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KELLER’S WWE RAW REPORT
SEPTEMBER 12, 2022
PORTLAND, OR. AT MODA CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
Commentators: Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
[HOUR ONE]
-The “Then, Now, Forever, Together” brand stamp and the Raw opening theme “Feels Like Greatness” played. The camera panned the audience as Jimmy Smith introduced the show.
-Seth Rollins made his ring entrance. Smith, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton hyped the scheduled matches including an open challenge by Bianca Belair. Seth jogged around the ring and and welcomed everyone to Monday Night Rollins. Seth asked if the fans believe in karma. “You know, good people, good things; bad people, bad things.” He said the universe was in perfect harmony at the Clash when stomped Riddle and beat him. He said Riddle challenged him to a rematch, but he’s not interested in that. Fans chanted “Rematch!” Seth tried to shift to saying it’s been way too long since he’s held a championship when Riddle’s music interrupted.
Riddle walked out and said “Bro.” He then dropped the mic and charged into the ring. The brawled. Riddle dumped Seth over the top rope. Seth bashed Riddle’s head into the announce desk and then fled into the crowd. Riddle pursued him. They brawled amongst fans. (Points to WWE for not having a camera guy already stationed where they ended up brawling in the crowd.) Riddle got the better of Seth and then returned to the ringside. At that point, The Judgment Day’s music played and they appeared under blue light in the entrance area. “This is unexpected, to say the least,” said Smith.
Finn Balor told Riddle to chill. He said they’re his friends. Priest said they share a lot in common because they were Superstars on the rise, but something or someone would hold them back. “We’re here to change that for you,” Priest said. Balor said he’s surely noticed how much Dominik Mysterio has grown since joining them. He told Riddle that they’re his problem-solvers. Priest claimed fans wanted him to join them. Riddle said they go way back, but his focus is on Seth, so his answer is “no, bro.” Balor told Riddle the rules are more relaxed in Portland, so maybe his brain is a little cloudy. “You either stand with us or you stand in our way,” Balor said. Riddle kneed him and then clotheslined Priest over the top rope.
(Keller’s Analysis: Riddle and Balor stood eye to eye. I wonder how many would have assumed Riddle had several inches on Balor? Although it should be noted Riddle is always in his bare feet and Balor was wearing boots. The segment itself was solid, with four wrestlers getting some mic time and it set up the next match.) [c]
(1) FINN BALOR vs. MATT RIDDLE
A few minutes in, Riddle stood on the ring apron and was setting up a running kick when Priest stepped in his way. Riddle stopped in his tracks. Balor took over. They cut to a break after Balor dropped Riddle onto the edge of the ring apron. [c]
Riddle made a comeback after the break. He springboard flipped onto Priest and Balor at ringside. A minute later, Priest leaped onto the ring apron to distract Riddle when he climbed to the top rope. Riddle dropped down. Balor took control. Rey Mysterio attacked Priest at ringside. He chased Priest into the crowd and Priest retreated to the back. Riddle gave Balor a Go to Sleep and then a back suplex into a bridge for a near fall. Riddle went for a top rope Floating Bro, but Balor lifted his knees. Balor took Riddle down with a running knee and then leaped off the top rope with a Coup de Grace attempt. Riddle moved, then delivered a draping DDT. Riddle played to the crowd and then pounded the mat, a la Randy Orton. Seth charged to the ring. Riddle turned and set up a draping DDT on him. Balor intervened and gave Riddle a Coup de Grace for the win.
WINNER: Balor in 14:00.
-Afterward, Seth gave Riddle a Stomp.
-Sarah Schreiber interviewed Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky backstage. Bayley was all worked up over her “girls” not winning the tag match. She blamed Sky for pinning the wrong competitor because she didn’t have experience in tag matches. Kai tried to calm Bayley by saying they’ll make things right tonight. Sky said this is their division. Schreiber asked Bayley about being the first to pin Belair in almost a year. Bayley said they’re done and left. [c]
-Postcard shots aired of Portland, Ore. with a focus on the Trailblazers. (There’s a lot more WWE could have touted about Portland than just scenes of the Blazers arena.)
-A video aired with Dominik who said he’s always been known as Rey Mysterio’s son. He said at the Clash, that changed. He said for the first time in his life he felt alive. He said he became his own person. He said he was done taking the disrespect and bottling it inside. He said Edge got what he deserved. He said he knows his dad is disappointed, but he should look in the mirror and explain why he never asked what he wanted for his career. “For such a tiny, tiny man, you cast a large shadow,” he said. “And I’m done living under it.” Rhea Ripley put her hand on his shoulder and whispered something to him. He then said, “I’m not your baby boy anymore; I’m a man.” There were a lot of audible nose breaths during that. He got up and left and the camera showed Ripley smiling.
