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WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Oct. 4, 2021) from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Crown Jewel event set for later this month in Saudi Arabia.
Advertised for tonight: It’s night two of this year’s Draft, with the likes of SmackDown Women’ Champion Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, United States Champion Damian Priest, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos, and more finding out which brand they’ll end up on. Plus, Goldberg makes his return to confront Lashley over the events of SummerSlam, and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the Raw live blog will kick off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)
WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR OCT. 4
Standing like a statue waiting for the train in front of the cigarette vendor, slicking back his hair looking at the machine, reflecting like a mirror. Pulling up his collar to avoid the breeze of the oncoming bullet, taking inventory of the things he needs, he’s checking out his wallet, but me? I’m just here to liveblog this pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with a hype reel for the WWE Draft.
Becky Lynch makes her entrance and gets on the mic.
She says she’s gonna make a bunch of executives in the back unhappy by jumping the gun and she announces Raw’s first draft pick as... her, Becky Lynch! She talks about how she never lost the Raw Women’s Championship in the first place and she’s always been better than Charlotte Flair so maybe it’s time to become Becky Two Belts once again.
Enter Charlotte Flair.
Flair points out that before Lynch beat her she was just Becky Pre-Show, and it’s Charlotte that made her famous. She needs to get over the inferiority complex because she’s always going to be looking up to her, the most decorated woman in sports entertainment.
Enter Bianca Belair.
She says if you wanna talk about unfinished business, they both have unfinished business with her after their cheap shots on Friday night, and they’re not ready for her to become the EST of Monday Night Raw, because she goes here now. Flair says that was really cute but she should shush because the champions are trying to have a conversation.
Bianca tells Charlotte she doesn’t go here anymore and tells Becky to get her girl ‘cause she don’t know her. Flair says she’s no one’s girl, and she’s not a girl, she’s a woman. She’s not disrespecting Belair, she’s done a lot, almost as much as Charlotte has, but the only thing she should be doing is asking for an autograph and thanking her for paving the way for her.
Becky says that sounds pretty disrespectful to her, and if it was her she’d fight Charlotte right now, but she’s beaten her so many times she has nothing left to prove, but since Belair and Flair have never fought before, she wonders what would happen. Charlotte says she only gives out opportunities, not charity, and Bianca gets in her face, saying she has something to give to her.
Five-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville make their entrances and they book Flair vs. Belair for our main event tonight.
But right here, right now (Van Halen is kicking ass in America?) they’re gonna kick things off with a United States Championship match.
Jeff Hardy makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Deville and Pearce are on the stage to announce our first round of picks for tonight.
Raw officially picks Becky Lynch, SmackDown picks the Usos, Raw picks Bobby Lashley, and SmackDown picks Sasha Banks.
Damian Priest (c) vs. Jeff Hardy (WWE United States Championship)
Priest with an arm wringer to a hammerlock, side headlock, shot off, shoulder block! Drop down, roll over, shoulder block, shoulder block for two! Drawing Hardy up, jawbreaker counters, Front kick into punches, Damian fires a roundhouse kick off in return that sends him to the floor! Goozle, back elbows fight out, nobody home on the dive off the apron!
The champ lays him out and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Hardy hits Whisper in the Wind... NOPE! Priest fires back the Shinjiro Ohtani spinning wheel kick, inverted facelock, reversed, Twist of Fate blocked, wristlock roundhouse kick gets a Sling Blade! Twist of Fate connects, Jeff takes his shirt off and goes up top... SWANTON BOMB REVERSED INTO A CRUCIFIX! IT’S OVER!
Damian Priest wins by pinfall with a crucifix pin to retain the WWE United States Championship.
Post-match, Jeff Hardy is interviewed about being drafted to SmackDown.
He says he loves us and he’s been to the highest of highs and crashed back down to reality from time to time, but with that said, going to SmackDown might be the perfect opportunity to see another side of Jeff Hardy, another ego. (WILLOW?!) But he’s still got a few more weeks on Raw and—
Enter Austin Theory.
He doesn’t mean to disrespect Hardy and he introduces himself, saying his dream came true, getting drafted to Raw and standing in the ring with Jeff Hardy. He tells Jeff how he inspired him and he doesn’t mean to fanboy but he asks if they could take a selfie. Hardy agrees, they take it... AND THEORY LAYS HIM OUT WITH A LARIAT! FIREMAN’S CARRY INTO THE THEORY KO!
