WWE Raw Review – November 27, 2023
Kicking off this week’s Raw with a video recapping the events of the War Games match as well as the WWE return of CM Punk.
Randy Orton says he’s back for as long as he can stay then welcomes fans to Raw and says he was gone for a while. He says in his time away it gave him plenty of time to think about his accomplishments and accolades. He says amongst all of them one thing he’s never done is compete in War Games. He says he was in as soon as Cody Rhodes called him to see if he would be on his team then says being part of that match was special to him because it means that he’s part of wrestling history. Orton says he still has unfinished with The Bloodline and says he can forgive but he can’t forget. He says he has a bag full of receipts for every single member of the faction and those receipts will come in the form of the 3 most dangerous letters in sports entertainment RKO.
Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley’s music hits and she makes her way down to the ring. She welcomes Orton back and says he had quite the performance at Survivor Series. She says she was surprised to see Orton team with someone who almost ended his career or have his return upstaged by CM Punk. She says he looks more dangerous than ever and tells Orton he doesn’t seem to realize the landscape has changed. She says The Bloodline has fallen while Judgment Day has risen as the most dominant force in WWE. She says WarGames was a bump in the road, as Judgment Day is dripping in gold. She says Damian Priest would be World Heavyweight Champion if it weren’t for Orton then says Orton has made all sorts of enemies and he needs to stop focusing on The Bloodline because Judgment Day gets the job done.
Orton says he kept his eye on the product while he was gone, and tells Ripley that daddy’s back. He admits that while a lot changed while he was sidelined the one thing that hasn’t changed and never will is that no one tells him what to do. Ripley tells Orton she tried warning him and giving him an out but now he’s made Judgment Day their enemy.
NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh blindside Orton from behind but Orton sends McDonagh crashing into the ring post and looks to hit a DDT off the middle rope to Mysterio. McDonagh tries saving Mysterio but Orton catches him with an RKO then informs Mysterio that he’s going to find Adam Pearce to make a match between them official for tonight.
Footage aired from earlier in the day of Maxxine Dupri & Ivy Nile informing the teams that would compete in the Tag Team Turmoil match that they had a special guest. They introduced musical performer Jelly Roll & he spoke about how excited he was to be there. R Truth shows up and wants a jelly roll. Akira Tozawa did his silly dance.
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tag Team Turmoil Match
Alpha Academy (Akira Tozawa & Otis) vs. New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. Imperium (Giovanni Vinci & Ludwig Kaiser) vs. Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus) vs. Indus Sher (Veer Mahaan & Sanga) vs. DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa)
Alpha Academy vs. DIY
Akira Tozawa & Tommaso Ciampa lock up to get this match started then Ciampa lands a shoulder tackle but Tozawa connects with a right hand. Johnny Gargano makes the blind tag in and Ciampa hits Tozawa with a jawbreaker.
He follows it up with a clothesline before Gargano delivers a boot to Tozawa’s jaw out of the corner and lands a crossbody off the ropes. Ciampa & Otis tags in and Otis runs #DIY over with a double shoulder tackle.
He delivers a splash to Ciampa in the corner then tags Tozawa back in & Otis gets Tozawa up on his shoulders but #DIY causes Tozawa to come tumbling down and hits Meeting In The Middle to advance.
Winners: DIY
DIY vs. Indus Sher
DIY attack them before they can get inside the ring. Indus Sher overpowers them and send DIY crashing into one another. Veer Mahaan tosses Gargano inside the ring and delivers a splash then tags Sanga in.
Sanga tags back out to Mahaan and delivers a kick to Gargano’s chest as Mahaan holds him in place.
Mahaan looks for a splash on Gargano in the corner but Gargano avoids it and rolls up Mahaan to advance
Winners: DIY
DIY vs. Creed Brothers
Julius Creed locks up with Ciampa then Brutus Creed tags in and wears Ciampa down with a submission before Julius tags back in and continues wearing Ciampa down.
Gargano & Brutus become legal and Gargano delivers a Spear to Brutus through the middle rope then goes for a pin but Brutus kicks out. Ciampa tags back in and Brutus connects with a splash on him in the corner.
