SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE RAW REPORT
NOVEMBER 18, 2024 (Recorded 11/11)
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH AT VAN ANDEL ARENA
AIRED ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY MAURICO POMAREZ, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett
Ring Announcer: Lilian Garcia
Attendance: WrestleTix reported today that 8.893 tickets had been distributed right before showtime. The arena has a capacity of 12,500 spectators when configured for concerts. The previous three TV events at this arena were sellouts.
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[HOUR ONE]
– The show opened with Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez making their way to the ring, as a recap of the brawls on Raw and Smackdown were shown. Liv said that she didn’t come alone and introduced Nia Jax, Tiffany Stratton and Candice LeRae as her backup. Jax told Liv and Raquel that she didn’t think about them, but she did about Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Naomi. Belair, Jade and Naomi interrupted and introduced Iyo Sky as their partner. Liv mocked them for having the numbers disadvantage, only for a returning Rhea Ripley to show up. Ripley yelled ‘War Games’ and cracked Liv with a headbutt while the rest of her team took down her opponents.
(Pomares’s Analysis: An alright opening to officially set up the women’s War Games match. It’s cool to see Rhea Ripley back and it gives this match some much needed heat. However, her return doesn’t make up for how incredibly rushed this build has been. After making such a great job of making Hell in a Cell feel like an attraction match once again, it’s disappointing to see how War Games has taken its place as a stipulation that forces sudden booking changes to justify a 5-v-5 feud at the same time each year.)
– A recap of Bronson Reed helping The Bloodline on SmackDown was shown.
– The LWO made their way to the ring, ahead of their match against American Made.
[Commercial Break]
– A recap of Triple H announcing that Travis Scott would appear on the first episode of Raw on Netflix was shown.
(1) LWO (Rey Mysterio & Zelina Vega) vs. AMERICAN MADE (Chad Gable & Ivy Nile)
Nile and Vega immediately started brawling while Rey took Gable down with a huracanrana and a kick to the leg. Nile distracted Rey, allowing Gable to trip him off the top turnbuckle. American Made stomped Rey down before driving him into the corner with an Irish-whip. Rey pulled Gable out of the ring with a head scissors takeover, reaching Vega for the tag. Vega took Nile down with a pair of clotheslines and an enzuigiri, setting her up for a double knee strike. Nile blocked a hip toss and knocked Vega down witha clothesline, as WWE Raw went to commercials.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Nile laid Vega out with a hip toss, only for Vega to shut her down with a back suplex. Vega spiked Nile with a Satellite DDT, but Gable stopped her from tagging out. Vega clocked Gable with an enzuigiri, reaching Rey for the hot tag. Rey knocked Gable down with a headscissors takeover, followed by an enzuigiri and a diving seated senton. Rey caught Gable with a rising kick, only for Gable to shut him down with a cliffhanger DDT. Gable climbed the top turnbuckle, but Rey tripped him and Vega took him down with an avalanche hurracarrana. Vega low-bridged Nile while Rey hit Gable with a Lionsault for a nearfall. Rey tripped Gable into the ropes and beat him with the 619 and a slingshot splash.
WINNERS: LWO at 9:59
– After the match, the Creed Brothers showed up to help Chad Gable up, only for Gable to shove them away. Gable slapped Julius Creed, seemingly firing him and Brutus in the process.
(Pomares’s Analysis: Fun match to continue the LWO and American Made with a surprising clean finish. The post-match angle was bizarre, as American Made just stood tall after a very definitive loss.)
– Backstage, Finn Bálor told Liv Morgan that he could take the wheel tonight since she was dealing with a lot. Finn told Dominik Mysterio and Carlito that they would show the War Raiders exactly what they are. Finn mockingly gave them advice while praising Dominik.
[Commercial Break]
– A recap of The Miz and the Final Testament assaulting the Wyatt Sicks was shown.
– A recap of Damian Priest, Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser’s confrontation last week was shown.
– Backstage, Gunther told Ludwig Kaiser that he doesn’t speak for him. Gunther advised Kaiser to go out there, speak for himself and stand as his own man. Gunther said that Priest did not get under his skin and told Kaiser to walk away. He took off his jacket and found Priest signing autographs before trying to choke him out from behind. Priest shoved Gunther away and clobbered him with a steel pipe. Priest said that when it came to the streets he was the general.
– Sheamus made his way to the ring, ahead of his match against Bron Breakker.
[Commercial Break]
(2) BRON BREAKKER vs. SHEAMUS – WWE Intercontinental Championship
Sheamus knocked Breakker out of the ring and smashed his head into the announce table. Sheamus clocked Breakker with an uppercut, only for Breakker to shut him down with a running lariat. Breakker hit Sheamus with shoulder thrusts, but Sheamus caught him off-guard with two back-to-back Irish Curses. Breakker put Sheamus down with a Xploder and drove him into the ring post, setting him up for a diving lariat over the announce table, as WWE Raw went to an ad break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Breakker nailed Sheamus with a knee to the abdomen, sending him out of the ring. Breakker clocked Sheamus with a jumping knee, followed by top turnbuckle somersault senton. Back in the ring, Sheamus laid Breakker out with a tilt-a-whirl powerslam. Sheamus pummeled Breakker with the 10 Beats of Bodhran, followed by a clothesline and a diving knee drop. Breakker blocked the White Noise and dropped him with a modified backstabber for a nearfall. Sheamus dropped Breakker with an avalanche White Noise for a nearfall.
Breakker caught Sheamus off-guard with a Frankensteiner, but Sheamus blocked his Spear with a pump knee for a close nearfall. Breakker blocked the Brogue Kick with a Spear, only for him to roll out of the ring. Before Breakker could go for a charged Spear around the ring, Ludwig Kaiser showed to hit him with a lariat and a DDT.
