Welcome one and all to the RAW RECAP presented by THE REVELLEUTION!
Survivor Series is fast approaching with the Women’s WarGames match almost set in stone with four members of the heels side and three on the faces. Will Charlottle Flair come back to the good girls team after rejecting them on SmackDown? Who will be the last members for each side? And will we see an upset when Becky Lynch defends the Women’s IC title against Maxxine Dupri, who has ‘beaten’ her by DQ and Count-out in the past? Let’s get into it, and find out…
This week’s ‘Arrived Earlier Today’ videos featured Women’s IC Champion BECKY LYNCH.
JACKIE REDMOND handled interview duties and was going to host Women’s World Champion STEPHANIE VAQUER for an in-ring interview. However, as Vaquer made her entrance NIKKI BELLA attacked her from behind on the entranceway. Slamming Vaquer into the videowall before Bella said she didn’t come back to be a sidekick. She vowed to take back the division and demanded a match for the title. Walking off as Vaquer sold the one shot like she’d been shot.
Backstage, LYRA VALKYRIA and BAYLEY were walking but got confronted by ASUKA and KAIRI SANE. Asuka, declairing herself team captain of her Women’s WarGames team, offered Bayley the last spot on her team, claiming she could forgive ‘the past’ if she fought on her side. Bayley was in ‘Role Model’ mode, blasting the duo for what they did to her ‘two years ago’ with the Damage CTRL break-up and turned down the offer. The Warriors left, after the usual Asuka yell of ‘KAIRI’ and Valkyria returned to hype up Bayley for ‘getting over it’. Bayley was still in the zone and snapped at Valkyria, turning down the tag team handshake offer to once again leave Valkyria bamboozled.
ALEXA BLISS went to the ring for a promo. Bliss directly addressed Charlotte Flair, calling her out for living it up across New York over the weekend and said she gave Flair a shot when everyone else told her not to bother with Flair. Going on a rant about when she needed Flair, she wasn’t there for her.
The heel WarGames team of The Kabuki Warriors, NIA JAX and LASH LEGEND all came out and Jax mocked Bliss for being alone and claimed she understood why Bliss got abandoned. The heels started to surround the ring but RHEA RIPLEY and IYO SKY ran out to slide in. The numbers were still on the heels’ side so they got in and got the better of the faces. Bliss would be floored by Legend’s KO Forearm. Finally, CHARLOTTE FLAIR ran out with a Kendo Stick to even things as she stuck Jax and Legend repeatedly to send them packing. Flair held the ring before the faces finally regrouped in the ring. An awkward face-off between the duos of friends and Flair seemed to corpse when Sky hugged Ripley in response to Flair helping and holding Bliss.
It was made official that Stephanie Vaquer would defend the Women’s World Championship against Nikki Bella at Survivor Series.
Women’s Intercontinental Championship Match
MAXXINE DUPRI defeated Women’s Intercontinental Champion BECKY LYNCH to become the NEW Champion.
Lynch was in try hard mode to get cheap heat, getting into Dupri’s face during the big match ring introductions before the bell and doing the same with the referee. When the bell was finally called, Dupri pounced with a Pump Kick and got a near fall. A Clothesline by Dupri soon followed but Lynch recovered to catch Dupri going up top, taking her down with a Deadly Drive. Lynch hit a corner Forearm then stomps, and while Dupri blocked a Bex-Ploder she was soon, although a little messily, taken down with a former of Reverse DDT that seemingly dropped Dupri’s arm across Lynch’s knee.
After a commerical break, Durpi went House on Fire with Velvet Sky Clotheslines then, after a couple of ducks, a Roundhouse Kick for a near fall. A corner Splash led to a Release Fisherwoman’s Suplex, a kip up then a step-up Legdrop for a two count. Dupri tried for an Ankle Lock but was kicked away, and soon after Lynch did her rope-aided stomp but kicked Dupri’s arm. A regular Reverse DDT by Lynch got her a near fall. Dupri would roll through a Dis-Arm-Her attempt and kept wrist control, allowing her to level Forearms to back Lynch into a corner. She went for the Ten Count Punches but at six, Lynch clutched her and delivered a Kneeling Powerbomb with a stacked pin for a two count.
Lynch locked on an Arm Bar, but Durpi managed to roll through and then got the counter pin for a near fall. Dupri countered a Man-Handle Slam with a Sunset Flip for a two count, and right off the kick-out locked on an Ankle Lock. The hold even got grounded but Lynch managed to push herself up and back enough to get enough of a pin hold to force Dupri to break with the kick-out. Moments later, Lynch hit a Man-Handle Slam but Dupri got her foot on the ropes.
A frustrated Lynch got in the referee’s face and seemed to throw back to weeks ago, tossing Dupri out of the ring and ordering the official to count her out. That was just a distraction as Lynch went to remove a turnbuckle pad. AJ LEE finally made an appearance after months, coming out and skipping her way to the ring. Distraction enough that when Lynch finally turned around, Dupri hit a top rope Crossbody right into a pin to score the upset win and become the NEW Women’s IC Champion!
Dupri would hug and celebrate with Lee in the aisle while Lynch looked distraught. Dupri even got a pyro celebration as Lee raised her arm to further torment Lynch.
Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviewed Maxxine Dupri and AJ Lee backstage. Dupri gushed about the hard work and having beating the underdog, and Lee said she just hated bullies and put Lynch in her place. Dupri would leave when Alpha Academy showed up and they went off to celebrate. Remond pressed Lee about if she’d stick around, and Lee admitted that Lynch lit a fire inside of her that she forgot she had. Before Lee could leave, Rhea Ripley stepped up to her and asked if she had a moment to chat, and the two would head off together.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I’ve been critical of Dupri being still hit-and-miss in the ring even with the great improvement she’s shown, and she was still a little green and unsure tonight. Regardless, it’s a great moment and victory for her and proof of her journey from being thrust onto the main roster quickly out of NXT to being a fully fledged Superstar. Just as good, it finally brings the IC title back to being a showcase title for the talent not in the main event scene as it and the US title should be, rather than giving Lynch a title to keep her happy like the tag titles became for main eventers. Obviously, Lynch was protected with the distraction finish and I fully expect Lynch and Lee to be the last names for the Women’s WarGames teams, especially with the Lee and Ripley interraction.
Elsewhere, a little bit of a weak promo from Bella after the sneak attack. It felt like a rushed segment but we’ll see if they can improve things with some hype next week. The Bayley-Warriors segment did its job and might set some groundwork for a tag title match after Survivor Series. The Bliss segement and brawl worked fine too and they might follow up with something on Smackdown. So overall, a fine show with nice build for WarGames.
That’s your lot for this week! Be sure to stop by in seven days’ time for the next edition of the RAW RECAP! See you then!