WWE RAW Live Coverage - October 9th, 2023

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Tegan Nox to challenge Becky Lynch for NXT Women's Title

Although Becky Lynch was originally scheduled to put her NXT Women’s Title on the line against Tegan Nox, just two days after her defense against Tiffany Stratton at NXT No Mercy, the match was forced to be postponed because the tough titleholder was not medically cleared. That highly-anticipated showdown has been reschedled for next Monday night on the red brand. Can Nox defeat Big Time Becks for the title when she is at her best?


:raw:

– The "WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together." opening signature narrated by John Cena airs to get us started. From there, we shoot directly into a recap video package for this past Saturday night's WWE Fastlane 2023 premium live event.

– After the video package wraps up, the regular Monday Night Raw opening video and theme airs and then we shoot inside the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska for the first time this evening. The camera pans the crowd as Michael Cole and Wade Barrett welcome us to the show.

The two Raw commentators run down the scheduled lineup for tonight's show. We then hear "BURN IT DOWN!" The theme for Seth "Freakin'" Rollins plays and out in a giant chess board disguised as an extravagant coat is the reigning WWE World Heavyweight Champion fresh off of his Last Man Standing victory over Shinsuke Nakamura at WWE Fastlane.

Rollins settles in the ring and his music stops, but the singing from the WWE Universe in attendance continues. He finally begins, "Omaha, welcome to Monday Night Rollins!" He says he's feeling a certain type of way tonight and calls adrenaline a special kind of thing. He's still riding it after his win on Saturday night against "The King of Strong Style."

He says when the adrenaline wears off he's got to deal with the reality that his back is still very much broken. He says he's gonna level with us. He says being our world champion has been one of the great honors of his career. The fans break out in a loud "Thank you, Rollins!" chant as he appears to get emotional. He says he's just getting started.

Seth goes on to say he's still gonna be our fighting champion. He asks if he can just have one Monday night without someone trying to kill him. As he continues to talk, he is interrupted by the familiar sounds of Drew McIntyre's theme music. Out comes "The Scottish Warrior" to the ring.

Rollins guesses McIntyre isn't out here to party. He assumes he wants a title match. He rambles about how he just wanted one night without this, but he doesn't care. He says he's a fighting champion and even though he's not 100-percent, he'll fight tonight. Drew tells him to relax. He says the party is still on.

He says he does want that title match, but he wants him as close to 100-percent as possible. He says he was thinking Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre for the title at WWE Crown Jewel 2023. McIntyre goes to leave and Rollins wants to continue to party, but is attacked from behind by Damian Priest.

Dominik Mysterio runs out with the Money In The Bank briefcase, but McIntyre stops him and headbutts him. The commentators point out that Priest clearly was planning to cash in his briefcase just now. We shoot backstage and see Kofi Kingston stretching for our first match of the evening and then we head to a commercial break.

– Now it's time for our opening contest. When we return from the break, we see a quick commercial for Becky Lynch's new memoir, "The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl," which is available for pre-order now. The New Day theme hits and we see Kofi Kingston make his way down to the ring for this scheduled Viking Rules match.

Viking Rules Match: Kofi Kingston vs. Ivar

The commentators run down the special rules for a Viking Rules bout and then we hear The Viking Raiders theme. Out comes Ivar accompanied by Valhalla. He settles in the ring, the bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. Ivar immediately blasts Kingston with a big boot that decks him.

As the early action continues, Kingston knocks Ivar out to the floor and then hits a big dive onto him for a big crowd pop. Ivar takes back over on the floor at ringside until Kofi leaps off the ring steps for another big splash. The fans chant "Let's go Kofi!" as he continues to take it to Ivar.

Kingston reaches under the ring and pulls out a table for an even bigger pop, but this allows Ivar to recover. He begins to take over on offense. Kofi fights back and knocks Ivar off the apron and down to the floor. He climbs to the middle ropes and leaps off and crashes onto the back of Ivar. He goes for the cover on the floor but Ivar kicks out.

