Raw Deal - Raw recap for September 11, 2023

"Main Event" Jey Uso heads to the ring to start tonight's show. Before he can say much of anything, Kevin Owens heads to the ring. Owens tells him he is not on Monday Night Raw, but "The Kevin Owens Show," then says he has been in the same situation as Jey and that he has done a lot of bad things to a lot of good people and needing to make a change but finding it hard to earn respect and trust. He says that Drew McIntyre and Matt Riddle are two people who do not want Jey here, and Owens admits there are people who still distrust him and do not want him here. He says Cody Rhodes is willing to give him a chance, and reminds him that Sami Zayn welcomed him with open arms. Owens then tells Jey that he has a long way to go to gain trust and respect and prove he is not the same as when he was in The Bloodline. Suddenly, The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio) shows up, and Finn Balor says that nobody speaks to Jey Uso like that, stating that Jey does not have to prove himself to Owens and that he does not have to prove himself to him because he and The Judgment Day respect him. Priest tells Owens he does not speak for the locker room and that he definitely does not speak for The Judgment Day because The Judgment Day runs the show, then tells Jey that if he needs time to make up his mind, their door is open and he just has to walk through it. Priest also uses Dominik as an example, saying he said no a thousand times but is now his best self as champion. Dominik picks up the microphone only to be booed without saying a word, and he says The Judgment Day has always been there for him at the highest of highs and lowest of lows. Priest says The Judgment Day came out here because they had a match with Owens and Sami, but wants to know where Sami is. Owens says he is not here, but he will fight alone if he has to, and Jey Uso suddenly offers to tag with him to earn his respect. Owens says "Let's do it!", and Jey Uso immediately superkicks Dominik, which leads to the two of them easily clearing out the ring.

The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Damian Priest) beat Kevin Owens and "Main Event" Jey Uso when Jey inadvertently superkicks Owens and Finn hits Owens with the Coup de Grace. After the match, Jey apologizes to Owens, but Owens limps away.

Backstage, "Main Event" Jey Uso catches up with Kevin Owens and apologizes, saying the superkick was an accident, but tells him to find a new Bloodline in The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio) and color his hair purple while he is at it.

Backstage, Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci) arrive at the arena in three-piece suits.

WWE remembers the September 11th attacks.

Miz beats Akira Tozawa with three Skull Crushing Finales, sending a message to L.A. Knight on the last one.

Backstage, Byron Saxton interviews Raquel Rodriguez. Raquel says Rhea Ripley may be the most dominant woman to step into a wrestling ring with her strength and domination, but she is not like most people and even Rhea and "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio know that. She says Rhea will learn that reality is worse than a nightmare when she finds out she is not the biggest, strongest and scariest in the ring.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler. Baszler admits Zoey Stark surprised her, then Chelsea Green shows up and mentions that she is looking for another tag team partner to stay women's tag team champion, saying they are "peers." Shayna proposes they get in the ring in a match to see how wide the gap is between them as far as them being "peers" is concerned. After Baszler leaves, Piper Niven suddenly shows up, takes one of the women's tag team title belts, and says "Medically cleared."

Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci) head to the ring to celebrate Gunther becoming the longest-reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion of all time. Ludwig Kaiser introduces Gunther, then Gunther announces that he has re-written history and is now officially the longest-reigning and greatest Intercontinental Champion in history. He says that the legends who held the title in the past contributed absolutely nothing and that he has taken the title to heights never seen before, then says he is running out of competition and competing against himself. Suddenly, Chad Gable shows up and says the two of them had a main event for the ages last week and that he is still feeling it tonight, then congratulates Gunther. Gunther tells Gable to enter the ring and says what he wants to say to his face. Gable then says that he saw the look in his eyes and on his face and that it told him everything he needed to know, and that out of everyone he defended his title against, nobody came as close as he did. He also says he saw the look on his entire family's faces after the match, and says that Gunther caused the tears his youngest daughter cried and announces that he now has a fire under him that will not burn out until he makes this right. Gable proclaims that he has beaten Gunther once and that he will beat him again, and he does not know where or when he will do it, but he will get another shot at the Intercontinental Championship and he swears to God that he will win the title and put a smile on his daughter's face.Gunther asks Gable if he wants to drag his family out to the beating of his life again and use his children as bait, and says that while Gable is a great wrestler, he is a terrible father. Gable punches Gunther, but Kaiser and Vinci grab Gable so Gunther can slap him. Otis runs to the ring and overpowers Kaiser and Vinci, but is taken down by Gunther. Gunther and Gable continue to brawl, and Gunther chops Gable before Kaiser and Vinci gang up on Gable and Otis. Suddenly, Tommaso Ciampa runs out with a chair and chases Imperium out of the ring.

In backstage footage from earlier today, Drew McIntyre is approached by Xavier Woods, who says he is more confused about Drew talking trash about Kofi Kingston. Drew says he has a lot of things on his mind and was hoping Kofi would talk to him man-to-man, but Woods stops him and chalks it up to jealousy due to Kofi winning the WWE Championship in front of 82,000 fans while McIntyre won it in an empty building. Drew says he does not want to hurt Woods, but if he is so anxious to get beaten up, he has his match, and what will happen to him will not be an accident.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Otis, Maxxine Dupri) and Tommaso Ciampa. Ciampa says that WWE official Adam Pearce told him to seize his moment, and that there is no bigger moment than Gunther celebrating his Intercontinental Championship reign. Gable says he hates Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci) and that this is not over by a long shot. Otis proposes that they and Ciampa face Imperium face them in a six-man tag match.

