WWE RAW Live Coverage - October 2nd, 2023

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Gunther and Tommaso Ciampa to sign their Intercontinental Title Match contract

Gunther and Tommaso Ciampa will put pen to paper when they meet in the ring to make their upcoming Intercontinental Title Match official. The Ring General is enjoying the longest Intercontinental Championship reign in WWE history as he has defeated every Superstar that has stood in his way. The impassioned Ciampa is looking for his first singles title on the main roster after being one of the most decorated Superstars in NXT history.


:raw:

– We're live inside the SAP Center in San Jose, CA. where at the top of the entrance ramp we see Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler in the middle of a wild brawl as referees rush to the scene.

They continue to brawl down to the ringside area, and then in the ring. Nia beats down Baszler some more and then Raquel Rodriguez's theme hits. She makes her way out and dukes it out with Jax, who ends up beating her down as well.

Now the theme for Rhea Ripley hits and "Mami" sprints to the ring to make her long-awaited WWE return. She beats Nia Jax down and then Baszler and Rodriguez re-enter the mix. Security hits the ring and Ripley starts taking them out with Rip-Tides.

Ripley hangs in the ring and gets on the mic. She says "Mami has returned to Raw!" and then says she's not leaving the ring because she's got more business to deal with. She calls The Judgment Day out.

"Senor" Money In The Bank Damian Priest and "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio make their way down to the ring. Michael Cole informs us on commentary about rumors of Finn Balor not being here, which he says appear to be confirmed by his absence.

We shift gears and head into a quick commercial break. When we return, she talks about how she's the one who has to come up with plans to keep things afloat. She says she was gone for a couple of weeks and things went crazy within The Judgment Day.

Ripley then gets in Damian Priest's face and says she left the responsibility of The Judgment Day with him. She says he failed. She talks about some of the things that went wrong in her absence, such as Dominik Mysterio losing his NXT North American Championship.

She mentions the Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso problem and how they're a threat to the tag titles he and Finn Balor hold. Priest says with all due respect, Ripley isn't saying anything he doesn't already know. He says when push comes to shove, he'll be the one who shoves harder.

Priest says he's still got his titles and his briefcase. He says he's not pointing fingers but asks where Dom's title is. Didn't she literally just explain how he lost it because Priest didn't do what she said? Ripley tells Dom if he doesn't come home with the NXT North American title, don't bother coming home.

Before anyone can say anything else, we hear the theme for "Main Event" Jey Uso. "Just him, Uce. Day one ish." Ya know. He settles in the ring and mocks The Judgment Day. He says it looks like there's a new Tribal Chief on Raw in Rhea Ripley. He says she's got bigger balls than Roman Reigns ever did.

Priest says he's sick of Jey's mouth. He gets in Jey's face. Dom stops him. Dom goes to talk and the fans boo him like crazy, as you'd expect. It's hard to hear what he says, but it looks like he's volunteering to take care of Jey to prove something to ole' "Mami." Ripley and Priest head to the ringside area.

Dom and Jey remain in the ring. The fans chant to Jey, "Whoop his ass! Whoops his ass!" They are left alone in the ring and Jey super kicks him. From behind, JD McDonagh attacks Uso. Uso starts fighting back but then Dom takes him out. The two stomp him out as Priest and Ripley look on from ringside. They call Priest into the ring.

As Priest nears the ring, the theme for Cody Rhodes hits and out comes "The American Nightmare." Cody hits his trademark spots on everyone in sight and clears the ring of The Judgment Day guys.

Adam Pearce comes out and says at Fastlane it will be Cody and Jey taking on Balor and Priest for the Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Championships. And that is official!

– We see media coverage of Jade Cargill's WWE signing and then we shoot back inside the SAP Center where we hear Alpha Academy's theme music. Out comes the duo of Chad Gable and Otis accompanied by Maxxine Dupri. They head to the ring for tag-team action against Imperium.

As the duo make their way down to the ring, we head into another commercial break. When we return, Imperium's theme hits and out comes Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci, without GUNTHER, who Michael Cole will be doing a contract signing with Tommaso Ciampa later tonight.

Alpha Academy vs. Imperium

The duo settle in the ring and their music dies down. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with our opening contest. Kaiser and Gable kick things off for their respective teams. Kaiser establishes the lead over Gable and then arrogantly tags in Vinci and tells him not to screw things up.

