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Credit: @WWE on X
WWE Raw opened this week with World Heavyweight Champion Gunther coming to the ring for a promo. Gunther will defend his championship against Damian Priest at Survivor Series. So, obviously, Priest was quick to interrupt, telling him to say whatever he had to say to his face. Priest would pull an 8 Mile on Gunther, saying all the bad things he might say about him. Priest then took the obvious dig at Gunther for losing to Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel before claiming Gunther was scared he would get dropped if he took a swing. Ludwig Kaiser would come from the back to Gunther’s aid, but this seemed to cause some friction between the two before Priest took a swing at Kaiser. Gunther would take the opportunity to exit safely.
The first match of the night pitted Damage CTRL against Pure Fusion Collective. The ending was a bit sloppy, as they attempted to execute a finish involving all the women. Iyo Sky hit the Over-the-Moonsault to secure the victory.
The next match would see Kofi Kingston versus Pete Dunne. This match felt a bit flat, and the camera angles certainly didn’t help Dunne’s striking, showing large gaps between the strikes and Kingston. At one point, Xavier Woods would strike Dunne while the referee was distracted (not very babyface-like). Kofi would confront Woods about it, leading to Pete Dunne winning the match. The slow tear of the New Day continues as the two argue after the match.
Bronson Reed would come to the ring for a promo next. Bronson has been on a hot streak as of late, including great brawls and backstage segments. That being said, he is fresh off a loss to Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel. Bronson Reed is now on a path to put Rollins “down for good.” Rollins would come rushing to the ring and the fight was on. Security would come to keep them apart, only to be tossed aside. Even more men would run down the ramp and split them up before heading to commercial.
Damian Priest versus Ludwig Kaiser would be next, stemming from their scrap in the earlier segment above. A fairly stiff match from both men, concluding with a South of Heaven Chokeslam and pinfall victory for Damian Priest.
Final Testament would force The Miz into the ring for not telling them anything about The Wyatt Sicks, who kidnapped The Miz but also attacked Paul Ellering. It wouldn’t be long before the lights went out and the piano of The Wyatt Sicks came in. Wyatt Sicks and Final Testament would end up face-to-face, and The Miz would blindside Erik Rowan with a steel chair. Final Testament would continue to take out everyone before celebrating with The Miz for a well-executed plan. The segment would end with Uncle Howdy simply laughing at Karrion Kross.
The next match sees Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill defending their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. During the match, Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton would come to distract the referee and hit a Samoan Drop on Jade Cargill, but Bianca Belair breaks up the pin. Naomi would also come to their aid, leading to a victory for the tag champs. Nia Jax would attack them again after the bell, but they would be rescued by Iyo Sky.
That wraps up WWE Raw for this week. Stay tuned to Greenville Sports Media for more of my regular wrestling articles.
Howe Fresh
for Greenville Sports Media
and check out my weekly opinionated podcast “The Wrasslin Corner”
