WWE Monday Night Raw returns at 8/7c tonight on the USA Network from the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
On tap for tonight’s show is CM Punk revealing which brand he’s signing with, Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso, Rhea Ripley vs. Maxxine Dupri, Becky Lynch will call out Nia Jax and more.
Featured below are complete WWE Monday Night Raw results from Monday, December 4, 2023. The following report was written by PWMania.com reporter Matt Boone (@MattBoone0709) as the show aired live on the USA Network from 8-11pm EST.
WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW RESULTS (12/11/2023)
The usual John Cena-led “WWE. Then. Now. Forever. Together.” opening signature gets us started and then we shoot into a lengthy video package that covers Drew McIntyre’s further slide into his heel turn on last week’s show with attacks of Sami Zayn and “Main Event” Jey Uso.
A new Raw theme song and opening video then airs to get the show officially off-and-running from the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, OH. Fireworks explode and Michael Cole welcomes us to the show.
“Main Event” Jey Uso vs. Drew McIntyre
The theme song for Jey Uso hits and out comes “Main Event” Jey to kick off this week’s show. He gets in the ring wearing a blue YEET shirt and then confirms that “YEET! is back,” leading fans in a “YEET!” chant. He then sends a shout out to Sami Zayn following the attack by McIntyre last week.
Uso brings up CM Punk being here tonight and mentions how he will decide which brand he will sign with this evening. As he continues to talk, Drew McIntyre’s theme hits and out comes “The Scottish Warrior.” He comes out on the mic and says he’s one of the few on the roster who knows CM Punk and says SmackDown can have him, because he’ll tear Raw down.
McIntyre shows an example of an apology and then says that’s something Jey refuses to do for him. He then asks the crowd if someone was in his situation, who wouldn’t go for revenge themselves? He points out a fan named Austin in the crowd and uses him as an example. Uso asks the crowd if they want McIntyre to catch this “Yeet-down” give him a “YEET!” They oblige.
Now Drew heads into the ring, the bell sounds and Uso immediately takes it to him, with fans chanting “YEET!” with his strike he lands. He knocks McIntyre out to the floor before he even takes his leather jacket off. He does as he steams at ringside, grilling Uso as we head into a quick mid-match commercial break.
When we return, we see McIntyre is in control of the action. The fight spills out to the floor, where Uso starts to take back control of things. Back in the ring, Uso has McIntyre finished, but can’t get the three count.
The turnbuckle is taken off the ropes in the corner, and while the referee is dealing with that, “The Scottish Warrior” blatantly thumbs Uso in the eye and hits his finisher for the win. After the match, McIntyre demands the referee raise his hand in victory as Michael Cole hypes McIntyre’s “revenge tour” from being far from over.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Shinsuke Nakamura Addresses Cody Rhodes Ahead Of Their Match
We see a lengthy video hyping CM Punk’s segment tonight announcing which brand he will be signing with. We then head to another commercial break. When we return, we see a Shinsuke Nakamura vignette addressing Cody Rhodes ahead of their match tonight in the main event of the show.
Rhea Ripley vs. Maxxine Dupri
After that, we shoot backstage where Finn Balor blames JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio, who he calls clowns, for The Judgment Day’s wheels falling off. Rhea Ripley brings up R-Truth breaking into the clubhouse many times and how Dom-Dom lost his NXT North American Championship.
Damian Priest finally speaks up and says those things suck, but so do people not showing up to Raw, which he says while looking at Rhea Ripley and Finn Balor. Ripley then says it looks like saying you’re the leader is easier than actually being the leader. Priest takes issue with that but Ripley says she’s talking to everyone and tonight she’s personally gonna make sure things go right.
From there, we head into the locker room of the Alpha Academy and The Creed Brothers. They are hyping up Maxxine Dupri ahead of her match against WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley. R-Truth walks in with Christmas lights and says he’s gonna decorate The Judgment Day clubhouse.
Chad Gable tries to calmly tell Truth to be careful around The Judgment Day, pointing out that they are dangerous and how he doesn’t think that Truth is even in the group. Truth says he is and then shouts “Happy Thanksgiving!” before walking off in a happy, go-lucky mood.
