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WWE RAW TV REPORT
AUGUST 12, 2024
AUSTIN, TEX. AT MOODY CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON USA
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
Ring Announcer: Samantha Irvin
Attendance: WrestleTix reported that as of last night that 11,736 tickets had been distributed; arena is set up for 11,910. Check out WrestleTix on Patreon for final figures.
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[HOUR ONE]
-A video package aired on key Summerslam happenings with The Judgment Day.
-They showed an aerial shot of Austin, Tex. and then showed wrestlers arriving at the arena including The New Judgment Day, Randy Orton, Bron Breakker, and Sami Zayn. Cole noted that the New Judgment Day insist that they are all going to be equals.
-Rhea Ripley made her ring entrance. Ripley said since Summerslam she has felt a whole range of emotions including heartache and embarrassment, but mostly she’s pissed the hell off. She said Dominik stabbed her in the back. “The thing is, and this is probably something you’ve heard before, it just wasn’t deep enough,” she said. McAfee said, “Geesh!” Ripley said Liv Morgan can’t run from her forever. Liv interrupted her from the top of the lower concourse. Dom was standing next to her. Rhea said she was glad fans were booing him, but she wanted to hear what he had to say.
Dom told Rhea that she tried to change him instead of letting him be him. He said he is a man and he deserves to be treated like one. Fans chanted loudly, “You suck!” He said it was embarrassing that she was bossing him around. She said now he’s with a girl who calls him Daddy. He said she lets him play video games whenever he wants and lets him be him. “She did something you could never do,” he said. “Finally helping me beat my deadbeat dad.”
Ripley said she was going to tell him something she hadn’t heard in a long time: “I’m proud of you.” She said she’s proud of all he has accomplished in recent years. She said watching him grow up makes her proud. She said when it came to his dad, she wanted him to beat him on his own so there was no excuse. She said now that Dom wants to be treated like a man, she ought to be proud, but it’s going to be the last decision he makes.
Liv said there’s only one thing she said that is true, and that is that Dom is a man “and he’s all mine.” She told Rhea she has nothing. She said her family lives across the ocean, and she has her belt. “Everything that you loved is mine,” she said. Rhea asked if she was done. “You’ve take a lot from me – my weak links,” said Rhea. She said Liv will have to kill her to stop her. Damien Priest showed up behind Dom and Liv. Fans cheered. Priest beat up Dom.
They fought into the concourse. Rhea ran up the steps and chased Liv to a back room. Priest chased Dom down the steps and then punched him over the barricade to ringside and then into the ring. Dom begged off. Priest set up a chokeslam, but Carlito attacked Priest. Priest fought back and clotheslined him over the top rope. They cut to a break as fans cheered. [c]
(1) DAMIEN PRIEST vs. CARLITO
The bell rang right after the break, 21 minutes into the hour. Cole said Carlito told him he was looking forward to this match because Priest never accepted him as a member of The Judgment Day. Carlito said he was a champion all over the world while Priest was living under a bridge. At 3:00 Carlito knocked Priest off balance on the top turnbuckle. He followed with a superplex. They cut to a break at 3:30. [c]
Priest made a comeback after the break with a barrage of kicks and a running elbow into the corner followed by a Broken Arrow. Priest took Carlito down hard with a clothesline a minute later, then lowered his straps and played to the crowd. He gave Carlito his South of Heaven chokeslam for the win.
WINNER: Priest in 9:00.
-Immediately after the pin, J.D. McDonagh attacked Priest. Dom joined in as Liv watched from in the ring. Ripley’s music played. When she ran out, she kicked her way past Carlito and then confronted Finn Balor. Priest stood and eyed Balor. McDonagh ran in and Priest’s kick landed on McDonagh as he shoved Balor out of the ring. Priest then chokeslammed McDonagh. Priest shoved Dom into Ripley’s arms. Ripley set up a Rip Tide, but Liv yanked Dom to safety. The New Judgment Day gathered in the aisle as Ripley and Priest looked on from inside the ring.
-Backstage, Otis was getting psyched up with Akira Tozawa and Maxxine Dupri. Ivy Nile walked and pulled Maxxine aside. She suggested that Maxxine shouldn’t go out there with them tonight. Maxxine said she can’t abandon them because they’re her family. Ivy said she could talk to Chad Gable about joining them. Maxxine said she’s staying with her family. Ivy said she thought she’d say that. [c]
-As more aerial scenes aired of Austin, Tex., Cole touted a sellout of 13,000-plus. He then threw to a video package from a VHS tape on The Wyatt Sicks. Bo Dallas said everything is going full circle with a lot of emotions. He said the work isn’t done and “something is happening now.” Uncle Howdy’s voice said, “The work must continue; other doors will be opened.” Bo then kept repeating increasingly emphatically “My life for you! My life for you!” as he rocked back and forth in a chair as images of Uncle Howdy flashed on an old TV screen.