Julius tags back in and Creeds Brothers hits a facebuster/leapfrog combination then Julius goes for a pin but Gargano breaks the fall.
Ciampa and Julius then go back & forth with right hands before Ciampa delivers a boot and rolls up Julius. Julius kicks out but Gargano tags in and connects with an enzuigiri from the apron. #DIY looks for Meeting In The Middle but Brutus comes to the aid of his brother.
Julius lands a powerbomb on Gargano before Brutus tags in & Julius gets Gargano up in an electric chair position and Brutus ascends to the top rope & connects with Brutus Ball to eliminated DIY.
Winners: Creed Brothers
Creed Brothers vs. New Day
Xavier Woods locks up with Julius then hits an arm drag and dropkicks him into the corner before Kofi Kingston delivers a dropkick of his own and tags Woods back in.
After making frequent tags with Kingston Woods delivers an elbow drop off the middle rope. Woods delivers a drop toe hold and Kingston becomes legal again.
He gets a chinlock cinched in on Julius but Julius makes his way up to his feet then Kingston rolls Julius up but Julius reverses into a Michinoku Driver.
Brutus & Woods tag in and Woods looks for a kick on Brutus’ midsection.
Brutus catches it and connects with a suplex then hits a 2nd suplex on Woods into the ring from the apron and goes for a pin but Woods kicks out and tags Julius back in.
Julius hits a powerslam and Brutus delivers a standing moonsault then Julius follows suit and delivers a knee to Woods’ midsection then tags Brutus back in.
Woods uses Julius as a launching pad to deliver a tornado DDT to Brutus then tags Kingston in. Kingston ascends to the top as Woods delivers a backbreaker.
Kingston follows it up with a double stomp then sets up for Trouble In Paradise but Brutus avoids the move and tags in Julius.
Kingston looks for a crossbody off the top rope but Julius rolls through with him in hand and catches him with a fallaway slam.
Brutus becomes legal as Julius gets Kingston up in an electric chair position. Brutus ascends to the top and hits Brutus Ball to advance.
Winners: Creed Brothers
Creed Brothers vs. Imperium
Imperium waste no time brawling with Creeds Brothers before Giovanni Vinci delivers an elbow to the back of Julius’ neck as Ludwig Kaiser wears down Brutus on the outside.
Vinci delivers a springboard crossbody to Julius and delivers a clothesline then tags in Kaiser and delivers a spinebuster. Kaiser follows it up with a running kick and tags Vinci back in.
Imperium then connects with the Imperium Bomb and Vinci goes for a pin but Julius kicks out then Julius low bridges Vinci out of the ring and sends an interfering Kaiser out to join him.
Brutus & Vinci become legal and Brutus delivers a spinebuster then follows it up with Brutus Smash and gets Vinci up on his shoulders but Kaiser executes a chop block on Brutus to help out Vinci.
Kaiser connects with a right hand on Brutus and tags back out to Vinci & he delivers a backbreaker and goes for a pin but Brutus kicks out then Julius & Kaiser tag in and Julius lands a series of belly 2 belly suplexes on Imperium.
Kaiser delivers an open palm strike to Julius but Julius lands a powerbomb. Brutus tags in as Julius gets Kaiser up on his shoulders and ascends to the top rope but Vinci pushes him down allowing for Kaiser to send Julius crashing into the ring post shoulder first.
He then delivers a clothesline to Brutus and tags Vinci in as Julius comes to his brother’s aid and Brutus sends Vinci crashing into the mat. Julius connects with a superplex to Kaiser and tags Brutus back in.
Brutus ascends to the top rope as Julius gets Vinci in an electric chair position and connects with Brutus Ball for the win.
Winners & #1 Contenders To The Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions: Creed Brothers
We then head backstage to Judgment Day’s lounge. Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Mr Money In The Bank Damian Priest says he sees the look on their faces and tells them to say what they have to say about him leading their team to losing the War Games match. Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Finn Balor, NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio & Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley assure him that everything is fine and there are no hard feelings. Priest & Balor then head off to get an update on JD McDonagh.
