November 23, 2024

WWE Raw results, highlights: Live recap, grades as John Cena returns, Sami Zayn takes on Jimmy Uso

John Cena #JohnCena

With WrestleMania drawing near, the card continued to fill out with big matches made during Monday’s edition of Raw. But the big storyline of the night was the continuation of the saga of Sami Zayn and The Bloodline.

Zayn saved Kevin Owens from an attack early in the night, but Owens made it clear he still did not trust Zayn, nor was he willing to work with his former best friend. Then, at the end of the show, Zayn believed Jey Uso had chosen him over his brother, Jimmy Uso, only for Jey to turn on Zayn and join his Bloodline family members in attacking Zayn, with Owens not returning the favor of making the save.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from TD Garden in Boston.

The Bloodline grows stronger as Jey Uso turns on Sami Zayn

Kevin Owens def. Solo Sikoa via disqualification after interference by Jimmy Uso. Uso had interfered earlier in the match, but Owens continued to overcome the numbers game until he managed to hit Sikoa with a pair of superkicks and a swanton bomb. As Owens made the cover, Uso attacked to force the disqualification. The Bloodline members continued to attack Owens after the match before Sami Zayn ran in to make the save, attacking both Sikoa and Uso before running them off with a chair. Zayn entered the ring and extended a hand to help Owens to his feet, but Owens instead rolled out of the ring and walked to the back. Zayn confronted Owens later on, saying things didn’t need to be OK between them but that neither of them can take down The Bloodline alone.

Sami Zayn def. Jimmy Uso via pinfall. Uso was given orders earlier in the night that it was his responsibility to take out Zayn and make sure Roman Reigns never had to hear his name again. During the match, Sikoa was about to hit Zayn with the Samoan Spike but was caught by the referee and ejected from ringside. Jey Uso made his way through the crowd to the ring and almost immediately, Zayn managed to roll up Jimmy for the win. Jey then entered the ring and came face-to-face with his brother. The two shared a tense moment before Jey left the ring, walked up to Zayn, said, “I trust you” and the two men hugged while Jimmy looked on in disbelief. As Zayn celebrated, Jey turned and hit Zayn with a superkick, immediately berating Zayn for thinking he would choose him over his own family. The Usos and Sikoa then attacked Zayn in the ring until Cody Rhodes ran to the ring to make the save as the show went off the air.

There are only so many times you can say that WWE has struck gold with this storyline without just repeating the same points. No, WWE should not win an Emmy for any of this, but as a wrestling story, it is elite tier. The crowd bit so hard when Jey hugged Zayn that it ranks as one of the loudest pops in recent memory, even if it was obvious what was coming next. Owens struggling with trusting Zayn is interesting, as is the fact that Zayn saved him earlier in the night but it was Rhodes who saved Zayn in the end. So many things done right in the story yet again. Grade: A

What else happened on WWE Raw?

  • Bobby Lashley delivered a message to Bray Wyatt, calling Wyatt out for sending Uncle Howdy to attack him and asking what it would take to get Wyatt to face him like a man.
  • Bianca Belair def. Carmella via pinfall with the KOD. Chelsea Green was at ringside with Carmella and interfered in the match before also attacking Belair after the match. Asuka stormed the ring, got in Carmella and Green’s faces and blew mist, which Carmella ducked out of the way of, allowing Green to take the full effect.
  • Logan Paul knocked Seth Rollins out during an in-ring segment with The Miz. Rollins demanded Paul fight him, but Paul said the stage wasn’t big enough. Miz said he could make a match between the two at WrestleMania. Rollins told Miz to do it before throwing him from the ring. Paul and Rollins then briefly brawled before Miz joined the fray, distracting Rollins enough to allow Paul to land a knockout punch.
  • Omos def. Dolph Ziggler via pinfall with a chokebomb.
  • Johnny Gargano def. Finn Balor via pinfall with One Final Beat. Balor seemed to have the match won when Edge’s music hit. Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley raced up the entrance ramp to cut Edge off, but Edge came from the crowd to shove Balor off the top rope and set Gargano up for the win. After the match, Edge hit Balor with a spear and told him “this isn’t over.”
  • Piper Niven def. Nikki Cross via pinfall with the Loch Ness Slam in a very short match.
  • John Cena accepted a match with Austin Theory at WrestleMania. Theory interrupted Cena’s return to Raw to throw down the challenge. Cena told Theory that he wouldn’t do it because he didn’t want to ruin Theory’s career before running Theory down badly on the mic. Cena finally accepted the match after asking the crowd if they wanted to see it.
  • Chad Gable def. Baron Corbin via submission with an ankle lock. Maximum Male Models told Corbin they would consider signing him if he could beat Gable.
  • Becky Lynch, Lita and Trish Stratus challenged Damage CTRL to a six-woman tag match at WrestleMania. After accepting, Damage CTRL tried to attack but got ran off in short order.
  • Leave a Reply