-They cut to Cole and McAfee at ringside. Cole said McAfee is the best analyst in the business and asked for his analysis. He said you don’t want to be on the opposite side of the Wyatt Sicks, but you want to see what they’re going to do. Cole then commented on clips of the arrival of Odyssey Jones last week.
-Backstage, Xavier Woods walked up to Kofi Kingston and Odyssey Jones hanging out. Xavier said he wanted to talk to him about tonight. Kofi excitedly said that Odyssey had their backs last week, so they’ve got his tonight. Xavier fist-bumped Odyssey, but seemed slightly uneasy while smiling through it. [c]
(2) ODYSSEY JONES (w/Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston) vs. VINCENT WHINY
Cole talked about Odyseey’s stats and college football history with Syracuse. Cole said Whiny was from the Performance Center. The bell rang 47 minutes into the hour. Whiny attacked Jones at the bell, but Jones quickly fought back and tossed him across the ring. He then clotheslined him hard in the corner followed by two rolling sentons. Whiny made a comeback with some kicks to Jones’s legs, but then Jones caught him suddenly with a sidewalk slam for the win.
WINNER: Jones in 1:30.
-The Final Testament walked out. Karrion Kross said Xavier can see that Kofi is trying to replace him with Odyssey. Fans chanted, “New… Day Rocks!” Xavier asked Kross if he’s not tired of attempting to drive a wedge between them week after week. He said it’s not going to work, so he suggested they fast-forward to a tag match next week. Kofi pulled the mic away from Xavier and said they should just make it a six-man tag match. Xavier seemed slightly irritated as Kofi said their partner would be Jones. Kross said there’s an old saying that the Devil’s work is never done, so he accepted their challenge.
-Adam Pearce was shown talking on the phone when Drew McIntyre walked in. Pearce said C.M. Punk isn’t there because of travel issues and he doesn’t have business with him. Drew took issue with Orton getting a title match. He said he’s been screwed time and time again. Drew said he’s going to take care of things himself. Pearce said the last person to say that was Bronson Reed. Drew assured him he’ll be on his best behavior.
-Alpha Academy made their entrance, led by Maxxine. [c]
[HOUR TWO]
(3) ALPHA ACADEMY (Otis & Akira Tozawa w/Maxxine Dupri) vs. THE CREED BROTHERS – Texas Tornado rules
The Creeds made their entrance after the break. Cole threw to a clip of Chad Gable in Paris, France earlier in the day saying he went to the Olympics to watch and recruit. He said when he gets back home, he has unfinished business with The Wyatts. Cole congratulated Masai Russell for winning the gold in the 100 meter hurdles at the Olympics and noted she’s part of WWE’s first NIL class.
The bell rang 2 minutes into the hour. At 3;00 Otis pressed Tozawa above his head and tossed him onto the Creeds. They cut to a break. [c]
The Creeds had taken control during the break. Tozawa double-DDT’d the Creeds. Otis then rallied against them with a flurry of brute-force offense. He caught a flying Julius and slammed him. He played to the cheering crowd and then hit a Caterpillar on Julius. Brutus broke up the cover. Otis gave Brutus a short-arm clothesline. Julius gave Otis a running high knee. After a standing moonsault by Brutus and a standing 450 by Julius, Julius made a cover, but Tozawa broke up the cover. Cole said Gable has a good eye for talent.
Tozawa made a comeback and cleared the ring of the Creeds. Tozawa dove through the ropes, but his boot caught the underside of top rope and he crashed to the floor. He was fine. All four battled in the corner. Otis superplexed Brutus while he was on Julius’s shoulders. Otis grabbed the back of his head in pain after the landing and the ref checked on him. Tozawa then landed a top rope senton on Julius which also landed on Otis. All four were down and slow to get up. Fans chanted “Holy shit!”
Otis and Tozawa stood and got fired up. Nile attacked Maxxine from behind at ringside. She slammed her on the announce desk. Tozawa and Otis noticed and turned their backs. Julius knocked Otis out of the ring and then Brutus rolled up Tozawa for the win.
WINNERS: The Creeds in 12:00.