Back inside the arena, “This is My Brutality” plays and out comes the reigning WWE Women’s World Champion for our next match of the evening here on this week’s show. She heads out and makes her way down to the ring as she is introduced by WWE ring announcer Samantha Irvin. As she settles in the ring, we head into a quick pre-match commercial break.
When we return, Maxxine Dupri comes out accompanied by Ivy Nile and settles in the ring for her big showdown against the “Mami” of The Judgment Day. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one, which doesn’t last long as Ripley dominates Dupri with a Rip-Tide and her new submission finisher for the win.
After the match, Ripley gets in Dupri’s face some more and taunts and mocks her after beating her, until finally Ivy Nile hits the ring and steps up and gets in Ripley’s face. The two stare each other down and Ripley walks off talking about how Nile and Dupri aren’t even on her level.
Winner: Rhea Ripley
CM Punk Decides Which Brand He’s Going To Sign With
We see a video package hyping up the former Undisputed NXT Women’s Tag-Team Championship duo of Katana Chance & Kayden Carter to hype them up before their scheduled match later in the show against Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell.
Now we shoot live backstage where we see Raw General Manager Adam Pearce with a contract in-hand walking the hallways. He approaches CM Punk’s locker room, knocks on the door and walks in as we head into another commercial break.
When we return, we see Raw G.M. Adam Pearce make his way to the ring with a contract in his hands. He mentions how he’s spoken with Nick Aldis of SmackDown and Shawn Michaels of NXT, but now it’s time for CM Punk to make his way down to the ring and make his decision on which brand he is going to sign with.
With that said, Pearce formally introduces “The Best in the World” and Cult of Personality by Living Colour plays as CM Punk emerges in his “Hell Froze Over” t-shirt to fans loudly chanting “CM Punk! CM Punk!” as he settles inside the squared circle.
He starts by mentioning the big decision ahead of him. He says this city and this particular venue hasn’t always been kind to him. He mentions how this is the building he made his debut in. He says he had Mickie James on his arm. He says after his debut he was sent to OVW and he embraced being uncomfortable and learned how to love it.
Punk then recalls returning to the same building years later as world champion, but he was kicked in the head backstage by Randy Orton and then stripped of the title. He asks if anyone in the building was there ten years ago for this story. He mentions how 10 years ago he had the make the hardest decision of his life in leaving WWE.
CM Punk continues mentioning how he wonders if anyone in Cleveland bought a ticket that night to see CM Punk only for him not to show up. He mentions a story of a young fan who fits that exact description. He apologizes to anyone else like this who was affected by his decision to walk out of the company.
Now he moves on to talk about the talks he had with Nick Aldis and Shawn Michaels about possibly signing contracts to join SmackDown or NXT. He says Adam Pearce has put together a deal that is honestly head and shoulders better than both of those other deals. He says if he’s very real or very honest, his mind was already made up when he looked at the calendar and saw Cleveland.
He says he’s here to bury those ghosts and right a few wrongs. He says his future starts now and says you couldn’t write a better television show. Ten years, almost to the day, that CM Punk walked out, he walks right back in. He says if you’re happy or mad about it, you better learn to love it. He tells Adam Pearce that the newest Raw Superstar is named CM Punk. He says CM Punk is home. He signs the contract as fans chant “CM Punk! CM Punk!”
Seth Rollins And CM Punk Have An Intense Promo Battle
After that, with Punk and Pearce still in the ring, we hear the familiar sounds of the theme music of WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin'” Rollins. Out comes “The Visionary” and “The Revolutionary” and he gets in the ring and immediately has an intense stare down with CM Punk as fans roar in the background. Neither guy breaks the stare, which stays intense throughout.
Half the fans chat “CM Punk!” while the other half sing Seth Rollins’ music without it actually playing. It’s playing out pretty perfectly. Rollins walks past Punk and asks for a microphone. Rollins begins by welcoming Punk to “Monday Night Rollins.” He tells Punk he hopes he knows how incredibly fortunate he is to be standing in this ring right now. He asks Punk to do him one favor. He says don’t dare call this place his home.