Cody Rhodes asks Nashville what they want to talk about then says there are so many stories stemming from this past weekend. He thanks Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins & Randy Orton following their victory in the War Games match then says Orton was a mentor to him early in his career. He says Orton is still a mentor to him to this day and talks about how special it was for Orton to help him get the victory in his dad’s match.
Rhodes then addresses CM Punk and says no one knew that he was returning to WWE. He welcomes Punk back to the company and says with all the news coming out as of late he’d like to make some news himself. He says at this point fans truly know him and there’s only one destination for him. He officially declares himself as the 1st entrant in the 2024 Royal Rumble Match.
The lights go out and Shinsuke Nakamura appears on the Titan Tron & he tells Rhodes that he is a brave hero and he keeps saying he needs to continue his story. He tells Rhodes he needs him to set him free and awaken him then says he’s been patient week after week. He says he’s done waiting and will bring chaos to Rhodes when the lights come back on Nakamura is standing behind Rhodes and spits red mist into his face.
Bronson Reed vs. Ivar
Match starts off with a lock up then they try leveling one another with clotheslines but both men stay on their feet then Bronson Reed runs over Ivar with a splash and an elbow drop then delivers a suplex.
Ivar rolls out of the ring and Reed heads out to the apron but Valhalla grabs his attention & this opens the door for Ivar to pull him off the apron and deliver a splash that sandwiches Reed between himself and the ring skirt as we go to a break.
After the break Reed fires off chops on Ivar then follows it up with a kick to his midsection and a fallaway slam then hits a senton. Ivar fires back with a powerslam then ascends to the top rope and looks for a moonsault but Reed rolls out of the way and climbs up to the top himself.
Valhalla looks to push him down but the referee catches her and ejects her from ringside so Ivar takes advantage of the chaos and sends Reed out of the ring then looks to go flying off the apron.
Reed catches him and sends him crashing into the timekeeper’s area as the referee begins a 10 count.
Ivar lands a high boot and delivers a right hand in the timekeeper’s area as Ivar climbs up the barricade as the referee counts both men out.
Winner: No One (Double Count Out)
After the match Reed hits a Death Valley Driver to Ivar through the barricade and they continue brawling through the crowd as officials appear to separate them. Ivar delivers a cannonball to Reed and some security guards off a road case before they are pulled apart.
Footage aired from earlier in the day of Shayna Baszler telling Zoey Stark that she’d only been on the main roster a short period of time and she would get another Women’s World Title shot. Baszler told Stark to relax then Stark said Baszler was right.
Nia Jax shows up and said Stark took Rhea Ripley to her limit and came up short. Stark & Baszler looked annoyed while Jax spoke about how she would be Women’s World Champion. Baszler told her to shut her hole. Stark challenged Jax to a fight. Jax said that’s exactly what she wanted.
Damian Priest, Finn Balor & JD McDonagh returned to the Judgment Day clubhouse and found R Truth eating jelly rolls. This is our clubhouse man Priest said. Truth said he heard Judgment Day was looking for a 5th member for WarGames and said they could sign him up. They told him the match took place 2 nights earlier and dismissed him a short time later.
Nia Jax vs. Zoey Stark
Nia Jax charges at Zoey Stark but Stark ducks out of the way and fires off kicks but Jax delivers a strike that sends her crashing onto the apron spine first and plants her.
She dumps her across the ring and delivers a splash in the corner but Stark manages to dump her out of the ring and goes flying off the top with a clothesline to level her as we go to a break.
After the break Jax sends Stark crashing into the bottom turnbuckle face first and repeatedly whips her head into the mat.
Stark lands a series of kicks and manages to send Jax crashing into the ring post shoulder first then delivers a corkscrew senton from the apron.
Jax responds with a splash in the corner and a hip attack then ascends to the middle rope before Stark lands a kick to send her crashing down then delivers a dropkick off the top rope and goes for a pin.
Jax kicks out and plants Stark with a Samoan Drop then follows it up with a senton and drags Stark into the corner then lands Annihilator for the win.
