WWE RAW Review – December 4, 2023
Kicking off this week’s Raw with Drew McIntyre welcomes fans to Raw then says it’s the land where it feels like everyone has lost their mind. He says you can get fired or leave WWE but instantly forgiven and able to do whatever you want upon return. He says Jey Uso doesn’t deserve his World Heavyweight Title match against Seth Rollins tonight and reflects on his interaction with Rollins last week then puts Jey on notice.
Sami Zayn’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. He says McIntyre has a lot to say about everyone then tells him that if he has something to say to him he may as well do it to his face. McIntyre says he does and says Zayn deserved to get screwed over by The Bloodline. He explains that he was the errand boy of the group but he screwed them over and because of that he deserved what happened to him at the hands of Roman Reigns. Zayn says he thought he was like McIntyre but admits he was wrong and says the two of them are nothing alike. He says unlike McIntyre he’s not delusional and doesn’t blame everyone around him. He says when he lost his Undisputed WWE Universal Title match to Roman Reigns in February he stayed motivated and landed in the main event of WrestleMania. He says he made his family proud then questions whether the same can be said for McIntyre. McIntyre tells Zayn one of them won’t be walking out of the arena tonight and calls for a referee.
Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn
Drew McIntyre sends Sami Zayn crashing into the corner then hits a belly 2 belly throw and delivers a chop then delivers a headbutt to him on the outside.
Zayn sends McIntyre crashing into the ring post then goes flying over the top rope to level him as we go to a break.
After the break Zayn fires off chops on McIntyre on the outside as McIntyre looks to send Zayn crashing into the barricade but Zayn lands on top of it and delivers a moonsault to McIntyre.
He tosses him back inside the ring and looks to join him but McIntyre catches him with a clothesline as he goes to get back in.
He follows it up with a pair of chops but Zayn levels a couple of his own. McIntyre then levels Zayn with a chop and stomps on his face then stomps on both his legs and charges at him in the corner.
Zayn catches McIntyre with a back elbow and a boot then lands an elbow drop off the middle rope and delivers a boot to McIntyre’s midsection. He looks to deliver a suplex but McIntyre blocks it and looks for one of his own.
Zayn escapes and sends McIntyre crashing into the ring post shoulder first then gets him up and over for a suplex. He fires off a few right hands on his head then connects with a tornado DDT and ascends to the top rope.
He looks for an elbow drop but McIntyre hits a belly 2 belly suplex and follows it up with a belly 2 belly throw and a swinging neckbreaker.
He kips up but is clotheslined out of the ring by Zayn. He looks to go flying over the top rope but McIntyre catches him and tosses him over the announce table as we go to a another break.
After the 2nd break Zayn rolls McIntyre up but McIntyre kicks out and lands a spinebuster. He follows it up with a powerbomb and goes for a pin of his own but Zayn kicks out and McIntyre looks for White Noise off the middle rope.
Zayn counters into a sunset flip and fires off right hands across McIntyre’s spine then looks to plant him.
McIntyre manages to hit a Glasgow Kiss and sets up for Claymore but Zayn catches him with a boot to his face and a Blue Thunder Bomb then goes for a pin but McIntyre kicks out.
McIntyre hits a chop and looks for a 2nd one but Zayn delivers a pair of boots to his head and looks to go flying off the ropes. His leg gives out after he went flying off the middle rope to hit an elbow drop earlier in the match but he manages to send him crashing out of the ring.
As he grasps it while the referee checks on him McIntyre surprises him with a chop block follow by a Claymore for the win.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
After the match McIntyre had the referee raise his arm and the truth will set you free McIntyre said while looking into the camera.
Backstage Byron Saxton interviewed Shayna Baszler while Zoey Stark stood by & Baszler recalled putting Jax on the shelf 2 years earlier by breaking her arm. She said she would remind of her that limb by limb.
A video package aired with Jey Uso talking about his World Heavyweight Title match against Seth Rollins. He recalled his brother Jimmy Uso costing him his WWE Universal Title match against Roman Reigns. Jey said he had to walk away and he convinced himself that he was done.
Jey said that changed when he got a call from Cody Rhodes. Jey said Rhodes told him that he couldn’t quit and that he could be his own man. Jey said the more he thought about it the more he realized Rhodes was right. Jey said he’d been fighting for various family members his entire life but he’s just fighting for himself now. Jey turned his focus to Rollins. He said he would prove to the world to Rollins and to his family why they call him Main Event Jey Uso.
