Let me explain something to you. See this right here? [Points to the WWE Universal Championship] This is my life, Lesnar. Yeah, I see that. Shut your mouth. This is my life, this is what I work for every single day, what I sacrifice for every single day, and you come out here and you make a mockery out of it. And not because you walk out here with your stupid little beat box. No. You make a mockery out of it because you are a joke. Yeah. That's not the joke, you're the joke, and I'm not afraid of you. I stomped your head into the mat at WrestleMania, and I can do it again right here, right now.
Yeah, you used to be the most feared man in combat sports history, and look at you. You're a coward hiding behind Paul Heyman. The shell of what you used to be. You want a chance to prove me wrong, Lesnar? [Points to the Money in the Bank briefcase] There's your chance. There's your chance, Lesnar. Cash it in! Cash it in! Cash it in! Cash it in!
[referring to the Money in the Bank contract] Mr. Cone, page 8, paragraph 27, section B: "the parties mutually agree that the winner of the 2019 Money in the Bank contract, in his sole discretion"—that's Brock Lesnar—"picks the time and the place to challenge for either the WWE or Universal Heavyweight Championship. The aforementioned challenge shall take place at any time, with no notice, to either champion, on or by the expiration of this agreement, one year after 2019 Money in the Bank pay-per-view event. Therefore, before May 19, 2020, said challenger Brock Lesnar..."
[Brock cups the mic, stopping Paul's recitation. He looks at the contract.]
PPaul
A year! [Pissed, Brock smacks Paul with the contract] Didn't you know?!
BBrock
No, I didn't know!
PPaul
How could you not know?! You have to make a decision!
BBrock
[to Seth] I got a whole year! And I gotta make a decision now? Seth Rollins, screw...you.
[Seth Rollins' open challenge is answered by Walter, who comes out with the rest of Imperium]
WWalter
You wanted the best? Well, here we are. My name is Der Ringgeneral, Walter, and I am the WWE United Kingdom Champion. We are Imperium, and we are here to restore the honor of our sport! Because that mat you're standing on with your dirty feet is sacred to us! And just because you're not in the United States, doesn't mean you're safe from NXT Takeover!
Ohh, is that so? Well, Walter, look, I know who you are. I saw the little stunt you and your gang tried to pull on SmackDown when you took out Heavy Machinery. Well, look, I appreciate the fact that you came down here and challenged me man-to-man, and I appreciate the fact that you think you are the United Kingdom's best. And that little title you got around your waist, it says you might be right. So let's find out. I accept your challenge! Now get your ass down here so I can burn it down!
BLBecky Lynch
Tonight is... is no ordinary night for me. I'm torn between joy and sadness 'cause I'm... I'm at a place in my life where things are about to change, and I needed to do something about it. So I asked the decision makers to raise the stakes for the Money In The Bank ladder match, and they did just that.
But before I get to that... I walked in through these very doors in 2013, and I didn't know anybody in this country, and I didn't know if I was good enough to be here. [She starts to tear up] And I didn't know if anybody would care about a loudmouthed Irish woman who loved puns and toast. But somewhere along the line, I... I learned that they did care, and they cared so much that they put me on their shoulders, and they carried me into history, and I will never forget that.
Through injury and triumph, it was the fans who stood up for me, who had my back, and it was the fans who I grabbed onto when I didn't have anybody else. And that is why it's the fans, it's you at home that deserve to hear this from me first: that I have to go away for awhile.
[Asuka's music hits, and she charges to the ring berating Becky in Japanese]
BBecky
[on the Money In The Bank briefcase sitting on a table in the ring] It is yours, you're right. Asuka, you have beaten me when nobody else could. You have been the best wrestler in the world for a long time, and this is why I am so glad that this is happening to you. 'Cause the match last night, it wasn't what you thought it was. It wasn't for an opportunity to win the championship. It was for so much more. And I know you haven't been able to unlock this 'cause there's a combination. [She opens the briefcase, revealing the Raw Women's Championship] The match last night was actually for the Raw Women's Championship. Now, I can't fight anymore, but you can. You are the champion.
BBecky
You're the champion.
[She takes the title and runs excitedly all over the Performance Center, even dancing on the announcers' table, and makes her way back to the ring]
BBecky
You are the champion, and as happy as you are to be the champion, I might be a little bit happier. So you go and be a warrior 'cause I'm gonna go be a mother.