Winner: Nia Jax
A video package recaps Gunther defeating The Miz to retain the Intercontinental Title at Survivor Series.
Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci were bickering backstage when Intercontienetal Champion Gunther arrived. Gunther told them to go to Adam Pearce and sort out the DIY issue. Vinci started to promise they would do it next week. Kaiser cuts him off and then he promised to take care of it. Kaiser & Vinci made their exit.
Gunther turns around and The Miz was there. Miz recalls Gunther stating at the Survivor Series press conference that he expected his next opponent to come challenge him to his face. Well here I am Miz said. Gunther asked him if he was sure about that. Miz said he was and said that they both know he can take the Intercontinental Title. Gunther credited Miz for coming prepared for a fight. Gunther said Miz belongs in the ring. Just not with me Gunther said before walking away.
World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins welcomes fans to Monday Night Rollins then introduces himself and encourages fans to get their CM Punk chants out of their system. He says he doesn’t want to spend another ounce of energy talking about him and says he’s in the ring to talk about the World Heavyweight Title. He says he’s built his title into the most important one in the wrestling industry then says he’s not feeling great 2 days out from War Games. He says in spite of that he wants to be a fighting champion again and says he had a chat with Adam Pearce.
Before he can disclose any details about their talk Drew McIntyre’s music hits and he marches down to the ring. He tells Rollins that it’s been a crazy 48 hours in WWE and people are talking about many things including the two of them. He says he wants to shake Rollins hand for defeating him in War Games and offers it to him. Rollins shakes it and McIntyre says he never got his hands on Jey Uso like he wanted and Judgment Day’s supposed master plan was to lose the match. He says he needs to get refocused and that involves going after the World Heavyweight Title.
McIntyre asks Rollins if he remembers what he said before their Crown Jewel match and Rollins says he told McIntyre he would have no one to blame but himself and he would be grateful for losing. Rollins asks if he was right and McIntyre admits that he was. McIntyre says he had Rollins but he had sympathy and compassion. He says he took Rollins by the face to tell him it was over but Rollins slapped him. He says he deserved that and says Rollins was always going to win. He says he has to become the biggest shark to swim with all the sharks then puts Rollins on notice and demands another World Heavyweight Title shot. Rollins says he’s always respected McIntyre’s honesty and says while he thinks he deserves a rematch there’s a couple people who deserve it more than he does. He addresses his conversation with Adam Pearce and announces he will be defending his title next week. McIntyre says Rollins calls the shots as the champion and asks who his title defense is against. Rollins reveals that it will be against Jey Uso and tells McIntyre it’s not personal.
McIntyre hits Rollins with a Glasgow Kiss and shoves him into the corner. He delivers a suplex and berates Rollins for giving Jey a title shot. He connects with a right hand but before he can continue beating down Rollins any further Jey’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring to provide Rollins with a helping hand. He delivers a superkick and hits a double superkick with Rollins that sends McIntyre crashing out of the ring.
McIntyre was walking through the backstage area when he was approached by Sami Zayn. McIntyre tried to blow him off but Zayn took issue with him headbutting Rollins when he wasn’t ready for it. McIntyre said Zayn doesn’t understand what he’s going through.
Zayn brought up McIntyre’s complaints about losing a championship match in front of friends and family due to The Bloodline and said the same thing happened to him. Zayn said McIntyre is acting like a spoiled brat and said that he’s better than that. McIntyre said Zayn may have a few points. He said it was time to work his way up the ladder. McIntyre said he was going to visit Adam Pearce and get himself a match against Zayn.
Women’s Tag Team Titles Match
Chelsea Green & Piper Niven (c) vs. Tegan Nox & Natalya
Chelsea Green & Natalya lock up to get this match started before Natalya sends Green crashing into the mat but Green manages to tag in Piper Niven.
Niven connects with a headbutt on Natalya and charges at her but Natalya sends her crashing into the ring post shoulder first and tags in Tegan Nox.
Nox delivers a running kick then tags Natalya back in & Natalya delivers a crossbody off the top rope & tells Green to kiss her ass as we go to a break.
