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WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Sept. 4, 2023) from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, featuring fallout from the Payback Premium Live Event that happened last Saturday in Pittsburgh.
Advertised for tonight: Gunther will all-but ensure his place in the history books as the longest reigning Intercontinental champion if he can beat Chad Gable, The Judgment Day will celebrate adding the WWE Tag titles to their growing collection of championships, Jey Uso arrives as a member of the Raw roster, World Heavyweight champ Seth Rollins reacts to being attacked by Shinsuke Nakamura after defeating the Japanese Superstar in Payback’s main event, and a whole lot more.
Come right back here at 8 pm ET when the Raw live blog will kick off once the show starts on USA Network. It will be below this line here. Reminder: GIFs and pics allowed, but no links to illegal streams, please.
WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR SEPT. 4
When night time comes And I’m ten thousand miles away. Just lose yourself and watch the band kick back and play, but me? I’ll be liveblogging this here pro wrestling show for these folks.
The show opens with a recap of Saturday’s Payback.
Commentary hypes up tonight’s show.
Jey Uso enters through the crowd on his first night as a member of the Raw roster without his brother Jimmy.
Jey gets on the mic and welcomes us to Monday Night Raw.
He says he’s only been gone for two to three weeks but he misses us and it felt a lot longer. He really hit a breaking point, every week fighting his family on national television, like Family Feud for real. And then out the blue, he got an unexpected call from Cody Rhode and now he’s here on Raw by himself, and Main Event Jey Uso is now in your city.
Enter Sami Zayn.
He says it’s pretty crazy to see Jey standing here and one thing he said is definitely true— there are a lot of people in the locker room that will have a very big problem with him being here now. Hell, even he and Kevin Owens haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on this, but it’s fine because Owens isn’t even here tonight and whatever problems anyone has, that’s not what this is about.
This is about the two of them, and he wanted to make sure he was the first person Jey saw so he could look him in the eyes and tell him to his face that he’s happy that he’s here. He knows Jey and what’s in his heart and what kind of guy he is, and he knows how hard the last couple months had to be but he did it, he broke free.
And now he’s standing here on his own two feet, becoming who he’s always been in his heart, and now he’s truly Main Event Jey Uso. He doesn’t expect to be best buds overnight, he just wanted to tell him straight to his face that he’s really proud of him. Sami extends a hand and Uso, puts his hands behind his back.
After a long moment, Zayn says whenever he’s ready to talk, he’ll be here. Jey calls out to him as he goes through the ropes and says that wasn’t very Ucey of him, was it, and extends his hand. SAMI COMES IN AND THEY HUG!
Drew McIntyre makes his entrance as Jey leaves and they have a staredown on the ramp. Sami comes back out to play peacemaker and gets McIntyre to move along.
Matt Riddle makes his entrance as well.
We get a recap of Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura with a promo from Shinsuke about how he underestimated Rollins but he was the one left standing, with bonus footage of him attacking Seth after the show. Nakamura pledges to win the title.
Ricochet is backstage talking to Adam Pearce saying he just needs to know what’s next, but Pearce breaks away from him to ask Seth Rollins what he’s doing here.
Adam tells Seth he’s not cleared to even be in the building tonight, but Rollins says if he can walk, he can fight. Ricochet walks over and says he saw their match and he respects him for showing up on Raw after. Seth takes it like a compliment but Ricochet tells him he doesn’t have to carry the whole show and endanger himself.
And so we go to break.
McRiddle (Drew McIntyre & Matt Riddle) vs. Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) (Tornado Tag Team Match)
Ivar attacking, spinebuster from McIntyre, blast Erik off the apron, Warbeard with a Banzai Drop on Riddle! Erik takes Drew out, double-teaming Matt, clubbing blows as McIntyre comes back in, McIntyre sends Ivar packing and McRiddle come in for a hug that turns into belly-to-belly suplexing Riddle into the Vikings!
Matt shoves Drew and tells him to get the tables, McIntyre shoves him harder and tells HIM to get the tables and Riddle does as we go to break!
Back from commercial, Riddle atop a table, Ivar goes up top and McIntyre cuts him off! McRiddle with the double superplex, Erik comes in in the aftermath, nearfall on Drew, getting into it with Riddle, both Vikings plowing him under to no avail! McIntyre comes in hot, neckbreakers aplenty, kip-up and he’s fired up!
Death Valley Driver on Ivar, counting down, table leaned in the corner but Erik makes the save! Drew suplexes Erik on the floor but Warbeard splashes him off the announce table! Riddle saves his pal from Ragnarok through the announce desk, Penalty Kick from the apron, he sets the table back up flat!
