WWE Raw 10/09/2023: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE Raw," the show which definitely isn't teasing a CM Punk return, why would you even think that? On the heels of WWE Fastlane, this episode had a lot to offer its viewing audience, including Becky Lynch finally defending the "NXT" Women's Championship against Tegan Nox, the reveal of Seth Rollins' next opponent for the World Heavyweight Championship, and a main event tag title match between new champs Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso and fellow babyfaces Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. And that's without even mentioning The Judgment Day. There was a lot here.

But what did we, the writers and editors of WINC, think about all the things that were here? That's the question we are now here to answer. Objective coverage of the entire show can be found on our live results page; on this page, it's time for three things we hated and three things we loved about the 10/9/23 episode of "WWE Raw."

Do I think that CM Punk returning to WWE can be a good thing? Yes, I do. So I don't hate the idea entirely. Will it be chaotic? Maybe. But I have faith that the WWE environment can put the kibosh on backstage drama quickly enough to where it wouldn't ever become an issue (unlike the zoo from which he'd be arriving, from what it seems).

But here's what I know I hate: There have been several references to Punk in recent weeks on WWE programming, including Shinsuke Nakamura hitting a Go To Sleep on Ricochet Monday night, and if one thing is true about us wrestling dorks, we pay attention to the little details — all these references have been widely noticed. That means there's no way that all of this hasn't heightened expectations. And if another thing is true about us wrestling nerds, it's that we work ourselves into shoots routinely, ruining events for ourselves over things that didn't happen, that were never planned to happen, and that we completely made up in our stupid heads.

So, now, if Punk doesn't return, and more specifically, if he doesn't return at Survivor Series, in Chicago of all places, the entirety of wrestling dweebdom, myself included, will absolutely implode. And I don't want to endure more of that cancerous negativity. We're having a good time lately, aren't we? The business is healthy, there's something out there for everyone, and we deserve to be happy, damn it!

The only other feasible reason for these references — from puppetry, to the devil's greatest trick, to the best in the world, to Namakura's GTS, to someone sipping on a Pepsi on-screen at some point, probably — would be folks within WWE just having a little fun. It's not a coincidence. And if they're just messing with all of us wrestling kooks here, well that's just not cool at all.

I'm telling you, now, if it doesn't happen, we're going to hear more b****ing and moaning about something we were never technically promised. So, please, for the love of whatever, go ahead and bring Phil back at Survivor Series. At this point, do it just so we don't have to hear the mark masses and their backlash. I'm not sure I can handle it not happening at this point.

I personally am a big fan of Drew McIntyre and have been wanting to see him with a major championship — in front of fans — for quite some time now. This man carried the company on his back during the Thunderdome era, and I just don't think they've given him enough credit for that. But this character he's been playing recently (I'd go as far as to call him a tweener) I am absolutely here for and really enjoying.

This Drew is a much more interesting character than just a straight-up smiling babyface. He has a little more depth, and his character has been needing that for a while now. His nonchalance with things that aren't his business is relatable. Even the way he went about getting this title shot at Crown Jewel was effective. He didn't have to say too much at the beginning of his segment with Seth Rollins, letting the incredibly-over Rollins do most of the talking in the ring. The juxtaposition of McIntyre not beating down Rollins himself or challenging for the championship on the same night on "Raw" while the champion isn't 100% following a Last Man Standing match is noble; however, his not rushing in to save Rollins when Damian Priest beat him down was definitely a heel move. That is, until he saw Dominik Mysterio coming with the Money In The Bank briefcase. McIntyre's explanation to Rollins backstage — that he didn't want anyone in Judgment Day to have the World Heavyweight Championship — made sense and leaned more on the side of babyface. This tweener act isn't currently too difficult to understand, and again, it's effective.

Do I think McIntyre will win at Crown Jewel? Probably not. But I could absolutely see Damian Priest coming in with the Money In The Bank briefcase at the event when Rollins wins, especially after what we saw Monday night. But that's an opinion for another day.

That's, uh ... that's it? That's how we're following up the big DIY reunion segment that main-evented "Raw" last week? An Imperium attack during a pre-taped backstage interview segment? That's certainly a choice.

I get that I should probably stop complaining about this considering I finally got the Gargano/Ciampa reunion I've been waiting for since like June, and I understand that "Raw" has several mouths to feed right now and not everybody can be in the big spotlight at all times. I wouldn't have traded Monday night's main event for anything, as we'll discuss later. It just felt understated to a particularly weird degree on this episode, in a way that made my hackles rise a little bit. They didn't have to be the main event, but did it have to be a pre-tape? This was your big show-closing angle last week, and now we barely get anything because Fastlane happened? I also wasn't super fond of Adam Pearce telling Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell that Johnny was fine, but they weren't sure about Ciampa. That makes me nervous. How badly would it suck for Ciampa to get injured again just as he and Gargano kicked off this new run together? And then there was the weird Ludwig Kaiser video package, which seems to be setting him up for a singles push despite still being with Imperium? Is that not also a bit odd?