After the break Green sits Natalya on the top turnbuckle and joins her up there but Natalya escapes and pulls Green off to deliver a powerbomb then tags Nox in.
Nox fires off right hands and plants Green then delivers a running uppercut and walks into a slap from Green.
Nox lands a headbutt on Green and sends her crashing into the mat face first then ascends to the top and delivers a 450 Splash then Green sets Nox up for Unprettier but Nox escapes.
The action spills out of the ring and Green looks for a crossbody on Natalya & Nox before Nox & Natalya send her crashing into the barricade with a double suplex but Niven levels both women with a cannonball off the apron.
Niven gets Nox back inside the ring and hits a running crossbody for the win.
Winners & Still Women’s Tag Team Champions: Chelsea Green & Piper Niven (STILL CHAMPIONS!!!!)
Backstage Randy Orton was getting ready for his match when Jey Uso approached him & Jey thanks Orton for having his back at War Games. Jey said he heard what Orton said about receipts for The Bloodline. He said Cody Rhodes gave him a 2nd chance by bringing him to Raw and he’s trying to do right while leaving the past in the past.
Orton said he understood. He said he’d been watching Raw and how Jey has had the back of Rhodes and others. Orton said that means something to him. He said they could let bygones be bygones. Orton said that he has unfinished business with The Bloodline. He said that as long as Jey is out of The Bloodline then they are good & they shook hands.
Backstage Jackie Redmond is with Becky Lynch & Redmond asked Lynch how she was feeling after the Women’s War Games Match. Lynch said she felt like she went to war and looked like it too. She said it was a night of making amends. She said there’s a thin line between love and hate and you never know when it’s going to switch from one to the other. Lynch said she had a couple of fights on the horizon and one was more pressing than the other.
Non Title Match
NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio vs. Randy Orton
Match starts off with a lock up then Dominik Mysterio tries running the ropes but Randy Orton stops him in his tracks then Mysterio rolls to the outside for a breather and gets back in but Orton greets him with a series of strikes and a back body drop as we got to a break.
After the break Orton dumps Mysterio back out of the ring and Mysterio delivers a right hand to his spine then sends him crashing into the ring steps then gets him back in and wears him down with a chinlock.
Orton delivers a pair of clotheslines and a scoop powerslam then delivers a DDT to Mysterio off the middle rope and calls for the RKO but JD McDonagh pulls Mysterio out of the ring and hypes him up then spots Jelly Roll in the crowd and stares him down.
Jelly Roll shoves him and Mysterio gets in his face. Jelly Roll does the same to Mysterio and high 5s Orton & Orton sends Mysterio bouncing off the announce table spine first.
He gets him back inside the ring and McDonagh tries to interfere but Orton catches him with a DDT off the middle rope opening the door for Mysterio to hit 619 and ascend to the top rope & looks for a splash but Orton moves out of the way and lands RKO for the win.
Winner: Randy Orton
CM Punk says it looks like hell froze over and he’s standing in a WWE ring with a live microphone in his hand. He says he’s been feeling like himself since Saturday and he’s been trying to find the words to explain how he feels. He says he’s come up with 2 words and says he’s changed. He says an American Dream taught him that as long as you speak from the heart you tell the truth and the truth is that he’s home. He says he belongs in WWE and it’s home. He says he’s been gone for 10 years but fans haven’t forgotten him in that time and that’s powerful. He says no one ever stopped chanting his name and says he’s proud that the voiceless found their voice. He says he loves fans and he’s missed them then says he wishes he could say he never had to leave. He says a Wise Man told him that to get everything out of WWE he’d have to leave and come back. He says he’s back to get everything out of WWE and for the fans. He says everyone is happy to see him backstage except for a few.
Punk says everyone competes to be the best in the world but The Best In The World has been gone for 10 years. He says his competition is afraid and people will have to come to terms with the fact that The Best In The World is standing in the ring live and in living color. He looks directly into the camera and says he’s not here to make friends. He says he’s here to make money and takes a lap around the ring to close out this week’s Raw.
Next Week’s Raw
World Heavyweight Title Match
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Jey Uso
Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn
