Raw Deal - Raw recap for October 16, 2023

Sami Zayn heads to the ring to start tonight's show. Sami admits it feels odd showing up by himself, now that Kevin Owens has moved to SmackDown, and while it feels sad that their partnership has ended, he is excited to see Owens do huge things on SmackDown. He then says that he excited to stand on his own two feet once again, knowing that he is a world championship level superstar, then states that Owens is no longer on Raw because of the arrival of Jey Uso. Sami says that nobody was happier to see "Main Event" Jey Uso on Raw, but as soon as he and Owens reached the highest of highs, their tag team title reign was tainted by The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio). He says that with The Judgment Day having the tag title opportunity, he has mixed emotions, but he knows that the last year of his career has been the best and it is because of the fans. The Judgment Day soon shows up, and Finn Balor says they should be kicking off tonight's show. Finn then notices that Sami is solo again, and Priest says that a thorn in The Judgment Day's side has been removed and that removing Sami, Jey and Cody Rhodes would make them happier. Priest then loses his cool while entertaining the idea of removing Drew McIntyre, and Rhea has to cool Priest off before Dominik states that Rhea will beat Shayna Baszler and put the women's division back on notice. Rhea then proclaims that Finn and Priest will take back the tag team titles before addressing Sami, saying he looks lost before stating The Judgment Day wants to get rid of him instead of guide him. The Judgment Day then surround the ring, then Jey Uso shows up with two chairs and hands one to Sami. The Judgment Day then change their minds and back off.

We hear from Shinsuke Nakamura, who says that Ricochet is like a fly or a mosquito he will smash on the dirty floor in their Falls Count Anywhere Match.

Backstage, "Main Event" Jey Uso meets with Sami Zayn, who keeps expecting Kevin Owens to have his back. Sami says he wants to be happy for Jey, but he has no friends and no championships, but Jey says "It is what it is." Jey walks away, and Sami tells Jey to forget everything that he said as he is too far into his own head. Jey hugs him and says that everything is good.

Shinsuke Nakamura beats Ricochet in a Falls Count Anywhere Match after sending Ricochet falling through a table before hitting a Kinshasa on the outside.

Backstage, Tegan Nox is talking with Kayden Carter, Katana Chance and Nikki Cross when Chelsea Green and Piper Niven annoy Tegan again, mockingly asking where Natalya is. Tegan makes of Chelsea for having Piper team up with her just so she can be champion, then Chelsea warns Tegan not to cross her or else she will do to her what Piper will do to Natalya. Tegan says she may not have won the NXT Women's Championship, but she learned from Becky Lynch not to be disrespected before putting her right hand on Chelsea's left shoulder and asking her how quickly she can hide behind Piper before she smacks her in the jaw. Chelsea and Piper leave.

We hear from Gunther, who says the ends do not justify the means, because there are no ends; only means. He says that one only merely forgets the pain of suffering, and that there is no man like him, there is only him.

Piper Niven beats Natalya with a cross body following the distraction from Chelsea Green. After the match, Natalya punches Chelsea only to get attacked by Piper. Tegan Nox runs into the ring and evens up the numbers game, and after Natlaya and Tegan beat on Piper, Piper retreats.

Backstage, Damian Priest talks to Finn Balor that they need to take out Drew McIntyre to show they should not be messed with. Rhea shows up and says she has handled Drew McIntyre, then says that Finn and Priest will get the tag titles back while she gets the women's division back in order.

Seth "Freakin'" Rollins heads to the ring. Seth talks about Drew McIntyre challenging him last week and wanting him at 100 percent before Damian Priest jumped him and Drew McIntyre did nothing until Dominik Mysterio showed up and got laid out by McIntyre. Rollins then states that he has questions and only McIntyre can answer them, and asks him to come to the ring. McIntyre shows up and heads to the ring, then tells Rollins that he does not want to babysit him for the next couple of weeks. Rollins says he can handle his own business, then asks if McIntyre is doing the same or if he has enlisted a little help. McIntyre says he handles his own business, but Rollins shows the footage of McIntyre talking with Rhea Ripley in the background as WWE official Adam Pearce is talking to Ricochet. McIntyre says that Rhea came to him and that their conversation is none of Rollins' business, and that he should concentrate on him taking his title, but Rollins says nobody is taking his title form him and that the last few years have messed with McIntyre's head. He accuses McIntyre of getting help from The Judgment Day as he cannot deal with failure again, then says it will not work out like he things it will and that it is "a slippery slope." McIntyre reminds Rollins that he beat him in their last title match thanks to The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa, Paul Heyman), but Rollins tells McIntyre to move on from The Bloodline as The Bloodline have moved on from him and tells him to "get over it." McIntyre says he had to step up when there were no crowds, and that he captured lightning in a bottle in the UK when he had another title match, then tells Rollins he will have to figure out how to reinvent himself for the fifty-third time when he beats him. Rollins says he gets where McIntyre is coming from, as it took him four years to get back to the top of the mountain, and all he is seeing and hearing is pointing fingers and making excuses, which he says will get McIntyre nowhere. Rollins then says that beating McIntyre will be the best thing to ever happen to McIntyre, and that McIntyre will have nobody to blame but himself.