-They went to Graves, Smith, and Saxton on camera. Graves said Dominik has his work cut out for him. Smith threw to a video feature on Johnny Gargano including footage of Theory last week throwing in Gargano’s face how he’s accomplished most of Gargano’s dreams already.
-A vignette aired from “earlier in the day” of Austin Theory revealing that Gargano’s Raw in-ring debut would be against Chad Gable. Theory said: “Johnny Wrestling, after tonight the only thing anyone is going to know you as is Johnny Shooosh.”
-A Connor’s Cure video aired with The Street Profits. [c]
(2) ALIYAH & RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ vs. DAKOTA KAI & IYO SKY (w/Bayley) – WWE Tag Team Title match
Early in the match, Rodriguez pressed Aliyah above her head and threw her at Sky and Kai at ringside. They cut to a break. [c]
Kai and Sky dominated Aliyah for several minutes after the break. They milked her hot tag and eventually she succeeded. Rodriguez rallied, and then launched Aliyah onto Kai. Sky broke up the cover (awkwardly). Sky and Rodriguez tumbled to the floor. Meanwhile, Aliyah rolled up Kai for a near fall. Aliyah delivered a faceplant and then made the cover, but Bayley put Kai’s leg over the bottom rope to stop the count. Rodriguez confronted Bayley at ringside. Aliyah kicked Bayley. Sky leaped off the top rope with a flip onto Rodriguez. Sky appeared to hit her face on the mat when she landed. Back in the ring, Sky planted Aliyah on the mat with a flip crash and scored the three count.
WINNERS: Sky & Kai in 13:00 to capture the WWE Tag Team Titles.
(Keller’s Analysis: There was a lot of clunkiness here, including obvious situation where they were thinking through spots, pausing to set them up, and sometimes executing them without the smoothness you’re used to with most wrestlers in WWE. It seemed it was mostly on Rodriguez and Aliyah.)
-Rey approached Dominik backstage and said he had no idea he was holding all of that inside. He said he’d go back and change everything if he could. He said they can still fix everything and he doesn’t need to face Edge later. He said they should be family again. Rey begged him, and was disappointed Dominik ignored him and wouldn’t even look at him. Rey said Edge feels backed into a corner and he won’t hold back. He said if he faces Edge, things will never go back to how they were. “He’s that dangerous,” he said. Ripley walked in and put her hand on Dom’s shoulder. She said Dom isn’t his little boy any more and he’s all man now.
-Chad Gable made his ring entrance. [c]
(3) JOHNNY GARGANO vs. CHAD GABLE (w/Otis)
As they wrestled mid-ring, Graves said Gargano sometimes likes to show off in the ring. Smith tried to say Gargano got “no sleep” last night in anticipation of this match. Gargano kicked Gable to the floor and then landed a flip dive onto Gable. As he played to the crowd in the ring, they cut to a break at 4:30. [c]
Back from the break, Gable was in control, working over Gargano’s left knee. They showed a clip during the break of Gable going after Gargano’s leg. Gargano came back with a slingshot spear through the ropes for a near fall. Gable came back with an anklelock after Gable ducked a rolling kick. Graves said Gargano got “a little too fancy.” Gargano stopped Gable’s momentum with a rebound discus lariat. Fans chanted “This is awesome!” Gargano was the first to stand. He backdropped a charging Gable over the top rope onto Otis at ringside. He then leaped through the ropes and tackled them into the announce table. Gargano then gave Gable his One Final Beat DDT for the win.
WINNER: Gargano in 14:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Really good match, and what you’d expect with those two in the ring with about 15 minutes to do their thing.)
-Theory attacked Gargano as he was celebrating his win. [c]
-Theory asked the fans if he ruined Gargano’s big Raw debut. He complained about “What?” chants. Kevin Owens interrupted. Theory cut off KO right away and said he’s sick of idiots like him ruining his moments. He said he’s the future and the youngest Mr. Money in the Bank in history and he plans to take over the industry. KO said he tried to say all of that last week, but he was having issues with his jaw. He said they’ve heard him talk about himself like that for months. He said last week he looked him in the eyes and said he “was” the hand-picked future. He said that might have been true a while ago, but it’s not the way it works anymore. He said guys like him and Gargano don’t look like him.
Theory interrupted and said it’s true, he and none of the fans look like him. He said he knows why they’re jealous. He said he’s done more in the past five months than he and Gargano have done in the last five years. KO said statements like that can go to show just how big of a delusional jackass he is.
