Highlights
- The rivalry between Seth Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura is far from over.
- The Miz interviews an 'invisible' John Cena on Miz TV.
- Gunther continues his reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion with a win over Chad Gable.
After some massive matches at WWE Payback 2023, this week’s Monday Night Raw was all about the aftermath. Headlining the premium live event, Seth Rollins defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. However, The King of Strong Style didn’t digest his loss well and attacked the champion after Payback went off-air.
On Saturday, Cody Rhodes was a surprise guest on the Payback edition of the Grayson Waller Effect. Out of the blue, Rhodes announced Jey Uso as the newest member of Raw. Becky Lynch finished off her rivalry with Trish Stratus with a steel cage victory at Payback 2023. However, things went worse for the Hall of Famer when her protege, Zoey Stark betrayed her.
In one of the most brutal matches of Payback, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn faced Damian Priest and Finn Balor, with their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships on the line. The match soon turned into a 5-on-2 handicap match, eventually leading to Balor and Priest shocking the world with a win.
With everything that happened at the record-breaking premium live event, this week’s Raw was a must-see. Apart from that, Chad Gable got a rematch against Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship this week on Raw. With a lot on the card, let’s recap what happened on this week’s episode!
10 Jey Uso meets a familiar face on Raw
Main Event Jey Uso kicked off Monday Night Raw this week and was happy to be all alone. Sami Zayn came out to show how happy he was with Jey being on the red brand. WWE was spot on with the segment bringing back the history both men have with each other, thanks to The Bloodline saga. Later on Raw, Dominik Mysterio met Jey Uso backstage and offered him to join the Judgment Day. Though Jey didn’t answer it, things would certainly go wild if Jey joined the faction.
9 The Viking Raiders defeated Drew McIntyre and Matt Riddle
In-ring competition kicked off on Monday Night Raw with a tornado tag match. The WWE Universe has been very happy to see brutal action return to the tag team division of the company. After a hard-hitting Steel City Street Fight for the Undisputed Tag Team Championships at Payback, this week’s tornado tag match was another massive battle in the tag team division.
Kofi Kingston was seen helping Drew McIntyre and Riddle during the match. However, the help backfired when Kingston was used as a weapon to take both men down. With some dangerous spots throughout the match, The Viking Raiders sent Riddle through the table to get the win.
8 Seth Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura engaged in a brawl
The World Heavyweight Champion came out and called out Shinsuke Nakamura for his attack after Payback went off-air. Rollins offered Nakamura a rematch to The King of Strong Style, but Shinsuke denied his offer. Both men then brawled on the ramp when Adam Pearce brought security out to separate both men.
Nakamura was able to land some strikes on Rollins’ back. Ricochet came out and attacked The King of Strong Style to send him back. This was a great segment between both Nakamura and Rollins after a brutal match at Payback 2023. A rematch between them is seemingly in plans for Fastlane.
7 Ricochet defeated Shinsuke Nakamura via disqualification
Adam Pearce announced a match between Shinsuke Nakamura and Ricochet after the brawl. The King of Strong Style dominated over Ricochet throughout the match. However, the latter was able to win via disqualification after Nakamura attacked him with a steel chair. Seth Rollins then came out to Ricochet’s aid.
Security came out to stop the chaos when Rollins attacked everybody. The King of Strong Style tried to get the upper hand by attacking Rollins again when Ricochet used the steel chair to send him back.
6 Is JD McDonagh a part of the Judgment Day?
Draped in gold, The Judgment Day came out to address their tag team championship victory at Payback 2023. United stronger than ever, the red brand's dark collective proved to be the most dominant faction in WWE. JD McDonagh came out and introduced a new Money in the Bank briefcase for Priest.
Sami Zayn then came out and addressed his loss at Payback. The former Tag Team Champion then challenged Dominik Mysterio for a match. However, JD McDonagh interrupted him and announced a match with Zayn. With the involvement of McDonagh in The Judgment Day, it won’t be surprising if he is added in as a part of the stable.
5 Shayna Baszler defeated Zoey Stark
The last time these women met in the ring was August 7, and Baszler emerged victorious. However, this week’s match was a must-see collision. In an intense battle, both women tore each other apart to define themselves as the baddest.
Shayna Baszler ended up getting the win in the end. The referee stopped the match after Stark seemingly passed out to the Kirifuda Clutch. However, both women showed respect for each other after the match ended. Baszler and Stark as a tag team could be in the plans for the future.
4 Raquel Rodriguez defeated Chelsea Green
After a loss in one of the biggest matches of her career, Raquel Rodriguez was seen furious during her match on Raw. With WWE trying to enhance Rodriguez back into that title picture, a match against Chelsea Green was a great idea. In a few minutes, Raquel was able to pick a win against the Women’s Tag Team Champion. Rhea Ripley's Payback challenger then announced a rematch for the Women's World Championship with Dominik Mysterio barred from ringside.
3 The Miz hosted Miz TV with 'Invisible' John Cena
The Miz came out to address his loss at Payback. He hyped up the WWE Universe by welcoming John Cena. Miz mocked the franchise player before challenging LA Knight for a rematch without any special guest referee. This ended up being one of the most hilarious segments in history and The Miz was the only gem on the roster who could've pulled it off.
2 JD McDonagh defeated Sami Zayn
After weeks of confrontations, JD McDonagh and Sami Zayn came face to face in a singles match this week on Raw. In a highly anticipated match, both men tore each other apart with some hard-hitting action. Dominik Mysterio then interfered to distract Zayn then McDonagh rolled him up to get the win.
1 Gunther defeated Chad Gable and retained the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Being one of the most anticipated matches of the night, Gunther vs. Chad Gable had everyone on the edge of their seats. The main event of Raw turned out to be another massive match in their exciting rivalry. Gable and Gunther delivered some hard-hitting strikes to each other throughout the battle which was majorly dominated by the champion.
However, the fightback from Gable was enough to keep the fans engaged. The WWE Universe went wild when Gable delivered the superplex and a splash. However, the Ring General was eventually able to deliver the powerbomb and get the win. Gunther now has no obstacles on the path to becoming the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in history.