Gable immediately takes over on offense and Kaiser doesn't look happy. Otis tags in and launches Gable over the ropes. Gable splashes onto Imperium at ringside as we head to a mid-match commercial break as the match continues. When we return, after some back-and-forth action, we see Imperium pick up the win.

Winners: Imperium

– We go to footage of Becky Lynch's tough fought battle at No Mercy. When it wraps up, we're informed that due to the laceration Lynch suffered, she will not be able to defend her NXT Women's Championship tonight against Tegan Nox as scheduled.

After that, we go backstage where Tegan Nox and Adam Pearce are approached by Chelsea Green, who boasts about being a champion and how some, like Nox, simply aren't championship material. Nox suggests a match between the two tonight, since Lynch can't compete, to see who truly is championship material.

Adam Pearce likes that idea. In fact, he likes it so much that it's official. For tonight. After this, we shift gears and head into another commercial break.

– As we settle back in from the break, we hear the familiar sounds of Bronson Reed's theme. Out comes the big man for our next match of the evening. Already in the ring is his opponent, Cedric Alexander.

Bronson Reed vs. Cedric Alexander

The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this squash, I mean, evenly contested match-up. Alexander runs at Reed straight out of the gate and works over the bigger man in the corner.

Reed shoves him off like he's nothing. Alexander comes off the top with a big axe handle and then knocks Reed to the floor. He dives and splashes onto Reed on the floor. Maybe this is a competitive match! Alexander hits a dive over the top-rope to take out Reed on the floor again.

Back in the ring, Alexander runs into a big back elbow from Reed. He tries for a springboard and runs into a big forearm from Reed. Reed then runs over Alexander, hits a senton and heads to the top-rope for his Tsunami for the win. Okay, not THAT competitive. You might call this a time filler, but it only filled two minutes.

Winner: Bronson Reed

– We shoot backstage to Adam Pearce on the phone. He closes his phone and we see Drew McIntyre walk up. Pearce mentions his segment on Miz TV tonight. McIntyre says he's got some things to say.

Pearce then asks if he's okay, saying he doesn't want to over-step. McIntyre asks if he's gonna come down on him for not saving Jey Uso. He says he doesn't recall anyone saving him when The Bloodline was running rampant. We head to another commercial break.

– When we return from the break, Adam Pearce is in the ring, which is decked out for the contract signing between Tommaso Ciampa and GUNTHER for the WWE Intercontinental Championship showdown set for WWE Fastlane 2023.

Ciampa's theme hits and out he comes to the ring with a ton of energy. He settles inside and then Pearce introduces the reigning, defending, record-holding longest I-C champ in WWE history. Michael Cole and Wade Barrett talk about him having an invincible aura around him as of late.

Tommaso starts off, hyped up, explaining how his family will be sitting front row next week when he makes a dream he's had since he was a 5-year old boy come true. He talks about GUNTHER getting opportunity after opportunity whereas he had to earn the few he has received.

GUNTHER references Ciampa calling this the biggest moment of his career and then asks if that's true, why did he dress in a t-shirt and jeans. He says that tells him everything he needs to know already. He boasts being the greatest and longest reigning I-C champ of all-time.

Ciampa tells GUNTHER he sounds confident for someone whose world is about to crumble around him. GUNTHER tells him to never interrupt him again. Ciampa brings up GUNTHER not signing the papers yet. He says they can always change it so the match is tonight. Pearce makes it official for tonight. The two start brawling.

– Now we go backstage to The Judgment Day locker room. Priest is complaining about Adam Pearce. JD McDonagh says one word and Priest yells and asks why he's talking to him. Ripley talks about dividing and conquering, as does McDonagh. Priest likes the idea but wants to think on it first. He walks off.

– Back inside the SAP Center, we hear the familiar sounds of The New Day's theme music. Xavier Woods makes his way out and begins heading to the ring for our next match of the evening. On that note, we shift gears and head into a pre-match commercial break.

Xavier Woods vs. Ivar

When we return, Kofi Kingston is shown having some fun with Wade Barrett as he joins the gang on special guest commentary. The Viking Raiders theme hits and out comes Ivar accompanied by Valhalla.

The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. Woods immediately takes it to Ivar, but the bigger man quickly shifts the offensive momentum in his favor, squashing Woods with his big ass with a butt-splash out of the corner.

We see some more back-and-forth action and then Woods wins with a roll-up out of nowhere. After the match, Ivar attacks Woods. Kofi Kingston hits the ring to make the save but Ivar ends up beating them both down. He hits a top rope moonsault on them both.