AAsuka
[genuinely surprised] "Be a mother"? You're gonna be a mother? [She hugs Becky] Oh, congratulations! Really?! YEAH!!! BECKY! BECKY! BECKY! BECKY! I'm so happy for you.
So, what do you guys want to talk about? It has been 47 days since the abrupt news that I was a free agent. Amongst that, I chose to remain silent, and I heard stories, defamatory whispers, theories that surmised to be nonsense. Everyone thinks the decision to return to WWE was difficult. It was not. It was simple, really. The star that left them in the dust. The man standing here now, having signed a multi-year agreement with World Wrestling Entertainment. And if there was...
CCrowd
[chanting] YOU DESERVE IT!
If there was a glimmer of doubt, a shred of trepidation, the moment I rose up in front of 70-something thousand fans, the moment I made the walk at a WrestleMania and defeated one of the best superstar wrestlers in any era, that being Seth Rollins, that doubt was eradicated. I’m an avid reader, and I stumbled across this quote. It said, "a man often finds his destiny on the path he takes to avoid it." So, if you’ll humor me, let’s all take a look at the Tron, if you will.
[On the TitanTron is a picture of Dusty Rhodes holding high the WWWF Championship. The crowd chants "DUSTY!"]
Right there is my father, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. It’s so simple to say, that’s my father, but in reality, yeah, he's a legend. Yeah, he's the son of a plumber, he's a common man. He’s all those things. To me, he was my hero. This photo was taken in 1977, at Madison Square Garden. That very photo right there, he is holding the championship belt that eventually Hulk Hogan would get his hands on, the Undertaker would get his hands on, the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels. Oh, and Triple H, too. And many other greats. I'm gonna tell you a quick story which made this all very simple to me. This photo, this very photo, was on the mantle in my parents' bedroom until my dad's last day. And as I got hip to the industry, I worked up a little courage, and I remember I asked him, and I worded it very poorly. I said, "I didn’t know that you were a champion like Hulk Hogan." And he looked at me with the same eyes that Liberty has, and he said, very stern and very patiently, he explained to me the champion's advantage. He said that he had won the match, but because it was by countout, he did not take home the championship belt.
So, I'm 8 years old. What’s a boy to do? Right then and there, at 8 years old, I knew not what I wanted to do, what I needed to do. I was going to win this championship belt right here! I was going to place it, I was going to bestow it into the hands of The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes and tell him, "nobody can take it away from you now." And there are many here tonight who have followed my journey, but for those who are new to it, unfortunately, that dream died. It died right in front of me. That opportunity passed. That opportunity passed, or did it? Yes, I cannot physically put that title belt into my father's hands. I cannot bestow it upon The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes, but I certainly can put it around the waist of The American Nightmare.
CCrowd
[chant] YOU CAN DO IT!
With that in mind, the silence is broken, my intentions are clear. I've made them clear to all of you here. I stand before you, ready, finally ready. And I'm going to do it. I'm going to give the distinction that my family has long since been denied, and I'm going to do it for you, I'm going to do it for me, I'm going to do it for my family, and I am going to do it for The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes.
Wise Man, why don't you go ahead and explain the Bloodline's success.
The single longest-reigning tag team champions in the history of SmackDown!, the Usos! The largest box office receipts in the history of SummerSlam; who was in the main event? Roman Reigns! The largest box office receipts in the history of Survivor Series; who was in the main event? Roman Reigns! The first billion-dollar-grossing year in the history of sports entertainment; who was on top as the main star all 365 days of that year?! [The crowd starts answering] Romain Reigns! The single biggest, largest-grossing box office in the history of the Royal Rumble; who was on top? Roman Reigns. The largest crowds in the history of WrestleMania Weekend, 58% increase on Peacock from last year, and the largest-grossing commerce facilitator in the history of WrestleMania; who was on top? [with the crowd] Roman Reigns!
Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you your Tribal Chief, the Head of the Table, the single biggest star in sports entertainment, undisputed Roman Reigns.