Kofi Kingston runs in, Vikings duck Trouble in Paradise and Riddle eats it! Vikings fend McIntyre off...
Viking Raiders win by pinfall with Ragnarok through a table on Matt Riddle.
We get a hype reel of great Intercontinental Champions of days past.
Seth Rollins makes his entrance and soaks in the crowd singing his song as we go to break.
Back from commercial, Seth Rollins gets on the mic and welcomes us to Monday Night Rollins.
He says Shinsuke Nakamura did everything he said he was gonna do, dropping bombs on his back all night long, and there were times when he didn’t know if he was going to be able to continue the fight, but last he checked, he’s still the World Heavyweight Champion!
But at the end of the night, Nakamura was able to walk out of the building while he got pushed out on a wheelchair by his wife, and that doesn’t sit right with him. He wants to right some wrongs tonight and calls Shinsuke out right now to make his dreams come true!
Nakamura hangs back on the stage and Rollins says he knows there’s only one way to get him down here, and that’s to give him what he wants again, a World Heavyweight Championship rematch right here, right now! Shinsuke turns around and cleans his ear out and turns back and speaks Japanese.
Seth says he won’t pretend to understand but he has to assume that Nakamura is accepting his challenge and calls him down for the match! But Shinsuke says no. Seth is confused and asks if he wants the rematch, and Nakamura again tells him no! They shout “no” at each other a few times and Rollins says that won’t work for him.
Seth rushes him on the stage and they fight like cats until security and road agents swarm to pull them apart! Shinsuke kicking away at Seth’s back, and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Seth Rollins and Adam Pearce are screaming at each other.
Pearce says he’s running himself into the ground and Rollins storms off.
Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Nakamura slides out to the floor and tries to leave, Ricochet chases after and Shinsuke gets the better of him in the aisle. Kickflip moonsault, back inside, Rick pressing the attack, breaking a waistlock, chops, sprinboard and Nakamura kicks his legs out from under him and follows with a diving knee drop across his throat!
Stepping on Ricochet’s neck, sliding German suplex to the floor and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Nakamura with a grounded Cobra Twist, Ricochet posts to his feet and escapes with a jawbreaker. Off the ropes, big knee to the midsection cuts him down! One and Only with a shoulder block in the corner, enzuigiri, diving lariat and he’s fired up!
Running shooting star press, cover for two! Ricochet headed up top, nobody home, ducking kicks, Nakamura catches him with a heel kick, inverted exploder suplex, Rick lands on his feet, Recoil connects... NOPE! Shinsuke gets him on the apron, Knee Trembler, Ricochet ducks the diving knee!
Kick from the apron, senton atomico to the floor! Nakamura boots him over the timekeeper’s barricade and whacks him with a chair, referee Eddie Orengo calls it...
Ricochet wins by disqualification.
Post-match, Shinsuke contintues the attack, throwing Ricochet in the ring and horsecollaring him with the chair, looking for Kinshasa... BUT ROLLINS MAKES THE SAVE AND BEATS HIM DOWN! Security swarms to pull them apart! SETH WITH A TOPE CON GIRO TO TAKE THE SECURITY OUT!
Nakamura throws him back-first into the steel steps and beats him down! Ricochet makes the save with a steel chair!
Judgment Day are watching backstage and Rhea Ripley counsels Damian Priest that now isn’t the time to cash Money in the Bank in.
We get a recap of Payback’s steel cage match and the aftermath thereof.
Zoey Stark is interviewed backstage.
She says she has a lot of respect for Trish Stratus and she taught her a lot and she’s the greatest of all time, but Hall of Famer or not, nobody pushes Zoey Stark, point blank.
Shayna Baszler rolls up.
She says she’s been wondering when Stark would ditch the dead weight, and Zoey says they have unfinished business and asks for a match tonight. Baszler accepts and says she’ll see her out there.
Judgment Day make their entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Judgment Day get on the mic.
Dominik Mysterio takes point, talking up their victories at Payback. Finn Balor thanks Rhea Ripley for being a moderating influence and Damian Priest for being a true friend even through their difference, JD McDonagh for helping out, and himself for becoming Grand Slam Finn.
Rhea says her boys really rose to the occasion and showed that they’re really brothers and they’re really a family. But there’s one thing that’s really aggravating her, actually, and that’s the fact that the focus isn’t on them and their accomplishments, but on Jey Uso coming to Raw.
Priest starts talking—
Enter JD McDonagh, carrying something in a velvet bag.
