The September 23rd, 2019 episode of WWE RAW aired live from the Chase Center in San Francisco, In addition to the takeaways below, Carmella won the 24/7 Championship tonight on RAW.
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Sasha Banks Tapped Out Nikki Cross
Michael Cole interviewed RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch tonight. Lynch stated that she wants to face Sasha now that she is on a hot streak. Cole pointed out that Sasha Banks was in the only women’s Hell in a Cell match in history and Becky quickly noted that Banks lost that match. Becky said that she was looking for revenge at Clash of Champions and that is why she used the chair.
Sasha Banks squared off against Nikki Cross on tonight’s episode of RAW. Bayley and Alexa Bliss were ringside for the match. Nikki dominated the match early and connected with a Dropkick that sent Banks to the outside.
Back in the ring, Nikki took Banks to the canvas and applied an Arm Bar. Banks broke free but Nikki hit her with a Crossbody for a near fall. Sasha slammed Cross to the floor outside the ring as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, Sasha was in control and hit Double Knees in the corner for a two count.
Nikki battled back and shoved Banks into the ring post. Nikki hit Sasha with a Crossbody off the ring apron. Back in the ring, Sasha hit a Dropkick and went for the cover but Nikki kicked out at two. Cross hit Banks with a Neckbreaker but Bayley hopped on the apron for a distraction. Bliss took Bayley out and launched her into the barricade.
Cross climbed to the top rope and hit a Crossbody but Sasha rolled through. Sasha applied the Bank Statement for the submission victory. After the match, Sasha hit Alexa Bliss with the Backstabber and then locked in the Bank Statement. Sasha posed in the ring to end the segment. It was later announced that Banks will battle Bliss next week on RAW.
Banks and Cross had a decent match tonight but the crowd was already dead from the painfully dull first hour of the show.
Lacey Evans Tapped Out Ember Moon With The Sharpshooter
Lacey Evans faced Ember Moon tonight on RAW. Moon connected with a Dropkick and followed it up with an Arm Drag to start off the match. Ember followed it up with a Crossbody and then sent Lacey to the apron.
Evans connected with a kick that sent Moon to the floor outside the ring. Lacey rolled Ember back into the ring as Natalya was shown watching the match backstage. Ember connected with a Samoan Drop and both superstars fell to the canvas.
Moon dodged the Woman’s Right and hit a forearm to the face. Ember hit a Stunner outside the ring and went for the cover but Lacey kicked out at two. Ember climbed to the top rope but Evans hit the Woman’s Right and sent her to the canvas. Lacey applied the Sharpshooter to mock Natalya for the submission victory.
I knew WWE had no plans for Ember Moon following her loss to Bayley at SummerSlam. Ember Moon just played the role of a pawn in a storyline between Lacey Evans and Natalya, a feud that not too many people care about. WWE clearly wants to push Lacey Evans again and I’m sure that the absolutely horrific Sharpshooter she put on tonight won’t affect that at all. Her countless other previous botches haven’t slowed down her push in the past.
King Corbin Beat Chad Gable Down
King Corbin faced Chad Gable once again tonight on RAW. Before the match, Corbin poked fun at Gable’s height and said that this match will be short. King Corbin took his time taking off his robe and crown in the corner of the ring.
The match finally started and Corbin launched Gable out of the ring. Back in the ring, Gable applied a Headlock. Corbin brought Gable to the outside and bounced his head off the steel steps. King Corbin launched Gable over the barricade and into the crowd as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Corbin connected with a massive Clothesline for a near fall. Corbin followed it up by launching Gable into the ring post for another two count. Corbin hit a big boot for another near fall as the crowd started chanting “Gable!”.
Corbin hit a Splash in the corner and took a break to mock the crowd. King Corbin hit another Splash and pointed at his crown. Corbin shouted at the crowd to bow down to him and turned around into an overhead kick from Gable.
Gable hit two more kicks to the face and made his way to the top rope. Corbin crotched Gable on the top turnbuckle and then slammed him down to the canvas for another two count.
King Corbin started arguing with referee John Cone and Gable capitalized with a Dropkick to the knee. Corbin shrugged it off and planted Gable with a Chokeslam for another near fall.
The crowd started chanting “Chad!” as Corbin brought Gable to the corner. Gable hit a German Suplex out of nowhere and once again made his way to the top rope. Gable connected with a Moonsault and went for the cover but King Corbin kicked out at the last second.
Corbin went for another Chokeslam but Gable escaped. Gable applied the Ankle Lock in the middle of the ring but Corbin grabbed his sceptre from the corner of the ring. Corbin hit Gable with the sceptre several times and the match ended in a DQ. Corbin put on his crown and posed in the ring after the match.
