WWE RAW Live Coverage - October 30th, 2023

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JD McDonagh to represent The Judgment Day against Seth "Freakin" Rollins

The Visionary is set to go one-on-one with the conniving JD McDonagh, looking to prove himself to The Judgment Day. This showdown will take place just five days before Rollins defends his title against The Scottish Warrior at WWE Crown Jewel.


:raw:

– We are LIVE inside the Bon Secours Wellness Arena and the theme for Rhea Ripley hits. Out comes "Mami" accompanied by Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh. She heads to the ring to a big pop as the commentators hype tonight's lineup.

The WWE Women's World Champion starts off by mentioning that Judgment Day runs Raw. She touts Damian Priest injuring Cody Rhodes' ankle last week. She claims "Dirty" Dom is gonna handle Ricochet later tonight as the crowd loudly boos. She then mentions JD McDonagh's match against Seth "Freakin'" Rollins.

She brings up Rollins and Drew McIntyre having to make a decision regarding The Judgment Day, and it will impact who walks out of Crown Jewel with the title. She mentions her own match against four of the baddest women in WWE at Crown Jewel with her own title on the line. She says that's just another opportunity to prove who is the most dominant woman in WWE.

Sami Zayn's theme hits to interrupt her. He says he's out here because he's sick of hearing Ripley talk. He's sick of hearing about The Judgment Day claiming to run things on Raw. He gets worked up and emotional talking about how he's dealt with people like them his whole life. He makes it clear he'll fight 'til his last breath against The Judgment Day.

Ripley says she doesn't need the numbers advantage for Zayn. He says if management agrees, how about Zayn go one-on-one against Damian Priest tonight. Dom-Dom goes to speak up and the crowd boos like crazy. Dom yells over them that they should teach him a lesson right now. The theme for Ricochet hits and the crowd pops as he runs down as Zayn's back-up. The Judgment Day back off.

McDonagh and Dom turn back and try and jump Zayn and Ricochet, but they get knocked out of the ring for their troubles. We head to a commercial break with Michael Cole plugging Ricochet vs. Dom coming up next.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Ricochet

When we return from the break, we see Dominik Mysterio vs. Ricochet in progress in the ring. Ricochet is flying all over the place, using his fast pace offense to control the early action. It isn't long, however, before Dom-Dom takes over and the crowd boos like crazy as he works over Ricochet on the floor.

Back in the ring, "Dirty" Dom continues to take it to Ricochet as fans try and rally behind the baby face. We see JD McDonagh and Rhea Ripley cheering Dom-Dom on at ringside as he puts the boots to Ricochet in the corner of the ring. We see Ricochet take over as we head into a mid-match commercial break.

As we settle back in from the mid-match commercial time out, we see that Dom-Dom has settled back into the offensive lead. He goes for one high risk-too many and Ricochet takes back over. Ricochet hits a slingshot springboard splash onto Dom for a close near fall.

Dom-Dom decks Ricochet and heads to the top-rope. He goes for the frog splash but Ricochet avoids it, pops up and blasts him with a big super kick. He puts Dom in the drop-zone and heads to the top-rope. Ripley hops on the apron. Ricochet sees JD McDonagh do the same and leaps onto him on the apron.

When he turns around, Dom rolls him up and holds the tights for the win. After the match, Ricochet attacks McDonagh and Dom. He goes to the top but Ripley yanks a lifeless Dom out of the ring to save him. They head to the back as the fans boo.

Winner: Dominik Mysterio

– We shoot over to the commentary desk where the announcers hype up tonight's in-ring return of the DIY duo of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. A video package airs to remind fans who they are and then the match graphic for their bout tonight against Imperium flashes on the screen.

Alpha Academy vs. The Creed Brothers

"SHOOSH! SHOOSH PLEASE!" is what we hear next, as Chad Gable, Otis and Maxxine Dupri emerge from the back. They head to the ring accompanied by junior cadet Akira Tozawa for our next match of the evening. They head to the ring while we head to a pre-match commercial break.