Damian tells him to wait, because a small part of him was starting to actually like him so his reason for being out here better be good. JD says it is good and he took a bullet for them so the least they can do is let him come out and explain.
He mentions how Rhea said that big changes are needed in Judgment Day and that briefcase has to go. Damian steps forward and confronts him and McDonagh says with all that gold he doesn’t need that briefcase... he needs the one he has, and he pulls out a purple briefcase that says “Senor Money in the Bank” on it.
Priest is ecstatic about the gift—
Enter Sami Zayn.
He says they’re all feeling pretty good about themselves, but after it took all five of them to rob them of their titles, did they really think they’d let that slide? They’re bragging about all this, but when he looks in the ring, he doesn’t see five champions, he sees five giant championship-stealing turds.
He says Dominik Mysterio, the biggest turd of them all, deserves a special beating for costing them the titles. He challenges Dom to a match tonight and JD McDonagh steps up to say he helped and if he wants to fight, he should fight him.
Sami accepts!
We get another hype reel of great Intercontinental Champions of days past, and Wade Barrett for some reason.
GUNTHER cuts a promo in German before switching to English.
He says Chad Gable thinks he can stand in the way of his legacy, but his little fairytale is temporary and GUNTHER’s legacy is forever, and after the final bell rings he’ll be the greatest and longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in history.
Shayna Baszler makes her entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Raquel Rodriguez is chatting with Adam Pearce and he says he’s gonna work on making her request official.
Chelsea Green rolls up to complain about not waiting in line behind sasquatches and he tells her Piper Niven isn’t medically cleared and surely she knows they need to talk about that. Adam says the title isn’t what’s cursed and she gets mad about his implications.
She insults Raquel, Rodriguez is still standing right behind her and Adam makes a match between them official for later.
Shayna Baszler vs. Zoey Stark
Baszler in hot, clobbering Stark to the mat, jawing at her, drop down, dropkick from Zoey sets up a headlock takeover! Trading quick nearfall attempts, Stark blasts her to the floor with a kick, off the ropes, Shayna catches her in the Kirifuda Clutch! Zoey breaks ramming her into the desk, back inside, a dive sends us to break!
Back from commercial, Stark with a kip-up, missile dropkick, cover for two! Waistlock, standing switch, Baszler with a headlock, Z360 denied, Shayna falls to the floor off a forearm! Back inside, Kirifuda Clutch, hanging in there, Zoey refuses to give up, posts to her feet but Baszler keeps the hold on and she fades...
Shayna Baszler wins by referee stoppage with the Kirifuda Clutch.
Post-match, Baszler tells Stark she put up a better fight than Ronda and fistbumps her.
The Judgment Day are hanging out backstage and Finn Balor suggests bringing JD McDonagh into the group officially. Damian Priest says he still doesn’t quite trust him, Finn says they wouldn’t be champions without him, Dominik Mysterio says he’s fine with whatever they decide, and Rhea Ripley suggests seeing how he does against Sami Zayn first.
Finn and Damian leave together but Rhea holds Dom back and tells him she needs him to make sure everything with JD goes how she wants.
Raquel Rodriguez makes her entrance and we go to break.
Chelsea Green vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Rodriguez with a bear hug out the gates, I can hardly bear it! Ragdolling Green, blocking a kick, goozle applied, Chelsea breaks out and clubs her down! Off the ropes, Raquel blasts her with a big boot! Crossbody caught, Green slips out and paintbrushes her with a slap! Raquel blasts her with a lariat...
Raquel Rodriguez wins by pinfall with the one-armed powerbomb.
Post-match, Raquel gets on the mic and says she’s getting her rematch against Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio will be barred from ringside! It’ll be next week!
Another hype reel of great Intercontinental Champions of days past follows.
We see Alpha Academy hanging out backstage and Chad Gable says he’s had a lot of time to think about his accomplishments and if GUNTHER thinks he doesn’t belong in the history books, bad news, he already is! From the Olympics to winning a tag title, he gets to add to his legacy tonight and prove that he’s more than just a tag team specialist.
The Miz makes his entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a recap of McRiddle vs. Viking Raiders, because Raw is three hours long. (Three hours long.)
Drew McIntyre rolls up on Matt Riddle and says he’s gonna keep an eye on Jey Uso and if he ruins things he’s gonna go after the man that brought him here, Cody Rhodes.
Kofi Kingston rolls up to apologize, Riddle says it’s cool but Drew asks if it really is, citing that a week ago he hit Xavier Woods with an accidental chair and this week Kofi “accidentally” kicks Matt in the face? He’s gonna keep an eye out for further “accidents.”