Jackie Redmond was backstage hoping to talk with Sami Zayn when Drew McIntyre attacks Zayn. McIntyre told Zayn that he brought this on himself. McIntyre stomped Zayn’s bad knee. Adam Pearce, producers and referees intervened.
After the break Jey Uso joins Zayn to check on him and assures him that everything will be alright.
Backstage Byron Saxton tried to interview Becky Lynch but Nia Jax quickly interrupted and dismissed him. Lynch told Jax that she still owes her a receipt. Once I’m done squashing Shayna, I’m all yours Jax replied. Lynch told her that she couldn’t wait.
Nix Jax vs. Shayna Baszler
Shayna Baszler delivers a few kicks to Nia Jax’ thigh before Jax tosses her across the ring and delivers a splash to her in the corner then looks for a 2nd one but Baszler avoids it and hits a jumping knee then looks to lock in an arm submission.
Jax counters into a powerbomb that sends Baszler crashing out of the ring then sends her face bouncing off the announce table and gets her up on her shoulders.
Baszler sends her crashing into the ring post spine first and delivers a kick to her off the apron then looks to stomp on her hand.
Jax trips Baszler and delivers a leg drop to the back of her head as we go to a break.
After the break Jax sends Baszler crashing into the mat spine first. She then sends her crashing into the ring post shoulder first and delivers a hip attack then sends Baszler’s head bouncing off the mat.
Baszler fires off a series of kicks on Jax but Jax manages to get Baszler on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop then looks for another hip attack but Baszler moves out of the way and sends Jax crashing into the bottom turnbuckle.
She then delivers a knee and fires off kicks across Jax’s chest and hits a roundhouse kick across her head but Jax hits her with a splash as she looks to run the ropes and delivers a running senton.
Jax ascends to the middle rope and looks for Annihilator but Baszler pulls her off with a German suplex and locks in the Kirifuda Clutch.
Jax makes her way up to her feet and sends Baszler crashing into the mat to force her to relinquish the hold then hits Annihilator for the win.
Winner: Nia Jax
After the match Becky Lynch makes her way down to the ring to confront Jax but Jax slips out of the ring before anything further can happen.
DIY were talking backstage when Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell showed up before Imperium crashed the party and spoke about the lovely couple then calls them a lovely couple of losers. Hartwell mocks them by saying she hoped Gunther wouldn’t get mad. After DIY, LeRae & Hartwell walks away Ludwig Kaiser told Giovanni Vinci not to screw up because their tag match was important. I got it Vinci said. I hope you do too.
Tag Team 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match
DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs. Imperium (Giovanni Vinci & Ludwig Kaiser)
1st Fall
Match starts off with Tommaso Ciampa & Ludwig Kaiser lock up then Kaiser sends Ciampa crashing into the corner face first then tags Giovanni Vinci in. Vinci lands an uppercut on Ciampa but Ciampa fires off strikes on him.
Vinci then runs him over with a crossbody and connects with a right hand across his spine before tagging in Ludwig Kaiser then Kaiser stomps on Ciampa’s head but Ciampa sends him crashing into the middle turnbuckle face first and tags in Johnny Gargano.
Gargano levels Kaiser and hits an enzuigiri from the apron then delivers a Spear through the middle rope and tags in Ciampa.
DIY look to land Meeting In The Middle but Vinci prevents Gargano from landing his move & this opens the door for Kaiser to roll up Ciampa to earn the 1st Fall.
Imperium 1-0
2nd Fall
After the break Kaiser clocks Ciampa with a right hand on the apron and tags in Vinci.
Imperium hits a double dropkick to Gargano before Gargano takes a shot at Kaiser on the apron.
Imperium sets up for Imperium Bomb but Gargano rolls up Vinci to win the 2nd Fall.
DIY 1-1
3rd Fall
Ciampa tags in and connects with strikes on Imperium then Ciampa delivers a double DDT combination on Imperium before Gargano becomes legal again and he double teams on Vinci with Ciampa.
Kaiser tags in and Imperium sets up for the Imperium Bomb but Gargano escapes with a hurricanrana to Vinci.
Vinci tags in and delivers a moonsault off the top rope but Gargano plants him with a DDT.
Ciampa & Kaiser tag in and they end up teetering on the ropes then Ciampa plants Kaiser and tags in Gargano. DIY looks for Meeting In The Middle but Ciampa is pulled out of the ring by Vinci.
Ciampa sends Vinci crashing into the ring steps and Gargano looks to hit a running knee but Kaiser rolls him up but Gargano kicks out and tags Ciampa in before DIY hits Meeting In The Middle for the win.
