Welcome one and all to the RAW RECAP presented by THE REVELLEUTION! Clash at the Castle is just days away, and now there’s added interest from Raw in the Women’s Tag Team Championship picture. The Unholy Alliance has managed to get into the tag title match at the Clash to make it a Triple Threat Match, which increases the odds of new champs being crowned at the show. Will there be any further twists before the PLE in Scotland? And what’s next for the twisted tale between Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio? Let’s get into it, and find out…
DAMAGE CTRL of DAKOTA KAI, IYO SKY and KAIRI SANE got an ‘earlier today’ arrival video, as did LYRA VALKYRIA ahead of their match this week.
LIV MORGAN bluntly tried again to get a piece of Dominik Mysterio. She invited herself into the Judgement Day clubhouse and flirted, despite his repeated refusals. Saying that a ‘gorgeous man’ shouldn’t be with a woman who demands he call her Mommy, but she’d be happy to call him Daddy. She left a hotel room key and said she’d wait for him there, but Mysterio slammed down the keycard onto a table. Later on, in another segment, Finn Balor swiped that keycard but it wasn’t clear if it was just to ‘protect’ Mysterio or perhaps for himself.
Singles Match
IYO SKY w/h DAKOTA KAI & KAIRI SANE defeated LYRA VALKRIA
Valkria avoided a charge and hit some stomps to Sky in a corner. When the referee forced her back, Sky too advantage with a kick to the gut then a hairpull slam. Sky was in a rage, hitting wild strikes and stomps but moments later Valkria volted to avoid the charge and did a cartwheel, before she did a Legsweep to set up a Basement Dropkick. An Alicia Fox Suplex got Valkria a nearfall.
Sky slapped Valkria who answered back with Knee Strikes and clubbing blows, but Sky ducked a Spin Kick attempt and did flips of her own. She went for a kick but Valkria countered and took Sky down to lock on a Mexican Surfboard. The move turned into a Clutch pin for a nearfall. An Enzigri sent Sky out of the ring but when Valkria went for the Dropkick through the ropes, Sky sidestepped and then hauled her out to slam her into the apron. Sky then hit a lovely Moonsault from the middle rope to Valkria on the floor before the show went to a commerical break.
Back from it, Valkria hit a Sprinboard Crossbod then went House on Fire with Clotheslines and Spin Kicks while the announcers namechecked that Impact Wrestling’s Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace had been at NXT Battleground. Valkria hit a Missile Dropkick then a Fisherwoman’s Buster for a near fall. Sky would counter a German Suplex attempt to use a Wheelbarrow to send Valkria face first into the middle turnbuckle. Sky hit a Double Underhook Backbreaker and went for Over the Moonsault but had to land on her feet. Sky countered a Nightwing attempt but Valkria countered the Sunset Flip with a dropdown for a pin for a near fall.
Sky did her roll-through into a Double Stomp for a two count. Moments later Sky did her vault through the ropes to drive Valkria into the middle cable. Sky tried for a Springboard but Valkria caught her, scooped her onto the shoulders and hit Nightwing but was too close to the ropes so unseen by the referee, Dakota Kai hauled Valkria off from the pin by the hair. Valkria wiped Kai and Sane out with a Dropkick through the ropes.
Valkria went up top but Sky hit the ropes to knock her down. That set up for the Running Meteora in the corner, and went again for Over The Moonsault but this time Valkria got her knees up. Valkria hit a Tornado DDT and tried for Nightwing but Sky grabbed the hair . A Crucifix Driver into a pin got the win for Sky.
After the match Kai and Sane beat down Valkria, and then Sky shoved them aside to get more shots on Valkria. KATANA CHANCE and KAYDEN CARTER ran out to even the numbers and make Damage CTRL back away.
Women’s Tag Team Champions BIANCA BELAIR and JADE CARGILL were shown backstage.
Backstage Sami Zayn tried to talk sense in MAXXINE DUPRI and Akira Tozawa. Dupri and the rest of The Alpha Academy would accompany Chad Gable as he confronted Zayn later on. They stayed for the match between Otis and Zayn but left after the match when Gable ordered them out.
ZELINA VEGA accompanied The LWO as they teamed with Braun Strowman to defeat The Judgement Day. During the match, Liv Morgan came out and distracted Dominik Mysterio, and Vega clobbered Morgan off the apron to send her flying into Mysterio to leave her on top of her object of desire. Vega brawled with Morgan again before Rey hauled Vega off and JD backed Morgan away.
Backstage despite the win, Iyo Sky was still furious and screamed that Damage CTRL had to change. Kai and Sane were freaked out about it all.
SONYA DEVILLE and NATALYA were seen talking backstage. SCARLETT had told the fortunes of The Miz and R-Truth to tell them they’d be facing AOP later tonight. Scarlett would accompany The Final Testament for that match and before the bout claimed that the group wouldn’t abandon Xavier Woods. But of course The New Day provided a distraction that cost AOP that match.
Women’s Tag Team Match
SHAYNA BASZLER & ZOEY STARK defeated THE UNHOLY UNION (ALBA FYRE & ISLA DAWN)
Belair and Cargill came out before the match to watch from ringside. CATHY KELLEY interviewed the Union before the match, and Fyre put over how they’d be wrestling in front of their friends and family and vowed to show everyone why they should have been in the match from the start. Dawn bragged that they saved Stark and Baszler from being embarressed with a loss last week, and vowed they’d walk out of the Clash as Champions no matter who they beat.
Stark and Dawn started off, but Dawn hit a Dropkick to Baszler’s hurt knee (‘injured’ at NXT Battleground in the Underground match against Lola Vice) as she left the ring. Stark clubbed at Dawn but a distraction by Frye allowed Dawn to yank Stark into the middle turnbuckle. Stark was hit with a Hip Attack in the Union’s corner before Fyre tagged in, just to be tagged out as Fyre hit a Gordbuster before Dawn nailed a Knee Strike for a near fall.
Stark came back with a Clothesline and wanted a tag but Baszler was still down on the floor with her bad knee. Dawn hit a Head Kick then a Back Suplex. Fyre took a tag before Dawn hit a Backstabber and held Stark over her knees so Fyre could hit a Swanton Bomb. Baszler was able to drag Fyre off the pin and then get tagged in, just to send Fyre into the steel steps and stomp on Fyre’s hand while it was on the metal. Baszler locked on a Top Wristlock while on the apron and when Dawn tried to break it up, Baszler yanked her arm down across the ropes.
In the ring, Fyre got a two count off a Roll-Up but was soon hit with a Reverse DDT-style Backbreaker. The Arm Stomp followed and while Fyre kicked the bad knee, Baszler still hit the Low Knee Strike but of course that was with the bad knee so she couldn’t follow up. Despite that, she still locked on the Kirifuda Clutch and made Fyre pass out to win. The tag champs posed with their titles and stared down Stark and Baszler to end the segment.
SAMANTHA IRVIN took part in an injury segment involving Ricochet.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Valkyria and Sky put on a great match with a finish that protects Valkria. Bringing Double KC into the mix at least gives them TV time so it’s not half bad but the story is still Sky’s rage. Whether that means any significant change to Damage CTRL or not remains to be seen. Elsewhere The Unholy Union got rather buried in this match, and whether that will be the case of losing one match and winning the next we’ll have to wait and see. This is also the second week that Liv Morgan and the Women’s World Championship has taken a backseat to the storyline with Dominik Mysterio. I can only assume they’re keeping Morgan out of the ring just to save things for when Rhea Ripley returns so they can restart their feud. Morgan could do with a title challenge still in the meantime so it doesn’t look like she’s a paper champion.
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!