He tells Punk it’s not his home because he walked out on it ten years ago and then spent ten years actively trying to tear it down, slandering it in interviews and competing against it. He says this isn’t Punk’s home, it’s his home. The fans cheer and start singing along with Rollins’ music without it playing again. He says he’s been here and for everybody in the back, those are his brothers and sisters.
He says everyone in the building and everyone watching at home, this is his family and he says he’ll do everything in his power to protect it from people like Punk. He wants to make one thing perfectly clear. He doesn’t want there to be any confusion. He says he’s gonna say it plainly with every fiber of his being. He tells CM Punk that he hates him, but if he’s gonna be a part of WWE again, then he wants him on Monday Night RAW.
Rollins says the truth always comes out. He says this is his last chance. He says either he’ll expose himself and self destruct like he always does, and he’ll be the first person in the back to slam the door shut on his legacy, or if by some miracle he has changed, and if he’s got any gas left in his old tank, maybe one day he’ll be lucky enough to stand across the ring from him in a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match and then he can expose him for the fraud that he is.
He will show him that there are levels to this and he will wrestle circles around him and he will let him understand in real time what it means to be “The Best in the World.” The fans respond with loud “CM Punk!” chants, eager to hear his response in his first promo battle since returning to the company. Punk sternly asks Rollins if he’s done. He says that’s his one pass to speak to him disrespectfully without him coming after him.
He says he’s never asked for anything to be handed to him and he’s always done things the stubborn-hard way. He asks where Adam Pearce is. He says as long as they’re making things official, they might as well make this official — CM Punk is entering the Royal Rumble. He says when CM Punk wins, maybe Seth, it’ll be you that he comes after. He drops the mic and his theme hits to end an intense, excellent promo segment.
Ivar vs. Bronson Reed
Now it’s time for the battle of the behemoths, as Ivar of The Viking Raiders goes one-on-one against “Big” Bronson Reed. We see a video package featuring words from Valhalla and then Bronson Reed is shown in a response video package.
After that, we return live in the arena where the first of two three-hundred-plus pounders makes his way to the ring for this battle of two big boys next on Raw as we head to a pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, Ivar’s theme hits and out he comes accompanied by Valhalla. He settles in the ring and the bell sounds to get this one officially off-and-running. After some early back-and-forth action, we see things spill out to the floor where Ivar and Reed collide into each other as we head into a mid-match commercial break.
As we settle back in from the mid-match commercial time out, we see the action still in progress back inside the ring. Things build to the finish, which sees Reed and Ivar on the top-rope together. Reed connects with a huge super-plex for the pin fall victory.
Winner: Bronson Reed
The Creed Brothers Get One Over On The Judgment Day Again
Now we head backstage where we see CM Punk when up comes The Judgment Day. Damian Priest introduces himself and the group to Punk, pointing out that they run things on the brand that Punk just signed with.
He tells Punk he hopes he’s able to be the first guy to finish a story around here and if he does win the Royal Rumble and the title, Priest will be the first to see him, which he says while raising his Money In The Bank briefcase.
Back inside the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, OH., we hear the familiar sounds of The Judgment Day’s theme music. Out comes the entire group, consisting of Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh and Rhea Ripley. As they settle into the ring, we head into another commercial break.
When we return, we hear Priest say he feels the need to remind everyone just who the hell they are. He says all rise for The Judgment Day. He then goes on to put the entire tag-team division, including newcomers like The Creed Brothers, on notice.
Dominik Mysterio goes to speak but the fans boos drown him out as always. He tries again but then gives up as R-Truth makes his way out with a handful of Christmas lights. He mentions how he went to do some decorating to The Judgment Day clubhouse, but they went and got a lock for the front door and the back.
JD McDonagh speaks up, annoyed at Truth and telling him that he’s not part of the group and no one likes him. Priest tells him to calm down and pretends to want to hear what Truth has to say, inviting him into the ring. Truth says firstly, he thinks they should kick JD McDonagh out of the group.