KO said there are a lot of wrestlers who look like Theory, but they most often end up as footnotes. He gave a spirited speech about people like him and Gargano and how they’re special because they succeed despite not being handed things like Theory has been. Theory held his ground that he was better than KO. KO said if he can’t get through to him with words, he’d try this. He attacked Theory. They battled in the ring and to ringside. Theory tried to use his briefcase, but KO ducked and went for a stunner. Theory avoided that and bailed out to ringside. Smith said he thinks this is just the start of issues between them. Theory had a bloodied nose. KO said, “A broken nose is just the beginning, bitch!”
(Keller’s Analysis: That was a bit of a mission statement by KO about what will be different – or already is different – in the Paul Levesque booking era compared to Vince McMahon. Theory being framed as the epitome of the type of wrestler McMahon favored fits the on-air storyline. KO’s passion felt authentic and elevated this feud and what’s at stake.)
-They showed Belair twirling her braid backstage. [c]
-They went to the announcers who plugged “Villain” by Bella Poarch as the official theme of “WWE Extreme Rules.” Smith then shifted to plugging the one-year anniversary of NXT 2.0. Graves said the NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly will defend against the Creed Brothers in a cage and that would kick off NXT tomorrow.
(Keller’s Analysis: That plug is better than the commercials that I think most viewers tune out. However, a little extra imagery or a graphic would have been an easy helpful added touch.)
-Belair made her ring entrance. Saxton complimented Belair for issuing the open challenge. Graves said she’s just trying to convince herself she is who she says she is after losing to Bayley at the Clash. Graves said she was brave but dumb. Fans chanted “EST!” Sonya Deville answered the challenge. She blamed Belair for costing her her executive position in WWE. Belair interrupted and said tonight is an open challenge, not open mic. She threw the mic down and they cut to a break. [c]
(4) BIANCA BELAIR vs. SONYA DEVILLE
Smith said it’s a bit of surprise Belair, last seen on Smackdown competing in a Fatal Five-way to earn a future Smackdown Title match, showed up on Raw to answer Belair’s challenge. Graves got upset when Saxton interrupted him mid-stream. He said Bayley backed off from an open challenge that Belair issued her. Graves asked if he could finish his thought. He said Belair issued the open challenge because Belair is scared that Bayley pinned her and she wants someone else to step up instead as her top challenger. Belair took control early and landed a handspring moonsault for a near fall. Belair rolled to the floor. When Belair went after her, Sonya clotheslined her. They cut to an early break. [c]
[HOUR THREE]
Deville was in control after the break. Belair made a brief comeback, but Deville came back with a flying knee for a two count. They met mid-ring and had an awkward second where they weren’t on the same page. Belair suplexed Deville. They battled into the corner where Belair gave Deville a KOD for the win.
WINNER: Belair in 12:00 to retain her title.
-Bayley interrupted Belair’s post-match celebration. She asked if she was inspired by Kai & Sky’s title win earlier. She said Belair could learn from them because they did exactly what they said they were going to do. Bayley said she said they were going to take control of the whole division, and tonight was just the beginning. She asked Belair if it made her feel better to win tonight. She said it fed her “big, fat ego.” She said they should be truthful to all their fans. She said she knows she won’t be able to sleep at night until she has a match against her. She said she should be embarrassed that she was able to pin her after she hadn’t wrestled in over a year. She told a worked up Belair to relax because she’ll get her match when the time is right. Belair placed her belt on the mat and asked Bayley to come into the ring. Sky and Kai surrounded Belair from behind. They closed in on her, so Belair fought back. They swarmed her. Alexa Bliss and Asuka ran out for the save. Belair, Asuka, and Bliss surrounded Bayley. Belair then slammed Bayley, who rolled to the floor. Belair’s music played to end the segment.
-They showed Omos and MVP walking backstage. [c]
-Smith plugged tickets for the Royal Rumble in San Antonio, Tex.
(5) OMOS (w/MVP) vs. CASH MORRAZI & RYAN TOMBS
As Omos’s ring entrance began, the video and then the audio had some technical issues and everything went black. (I half expected The Fiend to show up at this point.) They aired low-grade audio as a graphic said they were having technical difficulties. That was over after about five seconds. Omos crushed his opponents in the corner. He beat them up for a minute, then stacked them on top of each other when MVP gave him directions to do so. He score a three count with his foot on one of their chests.
WINNER: Omos in 2:00.
-They showed Edge pacing backstage. Rey walked in and begged him, “one father to another,” to understand how affected he is by everything. Edge said he understands how protective he’s being, but he thinks he understands that it must happen. He said sometimes someone needs to have some sense knocked into them, and deep down he knows it’s better it’s him than someone else. Rey looked distressed. [c]
-The announcers reviewed the angle earlier with Seth and Riddle.