Winners: DIY (2-1)
Backstage Women’s Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green & Piper Niven mocking Tegan Nox & Natalya. Nox wound up for a punch which made Green flinch. Natalya said that after they won their match they were coming after the Women’s Tag Team Titles and would not miss.
We get a recap of the Creed Brothers winning the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tag Team Turmoil Match.
Backstage Creed Brothers had New Day on their shoulders and were doing squats while Ivy Nile watched after New Day were back on their feet Xavier Woods said he messed up his wrist a bit in the match but he’d be okay then Alpha Academy showed up. Chad Gable invited Creed Brothers to stop by for training. Julius Creed calls Nile their secret weapon when it came to neutralizing Rhea Ripley. Gable had Maxxine Dupri perform squats with Akira Tozawa on her shoulders.
We see R Truth hanging out in Judgment Day’s lounge as he sets up his new television before Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Mr Money In The Bank Damian Priest, NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh kicks him out before discussing Drew McIntyre. Priest declares himself as the leader in the absence of Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley & Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Finn Balor then encourages Mysterio & McDonagh ahead of their match later tonight.
Tag Team Match
Tegan Nox & Natalya vs. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
Tegan Nox & Kayden Carter lock up to get this match started before Natalya & Katana Chance tag in and Chance rolls up Natalya but Natalya kicks out and gets Chance up above her head then hits a powerslam but Carter tags in and tosses Chance on top of her.
Chance tags back in and Carter delivers a dropkick to Natalya in the corner. Natalya looks to plant Chance but Carter tags in before she can. Natalya fights her off and tags in Nox.
Nox delivers a running uppercut and a clothesline then fires off right hands on Carter and delivers a senton in the corner before Chance rolls her up. Natalya breaks the fall then tags in.
Chance catches her with a Codebreaker before Carter becomes legal again and lands a kick across her face. Chance tags in and they hit Natalya with The Keg Stand for the win.
Winners: Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
After the match Chelsea Green climbs onto the apron and was yelling at Carter & Chance before Carter teased punching Green then Chance dropkicks Green to the floor.
Cody Rhodes says he was terrified the first time he encountered poison mist from The Great Muta as a child then says he was right about his childhood fears last week. He says he should’ve paid attention to the clues from Shinsuke Nakamura that he was indeed the person he was targeting then says he’s ready. He says Nakamura has both his attention and the attention of the WWE Universe then says Nakamura could come to the ring to explain himself or come to the ring to fight Rhodes.
The lights go out as Nakamura appears on the Titan Tron and tells Rhodes he made his eyes burn last week. He says tonight he’ll open Rhodes’ eyes and show him what he isn’t seeing. He says they’ve taken the same path from the Royal Rumble to WrestleMania to losing at The Grandest Stage of Them All. He says he slipped into a bottomless pit after his loss much like Rhodes then says they suffered the same humiliation. He says he knows Rhodes has a voice in his head that causes him doubt then says Rhodes has inspired him and he’s here to unburden him. He says he’ll take Rhodes’ story off his hands and because he never got to finish his own he will now be finishing Rhodes’ story for him.
When the lights come back on Rhodes tells Nakamura that he doesn’t respect him despite their similar path. He says he doesn’t run from a fight and dares Nakamura to prove to him that they are the same.
Michael Cole & Wade Barrett recaps Drew McIntyre taking out Sami Zayn in a backstage attack earlier in the show.
Adam Pearce was on the phone asking someone to let them know if they have any updates. Jey Uso enters the frame and spoke about how he might have to get McIntyre. Pearce tried to calm him down so that he could focus on his World Heavyweight Title match. Jey said he was locked in then jumps up and down while saying he had this. Intercontienetal Champion Gunther enters the room and spoke with Pearce after Jey had exits the room.
Tag Team Match
Judgement Day (NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh) vs. Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus)
Brutus Creed gets Dominik Mysterio up for a delayed vertical suplex then tags in Julius Creed and hands him off to him as we see R Truth appears at ringside and JD McDonagh tags in.
Brutus becomes legal again and delivers a kneeling fireman’s carry before landing a back body drop and a 2nd kneeling fireman’s carry. McDonagh & Brutus each exchange an elbow strike but Brutus tags in Julius. Julius wears down McDonagh and Brutus tags back in.
Mysterio makes the blind tag on his side before McDonagh sends Brutus crashing to the outside. Julius is sent out to join him and McDonagh delivers a moonsault off the ropes as we go to a break.
