Raw Deal - Raw recap for September 16, 2024

CM Punk heads to the ring to start tonight's show. Punk says he is at the point in his career where people ask him how many matches he has left, and depending how one feels about him, the number is either wildly disappointing or tremendously happy, as the answer is "way more than you think." He says that when he came back to WWE, he did not come to make friends, but he has made some "immortal enemies," and the only way to end things with Drew McIntyre is in Hell In A Cell. Punk says he feels a little bit nieve to think it was over because he touched four corners in Berlin, Germany, and that McIntyre thought it would be over when he attacked him in Chicago, Illinois and brought his family into this. He says it should have stopped the second time McIntyre sent him to the hospital two weeks ago, but he is just "too damn stubborn," and that McIntyre's fatal mistake is not getting the job done. Punk says that when it comes to how many Hell In A Cell matches he has left in him, the answer is zero, as his family has asked him not to do this and even the angel on his shoulder has begged him not to. He then says that he is going to do this because he told McIntyre that if he were pushed far enough, he would be the Devil himself, and now the Devil is here and that the Devil in his heart has told him that this is the only way to end this. Punk warns McIntyre that he cannot promise that he will not kill him, as he will not make promises that he cannot completely deliver on. He then promises he will make McIntyre bleed and make McIntyre have to kill him, as he is prepared to die. He says that he had a great career and that if this is the end, then so be it, as he is prepared for this to be the end of CM Punk. He says that if Drew McIntyre is prepared for the end, then he will see him in Hell.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Sheamus. Sheamus says he knows Pete Dunne too well and that Dunne hit him where it hurt when he kept him from becoming Intercontinental Champion, then says it is time to inflict pain on Dunne. He says that Dunne despises being called "Butch," then says Dunne will become "his Butch" before asking the fans if they are ready for a banger.

Pete Dunne beats Sheamus after Sheamus tries to hit Pete Dunne with his shillelagh only for the referree to take the shillelagh away, allowing Dunne to hit Sheamus with a wooden cricket bat for the win.

Backstage, Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest are met by "Main Event" Jey Uso. Jey says he will be watching Priest's match with "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio when Xavier Woods shows up. Woods says they may not see eye-to-eye, but he and Kofi Kingston are going for the World Tag Team titles and ask Priest to let them do it on their own. Priest respects Woods' wishes, and tells Woods to beat The Judgment Day's (Finn Balor and JD McDonagh) asses and take their titles.

Backstage, The Miz meets with Braun Strowman and sees the bruise on Strowman's right bicep as he says that he is ready to fight. When asked about his recent comment about Miz's chances against Bronson Reed, Strowman says it takes a monster to beat a monster.

Natalya beats Zoey Stark with a schoolkid pin following a series of pinfall attempts between both competitors.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Rhea Ripley. All of a sudden, Finn Balor interrupts, telling her that she is just as bad as Damian Priest for pretending to care and pretending they were a family when she really blamed him for everything wrong with The Judgment Day when she and Damian were the real problem. Rhea says Finn is not going to rewrite history to satisfy his "ego problems," and says that they were indeed a family and that she was trying to keep them from fighting every week, but if he wants to keep going with this, they can settle things in a six-person tag match. Finn then admits that he was the devil on Dominik's shoulder and the one to tell Dominik to leave Rhea for Liv Morgan. "Main Event" Jey Uso soon shows up, and Finn leaves. Jey soon heads to the ring.

"Main Event" Jey Uso heads to the ring. Jey looks forward to beating Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental Championship to win his first singles title and succeed on his own, then Bron Breakker shows up. Breakker tells Jey that he told him to stay away, yet he still wants to pursue his title. He says that he has done his homework on Jey and that while Jey has been a star in the last 14 years, he has done more in six months than Jey has done his whole career. He says that he also did it without his family or their name, as the Intercontinental Championship is his family and the title fights for him, and next week, he will expose Jey as being nothing without his family. Both men soon have a staredown, and Jey says that he see the dog in Bron Breakker and that he will not take him lightly, as he was still winning championships while Breakker was still in diapers. He then says that next week, he will "dog walk" his ass, and that Bron Breakker's reign might end up short and sweet like his NFL career. After another staredown, Breakker hits Jey Uso with a cheap shot. Breakker goes on the attack, but Jey Uso fires back with a Spear.

Backstage, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill are met by Iyo Sky, who calls Bianca Belair a coward for challenging Kairi Sane when she has an injured eye. Bianca says she was booked into the match and that she does not back down from a fight, and that she steps up when her number is called. After Bianca proposes that Iyo Sky step up, Iyo does just that, and accepts Bianca's proposition.

The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and JD McDonagh) retain the World Tag Team Championships against The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) after Carlito, Liv Morgan and "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio show up only to be attacked The Latino World Order (Dragon Lee, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz del Toro) seconds later. Kofi hits everyone on the outside with a dive, and this preoccupies the referee as Xavier Woods hits the Limit Break elbow drop on McDonagh only to receive no pinfall count. Woods confronts the referee, and this allows The Judgment Day to double-team Xavier Woods to retain. After the match, Xavier Woods gets angry at Kofi Kingston for his dive to the outside, saying he is tired of this and that something needs to change.

We see a video from The Wyatt Sicks (Uncle Howdy, Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, Nikki Cross) followed by a QR code.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Kofi Kingston, who is trying to find Xavier Woods. He soon finds him as he confronts The Latino World Order (Dragon Lee, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz del Toro), and tells him that he asked The Latino World Order to help them with The Judgment Day's (Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, Carlito, Liv Morgan) number game. Xavier Woods is livid with Kofi Kingston leaving him in the dark and with no idea of what is going on, and storms off.