When we return, we see a quick vignette for Raquel Rodriguez, where she talks about her chances of winning the multi-person showdown for the WWE Women's World Championship at Crown Jewel.

The commentators then inform us of how Alpha Academy issued an open challenge for tonight that was answered by former NXT tag champs The Creed Brothers on social media. They introduce a vignette hyping the arrival of The Creed Brothers.

After the video package for The Creed Brothers wraps up, out come the duo of Julius and Brutus Creed, accompanied by Ivy Nile, as the commentators sing their praises. They settle in the ring and the bell sounds to get this one officially off-and-running. Gable and Julius kick things off for their respective teams.

Gable jumps into the early offensive lead. Julius fights back and hoists Gable up for a suplex while on his knees. He stands up while holding him up in the air for a suplex, walks over and makes the tag and then passes him off to Brutus in the suplex position. Brutus then finishes off the suplex for a big pop.

Otis tags in moments later and helps shift the offensive momentum in Alpha Academy's favor. He blasts Brutus with a big shot that knocks him on his butt. Michael Cole jokingly says, "Welcome to the big time!" Brutus comes off the middle rope with a big shot that rocks Otis. He then tags in Julius.

We see Otis take both Creed Bros down with a double clothesline. He then tags in Gable, who leaps off the top-rope with a big shot that takes out both Creed Brothers. He pops up and yells "Thank you!!" as we head into a mid-match commercial break with the action still in progress.

As we settle back in from the break, we see Brutus and Gable fighting it out. Both guys make the tag to Otis and Julius. Dupri and Nile are shown cheering on their respective teams from ringside. Otis takes the hot tag and starts running wild on both of The Creed Brothers. Otis does the catapillar for a near fall attempt.

Things build to a crazy spot where Otis catches Brutus and slams him for a pin, which Julius breaks up with a shooting star press off the top-rope. They stay in a giant stack of bodies and then Gable hits a moonsault onto the pile. Maxxine drags Ivy off the ring apron and the two argue. Akira Tozawa gets in between them but Nile hits a German suplex on him on the floor.

Brutus knocks Gable out of the ring but runs into a clothesline from Otis. Otis heads to the middle rope but the Creeds stop him. One hoists him up and the other leaps off the top-rope with a Brutus-ball for the win in an impressive debut. After the match, Alpha Academy raises The Creed Brothers hands to endorse them to the crowd.

Winners: The Creed Brothers

– We return backstage to see Damian Priest and Finn Balor talking when someone knocks on their door. In walks The New Day dressed up as The New Judgment Day looking for candy, as they attempt to trick-or-treat.

Up walks Rhea Ripley and Xavier Woods hits on her before leaving. The Judgment Day talks about what went down in the beginning of the night. Priest mentions how he's got a lot to focus on with Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel and how he might even cash in his briefcase at the show.

Priest says there's no leaders in The Judgment Day. He asks if he missed a meeting where others are allowed to make matches for each other now. Ripley plays to Priest's ego and he agrees to make tonight about The Judgment Day.

– The Miz's theme song hits as we return in the arena. He makes his way to the ring to host a special segment of Miz TV tonight with "The Ring General" GUNTHER. As he heads to the ring, we head to a commercial break.

When we return, we see a video package for Nia Jax, who hypes up her chances of winning the WWE Women's World Championship at Crown Jewel this weekend. Back in the arena, The Miz's theme music dies down.

Miz talks about how when WWE announced their first-ever Germany PLE, Bash In Berlin, he got one of the biggest guests in Miz TV history. He introduces GUNTHER to make his first-ever WWE talk-show appearance. No one comes down.

Instead, the Imperium duo of Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci make their way out and Kaiser calls Miz a clown. Miz then talks trash about Vinci being a side-kick to a side-kick. Vinci mocks Miz for being the side-kick to his wife, who was a side-kick on Total Divas.

