Monday Night Raw Review: 05/09

Edge, Rey and The Judgement Day

Raw kicked off with the Rated R-Superstar Edge. He spoke about his history with Dominik and how they have been like family. Edge then said that he is looking at Dominik like a normal WWE superstar and he is going to make him pay for his actions. Rey Mysterio then came out and pleaded with Edge to forgive his son but the hall of famer rightly said that he can fight his own battles. Rhea Ripley then came out and took the mick out of the two “old-timers” before Dominik Mysterio came out with a new-ish look and seemingly aligned himself with Rhea and the rest of the Judgement Day. Rey wanted no part of it but clearly, his son didn’t want any part of him either and Dom helped Balor and Priest take down the Judgement Day. Rhea even beat up Rey which was cool.

Grade: C

Tag Team portion of the show and a monster returns

After The Miz and Ciampa were interviewed in the parking lot, a car was flipped over. This may have been a hint to Dexter Lumis but it could also have been a hint to what was to come in the following match. The New Day, Alpha Academy, Los Lotharios and the Street Profits fought one another for the right to challenge the Usos for the Undisputed Tag Team titles. Having the New Day and the Street Profits in the match didn’t make sense given they have both lost multiple times to the champions. At one point, both Kofi and Woods were legal which was cool, and Woods fell to the mat allowing Kingston to get the win, but the other teams broke it up. There were obviously some cool spots but at times, it was hard to know who was actually legal. In the end, none of this really mattered as Braun Strowman made his return to WWE. The former Universal Champion destroyed all the tag teams (except Ford and the New Day who vanished). This was good, Braun is always going to be a solid upper-Midcard talent so it’s probably a good decision that they got him back. Also, he is a much better person to play in the monster role than either Omos or Veer. The match itself wasn’t booked great but I’m glad the Viking Raiders weren’t in it as them being squashed by Strowman wouldn’t have been good.

Grade: C- for the match, B+ for Strowman

Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah had their first matchup as Women’s tag team champions as they took on Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. This was the normal Raquel and Aliyah tag match where Raquel does most of the work and Aliyah disappears after a bit but the exception in this match was Raquel wasn’t fighting two smaller opponents. Raquel once again looked great in this match and hit a sort of powerbomb onto Doudrop to get the win. Raquel is being made to look like a star at the moment which is good, and Aliyah looks to be having the time of her life which is nice. Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. may have lost twice in two nights but, they continue to show that they are a really solid tag team. Their dynamic is one of the best I have seen since the Women’s Tag team division began.

Grade: C

Austin Theory VS Kevin Owens

After a quick promo were Rey Mysterio said that he wouldn’t fight his son and that he is challenging either Balor or Priest to a match, Austin Theory came down to the ring. Theory was clearly still feeling the effects of Tyson Fury’s right hand. The best part of this was when he said that Crown Jewel was a success instead of Clash at the Castle. Kevin Owens then came out and said that Theory got KO’d which was ironic. He also joked about the fact that Theory’s found his first name again before going, “hey Austin”. Kevin Owens told Theory that the only reason that he is Mr. MITB is because he wasn’t in it before Theory said that he is the hand-picked future of this company whilst Owens is just trying to stay relevant. They then competed against each other in a fun match. Kevin Owens is easily one of the best in the world and Theory will be one day. Some of the moves that Theory hit were great, and he was also adding new moves to his arsenal. In the end though, the way more experienced KO hit both his trademark Pop-Up Powerbomb and the stunner to get the victory. If Kevin Owens keeps this momentum up, he is going to feel like a mega threat to Roman’s championship reign. Theory losing may hurt the character but not him as he once again proves that he can really hang with the top contenders. Easily the best parts of the show.

Grade: A- (promo and match combined)

Damage Control and Johnny Talking

Miz and Ciampa then had another good promo segment. WWE are really showing you that The Miz is really traumatized from all the Dexter Lumis stuff. After this, Damage Control were walking backstage and, in the background, you could see another argument going on between Nikki ASH and Doudrop. I don’t know if that is a good thing or not, will have to wait and see. Damage Control were then in the ring celebrating their victory at Clash at the Castle. Their entrance is mixed in my opinion; I really don’t like their entrance music but, their titantron is really cool. Dakota Kai brought up a really interesting point that she wasn’t the legal woman last week meaning that pinfall should never have counted. That saves last week's result a bit in my opinion. IYO said that they will be taking the Women’s Tag Team championships next week on Raw. Bianca Belair then came out and said that she didn’t lose to Bayley, she lost to all three of them. After a bit of back and forth talking, Bayley said that when she wants the title, she will take it. I definitely hope that Damage Control have all the titles at some point.

After this, Johnny Gargano did a backstage interview where he laughed off Theory’s remark of swimming with sharks. Theory then interrupted and said that you should change your name to Johnny talking seeing as that is all Gargano has done since returning. Johnny laughed at this and announced that he will be making his in-ring return next week. Please have it be against Chad Gable.

Grade: B- for both

Rey Mysterio VS Damian Priest and backstage segments

Rey Mysterio looked to get a bit of revenge as he went one-on-one with Damian Priest of the Judgement Day. Priest got most of the offense in and eventually Rhea, Finn and Rey’s son were all on the outside. Rey was going to hit the 619 onto the former North American Champion but Dominik and Rhea, both distracted him which allowed Priest to hit the south of heaven chokeslam to get the victory. This was solid, Priest is starting to put the south of heaven chokeslam over as a genuine finishing move. I also like that Dominik hasn’t said anything, it’s quite effective.

Grade: B-

Bobby Lashley cut an interview talking about the mistake that The Miz has made when it comes to asking for a steel cage match with the all mighty. Braun Strowman then told the camera that he will be on SmackDown this Friday. I would really enjoy a feud between Gunther and Strowman. Exclusive videos that were filmed after Clash at the Castle then aired and Riddle vowed to get revenge on Seth Rollins whilst the Visionary said that there will be no rematch and he is moving on to bigger and better thins. Rollins VS Riddle II will probably happen at Extreme Rules and then, I hope we get Rollins VS Reigns at Survivor Series.

United States Championship Steel Cage Match: Bobby Lashley VS The Miz

The main event saw the All Mighty US Champion take on the Miz inside a steel cage. The Miz used his brain and attacked Lashley before the match with the title meaning that both him and Tommaso Ciampa could attack Lashley. Lashley, being the beast that he is, was able to fight back in the match despite only having one really useable arm. When Lashley was about to leave the cage, Ciampa slammed the door in his face before Miz destroyed him with it. The Miz then climbed up the cage, went over and was destined to win before Dexter Lumis appeared from under the ring which scared the Miz so much that he climbed back into the ring but unfortunately for him, he was met by a Bobby Lashley spear and the champion retained. Lumis then climbed the cage and with The Miz locked in, he locked in his submission to send the Miz to sleep. This was a fine match, The Miz and Lumis stuff is really good. I just hope that Bobby Lashley can have a proper feud because we have seen how well that has worked for Gunther and the Intercontinental Championship.

Grade: B