We hear from "Big" Bronson Reed, who says he has had opportunities taken away from him time after time because he was deemed too dangerous for the roster, and he was forced to take out multiple people. He then says that he got COVID-19 and had his opportunity given to Braun Strowman, and now, he is going to finish Strowman and make the story about Strowman falling victim to "WWE's true monster."

"Big" Bronson Reed vs. Braun Strowman ends as soon as it starts after the top rope comes down when Strowman sends Bronson into the corner, Bronson throws a person from the front row at Strowman like a weapon and Strowman plows Bronson throw the timekeeper's barricade. Security and officials try in vain to get both men to stop as the match-turned-brawl goes backstage when security tries to escort Bronson to the back, and security guards get leveled and a golf cart gets flipped before Bronson splashes Strowman through two tables and Strowman tackles Bronson through a wall.

After the commercial break, multiple people are trying to help Braun Strowman and "Big" Bronson Reed up. Meanwhile, General Manager Adam Pearce takes care of the medical side of things when Ludwig Kaiser shows up asking if he has found a worthy opponent for Gunther yet. Pearce says he has not found anyone yet, and says that Sami Zayn has made a case to face Gunther for the title as Sami Zayn makes his way to the ring. Pearce says that if Gunther has a problem, he can take it up with him.

Sami Zayn heads to the ring. Sami talks about being in the ring with Bret "The Hit Man" Hart last week, saying it was very motivational and very emotional when Bret said what it meant to be a champion and he needed it to be him. He says that he needs to be World Heavyweight Champion and defending the championship against all comers week after week, as it is the champion the fans deserve, but Gunther has repeatedly declined his challenges. He says that Gunther has told him that he is not on his level, but he does not believe that and that he is in Gunther's head, as Gunther remembers what happened at WrestleMania and knows that he can beat him again. Sami also says that Gunther is scared, then Ludwig Kaiser shows up. Kaiser asks Sami what he is doing asking for a World Heavyweight Championship match against Gunther and saying that Gunther is scared of him, then says Gunther is the most dominant force in WWE right now and that he is only trying to protect and save him from the worst embarrassment of his entire life. Kaiser says that WrestleMania was the greatest night of Sami's career, as Sami's family was looking up at him instead of looking down, then says miracles never happen twice and that this is never going to happen again. Sami admits he finds it strange Kaiser is here speaking for Gunther, as Gunther does not need Kaiser for anything, much less speaking for him, then says that Kaiser does not need Gunther, either, and has the potential to stand on his own two feet. He then says that Kaiser will never win respect as Gunther's mouthpiece, and while he has no problem with Kaiser saying things to his face, he should at least have the balls to speak for himself. Suddenly, Gunther shows up. Gunther says he will answer Sami's challenge, then asks Kaiser if he has anything to tell him, and if he does, he should tell him right now. Kaiser says he has something he has wanted to get off his chest for a very long time, then attacks Sami Zayn. Gunther then tells Sami once again that the answer is and will remain "no," then hugs Kaiser. Sami grabs at Kaiser, and Gunther gives Kaiser free reign to do what he pleases to Sami, who turns the tables on Kaiser and hits him with the Helluva Kick.

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Damian Priest. Priest is soon interrupted by Liv Morgan, who tells Cathy to leave before telling Priest that he has not yet realized that he is a has-been, and calls him and Rhea Ripley "two desperate losers" trying to hold on to their time in The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, Carlito, Liv Morgan). Priest says Liv is the only person in The Judgment Day to "have a set" and tells her to protect that because when Rhea gets her hands on her, she will shove them down her throat. He then says that when he gets his hands on Dominik, Dominik will be going down.

Iyo Sky beats Bianca Belair after countering the K.O.D. with an inside cradle.

Backstage, Damian Priest is met by Rhea Ripley. Priest tells Rhea that he will rip "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio apart.

We see a vignette for American Made (Chad Gable, Julius Creed, Brutus Creed, Ivy Nile).

Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviews Ludwig Kaiser, who says that he will expose Sami Zayn for who he really is next week after talking about his past and bringing up his loyalty to Gunther, saying that Sami and Kevin Owens turn on each other when one is more successful than the other. He says that he will prove Sami Zayn is nothing but a sad, bitter man who will never be a world champion.

Backstage, "Main Event" Jey Uso is met by Ilja Dragunov, who wishes Jey Uso the best of luck in his match against Bron Breakker. Jey leaves, then he is met by The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, Carlito, Liv Morgan), and Finn Balor tells him to think a little more about who he chooses as friends. Dragunov says that he has more respect for Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley and Jey Uso than he does for The Judgment Day, and Finn warns him that the message will not be delivered so lightly next time.

Damian Priest beats "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio after Rhea Ripley attacks Liv Morgan for putting Dominik's foot on the bottom rope following a Broken Arrow by Priest and Damian Priest wipes out the rest of The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, JD McDonagh, Carlito). After the match, the rest of The Judgment Day attack Priest, and while Rhea Ripley gets her hands on Dominik, she is soon attacked by Liv Morgan. Suddenly, "Main Event" Jey Uso shows up, but he is soon hit with a Spear by Bron Breakker in a black hoodie. Liv hits Rhea with Ob-Liv-Ion while Priest is held down for two Coup de Graces by Finn Balor. The show ends with The Judgment Day standing tall.

This week on Raw Talk: Natalya, Zelina Vega and Lyra Valkyria! Pure Fusion Collective (Sonya Deville, Zoey Stark, "The Queen of Spades" Zoey Stark)! Pete Dunne!

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