WWE Raw takeaways: Are Ripley and Sky WWE's new odd couple? Can Vaquer keep ascending?

The archetypal Raw aft Wrestlepalooza near the landmark lawsuit firmly successful the rearview mirror, arsenic attraction turned to gathering the paper for Crown Jewel successful Perth, Australia, connected Oct. 11.

Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins went face-to-face successful beforehand of the Evansville, Indiana, assemblage to proceed to jockey for abstraction astatine the apical of the WWE nutrient concatenation successful the lead-up to their gathering for the Crown Jewel championship. Newly minted women's satellite champion Stephanie Vaquer, the archetypal South American-born pistillate to clasp a WWE title, delivered a heartfelt promo aft it was announced she would quadrate disconnected with the victor of this Friday's triple-threat lucifer among women's champion Tiffany Stratton, Jade Cargill and Nia Jax astatine Crown Jewel.

The biggest item of Raw was successful the main lawsuit betwixt Rhea Ripley and Asuka, 2 formidable performers who hadn't faced each different one-on-one since December 2022. The lucifer was competitory and gripping, and could extremity up being the root communicative of a aboriginal powerhouse tag team.

Here's a recap of Raw with the biggest takeaways from Monday night.

Sept. 22 Raw results

• Penta and War Raiders def. Grayson Waller and The New Day
• Bayley def. Roxanne Perez
• Rusev def. JD McDonagh
• Jey Uso def. LA Knight
• Rhea Ripley def. Asuka

Is Asuka's betrayal the opening of a caller superteam?

The Evansville assemblage was loving Ripley and Asuka's main lawsuit show until Asuka's The Kabuki Warriors teammate, Kairi Sane, tried to skew the likelihood by distracting Ripley, lone for Asuka to bump into Sane and let Ripley to rotation up Asuka for the abrupt victory. After the match, Asuka snapped and spat bluish mist into Ripley's face. The Kabuki Warriors' state Iyo Sky came moving successful to effort to halt the beatdown against her friend, Ripley, but instead, Sky ate a backfist from Asuka. Not lone did Asuka crook connected Sky, she proceeded to unit an affectional Sane to bash the same.

It appears we are connected a collision people for Ripley and Sky vs. Asuka and Sane, particularly since it was announced that the victor of the Stratton-Cargill-Jax triple menace women's lucifer connected SmackDown volition conscionable Stephanie Vaquer astatine Crown Jewel.

More Raw takeaways

• Rhodes and Rollins blended a batch of existent speech successful their ringing encounter. At first, it felt similar Rollins was asking Rhodes what helium thought of him -- retired of either jealousy oregon insecurity. But Rollins would spell connected to telephone himself the aboriginal of the WWE, saying, "you tin beryllium the quarterback, Cody, but you're my quarterback." The brace volition conscionable astatine Crown Jewel for the Crown Jewel championship.

• Vaquer's in-ring promo was heartfelt, her archetypal since becoming WWE women's satellite champion. Her father, Hector, was successful attendance again aft helium saw his girl vie unrecorded for the archetypal clip astatine Wrestlepalooza.

• LA Knight whitethorn ne'er get a triumph again. Not connected Raw, wherever Jey Uso got his revenge connected Knight, who whitethorn person been biased toward The Vision successful their tag squad lucifer against The Usos astatine Wrestlepalooza. With the spear and pin by Jey astatine Raw, LA Knight hasn't won a televised singles lucifer successful astir 2 months. It feels similar a triumph would bash him immoderate bully close astir now.

• Rusev is proving to beryllium a beardown hostile for Dominik Mysterio, arsenic The Judgment Day continues to amusement cracks. Rusev mowed down JD McDonagh, who was reluctant to assistance his Judgment Day stablemate successful immoderate mode erstwhile Rusev rolled up connected Dirty Dom backstage aboriginal successful the show. Then, erstwhile McDonagh needed assistance successful the ring, Mysterio refused to measurement in. Rusev officially gets his intercontinental rubric changeable against Mysterio connected adjacent week's Raw.

• Bayley is continuing to amusement shades of 1996 Mankind-esque dual personality, arsenic she seems cheerful 1 infinitesimal and convulsive the next. Lyra Valkyria attempted to hug Bayley aft her triumph implicit Roxanne Perez, but Valkyria got shoved down for her troubles. Bayley walked backmost up the aisles, holding her temples.

• Grayson Waller got pinned connected an Avalanche Mexican Destroyer that looked unreal. Penta keeps getting much originative each week.