Wise Man always has this saying, it's, "what's good for Roman Reigns, is good for WWE." And it's no secret. With me at the head of the table, the billion dollar deals are coming easy. And that's because I'm the last needle mover. And I'm the last needle mover because I am constantly operating at God Mode. But you see, your Tribal Chief is so much more than all that. I'm a man of my word. I called my shot, and I delivered! I said I was gonna smash Brock Lesnar, and what did I do? Smashed him!
But you see, that's the past now. Other men, they'd hang their hat on this weekend, but that's not who I am, because we're never content. I'm a progressive Tribal Chief, and I'm constantly moving forward. So this Friday on SmackDown, we're gonna let y'all know what the next step is. But until then, Dallas, Texas...acknowledge me!
[Cody Rhodes has just finished talking to Seth Rollins, and is heading to the back]
BSByron Saxton
[continuing an ongoing conversation] We obviously saw Cody Rhodes defy the odds last night, so, uh...
[Seth Rollins races out with a sledgehammer, and strikes Cody]
BSByron Saxton
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! NO!
NO, YOU-- DAMN IT, ROLLINS!!
BSByron Saxton
WHAT-- WHY?! COME--
JSJimmy Smith
UNBELIEVABLE! Face to face a second ago!
This is disgusting - this is despicable! Rollins, you're a-- [grunts in frustration]
[After saving Matt Riddle from a Judgment Day attack, Edge grabs a microphone and angrily calls them out]
You have tried to finish me over and over again, but I always come back! Even if it takes me nine years, I come back! And I got to come back in Edmonton, in my country! You see, I don't quit. So, Finn, I'm gonna challenge you… at Extreme Rules. For the first time ever, Edge vs Finn Bálor… in an "I Quit" match!
RRRhea Ripley
You know, it's been awhile since I've been out here without my Latino Heat, my Dom-Dom, and the Judgment Day crew, but I really just wanted all the attention on me. Two nights ago, I disrupted the status quo. I did the unthinkable. I went the distance. I came in here at #1 and overcame and outlasted 29 other women to win the Royal Rumble Match. And now, I get to choose whichever champion I want to face at WrestleMania.
Three years ago, I had just turned 24, my career was just getting started, and I was the NXT Women's Champion. And I came here to Monday Night Raw, I stood in this ring, and I challenged the winner of the Royal Rumble Match, Charlotte Flair. I challenged her to a match at WrestleMania... and she... she put me in my place.
You know, the funny thing about Charlotte is that she's always somehow in the title picture. She's always at the top of her game, and I hate, I hate to give her the credit, but she seems to get better each and every year. The normal flow here in the WWE is that Charlotte Flair is at the top. But I'm the disruptor. I don't like the natural flow, I don't like the normal formula, and I don't like things being overplayed.
So Charlotte, I advise you to enjoy everyone rising and bowing down to the queen because they're about to rise to Rhea Ripley. At WrestleMania, I put you in your place. Charlotte Flair, I choose you.
SZSami Zayn
My entire career - my entire life - I have fought people like The Judgment Day. People who think like The Judgment Day. People that think that all that matters is power. And as long as you're chasing power, you can do whatever you want. You can be as ruthless as you want, as cutthroat as you want. You can rule with an iron fist. You can oppress, whoever, whenever, as long as it's in the name of power. So, that's fine, if that's the name of your game, fine, but understand that if that's your game my name is not Sami Zayn; my name is rebellion! My name is resistance! And I will fight The Judgment Day, whether it's one on one, two on one, three on one, four on one, five on one, as long as there is a breath of air left in my body... I will fight! I will fight The Judgment Day, and everything you stand for until The Judgment Day is no more!"
ENOUGH! ENOUGH! I'm tired of the games, every night, every week! You four wanna play games?! You four wanna play games?! You wanna play games? We're gonna play games in Chicago, at Survivor Series, IN WARGAMES!
HELL, yeah! Let's settle this the right way! Two rings surrounded by a steel cage! The Judgement Day! Rhodes! Rollins! Jey Uso! Sami Zayn! [Damien Priest jumps Jey] AND THE BRAWL IS BREAKING OUT AGAIN!!
