WWE brought Monday Night Raw to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Nov. 2, giving New York fans a loaded Netflix show that mixed a major title change, John Cena’s return, several promos and a wild closing brawl involving Roman Reigns and The Bloodline.
The broadcast opened with shots of several stars arriving and preparing for the night before World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns made his way to the ring.
Reigns quickly turned his attention to both The 946 and Undisputed WWE Champion Sami Zayn. He dismissed Zayn as a secondary champion and reminded The 946 what happened when he stepped into their war with his family. Zayn interrupted and told Reigns that with their Crown Jewel champion-versus-champion match only days away, he deserved Reigns’ full attention.
Their exchange leaned heavily on their long history together. Reigns argued that Zayn benefited more than anyone from being connected to The Bloodline, while Zayn pushed back by saying he earned his place and championship win on his own. The segment ended with Reigns telling Brooklyn to acknowledge him, setting the tone for a night that repeatedly returned to his problems with both Zayn and The 946.
The first match brought the biggest championship change of the night as Chad Gable defended the Intercontinental Championship against Ethan Page. Page spent much of the match targeting Gable’s already-damaged neck and shoulder, while Gable repeatedly attacked Page’s leg and looked for the ankle lock.
Gable hit Chaos Theory and an Olympic Slam onto the announce table but his injuries continued slowing him down. After Page exposed a turnbuckle, Gable was eventually sent crashing into it, allowing Page to hit the Ego-Plex and score the pin to become the new Intercontinental Champion.
After the title change, Joe Hendry appeared in the ring and acknowledged his recent setbacks, including attacks by Bronson Reed and JD McDonagh. Hendry said he still believed he could climb back up the card and promised to once again get the crowd chanting “We Believe.”
A video package then focused on the feud between Solo Sikoa and Royce Keys. Backstage, Roman met with Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso and Solo, making it clear he planned to stay until his family finished its business with The 946. A recap of the previous SmackDown then set up the next match.
The second match was a six-woman tag team bout, with Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez of The Judgment Day facing Chelsea Green, IYO SKY and Tiffany Stratton.
The match moved quickly with all six women getting involved in a chaotic closing stretch. Green appeared to have momentum but her attention shifted toward Perez at the wrong moment. Morgan took advantage and connected with Oblivion to pin Green, giving Judgment Day the victory and Morgan an important win before Crown Jewel.
Royce Keys followed with a short warning for Solo before Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh came to the ring. The two mocked the attention surrounding Cena’s appearance and said Judgment Day planned to regain its place at the top of Raw.
That brought out Cena for one of the biggest segments of the night.
Cena announced that the John Cena Classic will take place Dec. 14 at Disney World in Orlando as part of a special edition of Raw. He unveiled the John Cena Classic championship belt and named Cody Rhodes as the event’s first invitee. Cena also explained that fans would have a voice through Club WWE and said he planned to recruit talent from Raw, SmackDown and NXT.
Cena then praised Rhodes for carrying WWE’s top-star responsibility before the moment was interrupted by Randy Orton.
Orton confronted Rhodes ahead of their Last Man Standing match at Crown Jewel. He spoke about surviving while stars from his generation moved on and reminded Rhodes that he once wrestled his father, Dusty Rhodes. Orton warned that if Cody wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, he would make sure a similar ending awaited him.
Backstage, Bayley met with Raw General Manager Adam Pearce to discuss what was next for her after her rivalry with Lyra Valkyria. Jade Cargill, Michin and B-Fab interrupted, leading to a tense exchange in which Bayley insulted the group before the sides separated.
Logan Paul then introduced The Vision, consisting of Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed and Austin Theory ahead of their six-man tag match against Penta, Je’Von Evans and Dragon Lee.
The match was fast and physical, featuring dives, power moves and plenty of chaos around ringside. Paul attempted to interfere with Penta’s Money in the Bank briefcase but Penta stopped him. The distraction still helped break down the opposing team and Breakker eventually caught Evans with a spear for the victory.
Later, during a backstage interview with Morgan and Judgment Day, another commotion broke out behind them. Cargill, Michin and B-Fab attacked Bayley, continuing the issue that began during their earlier confrontation.
The main event saw Solo Sikoa face Royce Keys one-on-one but the fight never reached a clean conclusion. As Solo prepared for the Samoan Spike, Bronco Nima, Lucien Price and Carmelo Hayes attacked him, forcing the referee to call for the disqualification.
Roman and The Usos immediately came out, triggering a full-scale fight between The Bloodline and The 946. Reigns seemed to gain control after hitting Superman Punches but a hooded man suddenly attacked him. The mystery attacker revealed himself as NXT’s Cruz Montana, formerly known as Mike Santana from TNA, who aligned himself with The 946 and helped the group overwhelm The Bloodline.
The beatdown became brutal. Jimmy Uso was handcuffed to the ropes, Solo was attacked with the steel steps and Jey was driven through the announce table.
After The 946 finally backed away, Reigns struggled to his feet, only for Sami Zayn to rush into the ring and blast him with a Helluva Kick.
It was a fitting end to a Raw built around unfinished business. The show gave Brooklyn a title change, Cena’s major announcement and several storyline developments. However, the final image of Zayn standing over Reigns delivered the clearest message of all, Crown Jewel had become deeply personal.
The results can be seen on WWE’s website.