After the break Mysterio hits 3 Amigos to Brutus but Brutus manages to counter into a vertical suplex and tags in Julius. McDonagh becomes legal and gets caught with 3 belly 2 belly suplexes as does Mysterio.
Julius gets McDonagh into an electric chair position and looks to tag in Brutus but Mysterio pulls Brutus off the top rope. McDonagh counters into a Dragonrana and tags in Mysterio.
Mysterio dials it up for 619 and tags McDonagh back in then Julius delivers a double suplex to McDonagh & Mysterio then tags in Brutus. Julius gets McDonagh up in an electric chair position and Brutus hits Brutus Ball for the win.
Winners: Creed Brothers
Highlights aired from Smackdown of Randy Orton choosing to sign with Smackdown so that he can get his hands on The Bloodline.
Backstage Adam Pearce approached Seth Rollins and informed him that he invited CM Punk to be on Raw with the intention of signing him to a Raw contract. Rollins laughed and said he doesn’t give a damn. Rollins said that when Punk shows the world his true colors and this blows up in Pearce’s face Pearce should stay out of his way when Rollins does what he has to do.
Rollins shifted the focus to his match with Jey as he claps and enters the picture while Pearce made his exit. Jey told Rollins he respects him but he’s waited nearly 15 years to get this opportunity. Jey told Rollins he was looking at the new World Heavyweight Champion and asked if he felt him.
Rollins laughs and said he felt Jey then told him that he feels like he would Stomp his face into the mat the 1st chance he gets. Jey said that was cool because he felt that he would kick Rollins’ face off the 1st chance he gets. This is about as friendly as we’re going to be Rollins said while holding up his fist. Jey bumps fists and said he guessed it was then went back to being peppy while saying it was his night.
Backstage Damian Priest asked Dominik Mysterio and McDonagh what happened. Mysterio said Creed Brothers are the real deal and added that he & Balor better watch out. McDonagh chimed in and agreed that Creed Brothers are legit. Priest accepted the answer and told them to go get cleaned up.
World Heavyweight Title Match
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Jey Uso
Match starts off with a lock up then they go back & forth exchanging submission holds before Seth Rollins lands a shoulder tackle then Jey connects with one of his own and Rollins looks for a Curb Stomp but Jey manages to avoid it as we go to a break.
After the break Rollins delivers a springboard moonsault to Jey and follows it up with a chop. He delivers a kick to the back of Jey’s head and a back suplex but Jey responds with a variation of a neckbreaker and follows it up with a backbreaker.
Jey ascends to the top rope but Rollins stops him with an enzuigiri then they land on the outside and Rollins looks for a Buckle Bomb on the barricade but Jey escapes and lands a DDT as we go to a another break.
After the 2nd break Rollins lands a rolling elbow and clotheslines Jey out of the ring then hits a tope suicida and looks for a 2nd but Jey slides in the ring and clotheslines him back out.
He delivers a tope suicida of his own before they get back inside the ring and level one another with crossbodies. Jey fires off strikes on Rollins but Rollins delivers a boot to his midsection and follows it up with a clothesline.
Jey delivers a kick to Rollins’ midsection before connecting with an open palm strike and an enzuigiri then hits a hip attack and ascends to the top rope then looks to fly. Rollins ducks out of the way and connects with a Sling Blade then ascends to the top and hits a splash.
He sets up for a Pedigree but Jey escapes before Rollins lands a superkick but Jey hits one of his own and ascends to the top rope & hits Uso Splash and goes for a pin but Rollins kicks out. Jey climbs back up to the top rope but Rollins joins him up there and delivers a superplex.
He then delivers a Falcon Arrow and a Pedigree before going for a pin but Jey kicks out and Rollins looks for a Curb Stomp but Jey moves out of the way and hits a spear.
Rollins responds with a Buckle Bomb but Jey hits a spear then ascends to the top rope and hits an Uso Splash then goes for a pin. Rollins kicks out and Jey lands a kick on his head.
He looks for another spear but Rollins counters into a Pedigree then follows it up with Curb Stomp for the win.
Winner & Still World Heavyweight Champion: Seth Rollins (STILL CHAMPION!!!) (Recommend)
After the match Rollins helps Jey up and celebrates with Albany before Drew McIntyre blindsides Jey on the outside with a Claymore and Rollins looks to come to Jey’s aid by hitting a tope suicida on McIntyre but McIntyre catches him and hits a belly 2 belly suplex to him on the floor then sends Jey crashing through the announce table and stands tall to close out this week’s Raw.
Next Week’s Raw
Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