Miz is impressed that Vinci spoke and he asks the crowd to give him a round of applause. He then tells Vinci he wishes someone as hot as his wife would yell at him instead of Kaiser. Vinci goes to say something but Kaiser tells him he only talks when "The Ring General" or he tells him to.

GUNTHER's theme finally hits and out comes the longest-reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion of all-time. Miz welcomes him and tells him to take a seat. GUNTHER says he's not Miz's guest. He says it's 2023 and Miz is trying to run a talk show, like it's a joke.

He says everything about Miz TV is beneath him. He tells Miz he too is beneath him and makes it clear that he doesn't respect him. Miz says that's one way to break the ice. Miz talks about interviewing an invisible John Cena that was more entertaining than him. Miz tells GUNTHER he's the biggest star WWE has.

"The Ring General" tells Miz that's exactly his issue because once the bell rings, it doesn't matter how entertaining he is. He says when it matters, he isn't any good and that's why he's a talk-show host and GUNTHER is the longest-reigning I-C champ of all-time.

Miz says he can be serious when he wants to be. He talks about being serious when he beat Randy Orton for the WWE title, and when he beat John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania and when he won his second WWE title. He also claims to make the I-C title the most prestigious in all of WWE. He says he has no problem doing it again.

GUNTHER suggests they make a Miz TV moment he'll never forget. He says something in another language to Imperium. They grab the pumpkins from Miz TV's set and smash them. GUNTHER asks what he's gonna do about it. Miz attacks Kaiser as he continues but then GUNTHER attacks him from behind.

He asks who he thinks he is and tells him he's not in his league. As he goes to walk away, Miz pops up and stops him and starts trading punches with him until Kaiser and Vinci gang up on him. Miz walks off.

Imperium vs. DIY

DIY's theme hits and out comes Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa for our next match of the evening, as they take on Imperium, who are still in the ring with GUNTHER. As DIY heads to the ring, we head to a pre-match commercial break.

When we return, we see Miz storm into Adam Pearce's room demanding a shot at GUNTHER's I-C title. Pearce tells Miz he can earn one. In comes Bronson Reed, who also wants a shot. Miz tells Reed he's gonna be the one to take the title off of him.

Back in the arena, the bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with scheduled tag-team action, as Johnny Gargano and Giovanni Vinci kick things off for their respective teams. Vinci jumps into the early offensive lead, but Gargano takes over. When Kaiser tags back in, he takes over on Ciampa, who also tagged in.

Ciampa starts to take over moments later and then he and Gargano hit some double-team spots. After Gargano dives onto Vinci on the floor, he and Ciampa sit on the ring apron and applaud. Kaiser takes out Gargano on the floor after that and then Vinci follows up.

As Imperium settle back into the offensive lead, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues.

As Imperium settle back into the offensive lead, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues. When we return, we see Kaiser working over Gargano. He hard-tags in Vinci, but when he comes in, Gargano takes over.

He knocks Vinci with a kick and goes for the tag but Kaiser yanks Ciampa off the apron. Vinci then takes back over and slams Gargano down with authority. After some miscommunication within Imperium, Gargano picks up the win.

Winners: DIY

– After the match we go to another dark and ominous vignette from Shinsuke Nakamura before returning inside the arena where Candice LeRae makes her way to the ring accompanied by Indi Hartwell. She will be in action when Raw returns. On that note, we head to a pre-match commercial break.

Candice LeRae vs. Xia Li

We return live in the arena and see LeRae with Indi Hartwell awaiting the arrival of the first-ever Chinese woman to compete in WWE. She makes her way out with weird weapons in her hand doing martial arts moves as she heads to the ring.

The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. We see Li immediately charge at LeRae and begin dominating her with ease. She ends up connecting with a vicious spin kick that knocks her silly. She is down and out and Xia Li is just standing over her as the ref checks on her.

She tries to get up but falls back down. The ref calls the match off. Trainers come to check on her as Xia Li mean-mugs the crowd and the commentators sing her praises.

