Raw Deal - Raw recap for September 4, 2023

"Main Event" Jey Uso heads to the ring from out of the crowd to start tonight's show. Jey Uso welcomes everyone to the show, and admits that while he has only been gone for two or three weeks, it felt a lot longer. He says he had hit his breaking point after having to fight his family, then "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes gave him a call. Jey says he has done some things to make some enemies in the past, but he is now on Monday Night Raw and he is not hard to find. Suddenly, Sami Zayn heads to the ring. Sami says it is crazy to see Jey in the ring, and he agrees with Jey about some people having a big problem with him being around. He then says he wanted to be the first person to tell Jey to his face that he is happy Jey is here. Sami says it was hard for Jey to do it, but Jey has broken free and has become who he was truly meant to be, and tells Jey that he is truly proud of him. He then offers his hand, but Jey refuses to shake his hand. Sami then says that he is here when Jey is ready to talk. Jey calls Sami back to the ring and says that was not very Ucey of him, then both men hug it out in the ring.

As WWE official Adam Pearce is talking with Ricochet backstage, he notices Seth "Freakin'" Rollins and tells him he is not medically cleared to be here tonight. Suddenly, Ricochet shows up and commends him for being here while not medically cleared, but tells him he does not have to carry the show alone. Seth says he is fine and walks away.

We hear from Shinsuke Nakamura, who says that he has broken Seth "Freakin'" Rollins and that he has broken the code that they shared. He says he may have underestimated his grip on the World Heavyweight Championship, but he was the one left standing on the battlefield. He knows that he is the reason Rollins will release and that he will prevail. As he speaks, we see post-show footage from Payback of Nakamura attacking Rollins while officials try to break it up.

The Viking Raiders (Ivar and Erik) beat Drew McIntyre and Matt Riddle in a Tornado Tag Team Match after Kofi Kingston shows up and fights The Viking Raiders only to inadvertently kick Matt Riddle in the face, allowing The Viking Raiders to put RIddle through a table with Ragnarok for the win.

We see a slideshow of some of the greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time.

Seth "Freakin'" Rollins heads to the ring. After the commercial break, Rollins says that Shinsuke Nakamura brought everything he could and that he did not know if he would be able to go on and continue the fight, but he still won. He then states that Nakamura attacked him after Payback went off the air and left under his own power while he had to be pushed out of the building in a wheelchair by his wife.Rollins then calls out Nakamura, and Nakamura appears. Rollins dares Nakamura to get in the ring so he can make a proposition to him, but Nakamura does not budge. Rollins then proposes they have a title rematch tonight. Nakamura almost approaches the ring, but turns around and speaks in Japanese. Rollins takes this as Nakamura accepting his challenge, but Nakamura says "No." Rollins says that does not work for him and that Nakamura is about to get that work, then he runs to the stage and brawls with Nakamura until WWE officials, including Adam Pearce, try to break it up. Nakamura is successfully held back when Ricochet runs out and fights Nakamura.

Backstage, WWE official Adam Pearce and Seth "Freakin'" Rollins argue, with Adam Pearce telling Rollins that he does not him to run himself into the ground and that he wants to help him help himself. Rollins says he does not want to heart it and walks away.

Ricochet beats Shinsuke Nakamura by disqualification after Nakamura hits him with a chair in the timekeeper's area. After the match, Nakamura wraps a chair around Ricochet's neck, and as he goes for the Kinshasa, Seth "Freakin'" Rollins shows up and goes after Nakamura. Security shows up, but Rollins takes them out and brawls with Nakamura until Nakamura gets the upper hand. Ricochet manages to save Rollins after swinging a chair at Nakamura. Meanwhile, Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley are watching backstage, and as Priest is about to cash in his Money In The Bank contract, Rhea tells him "Not tonight."

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews Zoey Stark. Zoey says she has a lot of respect for Trish Stratus for all she has taught her and for being one of the best ever, but nobody pushes her. "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler shows up and says she wondered when she would get rid of Trish and says it was a shame she did not get rid of Trish sooner. Zoey sees as them having unfinished business and proposes a match between them later tonight. Shayna accepts.

The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio) head to the ring. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio says The Judgment Day did what they said they would do while not caring at all if he is being booed out of the building. Finn Balor congratulates Dominik Mysterio on one year in The Judgment Day and Rhea for being the voice of reason. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio says The Judgment Day did what they said they would do while not caring at all if he is being booed out of the building. Finn Balor congratulates Dominik Mysterio on one year in The Judgment Day and Rhea for being the voice of reason. Rhea says that she gave the ultimatum last week and the pressure was on, and Finn and Damian proved that they are brothers and that The Judgment Day are a family. She then admits that one thing is bugging her, and that is Jey Uso coming to Raw and what it means for The Bloodline. She says that as far as she is concerned, The Bloodline has fallen and The Judgment Day has risen as the most dominant faction in WWE. Suddenly, JD McDonagh shows up, and Damian Priest tells McDonagh that he had better make his reason for the interruption good. McDonagh says he took a bullet for them on Saturday, and asks them to allow him into the ring as he carries a black bag. He says he is here because of something Rhea said, and tells Damian Priest that the Money In the Briefcase needs to go, then hands him a purple and silver one that says "Senor Money In The Bank," much to Priest's pleasure. Sami Zayn then shows up and tells The Judgment Day and JD McDonagh that it took all of them to cost him and Kevin Owens the tag team titles, then says that instead of five champions, he just sees "five giant championship-stealing turds." He also says that a special beating is coming for the biggest championship stealing turd of them all, Dominik Mysterio. This turns into Sami challenging Domink to a match, but McDonagh says Dominik will not be fighting anyone and takes Sami's challenge instead. Sami says he is okay with this, and says nobody deserves a bigger ass beating that McDonagh.