Winner: Xavier Woods

– Cole and Barrett introduce a lengthy video package looking at the recent history between Seth "Freakin'" Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura leading up to their Last Man Standing match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WWE Fastlane.

The package wraps up, we see Seth Rollins walking the hallways backstage. He is up next, when we return. On that note, we head to a commercial break.

When we return, Michael Cole is standing in the ring. He introduces Rollins and "The Visionary" makes his way down to the ring as the fans loudly sing along with his entrance tune. Cole talks to Rollins about being the puppeteer throughout his career. He says right now he's the puppet.

Cole asks if Rollins realizes what is going to happen on Saturday. He asks Rollins about his back and why he's putting himself through this. Rollins asks how long Cole has been at the commentary desk. Cole says 26 years. Rollins asks how many shows he's missed in that time. Cole says two.

Rollins says Cole should get it then. He's addicted, too. He says he owes everything to the ring. If Fastlane is his last dance, he's gonna leave it all in the ring one last time. Nakamura cuts him off on the big screen. He tells Rollins no one believes him anymore. He says he's using his back for sympathy.

As he continues talking, we hear the crowd roar. Nakamura appears behind Rollins and takes him out. As he stands over Rollins in the ring, we see him on the big screen counting to ten in English. Rollins makes it to his feet before the count of ten, but barely, and then Nakamura beats him in his injured back with a chair.

Nakamura sits down in the chair and stares as the Nakamura on the big screen gets to the count of nine this time before Rollins slowly gets back to his feet. Nakamura slams Rollins back-first through the chair and then hits him with his finisher again. He picks a mic up and counts to ten live in the ring in English as Rollins stays down. He poses with the title.

– We shoot backstage and we see Tegan Nox stretching when Becky Lynch walks up in a sling. She says she wanted to defend her title tonight. She tells her when she's better they're gonna fight. Natalya walks up and tells Nox they got off on the wrong foot. She hopes they can start on a new page.

– Back in the arena, Chelsea Green's theme hits and one-half of the Undisputed WWE Women's Tag-Team Champions heads to the ring accompanied by Piper Niven. As she settles in the ring, we shift gears and head into a quick pre-match commercial break.

Chelsea Green vs. Tegan Nox

When we return from the break, Tegan Nox is in the middle of finishing up her ring entrance, in progress. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. Nox jumps into the early offensive lead over Green. Nox heads to the top-rope, but Piper Niven heads up for a distraction.

Natalya's theme hits and down she comes to back Piper off. Nox hits a top-rope senton and then the Shiniest Wizard for the pin fall victory. After the match, Nattie raises Tegan's hand.

Winner: Tegan Nox

Drew McIntyre vs. The Miz

Back inside the SAP Center, we hear Drew McIntyre's theme music. As "The Scottish Warrior" branding his massive sword makes his way to the ring, Michael Cole informs us that Drew has cancelled his scheduled Miz TV appearance because he's got something to get off his chest.

As McIntyre settles in the ring, we shift gears and head to a quick commercial break. When we return, we see Byron Saxton approach "Main Event" Jey Uso backstage. He asks where Uso's head is at. Jey isn't sure. He talks about Cody Rhodes being the enemy in the past and now he's his partner at Fastlane. He says he and Cody are good now.

We return to McIntyre in the ring, who is ready to get something off of his chest. Drew asks San Jose what we should talk about. Isn't that one taken? He talks about people being hypocritical for complaining about not helping Jey Uso after Uso took part in many beatdowns with The Bloodline.

The Miz's theme hits and out he comes to the ring. He tells Drew he gave him a chance to speak his piece last week, and he helped him. He continues talking and Drew tells him to shut up. Miz says he was standing up for him and he got told to shut up for his efforts. He complains about having thousands of people chant "Shut up, Miz!" They, of course, chant it again.

Miz tells Drew to be who he really is. Drew tells him to shut up again. He asks if he wants him to be the bad guy. To beat up Jey Uso and cost he and Cody the tag titles at Fastlane. He says that's not who he is. He then challenges Miz to a fight right now, unless his balls are still too tiny. The fans chant "Tiny balls!" at him.

The Miz says he's not dressed for a match. He's in a suit and Drew's in a skirt. He says he called Drew the Batman of WWE, but he's really Two-Face. Drew gets upset and wants to fight. Miz tells him to keep his skirt on. He says Momma Miz told him the bigger man walks away from a fight.