We hear from "Big" Bronson Reed, who says he got to where he has by fear. He says that anyone who disrespects him gets hurt and that anyone who challenges him gets broken, and that fear is needed to keep people in order.

It is announced that after his recent boxing victory against Dillon Danis, Logan Paul called out Rey Mysterio for a match for the WWE United States Championship. Rey has stated on The Michael Kay Show that he wants to hear what Logan Paul has to say.

Ludwig Kaiser beats Johnny Gargano after Giovanni Vinci pokes Gargano in the eye from the outside to break up a pinfall attempt, which ends up distracting Gargano and giving Kaiser the win.

Backstage, Becky Lynch is met by Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae. Indi tells Becky she wants a match for the NXT Women's Championship she never lost, and Becky says she will meet with General Manager Adam Pearce and give it to her. Indi and Candice LeRae leave, then Becky is briefly met by Rhea Ripley.

Backstage, Drew McIntyre meets with Sami Zayn. McIntyre admits he has been apprehensive about Sami since he left The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa, Paul Heyman), but Sami has since stepped up to become a locker room leader. He admits he cannot believe that Sami forgave Jey, but Sami says he has done his best to put The Bloodline behind him and that McIntyre can do the same, and that he can relate to him. McIntyre says they cannot relate because Sami has never been world champion, and that he cannot be world champion if he trusts everyone. Sami, taking this as McIntyre knowing what level he is on, challenges him to a match next week. McIntyre accepts.

Before the next match, Rhea Ripley says everyone wants a piece of her, and that Nia Jax came back to get rid of her only for it to not work so well. She says the women's division has tried to prove how tough they are, but the women's division is hers and she will always be on top.

Rhea Ripley vs. "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler ends in a no-contest after a brawl involving Nia Jax, Raquel Rodriguez and Zoey Stark makes its way to the ring with Zoey getting tossed in the ring by Raquel and later superkicking Rhea in the face. After the match, Rhea tosses Zoey into Baszler, then dares Nia to fight her. Nia does, and she and Zoey double-team Nia and force her to retreat.

Backstage, General Manager Adam Pearce meets with Becky Lynch to make Becky's title match with Indi Hartwell official. Xia Li shows up wanting a title match, and Becky tells her to say the word. Xia leaves, then Jade Cargill shows up and briefly meets with Becky.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes and "Main Event" Jey Uso. Jey says Sami Zayn has a lot going through his mind, but he is always here for him. Cody says tonight is about those who maximize their opportunities, and while The Judgment Day wants to own Raw and cast their shadow upon it, there are a ton of bright futures here and they are the perfect challengers for tonight.

Gunther retains the WWE Intercontinental Championship against "Big" Bronson Reed.

Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviews The Miz. The Miz says that he should be the one starting tonight's episode, not Sami Zayn, who he says has been having a pity party. He then says that General Manager Adam Pearce should be fired and that SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis should take over. Suddenly, Nia Jax takes the microphone and says everyone has hit her with their best shot and that she is still standing and looking pretty. She says she has yet to hit her best shot, and if she hits anyone with any shot, they will stay down, because she does the squashing.

Backstage, General Manager Adam Pearce is on the phone when Rhea Ripley shows up wanting the women's division put in order. Pearce tells Rhea she will defend the Women's World Championship against Zoey Stark, Raquel Rodriguez, Nia Jax and "The Queen of Spades" Shayna Baszler at Crown Jewel. A furious Rhea syas she will eradicate them all, then leaves as Jinder Mahal and Indus Sher (Veer and Sanga) enter.

Backstage, as Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Otis, Maxxine Dupri) - and Akira Tozawa - train, The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) show up. This leads to The New Day vs. Alpha Academy for next week.

We see footage of Kofi Kingston visiting Ghana last week as part of the opening of the Kofi Kingston Library and Digital Center and the launch of the CLICK for Quality Education Foundation.

Backstage, Gunther celebrates a night well done for Imperium (Gunther, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci), and says that while Kaiser was able to take responsibility, Vinci did not. He says that next week, he wants Gunther out on a stretcher, and that it will be Kaiser's responsibility.

The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Damian Priest) beat "Main Event" Jey Uso and "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships for the second time after Jimmy Uso shows up and superkicks Jey Uso on the apron.

This week on Raw Talk: Tegan Nox! Zoey Stark! Drew McIntyre!

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