Rey Mysterio Earned A Shot At The Universal Championship Next Week
Rey Mysterio, Robert Roode, AJ Styles, Ricochet, and Shinsuke Nakamura battled in a Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match to determine the #1 contender for the Universal Championship. The winner of the match will face Seth Rollins on next week’s RAW for the title.
Roode rolled to the outside at the beginning of the match as the other four superstars battled in the ring. Roode got back inside and walked into a Dropkick from Ricochet. Mysterio hit a Moonsault onto Styles and Ricochet flipped onto Nakamura outside the ring as RAW went to a break.
When RAW returned, Ricochet Dropkicked Styles to the outside and went after him but AJ connected with a right hand to the face. Roode hit Rey with a knee to the ribs and sent him out of the ring but Mysterio landed on top of Ricochet.
AJ rolled Ricochet into the ring and Roode bounced his face off the turnbuckle. Roode and Styles teamed up to beat Ricochet down as some of the crowd chanted “TNA!”. Roode tried to attack Styles but AJ was ready and hit the Pele Kick for a two count.
Nakamura hit Styles with a knee to the face and AJ fell to the floor outside the ring. Nakamura hit Ricochet with a Facebuster and followed it up with a few kicks to the ribs. Mysterio hit Shinsuke with a Senton off the top rope and then battled with Ricochet as the crowd cheered.
Ricochet countered a DDT into a Suplex for a two count. AJ got back into the ring and booted Ricochet in the face. Ricochet hit the Recoil on Roode but turned around into the Kinshasa from Nakamura. Shinsuke then pinned Ricochet to eliminate him as RAW went to a break.
Back from the break, Nakamura connected with kick off the second rope and went for the cover but Roode kicked out at two. Mysterio hit Nakamura with the 619 but Styles planted him with a Suplex on the ring apron. AJ hit Nakamura with the Phenomenal Forearm to eliminate him. Roode then planted Styles with the Glorious DDT and we were down to Roode and Mysterio.
Roode brought Mysterio back in the ring and went for the Glorious DDT but Rey countered into a roll-up for a two count. Mysterio went for the 619 but Roode hopped up and hit Rey with a Spinebuster for a two count. Mysterio hit Roode with the 619 and followed it up with a Splash off the top rope for the victory. Rey Mysterio will face Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship next week on RAW.
Rey Mysterio dedicated the match to his son and it will be interesting to see if Dominic shows up next week during the title match.
The Fiend Attacked Braun Strowman
Universal Champion Seth Rollins hyped up his match against Bray Wyatt inside the Hell in a Cell to kick off the show. Rollins boasted about defeating Strowman and claimed that it doesn’t matter what kind of mind games Wyatt wants to come at him with at Hell in a Cell because he will prevail.
Braun Strowman interrupted and came down to the ring. Strowman grabbed a microphone as the crowd chanted “get these hands!”. Braun got in Seth’s face and stated that he cost them the RAW Tag Team Championships. Rollins got in Strowman’s face and challenged him to a fight and Braun accepted.
Rollins squared off against Strowman in the main event of this week’s show. Strowman dominated early and leveled Rollins with a shoulder tackle. Strowman knocked Rollins out of the ring as RAW went to a break.
When RAW returned, Strowman had Rollins trapped in a Bear Hug in the middle of the ring. Rollins escaped and hit Braun with a Dropkick to the knee. Seth went for the Pedigree but Braun countered with a Back Body Drop.
Rollins rolled out of the ring to regroup but Strowman followed him. Braun connected with a headbutt and brought Rollins back into the ring. Strowman hit a Splash in the corner of the ring and went for another but Seth got out of the way.
Seth slammed Braun’s knee into the ring post a couple of times but Strowman booted him away. Rollins hit Braun with a Superkick but Strowman kicked out at one. Rollins followed it up with a Blockbuster off the top rope for a near fall. Rollins connected with two Frog Splashes in a row and went for the cover but Braun once again kicked out.
Rollins went for The Stomp but Strowman blocked it. Seth knocked Braun out of the ring and hit him two Suicide Dives in a row. Seth went for a third but Strowman caught him and slammed him to the floor. Braun then leveled Rollins with a shoulder tackle outside the ring.
Back in the ring, Strowman set up for the Running Powerslam but the lights went out in the arena. When the lights came back on, Wyatt was in the ring and had the Mandible Claw locked in on Strowman. Wyatt then crawled towards Rollins and Seth screamed “ahh!”. Wyatt applied the Mandible Claw once again to Strowman to close the show.
Overall, this week’s episode of RAW was decent. King Corbin and Gable had another very good match and the Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match was great. The Fiend showing up at the end of the show got the most reaction from the crowd. There is still far too much content on RAW that isn’t connecting with the audience at all.