The Bloodline and the Judgment Day align, Rey Mysterio VS Solo Sikoa
The Bloodline kicked off the show before they were quickly interrupted by the Judgment Day. Paul Heyman then announced that Roman Reigns had signed off on a short-term deal between the two factions which would see each side deal with the other teams' problems. The best thing about all of this was Rhea Ripley and Solo Sikoa starring each other down and I also liked the fact that they referenced Extreme Rules 2021 and the fact that Finn Balor doesn’t like the Bloodline. This led into the first match of the night as Solo Sikoa took on Rey Mysterio. This match was fine, it got time and Solo Sikoa continued to look like an unstoppable badass. However, Rey Mysterio started to roll late on before he set Sikoa up in position for the 619. However, the Usos arrived to cause distraction before the LWO attacked them to “even the odds”. However, this didn’t really help Rey as Solo avoided the splash before he hit the Samoan Spike to get the win. After the match, Solo and the Usos beat down Rey, Santos, Joaquin and Cruz Del Toro.
Grade: B- for the opening segment, C+ for the match
Bianca Belair VS Dakota Kai, Cody Rhodes calls out Brock Lesnar
Chad Gable was speaking with Adam Pearce backstage and he made it clear that the Alpha Academy must stay together in the draft. Maxxine Dupri then said that the billboard for the show looks so much better with her and Otise on it rather than Otis and Gable. Bianca Belair then competed in her first (televised) match since WrestleMania as she took on Damage Control’s Dakota Kai. Both Bianca Belair and Dakota Kai are talented individuals and even though there were a couple of iffy moments during the match, I thought the action was pretty solid. Belair used her quickness and power to stay in control for the most part, but King Kota is too smart to allow Belair to deliver the K.O.D. However, in the end, the EST of WWE was able to hit her finishing move to get the victory whilst Bayley watched on in disappointment.
Grade: C+
Bronson Reed had a really cool video promo where he called himself “Mr. Nice Guy”. That could well be the best nickname ever! Paul Heyman then walked up to the Judgment Day and told them that if they lost tonight, they would be in debt to the Tribal Chief. Nobody seemed scared about this and it was actually Paul who was scared of Rhea Ripley. I think I really want Rhea Ripley to dethrone Roman Reigns! Cody Rhodes’ music then hit and he came out not in a suit, showing everybody that he was ready to fight. Adam Pearce quickly came out and told Cody that he’s not medically cleared so he has to leave. Originally, it looked like the American Nightmare was going to do just that, but then, he had a second thought and rolled back into the ring with a steel chair. Pearce then called out a bunch of security before Brock Lesnar’s music hit. Adam told Rhodes that if he wants his match with the Beast, he will get it at BackLash. However, the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble winner wasn’t waiting for Puerto Rico as he started wailing on the security guards with the steel chair. Eventually, though, he was stopped by about 20 more security guards just when he looked like he was going to get to Lesnar. Cody then rolled back into the ring and called Brock Lesnar a “coward”. When I watched this segment, I thought it was totally fine. I’m now starting to realise that I actually quite liked it.
Grade: B-
Seth “Freakin” Rollins VS The Miz, Austin Theory VS Bobby Lashley
During Seth “Freakin” Rollins’ excellent entrance, he was attacked by The Miz. What followed was probably the match of the night as both men brought it in Little Rock. The crowd were so behind Rollins in this match whilst the Miz played his side of the “story” excellently. Earlier on in the bout, the Miz had targeted the leg of Seth “Freakin” Rollins and that’s why he came close to winning after applying the figure-4 leg lock. The Miz also hit two must-see DDT’s and that has to be one of my favourite moves in all of professional wrestling. In the end, though, Seth Rollins delivered his roll-through Falcon Arrow maneuver (which I like even more) before he hit the Stomp to get the victory.