We see another slideshow with more of the greatest Intercontinetal Champions of all time.

We hear from Gunther, who says that Chad Gable thinks he can stand in the way of history and his legacy, then says that history will be made and that he, not Gable, belongs in the history books. He says Gable's fairy tale will be temporary while his legacy will be forever, and he will go down as the greatest and longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion in history.

Backstage, Raquel Rodriguez meets with WWE official Adam Pearce and makes a match official. As she leaves, Chelsea Green shows up, and after finding out that Piper Niven is not medically cleared, Chelsea soon mentions Raquel's failure to win back the women's tag titles. Raquel shows up and has Adam Pearce tell Chelsea that she is facing Raquel later tonight.

"The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler beats Zoey Stark with the Kirifuda Clutch. After the match, Shayna tells Zoey she gave her a better fight than "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey, then Zoey tells Shayna she gave her a better fight than Trish Stratus. They then fist bump.

Backstage, Finn Balor proposes to The Judgment Day about adding JD McDonagh to the ranks. Priest says McDonagh needs to prove himself, and Dominik says if Priest and Finn want him in, he is okay with it. Rhea says they will need to see how McDonagh does against Sami Zayn. Priest and Finn leave, then Rhea tells Dominik to make sure everything goes right regarding JD McDonagh's match.

Raquel Rodriguez beats Chelsea Green. After the match, Raquel mentions that she has met with WWE official Adam Pearce regarding "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley's actions at Payback. She says that she is not only getting her rematch, but Dominik is banned from ringside as she sees Rhea Ripley for the Women's World Championship next week.

She says that she is not only getting her rematch, but Dominik is banned from ringside as she sees Rhea Ripley for the Women's World Championship next week.

We hear from Chad Gable, who tells Gunther that he is already in the history books after winning all of the tag titles in WWE and graduating from college with a 4.0 GPA, and tonight, he will prove Gunther's desire to keep his title does not compare to his desire to take it from him.

Backstage, Drew McIntyre angrily looks for Kofi Kingston when Matt Riddle tells McIntyre to calm down. Kofi Kingston shows up and apologizes, but McIntyre says he will keep his eyes open in case any more "accidents" happen.

It's time for Miz TV. Miz says that he was robbed at Payback, then brings out the man who will right that wrong and be completely transparent as tonight's guest: John Cena. John Cena's music hits, but John Cena is nowhere to be seen, and the cameraman follows an invisible John Cena. Miz asks Invisible Cena to take a seat, then tells Invisible Cena that he screwed him over. Miz then asks the fans if they can see John Cena and tells them that he is sitting in the chair next to his, then says he has not only seen John Cena, but past John Cena for the last eighteen years, and allows himself to translate. Miz asks Invisible Cena if LA Knight paid him off to screw him, then demands the fans stop the "Yeah!" chants to only to be met with more "Yeah!" chants. He then finds out that Invisible Cena conspired with LA Knight and tells Invisible Cena to get out of his ring. Miz shoves Invisible Cena only for Invisible Cena to shove back, them Miz throws a punch at Invisible Cena and hits him with a Skull Crushing Finale. Miz then says there is nothing invisible or imaginary about what happened to him, and says that while LA Knight took the easy way out, this is not over, and he wants a one-on-one match, and if LA Knight accepts, he will find out whose game it really is. Miz says the chants will end and LA Knight will fade away, as Knight's chances of success are as non-existent as Cena was in the ring and he will cause everything to come crashing down.

We see a video package chronicling the events leading to Chad Gable vs. Gunther for the WWE Intercontinental Championship later tonight.

Backstage, "Main Event" Jey Uso runs into Akira Tozawa - who walks away - and WWE official Akira Tozawa, who tells him that SmackDown is getting trade compensation for Jey Uso, and that he wanted to give him a heads-up. Jey Uso leaves, then Tommaso Ciampa meets with Adam Pearce in his office.

JD McDonagh beats Sami Zayn after "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio shows up and keeps distracting Sami Zayn. After the match, Sami Zayn attacks Dominik, hitting him with the Exploder Suplex in the corner. When he goes for the Helluva Kick, McDonagh trips Sami, then gets Dominik out of the ring before taking the Exploder Suplex and the Helluva Kick for Dominik.

We see a fourth slideshow of some of the best Intercontinental Champions of all time.

Backstage, Finn Balor, Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley show up and congratulate JD McDonagh as he is walking with "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio. Dominik then notices Jey Uso and talks with him, saying they both come from messed-up family and Hall of Fame fathers and that he knows what Jey is going through, and says that ever since The Judgment Day came into his life, there are only equals in the family and things have been better. He tells him that there is room in The Judgment Day for him, then leaves.

Gunther retains the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Chad Gable.

This week on Raw Talk: The Viking Raiders (Ivar, Erik, Valhalla)! "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler! Finn Balor and JD McDonagh!

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