I don't know, maybe I'm just paranoid and everything will be fine, but everything about how the DIY reunion story was treated this week made me suddenly afraid that the plug is already getting pulled, and that would not be ideal for my health.

While the bar may be set rather low with AEW's customary 9:30 EST spot for the women's division on "Dynamite” reliable enough to set your watch to, WWE still deserves kudos for some of the recent booking of its women's division, as showcased on tonight's episode of "Raw." In several key spots on the show, women were featured prominently and in ways the either furthered storylines or opened up spots for new match combinations and other possibilities down the road.

As Ivar made his way to the ring for a Viking Rules match against Kofi Kingston, Valhalla was again noticeably absent in his entrance, as was the usual "Valhalla Is Here" audio. But this wasn't just a day off of work for the former Sarah Logan — she sure was here, making her presence known by attacking Kingston out of the crowd to help set up the finish in a win for her fellow Viking. Then, with the Raquel Rodriguez/Nia Jax grudge match just getting started, a backstage segment with The Judgment Day showed that "Mami" remains the leader of that faction, talking Damian Priest out of legit murdering JD McDonagh and setting up the latter to prove himself to the group later on by facing off with Drew McIntyre. She also let Priest know that he and Finn Balor would be getting a rematch against Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso for the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championships next week. As for Rodriguez and Jax, while that match lacked some luster, Ripley interrupted to put an end to it before Shayna Baszler joined the fray, setting up plenty of potential contenders for Ripley's title, as well as tension between all parties involved. Throw in a backstage run-in with Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell that teased another match between Ripley and one or both of them, and suddenly Ripley isn't running out of things to do or people to fight anytime soon.

Meanwhile, after Maxxine Dupri shined as always accompanying Chad Gable to the ring for his triple threat match against "Big" Bronson Reed and Ricochet to determine the number one contender for GUNTHER's Intercontinental Championship, it was time for the much-delayed Tegan Nox/Becky Lynch match for the "NXT" Women's Championship. Nox was mighty in a losing effort, and her TV time of late shows promise for more in the future, beginning with a follow-up segment that had her interact with Natalya, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance, and WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green and Piper Niven, with Niven now set for a showdown with Natalya next week.

Until this very second, I'd even forgotten about an appearance from the long-forgotten Xia Lee, who stepped up to Lynch, looking for her own shot at "NXT" gold. The women's division is alive and well in WWE and absolutely in good hands, hopefully for the foreseeable future. It's great to see. Take notes, other guys.

Becky Lynch not only successfully defended the "NXT" Women's Championship against Tegan Nox, she granted Xia Li a future shot at her title –- presumably on "Raw." I'm all for women getting the spotlight, and I'm all for giving television time to women like Tegan Nox and Xia Li who may not get as much as others in the division, but I am not loving that it comes at the expense of an "NXT" title getting defended on "NXT" television.

I think I would find it less of an issue if there already wasn't the WWE Women's Championship, the Women's World Championship, and a set of WWE Women's Tag Team Championships on the main roster. "NXT" currently has one title in the women's division, and having said title being defended on the main roster feels like it leaves a gaping hole in on "NXT" TV. Yes, Becky Lynch defended the title on "NXT" programming at No Mercy, but she has defended just as many times on the main roster.

The WINC crew and I have been pretty critical lately of "Raw" appearing to follow the same pattern, week in and week out, where an opening segment promo exchange gets interrupted by The Judgment Day to set up a tag team main event that Judgment Day would win due to JD McDonagh interference. It was really starting to get old. But this week (with help from some smart booking at Fastlane), they finally changed it up, and it was pretty awesome.

I will admit, after Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso won the tag team titles at Fastlane, my initial thought was "This is going to make for a great feud with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens." (This shouldn't be surprising since Zayn and Owens are two of my favorite wrestlers of all time, and also because I love me some conflicted emotional drama.) Instead, WWE's move was to have Zayn and Owens challenge for the tag belts RIGHT HERE TONIGHT on "Raw," and not only was it a fantastic match, it was a match that Jey and Cody won clean as a whistle, without anyone else even trying to interfere. Afterward, Owens, who has been refusing to trust Jey ever since he arrived on "Raw," finally shook Jey's hand and hugged him, and the four men celebrated together. It wasn't what I had expected, but looking back after the fact, I think it was the right move. An extended feud between the teams likely would have seen Zayn and Owens turn heel at least a little bit, and I don't want that. Instead, we got them working out their baggage over the course of this match, going from friendly wrestling to more competitive fighting to really pulling out all the stops at the end, and the final moment of Owens accepting Jey was huge for the story they've been telling. Now, I presume, they can all be friends and start getting ready for their WarGames match at Survivor Series.

And best of all, no Judgment Day promo interruption, no Judgment Day match interference, no Judgment Day in the main event at all, even though they're next in line for a title match. Monday night, they were off doing other stuff, and the show was the better for it. I'm not saying I never want JD in the main event again or anything like that, but a break from the formula was sorely needed, and this week's "Raw" delivered it.