Kingston asks Riddle to keep his boy in check.
Miz welcomes us to MizTV and says his guest will shine a light on the travesty of Payback.
He introduces his guest, a man who promises he’ll be completely transparent, the greatest of all time, John Cena!
Cena’s music plays and the camera “follows” him like it normally would, but no one is there. Miz introduces John and berates him for messing up at Payback and screwing him over. His one-man show continues until he gets a “confession” and then “Cena” refuses to leave.
“John” shoves him, Miz takes his jacket off and hits Skull-Crushing Finale! He challenges LA Knight to a one-on-one match, no special guest referee, no surprises, and promises the chants will end and Knight will fade away.
We get a video package for tonight’s main event.
Sami Zayn makes his entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Jey Uso runs into Akira Tozawa, who runs away from him.
He meets Adam Pearce, who says it’s gonna get worse before it gets better, because SmackDown’s gonna get somebody from Raw in return for him and that might make somebody angry.
Tommaso Ciampa rolls up to talk and he and Pearce go into Adam’s office.
JD McDonagh vs. Sami Zayn
Off the ropes, McDonagh takes the ropes hard and goes down and Zayn is right on him, beating him down. Hard whip into the turnbuckles, laying punches in, action to the floor and JD turns the tide bouncing Sami’s head off the apron and the announce desk before throwing him hard into the ringpost to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Zayn nails him with a lariat, mounted punches, off the ropes and Sami catches him with a Michinoku Driver... NOPE! Dominik Mysterio runs in, Sami beats him up and throws JD back inside, but has to turn around to clobber Dom...
JD McDonagh wins by pinfall with a schoolboy and a handful of tights.
Post-match, Zayn hits the exploder in the corner on Dom, lining him up, but McDonagh pulls him out of the ring and puts him into the post, helping Mysterio up and telling him to leave. JD turns around into the corner exploder, Sami lines him up... HELLUVA KICK!
Another hype reel of great Intercontinental Champions follows and we go to break.
Back from commercial we get some hype for WWE’s efforts to support Connor’s Cure.
Backstage, Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh run into Judgment Day and Damian congratulates JD on an impressive win. Finn Balor wants to get rolling but Dom peels off to talk to Jey Uso standing nearby.
He says they both come from messed up families with Hall of Fame fathers and he gets how it really is. He says he has the tightest family now and he knows what he’s going through, and Uso is skeptical. Mysterio keeps trying to sell him on Judgment Day and just asks him to think about it.
Chad Gable vs. GUNTHER (c) (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
GUNTHER with a side headlock, into the takeover, Gable reverses with an ankle pick and forces him into the ropes. Patting his chest on the break, into the corner, duck a chop and Chad leads him on a merry chase that ends in dropkicks off the apron to stymie the champion and send us to break!
Back fromm commercial, Gable with a dragon screw in the ropes, following it with a half-crab in the ropes for the full four count! Chop block, GUNTHER comes back with a kick to the face and a cover for two! Pressing the attack, Chad unloads on him after a while and the Ring General hangs him in the ropes for kind of a turnbuckle-assisted standing bow-and-arrow and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Gable reverses a powerbomb, looking for an ankle lock but GUNTHER cuts him off with slaps! Back up for the powerbomb, a headscissors counters it to the floor! Chad hits a German suplex on the floor, referee at seven, Gable throws the champion back inside but gets caught with a Tenryu Powerbomb... NOPE!
The Ring General goes up top, Gable meets him, jockeying for position... THE OLYMPIAN HITS A SUPERPLEX! Up top, diving headbutt... SO CLOSE! Looking for Chaos Theory, GUNTHER reverses, Chad slips through, Gojira Clutch countered into a back suplex! The straps back up so he can take them back down, O’Connor roll... CHAOS THEORY CAN’T KEEP THE RING GENERAL DOWN!
Gable up top, he goes for the moonsault, boot up but he has it scouted and grabs the ankle lock! Falling back, grapevining the leg, GUNTHER posting up on his hands, crawling for the bottom rope, reaching, Chad pulls him back into the middle of the ring but upkicks break the champion free!
Gojira Clutch in the middle of the ring, Gable’s mouth bloodied as he rolls over and posts to his feet, reverse into a pin... STILL NO! Powerbomb sets up a huge lariat...
GUNTHER wins by pinfall with a lariat, retaining the WWE Intercontinental Championship and ensuring that he’ll set a new record for longest reign with that title, beating Honky Tonk Man’s 454 day reign.
We see Gable’s children crying in the front row.
That’s the show, folks.
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