Austin takes another selfie with Jeff Hardy’s fallen body.
RK-Bro are interviewed backstage.
Matt Riddle says last week sucked without Randy Orton around and he’s happy he’s back and they’re both staying on Raw. He asks if he has a snake in his pocket or if he’s just happy to see him, and they’re gonna defend the titles tonight. He says Orton is glowing like a skinless snake in the sun and Randy tells him he appreciates the useless facts but is he done?
Riddle says he’s done and Randy says they have the opportunity to shut AJ Styles and Omos up once and for all, but not until Crown Jewel. But tonight is a special night, because he has a proposition for Omos— it’s time to go one-on-one with the Legend Killer.
Shayna Baszler makes her entrance and we get footage of her injuring Eva Marie and Nia Jax.
We see Dana Brooke warming up to send us to break.
Back from commercial, five-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville are at the podium to introduce another round of picks.
Raw picks Seth Rollins, SmackDown picks Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs, Raw picks Damian Priest, and SmackDown closes the round with Sheamus.
Dana Brooke vs. Shayna Baszler
Brooke bringing the fight to Baszler with a flurry of strikes until the Queen of Spades cuts her off with a wrist-clutch inverted facelock backbreaker and puts her into the turnbuckles. Working the arm, Kirifuda Clutch applied in short order...
Shayna Baszler wins by submission with the Kirifuda Clutch.
Post-match, Baszler goes to stomp Brooke’s arm the same way she did the others when Doudrop makes her entrance. She goes to help Dana up and Shayna clubs her in the back! A stalemate staredown ensues.
The Usos and Paul Heyman are walking backstage when they run into an interview.
Heyman takes credit for keeping them on SmackDown and claims that he’s also the warden of the Uso Penitentiary. Asked about how he maintained Brock Lesnar’s status as a free agent, the Usos stare him down and leave him hanging as we go to break.
Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo vs. Mansoor & Mustafa Ali
Carrillo and Mansoor to start, Humberto in control, but he floats over and hits an inverted DDT and we get tags! Off the ropes, dropkick from Ali, whip reversed, sidestep to the apron, roundhouse, back in, big elbow takes Mustafa off his feet and Garza rips his pants off! Crossleg fisherman neckbreaker, Carrillo breaks it up, Mansoor dives on him but eats a lariat! Angel gets Ali in the corner, Humberto smashes his face into the post...
Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo win by pinfall with a lateral press from Garza on Mustafa Ali.
Big E makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, five-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville are ready to make another round of picks.
Raw picks AJ Styles & Omos, SmackDown picks Shayna Baszler, Raw picks Kevin Owens, and SmackDown closes the round by picking Xia Li.
Big E is in the ring and gets on the mic.
He says it feels incredible to be on his show, Monday Night Raw, but he’d be lying if he said this past week or so didn’t give him some challenges. For one, he and Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were split up again, and he experienced the most physically grueling match of his career against Bobby Lashley, and he means to show the world that he is indeed the WWE Champion.
But before he could even breathe for a minute, his next challenger came down the aisle and declared himself. Drew McIntyre is no joke, as a two-time WWE Champion and actual swordsman, and he calls McIntyre to the ring to speak his mind.
Enter Drew McIntyre.
He says it’s a Drew day and technically he’s been drafted to SmackDown but he’s got unfinished business on Raw after being screwed out of the WWE Championship by Montel Vontavious Porter and Bobby Lashley. He says this is the part where most people would try to antagonize him and get him to give out a title shot, but the truth is, E deserves to be WWE Champion.
McIntyre continues, saying he didn’t congratulate him before because he wanted to do it to his face, and he does so and shakes Big’s hand. But technically, he did cash in on an injured Lashley, even if he did deserve it and nobody likes Bob so he did the world a favor. He challenges E to a match for the title, but before he can answer...
Enter Dirty Dawgz.
Robert Roode gets on the mic and says he and Dolph Ziggler were minding their own business in the back waiting to find out who was going to draft them. Dolph says he was waiting for E to thank him and wants to know why he didn’t, and he runs some old footage of Big E as his bodyguard. (Footage that conspicuously does not show AJ Lee as part of their little group.)
Ziggler then moves on to pointing out his prior alliance with Drew McIntyre as well, but all he wants is a simple “thank you” for doing all the work and letting them ride his coattails. E confirms the details and has a private chat with McIntyre, they turn back around Drew says clearly Roode is an upgrade over the two of them.
Robert says he’s twice the friend and tag partner than McIntyre and he puts the “body” in bodyguard, and they call him Big Bob. (No one calls him Big Bob.) They go back and forth, Dolph again insists on a simple “thank you” and Drew polls the crowd. E decides what they really owe the two of them is an asswhipping, and the babyfaces propose a team of Big E and Big D against the Dawgz right here, right now.
Of course we go to break before any match can happen.
Big E & Drew McIntyre vs. Dirty Dawgz (Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode)
E and Ziggler to start, action quickly to the apron for the big splash, tag to Roode, leapfrog, back elbow, quick tags to keep Robert isolated but he turns things around on Big. Dawgz with quick tags, but soon enough Drew tags back in. Belly-to-belly suplexes for everybody, Dolph nails him with a superkick and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Roode has McIntyre locked in a reverse chinlock in the middle of the ring. On his feet, back elbows and right hands, Robert with a kick to the leg, whip blocked, big headbutt connects! The path is clear, tags made! Overhead belly-to-belly suplexes for Ziggler, the trifecta, hip swivel, off the ropes, big splash!
Rake the eyes to block the Big Ending, big DDT blocked, E with the big Rock Bottom out of the corner but Roode breaks it up! Passing Robert to the floor, off the ropes, blocked, Zig Zag, cover... DREW MCINTYRE BREAKS IT UP! Roo takes him to the floor but gets caught with a belly-to-belly suplex! E sidesteps a superkick, the straps are down but Drew tags himself in!
Lying in wait, 3... 2... 1...
Big E & Drew McIntyre win by pinfall with the Claymore from McIntyre on Dolph Ziggler.
Post-match, Roode runs in and eats a Big Ending from Big E!
E gets in Drew’s face and says if he wants the title so bad, it’s on at Crown Jewel.
Reggie walks up to five-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce backstage and says he heard Pearce wanted to talk about the draft? Adam says he must be misinformed, Viking Raiders cut the 24/7 champ off, R-Truth appears, as does Drew Gulak and Jaxson Ryker, Drake Maverick is driving a golf cart, and Reginald has to use some fancy footwork to escape with the title only to run into Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez.
Crews says it’s good to see Reggie again, he makes his excuses and runs away.
Crews tells Azeez he said getting drafted to Raw would be exciting!
We see Charlotte stretching backstage.
Kevin Owens makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, a country music gentleman coincidentally named Hardy is at ringside.
Kevin Owens is in the ring and he gets on the mic.
Before he can say anything, Akira Tozawa makes his entrance! The Nightmare Violence Connection in the ring together again!
Tozawa says he’s happy to see Owens but he wants to fight Reggie for the 24/7 Championship right now... KICK TO THE GUT, STUNNER!
Pearce and Deville are on stage for draft picks again.
Raw picks the Street Profits, SmackDown picks the Viking Raiders, Raw picks Finn Balor, and SmackDown finishes the round out with Ricochet.
Nikki ASH & Rhea Ripley get an inset promo during their entrance.
They say they’re gonna retain their tag titles and importantly they’re on the same brand so Super Brutality is gonna hand out biffs and bams and pows to everybody on Raw, and so we go to break.
Natalya & Tamina vs. Super Brutality (Nikki ASH & Rhea Ripley) (c) (WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship)
ASH and Natalya to start, Nattie with the veteran wiles, Nikki eventually outmaneuvers her and sends her to the floor. Brawling on the floor, back inside, Tamina tags in and starts throwing ASH around! Challengers working her over, quick tags, Sharpshooter reversed to a small package for two and Nikki tags out!
Ripley in hot with windmill punches, dropkick to Snuka, short-arm lariats, ripcord headbutt! Rolling solebutt, slingshot back suplex, Neidhart getting back into it, running stomp, nobody home on the senton, northern lights suplex into the bridge... SNUKA BREAKS IT UP! Action to the floor, back inside, Riptide and a tag to ASH, up on her shoulders...
Super Brutality win by pinfall with an assisted splash on Tamina to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
We get a recap of Bobby Lashley choking Gage Goldberg out at SummerSlam and see Goldberg getting ready backstage.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Pearce and Deville make more picks.
