned to NXT this week to discuss how his recent losses are actually not negatives. Cameron Grimes is so good that every man who steps into the ring with him moves onto something big - using Joaquin Wilde's Cruiserweight Championship opportunity as an example, so Grimes is making an open challenge to make someone new a star right now.

Drew Gulak answered the challenge but not as the opponent: to introduce a new student who is going to take under his wing... Danny Garcia! A Buffalo native who is just 21 years old who had an opportunity of a lifetime versus The Self-Proclaimed Star Maker. The Stomp In is on the mind of Grimes, but Garcia side stepped in the last second as Cameron stromped into the mat. Then a quick roll up as Garcia has just pinned Cameron Grimes! Danny Garcia defeats Cameron Grimes in 07:08.

Grimes is in shock as Garcia and Gulak celebrate around the ring. Could another star have just been made?

Jordan Myles received clearance from NXT management to have a six man tag team match versus The Mighty Don't Kneel, and Myles was allowed to pick his partners - The Time Splitters, Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA.

More women's action: Mercedes Martinez made her debut versus Brandi Lauren. The veteran's official presence in NXT was long awaited, but it was not long she was on television screens. Experience and strength lead to an efficient, quick win for Mercedes Martinez with a Fisherman Buster. Mercedes Martinez defeats Brandi Lauren in 02:50.

Santana & Ortiz meet Ever-Rise in tag team action following their backstage "chat" last week. Ever-Rise's eye rakes and distractions were something that Santana and Ortiz were fully prepared for, which lead to a more competitive Martel and Parker. It was no match for the rough offense of the New York brothers. Santana and Ortiz defeat Ever-Rise in 06:32 following the Street Sweeper.

A backstage exclusive showed Ember Moon discussing her win versus Vanessa Borne as she is excited to feel the rush of being in an NXT ring again. Moon plans on being the best by facing the best, which introduced Rachael Evers and Chelsea Green into the conversation. It lead to Evers challenging the former NXT Women's Champion for a match next week which was accepted.

Long standing issues between Dexter Lumis and Riddick Moss came to actions this week. Riddick Moss was without Dorian Mak who said this is a Moss issue, not an Outliers issue. The beginning saw Moss avoiding Lumis before outsmarting the silent Wyoming resident. Lumis introduced The Silencer (a Kata Gatme) to defeat Moss. Dexter Lumis defeats Riddick Moss in 06:17.

After the match - Dorian Mak seemed to be consoling Riddick Moss, but he turned his partner into a clothesline from Tito Sabatelli! Sabatelli announced he and Mak are the true Outliers, and Riddick Moss has been effectively kicked out of the team!

The Sky Pirates - NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai and Kairi Sane go into action tonight versus two unnamed Orlando natives as the friends tried to one up the other leading into their one on one match for Revolution. A moonsault from Shirai, an elbow from Sane as The Sky Pirates pin their opponents at the same time as they stare down. However, they still shake hands with their championship match looming. The Sky Pirates defeat Local Competitors in 03:22.

Draped in gold: The Undisputed Era spoke with Cathy Kelley before tonight's main event. Adam Cole reminds everyone of the attacks committed by The Undisputed Era on KUSHDIA, Keith Lee, and Tyler Bate. Do not mistake it a tactic out of fear, but it was done to make a statement of who is currently running NXT. Roderick Strong is prepared for his first title defense then he is going to focus down on Tyler Bate. He says Bate was a thorn in his side when TUE held NXT Tag Team gold, and he is not going to be an issue for his North American Championship reign. Bobby Fish announces that he is going one on one with Keith Lee next week, and he is going to end all momentum Lee has. O'Reilly gets the last word that he hopes Alex Shelley is watching what happens to Keith Lee, and Shelley is going to regret coming to NXT. The Undisputed Era walks off the scene as the camera pans over to show Keith Lee and Tyler Bate are in the arena tonight!

Tom Phillips and Wade Barrett announce that WWE Officials have entrusted them with special information in regards to NXT Chi-Town Rumble that they are allowed to reveal next week!

Roderick Strong defended versus Damian Priest in tonight's main event with the crowd on their feet. Strong avoided the fight outside of the ring, but he kicked steel steps right into Priest's left knee. That became the main point of attack for Strong, but his challenger was determined to fight through. Priest was close to victory with a Falcon Arrow, but the close kick-out was blamed on the lack of pressure Damian could use on his legs for the bridge cover. Priest looked to hit a devastating Roundhouse Kick, but the targeted leg gave out. Strong hit a huge knee to the jaw followed with the End of Heartache to retain gold. Roderick Strong retains versus Damian Priest in 20:21.

Roderick Strong holds up his gold to be joined by Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O'Reilly. The celebration does not last long however as they are interrupted by the men they assaulted two weeks ago. Trading rights and lefts inside and outside of the ring - NXT goes off air with turmoil between The Undisputed Era, The Time Splitters, Keith Lee, and Tyler Bate!

Next Week on NXT:

NXT Women's Championship #1 Contender's Battle Royal

Jordan Myles and The Time Splitters versus The Mighty Don't Kneel

Ember Moon versus Rachel Evers

Keith Lee versus NXT Tag Team Champion Bobby Fish

Tom Phillips and Wade Barrett reveal NXT Chi-Town Rumble matches!​