On that note, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues. When we return, after an odd "Get your French on" commercial, we see Kingston in the offensive driver's seat until Ivar hits a big spinning slam to shift the momentum back in his favor. Kingston takes over moments later and after grabbing the beard of Ivar, he launches him and puts him through the table set up on the floor.

Valhalla then launches herself onto Kingston on the floor to take him out. Xavier Woods runs down and referees hold him back. Valhalla charges at Woods, who ducks, leading to Valhalla flying into the crowd. Ivar then cross-bodies Woods into the barricade. Kingston attacks Ivar from behind and puts him back in the ring. Kofi looks for Trouble in Paradise but Ivar catches him and puts him through a table leaning in the corner.

Ivar climbs up to the top-rope looking to finish this one off. He connects with a big moonsault and goes for the cover. He gets the pin fall victory in this opening Viking Rules match.

Winner: Ivar

– We shoot backstage where Byron Saxton is joined by Shinsuke Nakamura. He asks him about coming up short in his Last Man Standing match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Seth "Freakin'" Rollins.

Nakamura doesn't respond. He asks about his future goals. Nakamura doesn't respond. Ricochet runs in out of nowhere and attacks Nakamura. A ton of officials break them up.

– Now it's time for our second match of the evening. Raquel Rodriguez's theme hits and one-half of the former Undisputed WWE Women's Tag-Team Champions makes her way out and heads to the ring. As she does, we head to a pre-match commercial break.

– When we return, we see Damian Priest holding JD McDonagh up by his throat backstage against a wall. Up comes The Judgment Day to calm the situation down. Rhea Ripley informs him that he got he and Finn Balor a rematch for the tag titles.

Priest says he's still got JD and Drew McIntyre to deal with. Ripley tells JD tonight he needs to prove himself. She says he needs to take care of Drew. She walks off. Priest says he wants him to finish Drew, but part of him wants to break him in half when he fails to get the job done.

Raquel Rodriguez vs. Nia Jax

From there, we settle back inside the arena where Rodriguez is in the ring wrapping up her entrance. Her music dies down and then Nia Jax's theme music hits. She makes her way down to the ring to a ton of boos. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one.

Jax immediately bum-rushes Rodriguez and begins Donkey Kong'ing her all over the place. Rodriguez tries to fight back in the corner, but Jax takes back over and brings the fight to the floor at ringside. She continues to rag-doll Rodriguez as we head into a mid-match commercial break.

As we settle back in from the break, we see Jax dominating Rodriguez some more until finally Rhea Ripley runs down to interfere. The ref calls for the bell. Ripley beats down Jax. Rodriguez gets back in the mix but Ripley lays her out. Shayna Baszler comes out and gets in Ripley's face. She suplexes Ripley and blasts her with a running knee. Baszler stands tall.

Winner: No Contest

– We shoot backstage and we see Drew McIntyre. In comes Seth Rollins to tell him the good news that he just spoke with Adam Pearce and their title match is official for WWE Crown Jewel. Rollins then asks McIntyre what his problem is.

Rollins brings up getting attacked by Damian Priest from behind and McIntyre just stood by and did nothing. McIntyre reiterates what he told The New Day and others, which is that if it doesn't directly involve him or his business, he's not getting involved. Rollins tells him he can't take his title off of him.

– Now we go to a different area backstage and we see the new, reigning Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions Cody Rhodes and "Main Event" Jey Uso walking the hallways. Their scheduled interview with Michael Cole is up next. We head to another commercial break.

– When we return from the break, we see Jackie Redmond backstage with Shayna Baszler. She asks for a comment on what just happened. She says she doesn't care what is going on with who, when she is standing in the ring, she is the baddest woman on the planet. She continues walking off.

– We're back inside the arena where Michael Cole introduces one-half of the Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions, "Main Event" Jey Uso. Out he comes to a big pop. He settles in the ring and does his raise-the-roof gimmick with the sea of fans doing it behind him. Just him, Uce. Day one Ish.

The theme for Cody Rhodes hits and Cole introduces "The American Nightmare." He kneels down, sort of like CM Punk doing his "clobbering time!" routine for his ring entrance. He heads to the ring to a monster pop and settles inside. Jey Uso starts by talking about being a two-time Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champion.

Cole asks Cody about finishing his story and if he's content where he's at now as one-half of the tag-team champions, or if he's nervous about trying his chances against Roman Reigns one more time because he doesn't want to let anyone down. Cody says he's proud being one-half of the tag champs.

Cole re-asks the question, bringing up how close he was to capturing the big one and becoming a world champion, just like his dad Dusty Rhodes. Cody gets emotional and thinks. Before he can speak, new theme music for Sami Zayn hits. He comes to the ring with Kevin Owens. He mentions having not heard that theme in a while.

Zayn brings up being a former tag champ with Owens, beating Jey and his brother Jimmy Uso in the main event of WrestleMania to get them. He then gives Jey and Cody props for beating one of the hottest teams in the game in The Judgment Day to get them. He says that's the story they're telling right now. He congratulates Cody on winning them.

Sami then directs some comments to Jey Uso, bringing up their past history and telling him he's proud of him as well. He mentions having mixed emotions because he wants those titles back. Owens says he doesn't have mixed emotions because he wants those titles back and nothing else. He says he'd like to challenge them to a title match right here tonight.

Owens says here's the problem -- he knows if he does, they won't accept because Jey Uso can't handle the thought of losing those titles to them -- twice. Cody holds Jey back and says they're all friends here, or at least he thinks they are. Cody says Kevin is wrong because they do accept. He says they don't need to wait, they can do it tonight on Raw.

– Backstage, we see Otis chopping Chad Gable, who says "Thank you!" each time. He says he's getting his body ready to become the number one contender to the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

Bronson Reed comes up and says Gable isn't getting anywhere near the I-C title. He says he already beat him and Ricochet and tells him not to bring his daughter because it's gonna be another heart-break for her. He walks off laughing. Gable tells Otis to hit him again. "Thank you!"

– Now we shoot back inside the arena where Ricochet's theme hits. He makes his way out but is immediately attacked from behind by Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura lays Ricochet out with a Kinshasa. A ton of officials run out and hold Nakamura back. They help Ricochet up as we head to another commercial break.

– When we return from the break, we learn that the Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens match for the tag titles is confirmed for later tonight. We see Ricochet has recovered and is in the ring. Bronson Reed's theme hits and out he comes to the ring for this Intercontinental Championship eliminator bout.

WWE Intercontinental Championship Eliminator: Ricochet vs. Bronson Reed vs. Chad Gable

Reed settles in the ring and his entrance tune dies down. The theme for Alpha Academy hits last and out comes Chad Gable to a big pop. He makes his way down to the ring accompanied by Maxxine Dupri. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one.

Early on we see both Gable and Ricochet go after Reed. Reed beats Ricochet down and Gable goes to work on the big man. The action spills to the floor where Gable hits a big suplex and yells "Thank you!" as we head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues in this high-stakes triple-threat bout.

As we settle back in from the break, we see Reed starting to dominate again. He stacks Ricochet and Gable on his back / over his shoulders and rag-dolls them both down to the mat. Ricochet fires up after Reed is knocked to the floor. He hits a big splash and a standing shooting star press for a close near fall attempt.

We see Gable look for a super-plex off the top-rope but Ricochet flips over and lands on his feet. Reed takes them out and then comes off the top-rope with his Tsunami splash for the pin fall victory. With the win, Reed moves on to challenge GUNTHER for the I-C title next week on Raw.

Winner and NEW No. 1 Contender to WWE Intercontinental Championship: Bronson Reed

– Backstage, Jackie Redmond catches up with Becky Lynch. She talks about her new memoir coming out and then mentions how tonight is the biggest opportunity in Tegan Nox's career. She mentions being wounded like a bear and tells Nox to bring it on. As she continues to talk, up comes Xia Li and tells her that after Nox fails, she is next.

– Back inside the arena, we hear Drew McIntyre's theme. Out comes "The Scottish Warrior" to the ring for our next match of the evening. He settles inside the squared circle with his giant sword as we head into a pre-match commercial break.

Drew McIntyre vs. JD McDonagh

When we return from the break, we see McIntyre in the ring. His music dies down and then the theme for JD McDonagh plays and out he comes accompanied by Dominik Mysterio. He settles in the ring and his music dies down. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one.

The commentators remind us that Rhea Ripley told McDonagh to handle Drew tonight to prove himself to The Judgment Day. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. Drew starts off strong and JD retreats on the floor. Back in the ring, JD gets some help from Dominik. The fight spills out to the floor where Dom runs Drew into the ring post.

Back in the ring, we see McIntyre hit a Future Shock DDT to shift the offensive momentum back in his favor. He follows that up with a Claymore Kick. He goes for the pin fall and gets the three-count to pick up the victory.

Winner: Drew McIntyre

– We see Damian Priest and Ripley watching on backstage. Ripley tells Priest before he does anything to JD, she's got an idea. She walks off and we head to another commercial break.

– When we return from the break, we see the recently reunited DIY duo of Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, when they are ambushed and savagely attacked by the Imperium duo of Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser. They leave them laying and walk off.

– We go to a video package hyping up Tegan Nox. We then shoot backstage live where Tegan Nox is bouncing up-and-down in her ring gear preparing for her big title opportunity tonight.

Jackie Redmond approaches her and asks her about tonight's NXT Women's Championship clash against "The Man" Becky Lynch. She says it's more than title match, as it's a chance to prove herself to the world.

Up comes Natalya, who approaches Nox and says she means what she told her last week about being proud of her. Back inside the arena, Tegan Nox's theme hits and out she comes for her big title opportunity. As she makes her way to the ring, we head to a pre-match commercial break.

– When we return from the break, we see Ricochet upset backstage. Adam Pearce approaches him and announces a Falls Count Anywhere match between Ricochet and Shinsuke Nakamura for next week's Season Premiere special episode of WWE Raw.

:nxtwomen:

NXT Women's Championship: Becky Lynch (C) vs. Tegan Nox

Back live inside the arena, we see Nox finishing up her entrance in the ring. Her music dies down. Becky Lynch's theme hits and out comes "The Man" to a rock star reception from the Omaha crowd. She makes her way to the ring for her latest title defense. The bell sounds and we're off-and-running with this one.

After some early back-and-forth action, we see Lynch settle into the offensive driver's seat. She takes it to the challenger but then Nox starts shifting the offensive momentum in her favor. She works on the injured arm of Lynch and sends her crashing out to the floor at ringside as we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break.

As we settle back in from the break, we see Nox still in control of things. Lynch starts to fight back and looks for the Dis-Arm-Her submission. Nox avoids it. Lynch and Nox head to the top-rope and Nox hangs Lynch upside down in the tree of woe. She runs and splashes onto her as she is hanging upside down. She goes for the cover but Lynch kicks out.

Nox slaps the Dis-Arm-Her on Lynch, cranking away at the injured arm of "The Man." Lynch ends up escaping. She goes for the Man-Handle Slam but Nox avoids it. Lynch hits a missile drop kick off the top-rope. She gets the Dis-Arm-Her on Nox, who taps out. Lynch wins and retains the NXT Women's title. With the win, she moves on to defend it against Lyra Valkyria at Halloween Havoc.

Winner and STILL NXT Women's Champion: Becky Lynch

– We return backstage where Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell are asking Adam Pearce how DIY are doing after the attack from Imperium. Rhea Ripley walks in and demands that they leave.

Ripley tells Pearce she wants him to get her women's division in order. Ripley tells Pearce she wants Shayna Baszler one-on-one for next week's show. She tells him to make it happen and walks off as we head to another commercial break.