Winner: Xia Li

– We shoot backstage and see Sami Zayn and "Main Event" Jey Uso hanging out. Jey tells Zayn good luck in his match tonight against Damian Priest. Up walks Jackie Redmond to interview Uso.

She asks him about Zayn-Priest tonight and Cody Rhodes' match with Priest at Crown Jewel. He also mentions wanting to recapture the tag titles with Cody and see how Rhea Ripley feels about it. He ends by saying "Yeet" and walking off. We head to another commercial break.

– After the break, we get a quick update on Candice LeRae's medical condition and then we see a video package from Shayna Baszler explaining why she will win at Crown Jewel.

– We shoot to a video package with Drew McIntyre sitting in an empty arena reflecting on winning the WWE title during the pandemic from Brock Lesnar in front of an empty crowd. He talks about why it's his destiny to capture the title from Seth "Freakin'" Rollins at Crown Jewel.

Seth "Freakin'" Rollins vs. JD McDonagh

Now we're back inside the arena where Seth "Freakin'" Rollins' theme hits. The WWE World Heavyweight Champion emerges to a big reaction from the Greenville crowd. As he makes his way to the ring, we head to a pre-match commercial break.

When we return, we see a video package from Zoey Stark explaining why she's going to win at Crown Jewel. We return in the ring and Rollins has a mic. He talks about McIntyre crying and complaining in his video package moments ago. He calls him a big Scottish Baby. He then tells his own story and explains why it's his destiny to win at Crown Jewel.

As he nears the end of his promo, he is attacked from behind out of nowhere by JD McDonagh. The ref separates the two and waits for Rollins to get up and then calls for the bell. Their match is now officially off-and-running, and Rollins immediately makes him pay for the sneak attack.

McDonagh starts to take over on offense, but this doesn't last for long, as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion fires up and takes over. He hits a high back-body drop to McDonagh, who hits the floor hard. Rollins follows up and connects with a suicide dive as we head to a mid-match commercial break.

As we settle back in from the break, we see McDonagh controlling Rollins in the ring. Rollins fires back up and takes over. He hits a Sling Blade and looks for a Pedigree, but McDonagh counters. Rollins fights back and hits a Buckle Bomb. He heads to the top but sees Damian Priest coming out with a refreree and his briefcase.

Rollins leaps off but lands on McDonagh's knees. Priest settles in at ringside next to the announce table with his briefcase and second referee. Rollins takes McDonagh up to the top but is knocked off. He leaps back up and hits an avalanche back suplex. He hits a Pedigree and a Stomp and covers McDonagh while grilling Priest at ringside. After the match he gets in Priest's face and tells him to make a move.

Winner: Seth "Freakin'" Rollins

– Backstage we see Ricochet talking to Adam Pearce about what happened earlier tonight. Pearce offers him an opportunity at a shot at the I-C title. He likes that idea but says he's still got business with Dominik Mysterio.

Ricochet walks off and up walks Undisputed WWE Women's Tag-Team Champions Chelsea Green and Piper Niven, dressed up as Bret Hart and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart from the Hart Foundation. They bicker about the Trick or Street fight tonight and walk off.

Pearce goes to walk off, but runs into Ivar from The Viking Raiders and Valhalla. They demand to talk to him in his office. He says ok and they walk off. He says he needs a drink.

Trick Or Street Fight: Natalya vs. Chelsea Green

Back in the arena, Natalya's theme hits and out comes the women's wrestling legend dressed up in a Halloween costume that looks like a bunny mixed with a dominatrix. She heads to the ring with her whip as we head to a pre-match commercial break.

When we return, we see Jackie Redmond backstage with Becky Lynch, who touts having had more title defenses during her reign as NXT Women's Champion than Rhea Ripley or Roman Reigns have had all year with their titles. She is confronted by Xia Li, who says they're going to fight on her terms.

In the arena, the theme for Bret Hart hits and out comes Chelsea Green dressed up like "The Hitman" along with Piper Niven, who is dressed up like Nattie's father, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. She settles in the ring and the bell sounds to get this one officially off-and-running.