He does so. Drew turns. He sprints back and knocks him out of the ring with a shot from the microphone. Drew gets back in the ring and starts beating up Miz in the corner. A bunch of officials break them up as we head to a commercial break.

When we return from the break, Miz is arguing with a ref about not wanting to wrestle in a suit. The bell sounds and McIntyre immediately beats down Miz. He takes him to the floor where he slams him into the barricade and ring apron. Back in the ring. Miz tries taking the turnbuckle padding off but is caught. Drew grabs his sword but is caught.

The ref gets rid of the sword while Drew slams Miz's head into the exposed turnbuckle. He hits a Future Shock DDT for the win. The new Drew shows himself again! After the match, he gets on the mic and says he's not the same man he was 30 seconds ago. He apologizes and says because of that, he's forgiven.

Winner: Drew McIntyre

– We see highlights of Trick Williams' victory over Dominik Mysterio for the NXT North American Championship. We shoot backstage and Jackie Redmond interviews Trick, who confirms a rematch against Dom on NXT tomorrow night with the title on-the-line.

Dom and The Judgment Day approach him backstage. Rhea Ripley warns Trick he'll have to worry about more than Dom tomorrow night, because he's not coming alone. We head to another commercial break.

– When we return from the break, Jackie Remond is standing at the top of the entrance area, where she introduces her guest at this time, "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes.

Cody emerges to a big fan response and joins Jackie at the top of the stage. She asks him about teaming with Jey Uso to challenge The Judgment Day for the tag titles at WWE Fastlane 2023 this Saturday night.

He says he never planned to team with Jey, but is looking forward to it. He says he heard The Judgment Day are planning on being at SmackDown on Friday. He says that's fine because he'll be there, too. He won't be alone, either, as Jey will be with him.

– After the commentators run down the advertised lineup for this coming Saturday night's WWE Fastlane 2023 premium live event, we return inside the SAP Center where we hear the familiar sounds of Imperium's theme music.

As GUNTHER settles in the ring accompanied by Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci, we shift gears and head into a quick pre-match commercial break.

– When we return from the break, Michael Cole and Wade Barrett announce Becky Lynch vs. Tegan Nox for the NXT Women's title, Ivar vs. Kofi Kingston in a Viking Rules match, as well as Nia Jax vs. Raquel Rodriguez for next week's Raw.

– Backstage, we see a worked up Chad Gable telling Otis he doesn't blame him for the loss to Imperium earlier tonight. He vows he will dethrone GUNTHER the next time he steps into the squared circle with him. He calls him stupid. Many times.

:ic:

WWE Intercontinental Championship: GUNTHER (C) vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Back inside the SAP Center, we hear Tommaso Ciampa's theme. After the heart-monitor beeping dies down, the entrance tune for Ciampa plays as the fired up WWE veteran and former NXT World Champion heads to the ring.

Samantha Irvin handles the formal pre-match ring introductions for the champion and the challenger. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. After some early back-and-forth action, we see Ciampa get his Sicilian Stretch submission on the champ, who eventually escapes.

Afterwards, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as this title tilt continues. When we return from the break, we see GUNTHER working over Ciampa in a comfortable offensive lead.

For some reason hundreds of fans are flashing their phone flashlights in the background. No reason for fireflies that I can see. Ciampa fights back and again gets his Sicilian Stretch on the Imperium leader. GUNTHER escapes and the brawl breaks out on the floor.

"The Ring General" begins dominating once again as we head into our final mid-match commercial break of the evening. When we return, we see the two turn up the violence meter a bit as they fight out to the floor again. Back in the ring, again we see Ciampa get his submission finisher applied.

Again we see GUNTHER escape from it. Both guys slowly make it back to their feet. They start trading shots in the middle of the ring as the fans react to each shot that lands. GUNTHER hits multiple power bombs on Ciampa and then slaps a sleeper hold on a standing Ciampa. Ciampa fades as the crowd tries rallying behind him. Ciampa fades and goes out. GUNTHER wins.

Winner and STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion: GUNTHER

– Once the match wraps up, we see Vinci and Kaiser join GUNTHER in the ring in beating down Ciampa. GUNTHER walks off with a smile on his face and heads to the back as the Imperium duo are left alone to beat down what is left of Ciampa. Johnny Gargano's theme hits and he sprints down to the ring and hits a big spear. He takes out both Imperium guys.

Michael Cole ends the show yelling that DIY is back on Monday Night Raw. That's how this week's show wraps up. We head off the air.