-Jackie Redmond interviewed Pete Dunne in the stands earlier in the day. He said he was never under Sheamus’s control. He asked where Ridge Holland went. He went off on being called “Butch” and said he had to swallow his pride and let Sheamus “little brother me.” He said he’s an 18 year vet and he wants to shut up Sheamus so he never has to hear that name again.
-They showed Breakker warming up backstage. [c]
-They showed an aerial shot of Uber Arena.
-A vignette aired of Bronson Reed examining some stats regarding his attack last week with slo-mo and freeze-frames of his key moves.
-Backstage, Bronson said he told Pearce he didn’t give him an opportunity so he warned him he was going to make an impact. Pearce said he’s lucky he was only fined because Seth has cracked ribs. Bronson said Pearce needs to provide him an opponent or he’ll find his next victim himself.
-A promo aired with Kairi Sane & Iyo Sky.
-Then a promo aired with Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, and Zoey Stark. They are calling themselves the Pure Fusion Collective.
-Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn made their ring entrance, strutting with the Women’s Tag Team Title belts. [c]
-A graphic acknowledged the death of Kevin Sullivan.
(4) KAIRI SANE & IYO SKY vs. ZOEY STARK & SHAYNA BASZLER (w/Sonya Deville) – Winners Become No. 1 Contenders for Women’s Tag Team Titles.
They showed Candice Michelle in the crowd. The bell rang 35 minutes into the hour. Cole noted Kairi & Sky were known as The Sky Pirates in NXT. They cut to an early break. [c]
The crowd chanted “Iyo!” as she reached for a hot tag. Kairi tagged her in and she went on a flurry of offense against Stark. Sky played to the crowd after a dropkick of both Stark and Baszler. Stark blocked a Sky suplex and then gave her a snap German suplex. Baszler tagged back in and kneed Sky. Kairi broke up the cover.
Sky gave stark a butterfly backbreaker. Deville distracted the ref as Baszler knocked Sky off the top rope. Kairi gave Baszler a spinning backfist. Sky and Stark fought at ringside. Sky then landed an Over the Moonsault on Stark, but Isla Dawn attacked Sky. The ref called for the bell. McAfee said he wasn’t sure what their motivation was. Cole said there’s still no number one contender determined.
WINNERS: Sane & Sky via DQ in 9:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: Cole and McAfee expressed that they didn’t know the motivation of Dawn and Fyre, but they also didn’t show any outrage of them interfering in a match.)
-R-Truth told Miz he got him an Intercontinental Title match against Bron Breakker tonight. Miz said he thought Sami was facing Breakker. The TV monitor revealed Miz was facing Bronson Reed. Miz freaked out and said that’s not Breakker. Orton walked in and asked if Bronson was the guy who destroyed Seth last week. Orton, though, gave Miz a pep talk to fire him up. Miz yelled, “I got this!” Truth asked Orton if he thinks Miz really has a chance. Orton indicated he didn’t think Miz had a chance. Orton then headed to the ring. [c]
-They showed Orton throwing out a first pitch at a St. Louis Cardinals game.
-Orton made his ring entrance as Cole plugged Gunther defending against Orton at Bash in Berlin. Fans loudly chanted, “Randy! Randy!” He said 20 years ago he won the World Title for the first time and he became the youngest champion of all time. He said he will become a 15-time world champion at Bash in Berlin. Gunther’s music interrupted Orton. Gunther walked to the ring. Cole said they saw an interesting stat on Gunther. McAfee said 75 percent of Gunther’s time in WWE he has held a title. Cole said he’s not sure anyone else is close to that.
Orton said he’s going to defeat Gunther and then Monday Night Raw will be his new home. Gunther told everyone to take a picture of him because “that’s Randy Orton, one of the greatest of all time.” Gunther told Orton that he shouldn’t be one of the greatest, but rather the single greatest of all time. He said he had unlimited natural and physical gifts, but he wasted it. He told Orton to look at him. He said it is the era of the Ring General.
[HOUR THREE]
Orton said he never claimed to be perfect, but he should realize he is the most unpredictable, violent, and successful WWE Superstar. He said Gunther calls it a curse, but he calls it a gift, because he did it his way the entire time. He said he’s got five kids at home and a “hot ass smoke show of a wife.” He said he’s a 14 time champion. He said he appreciates his opinion, but he thinks he’s done pretty damn good for himself. Fans chanted “USA! USA!”