WINNER: Bron Breakker via DQ (Still WWE Intercontinental Champion) (13:32)
– After the match, Ludwig Kaiser blasted Sheamus with a running dropkick into the steel steps.
(Pomares’s Analysis: A really great match hurt by a sudden DQ finish. I’m sure the triple threat match that comes from this will be fun, but I really hope we see a proper singles match with a finish between Sheamus and Breakker down the line. I don’t mind booking Ludwig Kaiser in this spot, but it’s frustrating to see him jump from being the punching bag to all of Gunther’s challengers back to being a serious competitor.)
– Backstage, The Usos and Sami Zayn tried to convince Seth Rollins to join their side. Sami asked Rollins to put aside his beef like he did with Cody Rhodes last year. Rollins said that he would stand side by side with Sami or the Usos, but would not do it for Roman Reigns. Rollins said that this was not worth it for him, only to tell them that he would deal with Bronson Reed before he reached War Games.
– Judgment Day made their way to the ring, ahead of their match against the War Raiders.
[Commercial Break]
[HOUR TWO]
– A recap of Dakota Kai making her return last week was shown while she spoke about doubting herself upon her return.
– A recap of Rhea Ripley returning and making the War Games challenge was shown.
– It was announced that Bianca Belair and Nia Jax would face each other next week to determine which team got the War Games advantage.
(3) WAR RAIDERS (Ivar & Erik) vs. THE JUDGMENT DAY (Dominik Mysterio & Carlito)
Erik laid Dominik out with a waist lock takeover, forcing him to tag Carlito in. Ivar knocked Calrito down with a shoulder tackle and a bodyslam before Erik dropped him on top of Carlito. Carlito smashed Ivar’s head into the turnbuckle and Dominik stomped him down in the corner. Ivar pummeled Dominik and Carlito with a series of strikes, reaching Erik for the tag. Erik cracked Carlito with a headbutt and laid him out with a Xploder. Dominik took a cheap shot at Erik, allowing Carlito to send him out of the ring. Dominik knocked Erik down with a suicide dive, as WWE Raw went to commercials.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Dominik hit Erik with a slingshot senton for a two count. Ivar got the hot tag to lay Dominik out with a sideslam and a running crossbody. Ivar put Dominik down with a seated senton and laid Carlito out with a clothesline, followed by a running senton on Dominik. Dominik tripped Ivar onto the turnbuckle, only for Ivar to dump him on top of Carlito. The War Raiders finished Dominik with a tag team powerslam before knocking Carlito with the War Machine.
WINNERS: War Raiders at 9:31
– After the match, Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh assaulted the War Raiders.
(Pomares’s Analysis: Just an alright match to keep the War Raiders ahead of their tag title match. I don’t think this needed to go anywhere near as long as it did to get its point across. I understand protecting Dominik, but Carlito could have easily taken a quick pin here. As for the post-match assault, it wasn’t anything we haven’t seen from Judgment Day a million times before.)
– The feed was cut by the latest tape from the Wyatt Sicks. Bo Dallas said that they offered The Miz salvation and tried to warn him, but he had damned himself. Bo said that Miz chose this and his hands would forever be stained in blood. He finished by saying that Miz would lose what matters most and that he never wanted this.
[Commercial Break]
– A video package was shown, featuring Lyra Valkyria talking about her arrival to Raw.
– Backstage, Alpha Academy asked Kofi Kingston about his status with Xavier Woods. Woods interrupted to tell Kofi that they needed to talk and that he was still thinking about what Karrion Kross said. Kofi told him not to think about that and to remember what New Day was about. Otis tried to offer them advice, but Woods shut him down, mocked him and his team for being abandoned by Chad Gable and set up a match against them for next week.
(4) SETH ROLLINS vs. BRONSON REED
The Bloodline immediately showed up around the ring, only for Sami Zayn and the Usos to run down and force them to retreat. Reed knocked Rollins down with a forearm strike, but Rollins low-bridged him and hit him with a suicide dive, as WWE Raw went to an ad break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Reed hit Rollins with a body block and smashed his head into the apron. Reed tossed Rollins over the barricade, but Rollins was able to return to the ring in time. Rollins caught Reed with a jawbreaker, only for Reed to take him down with a knee to the gut and a clothesline over the ropes. Reed blasted Rollins with a diving shoulder tackle off the apron.
Rollins evaded a sliding shoulder tackle, making Reed crash into the steel steps. Rollins smashed Reed’s head into the steel steps numerous times, but Reed evaded a Curb Stomp onto them. Back in the ring, Rollins nailed Reed with a springboard knee strike and a thrust kick to the knee. Reed surprised Rollins with a sitout powerbomb, as WWE Raw went to its final commercial break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Rollins laid Reed out with a sunset flip powerbomb for a close two count. Rollins nailed Reed with a Lionsault and a springboard somersault senotn for a pair kick outs at one. Reed missed a seated senton, allowing Rollins to blast him with a thrust kick. Rollins crushed Reed with a Frog Splash for a close two count.
Reed caught Rollins with a clothesline, setting him up for a brainbuster and a nearfall. Rollins hit Reed with a superkick and a Pedigree, but he managed to kick out at two. Rollins attacked Reed with a Curb Stomp, but Solo Sikoa showed up to distract him. Reed took advantage to finish Rollins with a Death Valley Driver, a pair of sentons and a Tsunami.
WINNER: Bronson Reed at 17:37
(Pomares’s Analysis: A really strong main event with the expected interference ending. Even with the cheap finish, it’s good to finally see Bronson Reed get a major singles win. I’m not that interested in seeing him and Rollins jump into the Bloodline storyline, but at least it’s encouraging to see him enter the main event scene and the biggest storyline in WWE at the moment.)
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