I thought I was in a sullen mood, and then I come out here and I see all of these signs and I hear all of these people. The truth is, I have a huge decision to make. We, if I may, have a huge decision to make, and I’ve been thinking about it all week. And the reason I’ve been so consumed and worried about it is because I love you guys. But the truth is, this town and this building specifically hasn’t always historically been kind to CM Punk. I walk back here through the hallways, there’s a lot of ghosts, ladies and gentlemen, and I’m doing my best to face them head on. A lot of people might not know this, but I debuted in this building. Yeah, was anybody there? I had Mickie James on my arm. True story: we walked down that ramp, we got into the ring, and it was so good. I went back and they said, "we’re sending you to Louisville, Kentucky; have fun in OVW." And gosh, I didn’t want to go, but while I was there, I embraced being uncomfortable, and I learned how to love it. Exactly like when I came to the WWE for the first time. Man, I didn’t know what I was in for, but I embraced being uncomfortable, and I learned to love it. I triumphantly returned to this town, this same building, World Heavyweight Champion. I was ready to put on a show for everybody here. And then, Randy Orton kicks me in the head backstage, and I wake up and they tell me, "by the way, we stripped you out of the title, you couldn’t compete, you’re no longer the champion." And I was like, "Cleveland! Again?!"
Was anybody here ten years ago, for the story I’m about to tell? I'm not going to bore you with details, because a lot of it is in my rear-view mirror. I’m focused on the future, I’m focused on the now, I’m focused on everybody here in this building today. Ten years ago, I had to take myself off the hamster wheel. I had to, for better or for worse, make the hardest decision of my life. And I don’t regret it. I don’t look back. But there was always that part of me that wondered if anybody paid a ticket to see CM Punk that day I walked out Cleveland, if they were disappointed. Backstage, I saw a young lady by the name of Indi, and she told me that she felt betrayed as a little kid. And I told her a story of when I saw Roddy Piper appear on WCW Television. And as a young wrestling fan, I felt the exact same way, so I understood. So, if you’re here now, if you're watching at home and you were disappointed that CM Punk walked out, I understand, and hell, ladies and gentlemen, I apologize.
I’ve gone to SmackDown, and I’ve listened to what Nick Aldis has to say. He put together a very substantial offer, you understand. I went down to NXT, I hung out with Shawn Michaels. And there’s a 15-year-old CM Punk somewhere in the universe who’s tickled to death that he got an offer from Shawn Michaels to help mold the next generation of superstars. It’s a great deal. Adam Pearce has put together a deal that, honestly, is head-and-shoulders above both of those other deals. But can I be very real, and very honest with you folks right now? My mind was probably already made up when I looked at the calendar, and I saw Cleveland. I'm here to bury those ghosts, I’m here to right a few wrongs. My future starts now.
You couldn’t write a better television show, ladies and gentlemen. Ten years, almost to the day, CM Punk walked out. And regardless of how you feel about it, CM Punk walks right back in. And if you’re happy about it, if you’re mad about it, you better learn to love it, because congratulations, Adam Pearce, the newest Raw Superstar is named CM Punk. And CM Punk is home.
Cleveland, Ohio, CM Punk, welcome to Monday Night Rollins. I hope you know how incredibly fortunate you are to even be standing in this ring right now. But can you just do me one... one little favor, just one thing, please? Don’t you dare call this place your home. You abandoned this place ten years ago. Not only did you abandon it, but you also actively tried to tear it down. You spent ten years slandering me, slandering every single person back in that locker room, and then you want to walk back in here, and call this place your home? This is not your home; this is my home!
I've been here. Everybody in the back, those are my brothers and sisters. Everybody here, everybody watching at home, that is my family, and this is our home. And I will do everything within my power to protect it from people like you. Let me make one thing perfectly clear, I don’t want there to be any confusion. I know I'm a bit worked up. I want everyone to understand, I'm going to say it, plainly, with every fiber in my being, I hate you.
But if you’re going to be a part of WWE again, then I want you on Monday Night Raw. Because the truth always comes out, pal. The truth always comes out. I know, you know, everybody else knows, this is your last chance. So one or two things is gonna happen. Either you’re gonna expose yourself, you’re gonna self-destruct like you always do, and I’ll be the first person in the back to slam the door shut on your legacy. Or if by some miracle, you have changed, and you got any gas left in this old tank, maybe one day, you'll be lucky enough to stand across the ring from me, in a World Heavyweight Championship Match, and then I will expose you for the fraud that you are. I will show you that there are levels to this, I will wrestle circles around you, and I will let you understand, in real time, what it means to be the best in the world.
Are you done? That's your one pass to stand here and speak to me disrespectfully without me coming after you. I have never asked for anything to be handed to me. And I’ve always done things stubbornly the hard way, and I’m here to do that. Adam Pearce, where you at? We’re making things official; we might as well make it official. CM Punk is entering the Royal Rumble. And when CM Punk wins, maybe, Seth, it's you he's coming after.
So, San Diego... what do you want to talk about? I have the privilege of being the first superstar of coming to this ring and officially welcome you to a special Day One episode of Monday Night Raw. It's a new year. Folks like to talk about their goals, where'd they like to be in 2024, but admittedly, I'm a little stuck. And what I've gotten stuck on is Shinsuke Nakamura.
[The crowd boos.]
Don't get me wrong, I think we all know that Shinsuke is a force to be reckoned with in the ring, but with his rendition of a Nightmare Before Christmas, I was expecting something a little bit more sophisticated. See, I'm not stuck on Shinsuke Nakamura because the things he said about my family. That comes with the territory, I'm not stuck on Shinsuke Nakamura because he tried to blind me with poison mist. I fought blind and I fought just fine. I am stuck on Shinsuke Nakamura, simply put, because this should be over.
FFans
[chanting Cody's name] Cody!
This should be over and Shinsuke, I'm going to give you the opportunity to finish it tonight. So go ahead, bring your poison mist. Bring your poison words. Whatever makes you feel like you can stop me from where I need to be. Because this ends. And this ends right now!
[Shinsuke Nakamura appears via satellite on the TitanTron.]]
SNShinsuke Nakamura
Cody, Cody, Cody. [Smirks evilly. In Japanese] I never thought it would be so easy to get into your head. And to become the author of your final chapter. I have whispered the plot in your ear... pushed your character to the brink page-by-page. I have blinded you, so you cannot see the ending. Cody, but your story does not end tonight. I want to give The American Nightmare one more week to dream. Next week, Monday Night RAW. I become what you could never be. I will finish your story, then I close your book. [sprays mist over the screen as the transmission fades to black and his music plays.]
RRRhea Ripley
So obviously, you guys know what's going on right now, yeah? After the attack last week from Liv Morgan, I've now been told that I'm stuck on the bench for quite a few months. I've also been invok... I've also been told, informed, whatever, I don't care. I'm flustered, okay? I'm angry right now. I'm pissed off right now! You know why? Because I have been told that I need to vacate the one thing that means the most to me: my Women's World Championship.
[The crowd boos and chants "NO!"]
This... [crowd chants "bullshit!"] Yeah, it is. This right here, this championship, this means the most to me in my entire life, and that's why this is so painful.
CCrowd
[chanting as she lays the belt down] THANK YOU, MAMI!
RRhea
Revenge Tour. This is all because your stupid little Revenge Tour, Liv! Are you kidding me? Because your Revenge Tour, Liv. Are you bloody killing me right now. You know, I could've actually had some respect for you if you decided to go face-to-face. But instead, you decided to blindside me like the coward that I know you are. And I understand, because I would've dropped you exactly where you stood!
So this... [points down at the belt] this is a warning to whoever wins my Women's World Championship. When I come back, I'm coming back for blood! But no, no, no. I'm not just gonna be gone because of an injury. I'm gonna be gone because, when I find Liv back there, I swear they're gonna have to lock me up in Montreal jail!
CKCathy Kelley
I'm standing by with Liv Morgan. And as you know, earlier tonight, Rhea Ripley was forced to vacate the Women's World Championship. The crowd here in Montreal not pleased by that announcement at all. Is this the conclusion of your Revenge Tour?
LMLiv Morgan
You know, Cathy, I can't even lie, I'm a little bit confused by that reaction. I feel like I'm walking around back here, and everyone is mad at me, and for what? I'm not the bad guy here. Where was the sympathy for me when Rhea literally tore my shoulder out of my socket and put me on the shelf for 8 months? Oh yeah. There wasn't any of that. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a shoulder for a shoulder. This is karma at its very finest, so Rhea got exactly what she deserved.
You wanna know what the best part is? This isn't the end of the Liv Morgan Revenge Tour. No, this is just the beginning, because the end is Liv Morgan as your Women's World Champion. Watch me.