Grade: B-
Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Matt Riddle were all backstage and the Original Bro made it clear to both Sami and Kevin that he’s no longer playing around, particularly when it comes to the Bloodline. Cool. Austin Theory then returned to Raw as he went one-on-one with a former enemy in Bobby Lashley. This match was fine, even though I’ve definitely seen better matches between the two stars. The important part about all of this was the ending as when Bobby Lashley had Theory in the Hurt Lock, Bronson Reed ran in and delivered a double splash to the corner, resulting in a double DQ. I said it last week and I’ll say it again, having matches end in DQ or count out is just really lazy booking. However, I did like Bronson Reed beating up Bobby Lashley and as soon as the All Mighty locked “Mr. Nice Guy” in the Hurt Lock, Theory dropkicked his opponent from behind before Reed delivered the Tsunami to his rival. I’d be down for a tag team match down the line.
Grade: C+
Trish Stratus explains her actions, Candice LeRae and “Michin” Mia Yim VS Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville
Trish Stratus came out and she explained that the reason why she attacked Becky Lynch last week was because the Man and the fans weren’t showing her the respect that she deserves. Trish said she was “the first woman to make anybody care about women’s wrestling and without her, there wouldn’t be a women’s revolution and there certainly wouldn’t have been a women’s match in the Main Event of WrestleMania”. Heels are at their best when what they’re saying is true. What Stratus was saying was true and she delivered this promo well. Also, the Hall of Famer revealed that she was the one who attacked Lita which did seem pretty obvious.
Grade: B
Cody Rhodes cut a quick promo backstage where he said he’s excited to face Brock Lesnar at BackLash before the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez made their way down to ringside. Why, because they were scouting their first challengers as Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green took on Candice LeRae and Mia Yim. This match was totally fine, it didn’t go on for very long and Chelsea ended up rightly picking up the victory after delivering Unprettier to Michin. One thing I did like about this match was Kevin Patrick calling Mia Yim’s “Code Red”, “Code Blue”. That’s quite clever. After the match, Chelsea chucked a drink in Liv Morgan’s face before the heels scampered off.
Grade: C
The Street Profits were speaking with Rick Boogs and Elias backstage before Baron Corbin walked in and joked that every team could be split up in the draft. I personally would have no problem with either one of these “teams” breaking up. The Profits then walked off as Elias told his fellow musician that he’s probably going to go first in the draft. Akira Tozawa then walked in and he’s clearly a big fan of Boogs before he told Elias that he’s going to be the last pick in the draft which got a pop from the crowd. Baron Corbin then walked in and wanted to high-five Tozawa before the former Cruiserweight Champion told Baron that “nobody wants you because you suck!" This should’ve been just a throw-away segment, but it ended up being some of the most fun of the entire night!
Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Matt Riddle VS The Judgment Day
The Main Event of the evening saw Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Matt Riddle take on the Judgment Day. I have to give a shoutout to Corey Graves on commentary who responded to Kevin Patrick’s question about purchasing Finn Balor’s new t-shirt by saying “I’m saving my money up for a dirty Dom t-shirt”! I was genuinely laughing at this statement. The match itself was solid and I thought Rhea Ripley dropping Kevin Owens with a clothesline was awesome. What was even better though was after Rhea Ripley had taken out Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens picked up a jacket and just chucked it at the SmackDown Women’s Champion! Ripley then got involved for a third time and this finally resulted in her getting chucked from ringside. This clearly cost the Judgment Day as Dominik Mysterio just vanished whilst Kevin Owens delivered a stunner to the always entertaining Damian Priest. Sami Zayn then hit Finn Balor with a Helluva Kick before Matt Riddle delivered Floating Bro to the Prince to get the victory. Straight after this, The Usos and Solo Sikoa arrived to beat up the babyfaces before the LWO arrived to once again “even the odds”. This was a great way to end the show, particularly as I’ve been a huge fan of the work that Legado Del Fantasma has done for the past 2 and a half years or so. Also, I know really want a 16-person tag team match!
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