-Kevin Patrick interviewed Seth backstage. He asked about what he was going to say earlier before Riddle interrupted him. Seth said, “No, no, no. The moment has passed.” He asked how many times he has to stomp Riddle’s head before he’ll understand he’s the face of Raw. Bobby Lashley interrupted Seth and asked if he really thinks he’s the face of Raw. Lashley said, “He who has the gold is the face of Monday Night Raw.” Seth told Lashley that MMA guys are all alike. He said he has no brain cells left in his head. He said the U.S. Title isn’t the title he was talking about earlier tonight, but he’ll gladly take it off his shoulder. He challenged him to a title match next week so they can find out who the face of Raw really is. Lashley accepted the challenge. Seth looked a little nervous once Lashley stepped into his face.
-They went to the announcers at ringside who reacted to the match. Saxton said he’s got chills just thinking about the possibility. Smith threw to an interview with Miz and Maryse at home.
-They showed Miz in his living room with a harp and grand piano behind him. Miz told the interviewer off camera that this is the interview of a lifetime. He said this is the place where he feels safest. His daughters ran up to him and played on the piano. Then Maryse walked up to Miz and asked if he was done yet. Miz said he hasn’t even started yet. Miz told the interviewer they only have five minutes. Maryse said they have a big premiere to go to. Miz asked if they are safe leaving with everything going on. Maryse assured Miz they’d be safe with all their security measures. They smooched.
When the interviewer brought up Dexter Lumis, Miz said not to say his name in his house. Miz took over the conversation. He said WWE ordered double security guards in the arena, but “that lunatic” still found his way into the arena to “do what he did.” The interviewer asked what he did to him. Miz said he doesn’t want to talk about it. He threw off his mic and said he was busy and had a premiere to go to. Miz and Maryse left out the front door. Miz told the camera guy that the guards would show them out and they better be gone when they get back. They drove off from “Manor MarMiz.” The camera panned over and there was Lumis sitting at a desk in the house. He held up a drawing of Miz and Maryse and their daughters. He stared blankly ahead.
-Graves called for someone to contact the police. “Why am I the only one who sees this is not okay?” he exclaimed. Graves said maybe he’ll kidnap the whole family. Saxton told him to calm down.
-They showed Dominik and Ripley backstage. [c]
-The announcers commented on the Theory-Owens exchange earlier including a pullapart brawl. Then they announced Theory vs. Owens next week on Raw.
(6) EDGE vs. DOMINIK MYSTERIO (w/Rhea Ripley)
Edge’s ring entrance took place first. Then Dominik came out with Ripley. The bell rang 42 minutes into the hour. Edge went after Dominik aggressively early. Dominik eventually got advice from Ripley at ringside. Ripley swept Edge’s legs on the ring apron as the ref was distracted. Ripley laughed. Dominik shoved Edge into the ringside steps. They cut to a break at 4:00. [c]
Dominik was focused on Edge’s knee after the break. Dominik gave Edge the Three Amigos suplex series. Graves said this darkness already existed in Dominik, but it took The Judgment Day to bring it out. He climbed to the top rope. Edge knocked him off balance. Edge headbutted Dominik and set up a superplex, but Ripley held onto Dom’s leg so Edge crashed to the mat without Dominik following. Dominik then landed a top rope frog splash for a two count. When Dominik went for a figure-four, Edge kicked him shoulder-first into the ringpost.
They battled back and forth. Dominik applied a half crab. Edge powered out and rolled up Dominik for a near fall. Edge tied his arms up in the ropes. Edge got wide-eyed and said, “You wanted this, Dom!” He punched away at him. The ref backed Edge away. Edge moved back in and slapped Dominik. The ref backed Edge away again. Edge charged, but Rey entered the ring and blocked Edge. Edge shoved Rey aside. Rey persisted. Edge shoved him again. Priest then yanked Rey to the floor and slammed him on the announce desk. Balor attacked Edge in the ring, so the ref called for the bell. Saxton said it wasn’t about winning the match, it was about punishing Mysterio.
WINNER: Edge in 15:00 via DQ.
-Afterward, Priest and Balor set up Dom with a chair after beating down Edge. Ripley encouraged him to bash Edge’s leg with a chair. Dominik swung the chair four times. Smith said someone has to come out and stop it. Graves asked who considering Rey was at ringside. Balor leaped off the top rope and landed a Coup de Grace on Edge’s leg in a chair. Saxton said it’s deplorable. Smith said The Judgement Day couldn’t be happier with their work. Balor lifted Edge and grabbed his face and had some closing words as fans chanted “You suck!”
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