Finn Balor decimates Seth “Freakin” Rollins, Tomasso Ciampa returns (VS The Miz)
Seth “Freakin” Rollins kicked off this week’s Monday Night Raw as he planned to put the World Heavyweight Championship on the line in an Open Challenge. However, he was attacked by Finn Balor who decimated the Visionary and hit not 1, not 2, but 3 Coup de Grace’s onto the Champion (they were all really cool). After an ad break, Seth was being helped along backstage before Finn Balor attacked him again in another brutal showing. Besides making the WWE officials and referees look stupid, this was a really effective start to the show. It made Finn Balor come across as a serious, unhinged psycho which makes sense given the Prince’s history with Rollins whilst it also creates more intrigue for Seth’s match with Bron Breakker on NXT Gold Rush tonight. Good stuff all around.
Grade: B
The Miz then arrived to a solid hometown pop which he quickly negated by talking crap about the fans. The A-Lister said he was going to accept Seth Rollins’ Open Challenge so he thought he’d do one himself. The challenge was accepted by none other than a returning Tommaso Ciampa who even has his old theme song back (top 5 all-time). Miz rightly seemed happy to see his old buddy return, but it didn’t last long as Ciampa shoved The Miz onto the floor before the bell rang. Ciampa started the match by dominating the former WWE Champion, but Miz got himself back into the fight with a must-see DDT. This match actually wasn’t a squash which I was fine with, but Ciampa did pick up the victory with the Fairytale Ending. It’s lovely to see the Blackheart back and what a great start to Raw!
Grade: B
The Judgment Day Promo, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter VS Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville, Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin VS Indus Sher
The Judgment Day arrived and each member of the group cut a promo on the ramp. Rhea Ripley talked about how she’s the most dominant female in the WWE. Damian Priest said he’s going to win Money in the Bank before Dominik Mysterio said he’s going to beat Cody Rhodes at MITB. However, the best promo out of the four was Finn Balor who continued his psychotic character by saying “everyone can sing Seth’s song at his funeral!” Whilst this wasn’t as good as the first two segments of the show, this was another good segment as all four members came across like stars (which they very much all are in their own ways).
Grade: B-
Byron Saxton interviewed Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn backstage and Sami told Kevin that he thinks he has an “anger problem”. KO wasn’t happy about this and Sami agreed to never talk about it again as long as Owens kept his cool for the night. Once again, this was good stuff by these two. We then got a bunch of TikTok videos of Chelsea Green complaining at people which was utterly bizarre before Chelsea and Sonya Deville took on Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. The match didn’t go too long, but I thought the action involved was good. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville are super experienced in-ring competitors and they did a really good job at making Chance and Carter look good. However, the KC’s also do that for themselves with their epic tag team offense and the longest reigning Women’s Tag Team Champions in WWE history picked up the victory with the Afterparty. Solid stuff from everyone involved.
Grade: C+
Cathy Kelley was on the entranceway and the reason for this was so Cody Rhodes could do his entrance. Cody put over the Judgment Day before he challenged them to a 6-man tag team match for tonight’s main event. Indus Sher then arrived (after Cody had left) as they were about to genuinely face Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin in tag team action (unlike last time). Cedric and Shelton managed to get the upper hand early with a few quick shots, but it didn’t last long as Veer and Sanga took over and destroyed their opponents before they hit their tag team finisher to get the victory (as Jinder Mahal watched on). I like that WWE are making Indus Sher look dominant and it especially helps when their facing established names and not just enhancement talents. However, it sucks that it’s got to a point where Benjamin and Alexander are the ones being put in this position. I really hope they show up in NXT soon (particularly as they’re Free Agents).
Grade: C
Logan Paul Returns, Matt Riddle VS Ludwig Kaiser, Alpha Academy VS The Viking Raiders
Someone accidentally spilled a drink all over Kevin Owens, but he was able to keep his cool. However, he struggled when they bumped into Matt Riddle. All of this was fine, but I kind of wished the guy had “Spilt Milk” on KO as that would’ve been a really nice bit of foreshadowing. Logan Paul was then just in the ring on top of a ladder as he talked quite positive about Cleveland. However, he turned it around by saying the best decision he ever made “was leaving Cleveland” which was quite funny. Paul then said that everyone from Cleveland loses, but that will change when Paul brings the Money in the Bank briefcase home as he’s now in the match, I have mixed feelings about this as whilst Paul will be great in the match, it does make you question why Bronson Reed isn’t in it. Ricochet then arrived to tell LP that he’s only in the match because of the moment between the two at the Royal Rumble before Shinsuke Nakamura arrived and said some things that aren’t really noteworthy. SmackDown’s LA Knight then arrived to a thunderous pop before the Megastar went in hard on Logan Paul to the delight of the Ohio crowd. Santos Escobar then arrived and welcomed Paul “to the fiesta” before Butch walked down to the ring and punched Paul in the face which was pretty funny. The six people in the ring then brawled and it ended with Logan Paul sort of holding onto the MITB briefcase. Fun segment and whilst SmackDown stars shouldn’t really be appearing on Raw, I’ll allow it as it built for the men’s MITB Ladder Match.