Raw picks Karrion Kross, SmackDown picks Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo, Raw picks Alexa Bliss, and SmackDown closes out the round by picking Cesaro.
Goldberg makes his entrance and gets on the mic.
He says Bobby Lashley has the audacity to claim that what he did to his son was a misunderstanding. It wasn’t. It was intentional, so tonight he’s inviting Lashley to the ring so he can intentionally break his friggin’ neck.
Enter Bobby Lashley.
He again reiterates that it was a misunderstanding and says that Bill must be out of his mind if he thinks he’s gonna risk ruining this custom made suit to whoop his ass again, because some of us aren’t dressing like it’s still 1998. (Correct, I aim for 1959 most days.) He keeps perpetrating this myth that he targeted Gage on purpose and he thinks he’s owed an apology.
But he’ll give him the match at Crown Jewel under one condition— that it be No Holds Barred. Goldberg falls to his knees and thanks Bob, saying that No Holds Barred gives him a license to kill, and if he wants an apology, he’ll apologize to Lashley’s kids after he leaves him lifeless in the middle of the ring, gasping for air.
Because there’s one thing for sure— you’re next, and you’re dead.
Bob has Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin jump Goldberg but he shrugs them off!
Seth Rollins is interviewed backstage and he sings a little song about how he’s back.
And the best part is he’s better than he’s ever been and he wants to party! He’ll take care of Edge business on SmackDown and he doesn’t give a shit who steps to him because he’s on a new level as a visionary and a revolutionary.
New Day makes their entrance and we go to break.
Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander & Shelton Benjamin) vs. New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
Benjamin and Kingston to start, Kofi quickly finds himself overwhelmed and looking for the tag and he gets it! Woods and Alexander in, X running hot, lariat, leg lariat, whip reversed, tilt-a-whirl Russian legsweep! Back body drop sends Woods crashing to the floor, Kingston with a double stomp to Benjamin, gamengiri from the apron from Xavier!
Woods up top...
New Day win by pinfall with Limit Breaker from Xavier Woods on Cedric Alexander.
Post-match, the Street Profits make their entrance and cut a quick promo to congratulate New Day and announce their return to Raw.
We get a video package for Finn Balor’s return to Raw.
RK-Bro make their entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Randy Orton calls Omos out for a response to his challenge from earlier.
He asks if Omos is AJ’s personal colossus or just a big bitch.
Enter AJ Styles & Omos.
Styles says they were celebrating his victory over Gilligan and calls Orton insignificant and it doesn’t matter if Omos destroys him or not. AJ talks about how he’s gonna take the tag titles from them and then gloat and gloat and gloat about it every week. Omos goes to answer but Randy attacks Styles and beats him down!
Omos circles and stares the Viper down, RKO on AJ!
Bianca Belair is shown warming up backstage to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get the final round of draft picks.
Raw picks Carmella, SmackDown picks Ridge Holland, Raw picks Gable Steveson, and to close out the 2021 WWE Draft, SmackDown picks Sami Zayn.
We see footage of Steveson celebrating being drafted with his family.
Becky Lynch makes her entrance to send us to break and be ringside for our main event.
Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
Belair working headlock takeovers, Flair turns her around, Bianca reasserts herself with a backflip up and over into a dropkick! Spanking herself as a taunt, Charlotte with a schoolboy for two, Belair takes her into the corner and then smashes her face into the turnbuckles. Boot up on the charge, whip reversed, Flair Flip, shoulder block, Charlotte with an inverted facelock backbreaker and then an inverted headlock elbow drop to send us to break!
Back from commercial, Bianca fights out of an inverted facelock and lands a dropkick! Delayed vertical suplex, handspring moonsault with the knees up, Flair with a one-arm powerbomb... NOPE! Natural Selection blocked, float over the suplex, hair whip but Bianca clobbers her with a forearm, Argentine backbreaker rack, KOD denied!
Off the ropes, Flair with a spear... NOPE! Back and forth, folding press gets Bianca a nearfall, she goes up top, Charlotte runs the ropes to cut her off and hammers her with a big boot! No dice, KOD connects but Lynch pulls her out of the ring...
Bianca Belair wins by disqualification.
Post-match Becky presses the attack and hits the Manhandle Slam! Sasha Banks joins the fray and hits the lungblower on The Man!
The Boss stands tall.
That’s the show, folks.