An unrattled Gunther said he thinks Orton is predictable. He said he’s going to give Orton the beating of his career and he will never be World Heavyweight Champion again. He said when it really, really matters, Orton always screws it up. He said Orton’s grandfather was a screw-up and his father was a screw-up. Orton dropped the mic and rubbed his face. Gunther told Orton he is the biggest screw-up of them all. Orton snarled in his face. Drew McIntyre’s music then played.
McIntyre walked out. Fans chanted “C.M. Punk!” Orton gave a distracted Gunther an RKO. Punk then attacked McIntyre. McIntyre headbutted Punk, then took off his belt and swung it at him. Punk moved and then took the belt and began whipping McIntyre with it until McIntyre retreated through the crowd. Cole said that had to feel great for Punk. Punk swung the belt over his head and his theme song played.
-Redmond asked Sheamus for reaction to what Dunne said earlier. Sheamus said he’s trying to make himself relevant off of his name. Ludwig Kaiser interrupted and said it’s not over between them. He vowed to put an end to him once for all. Sheamus said he must’ve damaged his brain last week. Dunne attacked Sheamus from behind. Kaiser backed away. Officials and referees intervened. Dunne hit Sheamus’s hand with a shillelagh.
-Miz made his ring entrance. [c]
-They showed Punk backstage looking for McIntyre. In the background, it appeared Gunther knocked over some water bottles in a fit of rage. Punk said he told a white lie about travel issues because if McIntyre knew he was there, McIntyre wouldn’t have shown up. He talked about the bracelet and said McIntyre can keep it, but it’s about the names on it. He said he isn’t allowed to speak his wife’s name or dog’s name without repercussions. He said he went to Glasgow to embarrass him in his own country. He said he just figured out a way to make everybody happy. He looked at the belt.
(5) THE MIZ (w/R-Truth) vs. BRONSON REED
Miz looked tense before the bell. The bell rang 17 minutes into the hour. They cut to a very early break. [c]
Miz springboarded toward Reed at 6:00. Reed caught him and landed a Death Valley Driver. He then hit a Tsunami for the win.
WINNER: Reed in 6:00.
-Afterward, Reed climbed to the top rope. Truth rolled Miz out of the ring. Reed gave Truth a flying crossbody press. He then followed with a Tsunami on Truth. He set up another, but officials intervened. Reed landed another one anyway. And a third. Cole called Truth “a damn national treasure.” Pearce ran into the ring and threatened Reed as Reed pounded his chest. Reed climbed to the other corner and landed another Tsunami. Pearce yelled fiercely in his face. Reed began to leave, but then returned and hit another Tsunami. Cole and McAfee called for more help to stop him.
-Jey Uso gave Sami a pep talk backstage. [c]
-Cole said Priest & Ripley vs. Dom & Liv had just been added to the Bash in Berlin line-up.
-A vignette aired with The Judgment Day. Balor said there are no leaders or egos. Dom said Priest and Ripley are a joke.
-Cole hyped next week’s Raw featuring a triple threat match for the Women’s Tag Team Titles, plus Sheamus vs. Dunne.
(6) BRON BREAKKER vs. SAMI ZAYN – Two out of Three Falls match for the Intercontinental Title
The bell rang 41 minutes into the hour after ring entrances and formal ring introductions. Sami landed a running flip dive over the top rope onto Breakker. They cut to an early break. [c]
Breakker was in control after the break. Sami made a comeback with a DDT for a near fall. Breakker blocked a Blue Thunder Bomb and then landed a Germans suplex. Breakker clotheslined Sami in the corner twice, but then caught Breakker with a Helluva Kick for a quick three count at 7:00 to win the first fall.
Breakker rolled to ringside. Sami went after him, but Breakker caught him mid-air and threw him wildly into the time keeper’s area. They cut to another break. [c]
Back from the break, Breakker took Sami off the top rope with a Frankensteiner for a dramatic near fall. Breakker landed two spears and scored a three count to even the score at 13:00.
After Breakker gloated, Sami surprised Breakker by reversing a nonchalant cover for a near fall. Breakker beat up Sami at ringside. He leaped off the ring apron and drove Sami into the announce table. Back in the ring, Breakker set up a superplex, but Sami countered into a sunset flip into a powerbomb for a near fall.
Sami leapfrogged a Breakker spear attempt and rolled up Breakker for a two count. Breakker took over again and charged at him, but Sami caught him with a kick leading to a two count. Sami climbed to the top rope. Breakker stood. Sami headbutted him and then leaped at Breakker, but Breakker speared him out of mid-air for the win.
WINNER: Breakker in 18:00 to retain the IC Title.
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