The Judgement Day kick-off Monday Night Raw, Finn Balor VS Karl Anderson
The Judgement Day came out to talk about how they run Monday Night Raw. I enjoyed this, particularly when Damian Priest called Dominik the “greatest luchador of all time”. He then called Eddie Guerrero “his era’s” Dominik Mysterio. The OC had had enough and AJ came out and called Dominik this era’s James Ellsworth. That made me smile. After a back-and-forth promo, Karl Anderson challenged Finn Balor to a match. The match was alright, the reactions on the outside were great. The ending of the match saw AJ Styles take out Evil Mysterio before Priest threw Styles into the ring steps and over the announce table. After Gallows laid out the Archer of Infamy, Rhea Ripley picked him up and dropped him with a body slam. It showcased just how strong Ripley is and after that, Finn Balor got the win. Another big win for the Judgement Day.
Grade: B- overall
Johnny Gargano and The Miz, The Miz VS R-Truth
Backstage, Johnny Whistle was walking around before he saw The Miz. He then told him that he needs to reveal the truth before the A-Lister came out. Miz explained that Lumis is jealous that he gave the opportunity to learn from him to Ciampa. In the best bit of the segment, Miz said that he misses his best friend who is currently missing before Gargano came out and said he’d texted him just 2 minutes before. After some crappy comedy, R-Truth came out. Why, because Gargano told the Miz to tell the Truth. The two former tag team partners ended up having a match and it wasn’t particularly great. In the end, Truth got the win in his hometown after rolling up the Miz. Mike was distracted by who he thought was Dexter Lumis but it ended up being revealed that it was Johnny Gargano. He got the gloves from the wedding party last year.
Grade: C
Backstage segments, Austin Theory VS Mustafa Ali
Candice LeRae was in the middle of a backstage interview with Cathy Kelley before Damage CTRL literally took Control. After a war of words, Bayley pushed the camera over before the 3 heels beat up the Poison Pixie. It was later revealed that Mrs. Wrestling has suffered a shoulder injury. Elias was then walking backstage before he ran into Matt Riddle. Elias said he isn’t happy with people interrupting him, but he would let last week slide due to how close Riddle was with Ezekiel. After more Riddle nonsense, it looked like Elias was going to smash him from behind with the guitar, but the Alpha Academy came over and took the mick out of them. The best part of this was when Gable said he hopes Elias shaves his beard off again and walks around as Ezekiel. This would set up a match between the two for later on.
Mr. Money in the Bank Austin Theory then came out to have a match with Mustafa Ali. Ali came down to the ring with new gear and a new entrance theme (a remix of his previous one). Seth “Freakin” Rollins then showed up as he had been invited to commentary by Corey Graves. During commentary, Seth Rollins mentioned that Theory used to be one of his disciples. I’m so glad they’ve brought that up. Anyway, Theory showcased his ability whilst Ali showcased why he deserves to be in this position. The more he got into the fight, the more worried Rollins became. In the end, Ali went to the top rope before Seth Rollins rolled into the ring, distracted the referee which allowed Theory to pick Ali up and hit the A-Town Down. After a quick celebration between Austin and Seth, Rollins laid out Ali before he said “you don’t deserve to be in my WWE”. He even asked the security guards to throw Ali out of the building which was pretty mental. As Seth celebrated on the ramp, Mustafa fought back and the two had to be separated by the WWE officials. Even though Ali lost, he looked good come the end of the segment.
Grade: B
Johnny Gargano meets JBL, Chad Gable VS Elias
The Miz interrupted Johnny Gargano backstage whilst Johnny was looking for Candice. After this, JBL and Baron Corbin bumped into Mr. Wrestling before JBL attempted to diminish him. The only good part of this was Gargano asking Corbin what his name is now. We then got a pretty cool Bianca Belair and Bayley video package; these make everything look better. Omos then won a squash match but this time, he beat 4 men at once. This is arguably the worst stuff in all of WWE. Chad Gable then took on Elias in an ok match. It was fine, Gable is a brilliant talent and I like the Elias character, but it didn’t feel like the two had particularly good in-ring chemistry. In the end, Elias won with the drift away. I’ve missed that finisher, it’s really good. Alpha Academy beat him down after the match before Matt Riddle came out to make the save. I’m guessing that’s going to be a tag team match next week.
Grade: C
Johnny Gargano VS Baron Corbin, the story of Brock Lesnar VS Bobby Lashley
The OC were talking about how they have a “Rhea problem” before Gallows said he was good with women. After the ad break, he walked back into the room after being beaten up by Rhea. These guys are odd. After JBL dissed the Carolina Panthers, Baron Corbin came out to take on Johnny Gargano. Both men are talented in-ring workers and this match was pretty solid. My only worry whilst I was watching this match is the fact that neither men should be losing at the moment. JBL then talked about how he didn’t even know he was called “Johnny Wrestling” until earlier on in the day, showcasing that JBL doesn’t pay attention to the “minor leagues”. After Johnny Gargano danced on the announce table wearing Layfield’s hat, the hall of famer tripped Gargano on the ring apron, allowing Corbin to win with the End of Days. It was an important win for Corbin but as a Gargano fan, it currently feels like he is just bouncing around from one segment to another, just waiting for a proper feud.
Grade: B-
Bianca Belair then cut a backstage promo where she talked about how she was going to put an end to her rivalry with Bayley and Damage Control tonight. Johnny Gargano was then back and The Miz came up to him with a “get well soon” card for Candice. He then talked about how he wished they would just put all of this behind him before Gargano told him he would reveal all next week. He then opened the card and asked why there was no money in it. He really is literally becoming "Johnny Takeover". We then saw an awesome video package showcasing the rivalry of Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar. This was really good.
Bianca Belair VS Bayley
In the main event, the EST took on the Role Model. This match was alright but once again, it just doesn’t feel like they work as well together as maybe they should. However, there were some call moments, particularly when Belair hit the Bayley-to-Belly onto Bayley. Bayley also hit her old finisher from the middle rope, but she was unable to get the win. In the end, the referee was arguing with Sky and Kai before a women jumped onto all 3 of them. She then revealed herself to be Nikki Cross before she laid out Belair, resulting in a Bayley victory. Then, in a genuinely surprising moment, she attacked Bayley to remind everyone that she stands on her own. The match wasn’t amazing, but I really liked the ending. If we get a more serious, crazy Cross, she can be genuinely great.
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