The match is much like the Abadon vs. Hikaru Shida title match we saw on AEW TV last week, with it being a Halloween gimmick match with costumes and halloween-themed weapons and candy spots, etc.

Nattie puts Chelsea through the candy table. At another table covered in pumpkins, we see the pumpkins knocked off and Nikki Cross' head is shown through the table. Green freaks out and Nattie brings her back in the ring for a power bomb on candy corn instead of thumb tacks.

Cole says it was a near corny finish after Green kicks out. Green survives a sharpshooter attempt and thanks to Piper Niven, she gets the win. After the match we see a preview for NXT Halloween Havoc: Night 2 and head to another commercial break.

Winner: Chelsea Green

– When we return from the break, we see our last video package from the five women scheduled for the WWE Women's World Championship at Crown Jewel, Rhea Ripley. After hearing from all of the challengers in the bout in video packages throughout the show, Ripley gets her turn to explain why she's gonna win on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

Damian Priest vs. Sami Zayn

After the video package wraps up, we shoot to the commentary desk where Michael Cole and Wade Barrett run down the advertised lineup for Saturday's WWE Crown Jewel 2023 premium live event. When they wrap up, we return in the arena where the theme music for "Senor Money In The Bank" Damian Priest hits.

The crowd boos as The Judgment Day member makes his way out by himself and heads to the ring for our final match of the evening. One-half of the Undisputed WWE World Tag-Team Champions settles in the ring and then his music dies down. Sami Zayn's theme hits and the crowd explodes as he makes his way to the ring for our main event.

As Zayn settles in the ring, we shift gears and head to a quick pre-match commercial break. When we return, the bell sounds and these two begin getting after it. A four-way title eliminator for the next shot at the I-C title is announced for next week between The Miz, Bronson Reed, Ivar of The Viking Raiders and Ricochet. Also announced is Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Akira Tozawa.

We see Zayn start off strong from an offensive standpoint in this one, but Priest takes over as we head into a mid-match commercial break. When we return, we see Zayn fight his way back into the offensive lead, but just as he does, Finn Balor makes his way down to the ring with the other members of The Judgment Day to a ton of boos. They surround the ring as Priest takes back over.

Priest nearly finishes Zayn off a few times, but he hangs on. As he starts to fight back, we see the various Judgment Day members hit the apron, and one even sneaks in a cheap shot that lets Priest take back over. This prompts "Main Event" Jey Uso to come out and start brawling with The Judgment Day. He super-kicks Priest in the ring and the ref calls for the bell.

Jey looks upset that he cost Zayn the match, but they don't have time to talk it out because The Judgment Day swarm and attack the two in the ring. Cody Rhodes' theme hits and out he comes limping on his bad leg to help fight off The Judgment Day with Uso and Zayn as the crowd goes wild. Cody knocks one of the members out to the floor. Zayn and Uso knock the others out and hit dives at the same time.

Cody clears off the commentary table but is ambushed from behind. Zayn hits a Helluva Kick to help him out. Cody gets on the table and asks Zayn to feed him JD McDonagh. Zayn feeds McDonagh to Cody, who hits a Cross-Rhodes on the commentary table, which doesn't break. Cody grabs a mic but the fans chant "One More Time!" and Zayn convinces him to do exactly that.

Cody hops on the table again and hits another one but again the table doesn't break. Whoops. Cody heads into the ring with the mic. He tells Priest tried to take him out with an ankle injury last week. He says he was unsuccessful. He says he got back up because that's what he does. He takes Priest to task for not being the leader of The Judgment Day.

He calls him a walk-behinder, saying he walks behind Finn Balor, Rhea Ripley and even Dominik Mysterio. He says he's back on his path and on Saturday at Crown Jewel, his path goes straight through him. He drops the mic and the two stare each other down as Cole plugs Saturday's PLE in Saudi Arabia. That's how this week's show goes off the air.

Winner via DQ: Damian Priest