Drew McIntyre (wearing a Johnny Cash “I Walk The Line” shirt), Bron Breakker, Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill, and Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn were shown arriving.
Joe Tessitore welcomed us to Raw and Wade Barrett hyped up the crowd. Tessitore announced Bret Hart’s appearance to a big reaction.
The first hour of Raw is commercial-free.
A video package played for the opening match.
Chad Gable entered with an American flag to draw the ire of the Canadian fans (some of whom have Canadian flags).
Eight-person tag team street fight: Wyatt Sicks defeated American Made (16:55)
Nikki Cross (which is what they’re calling her) tackled Ivy Nile to start the match. Uncle Howdy watched from ringside as the rest of his crew attacked American Made. They ditched their masks. Cross wore white makeup on her face. Cross cleared the announce table but Nile dropped her on it as Gable wildly attacked Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy with a kendo stick. Erick Rowan no-sold the kendo stick and knocked down the male members of American Made.
Nile sprayed a fire extinguisher in Rowan’s face and the Creeds gave him a spinebuster through a table. They buried him under some stuff to (temporarily) take him out of the match. The crowd initially popped for the table spot but quickly booed American Made.
American Made placed a trash can over Gacy and hammered at it with kendo sticks. Nile looked under the ring for something but found Cross who knocked her over the announce table. Rowan rose from under the debris and kicked down a section of the barricade. He used it as a weapon, knocking over the male members of American Made.
Rowan almost had it won with a chokeslam on Brutus but Gable broke up the cover. There was a great spot where the Creeds knocked Rowan out of the ring and Gable gave him a German suplex into the barricade.
The crowd chanted “This is awesome” as Gacy and Lumis made a comeback. Lumis drove Brutus through a table with a diving leg drop off the apron. Gacy wanted to put Gable through a table but Gable met him on the turnbuckles and hit an Angle Slam through the table.
Gable put Gacy in an ankle lock as Nile hit Gacy with the kendo stick. Cross yanked Nile out of the ring and gave Gable a German suplex. Cross gave Nile a swinging neckbreaker onto a pile of chairs.
Gable found himself face-to-face with Howdy but Rowan ran him over with a tackle and slammed him on the steel steps. Uncle Howdy finally got in the ring and dropped Gable on his head with a Sister Abigail. Lumis finished him with a splash off the top for the pinfall win.
Even though the first hour is commercial-free, they aired their own ads for merchandise and WWE Week on USA.
Liv Morgan will defend her Women’s World title against Rhea Ripley at Bad Blood on October 5th.
Finn Bálor entered. Bálor told Damian Priest that it didn’t have to be this way. Priest thought Bálor screwed him but Priest screwed Judgment Day. Bálor tried lifting Priest up while in Judgment Day but Priest held him down even though they were brothers.
Bálor ensured Priest stayed champion but Bálor himself should have been champion first. Priest lurked around with his briefcase and screwed him when he got close to winning the title. Bálor called out Priest.
Priest entered. Priest said he has been trying to get his hands on Bálor but he kept running. He would let Bálor say what he had to say and then he was dropping his ass. Bálor said he wasn’t going to do what Priest said because he wasn’t his sidekick. Finn Bálor was no sidekick. Bálor said Priest and Ripley would fall on the same night and challenged him to a match at Bad Blood. Priest accepted.
Priest still wanted to beat him up right now. Bálor reminded him of the old Judgment Day playbook. Priest didn’t care and dropped him with a right hand anyway. Carlito and JD McDonagh tried to attack but he knocked them down too. Dominik Mysterio joined in but Priest caught him by the throat.
The numbers caught up to Priest but Ripley entered—on a crutch. Morgan tried to attack from behind but Ripley knocked her down. Ripley attacked Dom with her crutch but Morgan chop-blocked her leg.
The crowd chanted “Yeet” as Judgment Day beat up Priest and Ripley. Priest covered Ripley’s body to protect her so Morgan attacked him with the crutch anyway. They held down Priest and Dom attacked him repeatedly with the crutch.
Bálor went up for Coup de Grace but Jey Uso ran out with a chair and Judgment Day ran away. Jey checked on Ripley and Priest.
Jackie Redmond interviewed Braun Strowman. He admitted he was still banged up after what Bronson Reed did to him. The match last week didn’t help his injuries either. It would take more than that to keep the monster down. A wounded monster was even more dangerous. Bron Breakker interrupted. Bron agreed that Strowman was a monster but Bron was a dog and the only reason Strowman was still standing there was because they hadn’t fought yet. Strowman warned him that he didn’t know who he was talking to. Bron hoped Strowman won and said he’d see him around. Bron called him a “big sob,” referring to his Big S.O.B. t-shirt.
Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill defeated Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships (6:35)
Fyre and Dawn gave Belair their double-team finisher about five minutes in but Cargill just barely broke up the cover. Fyre superkicked Belair but Cargill tagged herself in and booted Fyre. Belair and Cargill gave Fyre their DDT into a German suplex combo for the pinfall win.