Dom has to hold JD back as he flips out while Truth tells him no one likes him. In the end, all of The Judgment Day guys end up beating down R-Truth in a four-on-one attack. The Creed Brothers run down and they start getting beat down, too. Julius ends up firing up and taking them all out.
CM Punk Runs Into Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Chad Gable & Ricochet
Backstage we see Drew McIntyre and Adam Pearce talking when up walks CM Punk. McIntyre makes a quick slick comment to the newest member of the Raw roster and then walks off. Up comes Kofi Kingston and Punk says, “Jamacian-make crazy!” Kingston laughs and says he doesn’t do that anymore.
Also coming up to shake Punk’s hand was Ricochet and Chad Gable. Punk walks off and then the brief backstage segment wraps up on that note.
Katana Chance & Kayden Carter vs. Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell
Now we head back inside the arena where the former Undisputed NXT Women’s Tag-Team Championship duo of Katana Chance and Kayden Carter make their way out and head to the ring. As they settle inside the squared circle, we shift gears and head into a pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see the Undisputed WWE Women’s Tag-Team Championship duo of Chelsea Green and Piper Niven have joined Michael Cole and Wade Barrett on special guest commentary for our next match of the evening.
Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell make their way down to the ring and settle inside. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one. The commentators largely ignore the action as they banter back-and-forth with Green and Niven. Natalya and Tegan Nox are shown watching on via a monitor backstage.
After some more back-and-forth action, we see the push continue for the former NXT women’s tag champs, as Chance and Carter hit their After Party double-team finisher for the pin fall victory. They get in Green and Niven’s faces after the match at ringside.
Winners: Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
DIY Have Special Mystery Partner For Tonight
We check in backstage and we see the DIY duo of Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano talking about whether or not they can trust their mystery partner for their six-man tag-team match later tonight. As they continue talking, up walks GUNTHER and his Imperium pals.
GUNTHER tells Ciampa and Gargano they seem confident, but he doubts they’ll find anyone who wants to associate with two weird people like them in public. He tells Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci to go and they walk off. We see Becky Lynch walking the halls as we head into another commercial break.
Becky Lynch Calls Out Nia Jax
When we return, Becky Lynch’s theme music hits and out comes “The Man” to the ring for her advertised promo segment. She says “The Man has come back around to Cleveland” and then quickly points out how she came here tonight to call out Nia Jax.
Lynch brings up the infamous spot where Nia Jax broke Lynch’s nose, creating the iconic moment and visual that led to her main event run as “The Man” of the women’s division in WWE. She mentions how Jax had double ACL surgery because she is a woman who is so unlikable that even her own knees won’t stand up for her.
As she continues to talk, she is interrupted by the entrance music for Nia Jax. She makes her way out to a ton of boos from the Cleveland crowd in attendance. Jax says she is right here in front of her and better than ever. She points out the punch that broke her nose was a lucky swing that almost ended her career.
Jax tells Lynch to imagine if she was right in front of her and she punched her with her full force. She says Lynch wouldn’t even get up. Lynch mentions how everyone who gets in the ring with her ends up getting hospitalized or suffering broken bones. She says Jax almost ended a career or two as well.
Nia tells Lynch that she has her to thank for her career. Lynch says this is the narrative she needs to change. She says if this was all just about her broken nose, people would’ve moved on from her after the blood dryed. They have a few more words and then the segment wraps up with Jax telling Lynch she needs her more than the other way around.
Cody Rhodes Says He And CM Punk Can’t Both Finish Their Stories In 2024
Jackie Redmond is backstage with Cody Rhodes. “The American Nightmare” talks about how he and CM Punk can’t both “finish their stories” in 2024, as only one person can win the Royal Rumble and go on to WrestleMania 40 to challenge for the title.
He then mentions how Stardust also debuted in this building tonight. He shifts focus to his main event showdown tonight against Shinsuke Nakamura and then wraps things up.
DIY & The Miz vs. GUNTHER & Imperium
Back inside the arena, GUNTHER’s theme music hits and out comes “The Ring General” to loud boos from the Cleveland crowd. The longest-reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion of all-time and his fellow Imperium members of Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci head to the ring as we head to another commercial break.
