RAW was live from Grand Rapids, MI, at the Van Andel Arena this week after the red-brand’s heavyweight champion Gunther learned his next contender for the title would be Damian Priest. He was successful last week in a fatal four-way match, pinning Dominik Mysterio to set up the rematch.
We learned at the show’s open that the heavyweight title rematch will take place at WAR GAMES Survivor Series. For the casual fans, this program may fall short of their Attitude Era expectations, but Priest did not hold back the punches in an attempt to climb back up the superstar ladder.
Sami Got 5 On It?!
The search is on for the fifth member of (NOT) Roman’s “team” of equally powered members—it does not have the same ring as OG Bloodline. After a recap of SmackDown’s reunion between the OGs, we were taken backstage, where Sami and Jimmy tried saying something nice to one another, with Jey Uso acting as the referee. Jimmy Uso admitted they did not have friends on either Monday or Friday, but Sami then claimed he ‘might know someone.’ It was a short segment setting up the next stage of this narrative. Later, in a shot of Bronson Reed walking to the ring from backstage, the camera caught a glimpse of Jey talking to Rey Mysterio.
It appeared as though Rey was shaking his head in response to Jey. This was amazing work for WWE to SHOW us (and not just tell us) the efforts that Jey and company are making trying to land that fifth member.
Rollins-Reed
Bronson Reed called out Seth Rollins and the two brawled; nothing new. Seth demanded another match with Reed despite beating him a week ago and having little motivation to run it back.
The interesting part happened when Sami attempted to recruit Rollins for Roman’s Army. Rollins was dismissive, and Sami was disappointed. Later, Rollins was approached by Solo and Jacob Fatu in search of their own fifth member. Solo told Rollins they both hate Roman and should take him out together. Seth admitted that he would “never team with Roman Reigns” again and that the next time they shared a ring, he would ‘curb-stomp’ him. However, Rollins made it clear that he would also not join a ‘wannabe Roman’ either.
Gunther Catches That Priest Fade?
Priest and Gunther kicked off RAW, and from the jump, it was easy to let your mind wander for a moment whether this would feel more exciting with any of the other three superstars in last week’s main event—including Sheamus. But once Priest got going, he made sure to hit the champ where it hurt.
Priest brought up Gunther’s reign as champ, not just HW champ but IC as well, because holding straps as long as the former NXT champ has gives his character an aura shrouded in gold. Yet, Priest dialed in on Gunther’s insecurities as champ, and the online talk that he likes to claim his rise has stalled, and his reign has dulled. Priest attempted to goad Gunther into attacking, but Kaiser came out to shift focus as the champ’s hype-man. However, Gunther silenced Kaiser before he caught a punch from Priest for calling him “street trash.” While the champion and challenger never got physical with one another, the mind-game battle was won by Priest—the first round, at least.
An interesting note was that Priest was wearing a Bad Bunny shirt, and the camera made sure to give him a center frame at the end of the segment. Priest faced off with Kaiser and defeated him later in the evening.
Same New Day, Same New Day Problems
Kofi and Woods continue to bicker through passive-aggressive gestures like Kofi starting beef with Pete Dunn, who was in the middle of arguing with R-Truth for calling him Butch—yeah, it’s muddy. Simplifying things, it comes down to Woods attempting to quarterback New Day’s tactical movements by staying out of feuds involving others while Kofi continues to resist the authority that he gave to Woods by remaining the ‘good guy’ he and the group have (almost) always been.
Wyatt Sicks Still Rule?
Wyatt Sicks made a full faction appearance tonight as Uncle Howdy announced, “We’re here,” following Karrion Kross dragging The Miz to the ring in a setup. The Miz would slam a steel chair across Rowan’s back as the Wyatt clan took a full group beating for the first time since they debuted. The Miz and Kross celebrated together, though Uncle Howdy was heard and seen laughing hysterically following their beat down as a faction.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match
The main event was Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez challenging the champs in Belair and Cargill. There was all kinds of interference in this match, and it was a bit overbooked, but the tag champs retained the titles despite Tiffany Stratton and Nia’s influence. Naomi was able to help the champs keep the odds even, but it did not stop the post-match beat down from Jax. In an odd piece of booking, Iyo Sky came out without her own backup up, and we had this mashup of faces taking down the roster’s heels—likely to set up a survivor series style match at the PLE.
Is Speed A Thing Now?
After WWE’s SPEED show was pushed on X over the summer, they attempted to give it a ‘bigger push’ by pitting Sheamus and IC champ Bron Breakker, who said he’s looking to collect more hardware in the form of WWE titles. Sheamus showed up as Breakker was mouthing off about him, and it looked as though a program was ahead for the two. Breakker agreed to give Sheamus a title match next week so that he can ‘kick his old ass.’ Jimmy came into the frame after Sheamus exited, asking Breakker if he had a second to talk. He was likely to inquire about him being the fifth member after we saw Rollins decline (and Mysterio, presumably).
Dunn-Kofi
Dunn is having trouble establishing the same “Bruiserweight” character that he successfully built on the indies and NXTUK. Defeating Kofi would normally help, but unfortunately, his match was lost in the New Day saga. Once again, Woods tried to assist Kofi in the match, but Kofi refused. The two ‘friends’ argued outside over the ‘philosophies of winning,’ and that allowed Dunn to pick up the ‘distraction victory.’ Kofi shoved Woods after the match.
Other Tidbits
- It seemed Dakota Kai returned to TV in a ‘face’ role, while “Pure Fusion Collective” played heel.
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