Tessitore told us that Ripley and Priest were taken to a “local medical facility.”
Redmond interviewed LWO but they were quickly interrupted by Judgment Day. Rey Mysterio called them the Addams Family. Bálor issued a warning but Rey called them wannabe thugs that ran from a real fight. Rey told Bálor to stop hiding behind his estúpido son and fight him tonight. Bálor accepted.
Bret Hart was shown backstage. He’s up next.
Tessitore and Barrett were in the ring. Tessitore introduced Bret Hart.
Hart entered to a huge ovation. Tessitore tried to speak but the crowd loudly chanted for Bret.
Tessitore told the Calgary fans that WWE would return to Canada for Survivor Series in Vancouver and announced that tickets were going on sale on Friday. (Vancouver is a 973 km/605 mi drive from Calgary.)
Barrett asked Hart what it felt like to be back in WWE in Calgary. Hart said this was the place to be. No one took more pride in being a champion than him—and a Canadian champion. Canadian champions don’t back down from a challenge and prove it every night. He did just that by being the best there is, was and ever will be. (The crowd chanted along with his catchphrase.)
Gunther interrupted. The crowd loudly booed him and Hart was amused. Gunther called him one of his childhood heroes. Gunther called him the best there was but Gunther was the best there is and the best there ever will be. Gunther said Hart was a close second to his real favourite, Bill Goldberg. (Hart couldn’t help but smile through this.)
Sami Zayn entered wearing a Johnny Gaudreau Calgary Flames jersey. Zayn also got a huge reaction.
Zayn said Gunther had a lot of nerve standing in Calgary talking to Hart that way. Gunther shouldn’t joke about Hart being a hero because Hart was a Canadian hero. He was a hero to everyone in that city and to every wrestler in the back who still studied his matches to this day. “And more importantly, he’s a hero to me.”
Zayn said Gunther may hold the title now but Hart set the tone for what it meant to be a champion. Zayn challenged him to a title match last week but he ran away. Zayn challenged him again.
Gunther said Hart wasn’t in his league and Zayn wasn’t even close to being in Hart’s league. Gunther’s answer was still no. He left the ring.
Hart said Gunther didn’t look like a champion, he looked like a coward. A dirty, yellow, gutless coward. Gunther seemed offended so he removed his coat and wanted to go after Bret.
Zayn left the ring and got in Gunther’s face. Zayn blocked a right hand and attacked him. Zayn hammered away until officials broke it up. Gunther left. Zayn hugged Hart.
Bron approached Pete Dunne. Bron was about to call him “Butch” but Dunne told him not to. Dunne said he would win tonight, smash Trick Williams, win the NXT title, and smash Bron for the IC title. Then Bron could call him double champ. Bron mocked Dunne’s shrug and smirk and said, if they did fight, Dunne would be doing a lot of shrugging and wondering at what the hell just happened. Bron wished him luck.
After Bron left, Sheamus flew in and clobbered Dunne with a knee. Sheamus tried to attack with the shillelagh but Dunne bailed and officials held back Sheamus.
Dominik Mysterio (w/Judgment Day) defeated Dragon Lee (w/LWO) (8:14)
This was Dragon Lee’s first singles match since June when he lost to Carlito.
Lee hit Dom with a double foot stomp but McDonagh placed Dom’s foot on the rope to get a rope break. This led to a brawl between the two teams outside and they fought to the back. The ref was distracted so Morgan chop-blocked Lee. Dom followed with a 619 and frog splash (while blowing a kiss to Morgan) for the pinfall win.
Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane approached Belair and Cargill. Sky congratulated them on the win but told them not to get used to being champions. (Sane had a bandage over her eyebrow and made sure the champs saw it.)
Tessitore spoke about the tragic deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. (Johnny played for the Calgary Flames for eight full seasons.)
Jackie Redmond was shown outside the arena earlier today. The arena’s exterior was covered in tributes (jerseys, memorabilia, pictures, flowers) for the Gaudreau brothers.
Redmond spoke about Johnny Hockey’s time in Calgary. She called him a special player who was magical to watch and a pleasure to interview. Redmond and WWE sent their condolences to Meredith Gaudreau, Madeline Gaudreau and the entire Gaudreau family.
(This was very nice and Remond was the right person for this.)
Deville interrupted Valkyria’s entrance and called out their mystery partner who, of course, was Natalya. (Natalya wore red and black.)
Six-woman tag team match: Natalya, Lyra Valkyria & Zelina Vega defeated Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark (6:52)
Natalya made a hot tag after a break and went for a Sharpshooter on Stark but her teammates pulled her out of the ring. Vega and Valkyria wiped them out and Natalya went for the Sharpshooter again.
Bret hugged Natalya backstage as she spoke with Valkyria and Vega. Natalya put over Bret but Bret wanted to make sure she knew this moment was for her.
The crowd chanted for CM Punk as McIntyre entered. He encouraged them to keep chanting and even joined them because now when they chant Punk’s name, it was simply in his memory.