Drew McIntyre beats Xavier Woods.

"The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes heads to the ring. Before Cody can talk about "Main Event" Jey Uso, however, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh show up. Dominik says he wants to talk about how happy he is that Cody brought Jey to Raw and how Jey is going to join The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio) and make Cody look like a fool. He also says that once Jey is in The Judgment Day, it is going to be amazing, and that there will be nothing Cody can do about it while messing with Cody's tie. Cody punches Dominik, then Dominik and McDonagh gang up on Cody. Cody sends McDonagh over the top rope and hits Dominik with the Cody Cutter, then hits McDonagh with the Cross Rhodes before doing the same to Dominik.

Backstage, "Main Event" Jey Uso is met by Drew McIntyre, who says that he wants to finish business with him before he finishes business for tonight. Drew says Jey cannot stand on his own two feet and that The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio) must sound pretty good, but Jey dares him to pull up next week. McIntyre takes this as a challenge and accepts.

"The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler beats Chelsea Green by countering the Un-Pretty-Her with the Exterminatus. After the match, Piper Niven brawls with Baszler, then Zoey Starks shows up and annihilates Piper Niven with a kick to the face before Baszler takes out Chelsea. Piper Niven rolls out of the ring soon afterwards.

We hear from Shinsuke Nakamura, who asks Seth "Freakin'" Rollins if he feels like a champion after he stood over his lifeless body, then says that he is not honorable while people still sing his song. He asks if the fans remember the things that he has done, for the road to his success is lined with the bodies of those that trusted him. He says Rollins believe the weak exist to be consumed by the strong, and calls Rollins a manipulator, a deceiver and a lair who brings shame upon his family and has no remorse, then says he will strip him of his title and expose his lies. He then says he will challenge Rollins when he feels like it.

Seth "Freakin'" Rollins heads to the ring. Rollins says he is a manipulator, a deceiver, a liar and everything Shinsuke Nakamura claims that he is, but he is also a father, a fighter, and the World Heavyweight Champion. He admits that for a long time, he did not know who he was and he tried everything in order to figure it out, and says that nothing worked. Rollins then says that he created a facade to hide from himself, but he found out that he had to be himself. He says that people love him not because he is a good guy or a bad guy, but because he is himself, and that this is why the people sing his song. Rollins says that the fans are why for the first time in his life, he can look in the mirror and into his daughter's eyes and be proud of the future. He then says he came here to fight, not to talk, and while management is telling him to slow down and not burn himself out, he was not built that way and that he is a workhorse who needs to run free. Rollins talks about how he called Nakamura out for a World Championship rematch only for Nakamura to say no, and while Nakamura was able to walk out of Payback and he was not, their match took more out of Nakamura than he is letting on. He then says that if Nakamura wants to play games, they can play games, and if Nakamura wants to do this on his own time, there is no better place and time than here and now. Nakamura's entrance theme hits, but Nakamura fails to show, and he is seen attacking Ricochet backstage. Nakamura says Rollins has bad timing and that while he could fight, he thought Rollins was not medically cleared, so he fought someone else. He attacks Ricochet again, then says he will not take Rollins' title today.

Backstage, "Main Event" Jey Uso is approached by Finn Balor, who says that they are both professionals and what happens in the ring stays in the ring. He mentions Jey superkicking Kevin Owens and approves of it, then says McIntyre is not a fan. He then says The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio) are fans, however, and for him, the doors to The Judgment Day are always open.

Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) and Tommaso Ciampa beat Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci) in a six-man tag match after Chad Gable makes Giovanni Vinci tap out to an ankle lock while Ciampa stops Gunther with a Sicilian Stretch.

Backstage, The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio) meet regarding "Main Event" Jey Uso, agreeing that the more isolated Jey is, the more likely he will join. Rhea Ripley then says that she will handle her business just like The Judgment Day handles theirs.

Backstage, Tiffany Stratton meets with WWE official Adam Pearce wanting to know where Becky Lynch is. Becky shows up so they can sign the contract for the NXT Women's Championship match. Stratton says she has been nothing but respectful towards Becky, but wants to know why she is coming after her. Becky says she has been forced to keep her eye on her after showing up on her show to show off her championship, and while Stratton could be the future, Stratton is concerned about material things. She then signs the contract while Stratton says she does not need Becky to be famous, then Stratton signs.

Rhea Ripley retains the Women's World Championship against Raquel Rodriguez in a match where "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio is barred from ringside after Nia Jax suddenly returns and attacks Raquel on the outside. After the match, Nia Jax headbutts Rhea Ripley and leg drops her on the bottom rope before hitting her with the Banzai Drop.

This week on Raw Talk: The Miz! Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Otis, Maxxine Dupri)! Drew McIntyre!

Here are the top ten moments from tonight's show!