When we return, we see the Imperium trio settled in the ring and then their entrance tune dies down. The theme for DIY hits and out comes the duo of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. They stop on the ramp, their music dies down and then we await to find out who their mystery partner for this six-man tag-team match is.
The Miz’s theme hits and out comes “The A-Lister” to a big pop. DIY and Miz head to the ring together as Michael Cole freaks out on commentary about the history between Miz and Ciampa specifically, mentioning he is curious how they will co-exist for this match. They settle in the ring and the bell sounds to get us started.
Kicking things off for their respective teams are Gargano and Vinci. Before anything happens, GUNTHER tags in. Miz eagerly anticipates a tag as well, and as Gargano gets ready to do so, he is ambushed and attacked from behind by GUNTHER, who beats him down and then tags in Kaiser to continue to go to work on him.
The action spills out to the floor where GUNTHER runs over his opposition with a big boot. As the Imperium trio continues to dominate the early action in this one, we shift gears and head into a quick mid-match commercial break as the action continues.
As we settle back in from the break, we see Kaiser working over Ciampa, before he tags “The Ring General” back in. GUNTHER taunts Gargano and Miz on the apron, even decking Miz off the apron and onto the floor with a big boot. Vinci tags in and picks up where he left off.
After some more back-and-forth action, we see Miz and GUNTHER each tag in and the crowd goes wild as Cleveland’s own Miz takes it to “The Ring General.” He locks him in a figure-four leg lock and it looks almost over but it isn’t. GUNTHER tags out and Miz hits his Skull Crushing Finale on the Imperium member for the win.
Winners: DIY & The Miz
Cody Rhodes vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
It’s main event time!
The WWE tag titles will be on the line next week when The Creed Brothers challenge The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and Damian Priest. Also set for next week’s WWE Raw show is Katana Chance & Kayden Carter challenging Chelsea Green & Piper Niven for the Undisputed WWE Women’s Tag-Team Championships.
After those two announcements are made, Shinsuke Nakamura’s theme hits inside the arena and out comes “The King of Strong Style” for our final match of the evening on what has been a jam-packed episode of Monday Night Raw this week. As he settles in the ring, we head to a quick pre-match commercial break.
When we return, we see GUNTHER scolding Imperium backstage about the loss to The Miz and DIY moments ago when up walks The Miz asking for another shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship. GUNTHER says he’s on, but if he loses, he’ll never get another I-C title shot again. Miz agrees and walks off.
Back inside the arena, Cody Rhodes’ theme hits and out comes “The American Nightmare” for his main event showdown against the Japanese legend who has been stalking him for weeks. He settles in the ring to an enormous pop from the Cleveland crowd as Nakamura stares him down. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with this one.
We see some good back-and-forth action with Cody starting off strong, but Nakamura taking over as we head into our first mid-match commercial break of the match. When we return, we see Nakamura still dominating the offense, but not for long, as Cody takes over and begins going to work on his knee.
Nakamura rolls out to the floor to recover, but can’t, as Cody dives through the ropes with a big splash on the floor. On that note, we shift gears and head into our second mid-match commercial break as our main event of the evening continues. When we return this time, we see Cody picking up the intensity with his offense.
Cody starts hitting his trademark moves, such as the Disaster Kick and Cody Cutters before looking to finish Nakamura off with his Cross Rhodes finisher. Before he can, however, Nakamura sprays him in the eyes with the red mist again. The ref calls for the bell. Nakamura grabs a chair and goes to work on Cody until The Creed Brothers run out to make the save.
We see The Creed Brothers tending to Cody in the ring as Cody pours water in his eyes to try and stop the burning from Nakamura’s mist. Referees rush to the ring to help him as Nakamura grills him and then heads to the back. It looks like the show will end there, but as the refs go to help Cody to the back, Nakamura comes back out and attacks him again. That’s how this week’s show wraps up. Thanks for joining us!
Winner via DQ: Cody Rhodes