McIntyre said Punk’s words last week were poetic. Punk screwed him out of the title three times this year. McIntyre pinned him at SummerSlam and Punk was an arrogant prick if he thought they were done just because he touched some corners. McIntyre made Punk a bigger star since January and would have to live with that but he was also the one who ended Punk’s career.
It was time to move on to the future and what mattered most around here: himself. First on the list was the world title he’s been screwed out of. Also on the list was the movie he starred in alongside Dave Bautista.
Next on the list involved Wade Barrett. McIntyre spoke about their friendship and said they even got arrested together. Barrett stood up for him on commentary while Michael Cole called him a hypocrite so McIntyre wondered why Barrett stood in his way when it was finally time to end Punk. McIntyre wasn’t angry, he was just disappointed. But if Barrett did it again, he would be angry and would do something about it.
Barrett removed his headset and got to his feet. He said something (off mic) to McIntyre but Adam Pearce quickly interrupted. Pearce didn’t think McIntyre actually wanted to fight his friend and told him to get back in the ring because he had information he needed to hear. McIntyre called Pearce a corporate suit, the type of suit that Punk likes to kiss the ass of.
Pearce said he spoke to Punk and Punk was not done with McIntyre. McIntyre laughed. McIntyre didn’t believe Pearce but indulged him. McIntyre said Pearce was signing Punk’s death certificate if he was telling the truth. Pearce thought they were done but realized they weren’t. He signed a rematch at Bad Blood — inside Hell in a Cell. (The crowd cheered the announcement but it wasn’t super loud.)
Deville and Baszler tried to interfere again but Vega put Deville in a Walls of Jericho and Valkyria put Baszler in Lance Storm’s single-leg crab. Natalya locked Stark in the Sharpshooter and she tapped. The crowd popped big for the finish.
Karrion Kross spoke to Miz and wanted to help him out of his rut. Xavier Woods stepped in and Kross left. Miz knew what Kross was trying to do but admitted Kross wasn’t wrong about him being a rut. Woods tried talking sense into Miz. Miz appreciated Woods’ words but he didn’t understand. Miz left.
Kofi Kingston approached Woods (who was sort of cosplaying as Bret Hart). Kingston informed him that he got them a shot at the tag titles. Woods was excited even though they previously spoke about going after singles titles. Woods said this would be a great way to celebrate their tenth anniversary as New Day. They did Bret’s pose.
Rey Mysterio defeated Finn Bálor via disqualification (8:03)
Thumbs In The Middle Pointing Up
Rey hit a dive, they went to break, and Bálor was in control anyway after the break. Rey made a comeback but Bálor caught his 619 attempt and applied a single-leg crab between the middle rope. The ref did the longest five count ever but Bálor didn’t let go so he was disqualified.
Ilja Dragunov told Redmond he had a chance at taking care of some unfinished business with Bron Breakker. Bron interrupted and said they did not have unfinished business but had no trouble beating him again.
Jey walked by and shot Bron a look. The camera followed him as he told them to hit his music and he made his entrance.
Fatal four-way match: Jey Uso defeated Pete Dunne, Ilja Dragunov and Braun Strowman to become number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship (19:40)
Thumbs In The Middle Pointing Up
Dunne tried manipulating Strowman’s fingers so Strowman just picked him up and chucked him out of the ring onto Jey and Dragunov.
Strowman fought off everyone after a break but Jey dodged a charge and he went shoulder-first into the ring post. They teamed up on Strowman again moments later and drove him into the steel steps. Dunne shoved Jey into the ring post and went after Dragunov but Dragunov fought him off. Dragunov tried a coast-to-coast but Jey caught him with a mid-air superkick for a nearfall. The crowd chanted “Yeet” as they went to break for the second time in nine minutes.
Dragunov got the better of a strike exchange with Jey and hit a clothesline but Dunne broke up the cover. Dunne snapped Dragunov’s fingers but Strowman knocked Dunne aside before running over all three guys around ringside.
Strowman cleared the announce desk but Bronson Reed suddenly appeared on the barricade and he splashed Strowman through the table. This was perfectly timed. The crowd chanted “Holy shit.” This took Strowman out of the match. Reed left.
Dragunov and Jey exchanged strikes again until Jey nailed a spear. Dunne chucked Jey from the ring and tried to steal the pin but Dragunov kicked out. The crowd chanted “This is awesome.” Dunne stomped the fingers of Dragunov, kicked him in the head and hit repeated forearms.
Dragunov countered Dunne’s Bitter End and hit a powerbomb and an H-bomb but Jey broke up the cover with a superkick. Jey hit Dunne with an Uso splash for the pinfall win. Jey was the clear favourite and the crowd popped big for the finish.
Bron entered and had a staredown with Jey as the show ended.
There was a quick Judgment Day promo. They issued a warning to everyone.
— Bálor dropkicked Rey into the ring post after the match. He posed as refs followed him up the aisle. He ran through them and dropkicked Rey into the side of the ring.
Overall: Thumbs In The Middle Pointing Down
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