Grade: B-
Matt Riddle’s music then hit as the Original Bro was about to go one-on-one with Imperium’s Ludwig Kaiser. Both Riddle and Kaiser are really good technical grapplers so they were able to put on a decently fun contest as the Intercontinental Champion Gunther watched on from ringside. Ludwig Kaiser tried his best to get the victory, but he eventually fell short of the goal as Matt Riddle picked up the win with Bro Derek. After the match, Gunther and Kaiser beatdown Riddle by targeting his leg.
Grade: C+
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were talking backstage before Imperium walked in. Ludwig Kaiser warned the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions that they could suffer the same injuries that Riddle has if they’re not careful. KO and Sami then walked off as they received a text message. We then saw a pretty funny video of Chad Gable training Maxxine Dupri before it was time for the Alpha Academy to take on the Viking Raiders. Whilst not much happened in the ring, it’s amazing and quite crazy to see how over Alpha Academy are. The crowd absolutely loves both Otis and Master Gable and the crowd also popped when Maxxine Dupri delivered a suplex to Valhalla (something Gable had taught her backstage). However, Dupri and Otise’s celebrations distracted Gable and it allowed Erik to pick up the win for the Viking Raiders with a unique move. I’m assuming this is leading to a six-person tag team match down the line.
Grade: C+
Rhea Ripley VS Natalya, Raquel Rodriguez VS Trish Stratus: Money in the Bank Qualifying Match, Bronson Reed VS Shinsuke Nakamura
The Judgment Day all spoke backstage as Dominik Mysterio accepted Cody Rhodes’ challenge for a tag team match. Rhea Ripley then made her way down to the ring as she was about to face Natalya in a rematch from Night of Champions. Natalya cut a promo before the match about how she’s going to prove to herself and everyone else that she belongs. I don’t think that worked out too well for her as Ripley attacked her from behind before the bell even rang as she then went on to dominate the Queen of Harts. Rhea then delivered a Riptide before officials came in and the match never took place. This wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t particularly good.
Grade: C
Raquel Rodriguez watched the previous segment backstage as she cut a promo on Rhea Ripley. The two then starred down one another as Rodriguez told the Eradicator that she better hope that she doesn’t win the Money in the Bank contract. Ripley VS Rodriguez has a lot of history behind and I’m definitely for the two having a match for the title soon. Akira Tozawa then offered up his services to Cody Rhodes backstage which I liked before Cody complimented Tozawa’s hair. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn then walked in and Rhodes told Kevin and Sami that he wants them to be his tag team partners for tonight. Poor Tozawa. Trish Stratus was then about to compete in her first singles match on Raw for over 12 years as she battled Raquel Rodriguez for the last spot in this year’s Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. This was a decent match between a veteran and an up-and-coming superstar that had a really good ending. After Zoey Stark interfered in the contest, Becky Lynch arrived and threw her rival into the barricade. Trish then rolled out of the ring and Becky did the same to her which resulted in Raquel Rodriguez getting disqualified meaning Stratus is heading to the O2 Arena. I really liked this ending and the only thing that was missing was Rodriguez completely obliterating Lynch.
Grade: B-
Bron Breakker was at Raw as he told the crowd that they should get used to seeing him once he becomes the brand-new World Heavyweight Champion. I am very much looking forward to that match. Becky Lynch was then interviewed by Byron Saxton and I liked how Becky admitted that she’s screwed herself a bit as there are 4 people in the Ladder Match that very much dislike her. However, she made it clear that if she does crash and burn, she’s taking Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark with her. It was then time for Bronson Reed to continue his feud with Shinsuke Nakamura as the Colossal One took on the King of Strong Style. Ricochet arrived to watch on from ringside midway through the contest and this backfired on both him and Nakamura as Reed through the Artist into the One and Only. Mr. Nice Guy then hit the ever awesome Tsunami to get the victory. I really do now have to question why the Big Aussie isn’t in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. It just doesn’t really make any sense.
Grade: C+
Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn VS The Judgment Day
Seth “Freakin” Rollins spoke from a hospital as he said he will be at NXT Gold Rush to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker before he said he’s glad that the old Finn Balor is back. This guy’s completely mad. It was then main event time as Cody Rhodes teamed up with the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to take on the Judgment Day. I thought this was a good contest where everyone involved played their roles really well. Rhea Ripley kept causing distractions from the outside and at one point, it resulted in a brilliant moment when Sami Zayn dived over the Women’s World Champion to take out Dominik Mysterio. Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor and Damian Priest all showed why they deserve to be in this position and in the end, Cody picked up the win after hitting the Cross Rhodes on Priest. Whilst it’s a shame that Priest took the pin, he was the best option out of the three (this time).
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