– When we return from the break, we see Tegan Nox upset about losing. Up walks Natalya telling her she's proud of her. Nox flips out and says she lost. Others walk up, including the women's tag champs Piper Niven and Chelsea Green.

Green mocks them for having a pity party and then threatens Nattie to never get involved in her business. Nattie asks what happens if she does. Piper Niven says she'll have to deal with her. She challenges her to a match for next week.

We shoot backstage and we see Jey Uso warming up for his main event. Up comes Drew McIntyre telling him he'll be ready to pounce on him when he shows his true colors. Up comes Sami Zayn asking if everything is cool. McIntyre walks off.

Uso tells Zayn he appreciates him having his back but tonight is about the gold and they're on opposing sides of the ring. Back inside the arena, Kevin Owens' theme hits. He comes out and it stops. Sami Zayn's theme hits and out he comes to his regular theme. The two head to the ring together.

Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Championship: Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso (C) vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens

As the challengers settle inside the squared circle, we shift gears and head into a pre-match commercial break. When we return, we see a vignette hyping up Ludwig Kaiser. We then shoot back in the arena where Zayn and Owens are awaiting their opposition.

The familiar sounds of "Main Event" Jey Uso's theme hits and out comes one-half of the Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions for our final match of the evening. The fans do the raise-the-roof routine with him as he stands on the middle rope playing to the crowd in Omaha.

Jey's theme dies down and then we hear the familiar sounds of Cody Rhodes' entrance tune. Out comes "The American Nightmare" looking all-business. Fireworks explode, the crowd erupts as well and the other-half of the Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions heads to the ring.

We hear the ring announcer handle the formal pre-match ring introductions for the champions and the challengers. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with our main event of the evening here on the post-Fastlane episode of WWE Monday Night Raw.

Kicking things off for their respective teams are Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn. They circle and lock up and then back off. They lock up again and Cody backs Zayn into the corner as fans chant "Cody! Cody! Cody!" He gives Zayn a clean break and backs off. The two lock-up again and Zayn backs Cody into the corner this time.

Zayn doesn't give Cody a clean break, however, as he backs off and then blasts him with a chop. Cody gets fired up over that, turns Zayn into the corner and chops him. Owens and Uso hit the ring and the referee restores order as tempers flare and we head into a mid-match commercial break.

When we return from the break, we see Cody back Zayn into a corner and Jey Uso tags himself in. Zayn and Uso circle each other as the commentators remind us of their storied history. Zayn decks Uso with a shot. Uso decks Zayn with one and then leads the fans in a roof-raising hand gesture. Owens tags in.

All four guys end up on the floor brawling in wild fashion as the energy in the crowd picks up. Order is restored and things resume in the ring until Owens and Uso fight back to the floor and dive across the commentary desk. Zayn and Cody follow out and all four continue to brawl as we head into another mid-match commercial break.

As we settle in from the mid-match advertising time out, we see Owens controlling Uso in the ring as order has, in fact, been restored during the break. Owens hits a standing senton on Uso for a close near fall attempt. Cody tags in and starts hitting his trademark spots. He nearly finishes this one off, but Zayn survives.

Zayn makes the much-needed tag to Owens. Cody also tags Uso back in. Uso and Owens duke it out toe-to-toe and then they start trading super kicks back-to-back. The action spills to the floor where Zayn hits a big diving splash onto both guys on the floor. Back in the ring, Uso blasts Owens with a super kick. He hits Zayn with one. Cody hits Cross-Rhodes.

Uso and Cody hit a double super kick on Owens. Uso launches Owens into a Cody Cutter from Rhodes, who appeared to hurt his neck on the landing. Uso makes the cover and he and Cody retain the titles.

Winners and STILL Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions: Cody Rhodes & Jey Uso

– The commentators run down the lineup for next week's Raw season premiere as Cody and Uso celebrate in the ring. After that, Zayn shakes hands with both guys. Owens does the same and then this week's show goes off the air.