Bianca and Bayley’s stipulation gets announced, Bianca Belair VS IYO SKY
This week's Monday Night Raw kicked off with the Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair and her sidekicks Alexa Bliss and Asuka. Bianca Belair talked about how she has been running the Women’s division whilst Bayley has been sitting at home injured. The Role Model wasn’t happy about this and after a back-and-forth promo, Bayley challenged Bianca to a Ladder Match at Extreme Rules which the EST gladly excepted. This makes sense given Bayley picked up her injury from being hit with a K.O.D onto a ladder at last year's Hell in A Cell. Belair wanted to fight now though which led to the EST taking on the Genius of the Sky in singles action. Belair showcased her power whilst Sky attempted to hit her flying offense. Belair ended up winning with the Kiss Of Death. This was fine but it’s a shame that Sky seems to be the fall girl of this group, particularly as the former NXT Women’s Champion is arguably the best female competitor in the world. Still, Belair looked unbeatable which was the whole point of this.
Grade: B-
Miz Force, Seth Rollins VS Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio cut a backstage interview talking about how he refuses to fight his son and that he will use his anger on his opponent Seth Freakin Rollins. Miz was then backstage talking about how he has hired the best security guards around. You knew that these guys were going to be useless, but I did appreciate him calling them the Miz Force, sounds like a kid's TV Show. Seth “Freakin” Rollins was then in the ring, and he cut a promo about how he would have been the brand-new United States Champion if it wasn’t for that pest Matt Riddle. Rey Mysterio’s music hit and the best part about all of this was whilst Rey was walking down to the ring, Seth Rollins was covering one of his eyes, a nod back to the crazy feud between the two back in the pandemic era. The match started and Seth Rollins was quickly busted open after his head got slammed onto the steel steps. Both men were pulling out old moves, whether it was Rey hitting his awesome looking sliding splash to the outside or a Buckle Bomb from Rollins. Dominik Mysterio came down to the ring with a steel chair and even fist bumped Rollins which really tells you that Evil Mysterio has turned heel. After Rey got distracted by Dominik on the outside, Rhea Ripley attacked the Luchador Legend from behind before rolling him back into the ring. Seth Rollins connected with the stomp before applying a unique submission move to get the win. I really liked the ending; it makes sense for the Architect to come up with new moves that suit the stipulation he is about to compete in. The match also furthered the feud between Rey and the Judgement Day. Overall, this was Good
Grade: B
Alpha Academy VS Johnny Gargano and Kevin Owens, Omos is pointless
After Rollins’ win, Matt Riddle was shown to be watching from the back before the All Mighty approached him. Lashley wished Riddle luck for his matchup against Damian Priest before telling him to never get involved in his matches again. That makes total sense. It was then time for the Alpha Academy to take on Kevin Owens and Johnny Gargano (Panda Express). Straight away, Chad Gable made me laugh as both him and Otis came out waving the American flag which was brilliant. Johnny Wrestling then came out for a good pop before Canada’s own Kevin Owens returned. Kevin Owens was then maybe even better because he saw a sign that said “KO, fight my sign” and Kevin literally did that which is absolutely ridiculous. This match was what you would expect, good fun. After some fun in-ring wrestling, Kevin Owens hit an elbow drop onto Otis through the announce table which sent the crowd crazy. Then, more excellent technical wrestling happened in the ring with Johnny Gargano and Chad Gable before Austin Theory got involved but to his surprise, Gable didn’t take full advantage. Johnny Gargano hit the One Final Beat DDT to get the victory for his team to the delight of the crowd. This was good stuff.
Grade: B+
AJ Styles was being interviewed by Kevin Patrick before Finn Balor once again offered Styles a spot in the Judgement Day but the Phenomenal One rejected him. Austin Theory was then backstage questioning both Chad Gable and Otis. Theory then received a phone call that was for Master Gable. Chad took the phone from Theory to hear Braun Strowman’s voice. Strowman then challenged Gable to a match next week in the Olympians hometown which is pretty cool. The best part of this though is the fact that Braun has Austin’s Phone number. Why? After all of this, Omos destroyed two men. That’s literally all that needs to be said on the match. I’m guessing that they are building Omos up to face Braun Strowman but it’s a shame as Omos used to be fun to watch back when he was with AJ Styles. Now he just comes across as a bit pointless.
Grade: D for Omos
Candice LeRae is back!
Throughout the night, we had seen a bunch of the Miz Force laid out on the arena floors and once the Miz realised, he wasn’t very happy. Dexter Lumis, dressed as a hockey player this week, attacked Miz with the Hockey stick and put the A-Lister to sleep. This is sort of becoming a bit repetitive now, there really needs to be an explanation from Lumis about why he is targeting the Miz. I did like the fact that they took advantage of being in an Ice Hockey arena though. We came back to the ring to see Nikki A.S.H ready to compete. When Candice LeRae’s music hit, I was really shocked. I expected something to happen, just not her. The match was really short and LeRae managed to get the win with the swinging neck-breaker. After the match, Nikki A.S.H. was seen crying without her mask on. Hopefully, we are on the road to seeing the Sanity version of Nikki Cross. Anyway, Candice LeRae being back is awesome. Her titantron and music where the same as when she was a leader of the WAY. She was also called the Poison Pixie, which is interesting, particularly as she seems to be a face again. Later on in the night, LeRae backed up Belair, Asuka and Bliss and challenged Kai to a match next week. Call Indi Hartwell up and you have a perfect team to take on Damage CTRL.
Grade: C- for the match, A for the return
Judgement Day, Sami Zayn VS AJ Styles
The Judgement Day were backstage, and Damian Priest cut a promo about how he is going to beat his former friend Matt Riddle later on tonight. Finn Balor then talked about how his fellow members need to be patient with him when it comes to AJ Styles. Speaking of Styles, it was time for AJ to take on Sami Zayn. Both men were over with the crowd. Styles is always popular and everyone in Canada loves Sami. They fans were also treated to a great match. Both men pulled out their best offense and were clearly having a lot of fun which is nice. The best part of this match however was the fact that these two men are arguably some of the best sellers in the entire wrestling world. In the end, the referee was distracted by Sami which allowed Solo Sikoa to hit a Rock Bottom onto Styles onto the ring apron before Zayn got the win with the Helluva Kick. It was a good win for Zayn that’s for sure.
Grade: B+
Whilst AJ was sitting in the ring, the Judgement Day’s entrance music hit, and they all came down to the ring. Finn Balor told Styles that had he accepted his offer earlier on in the night, the result of the match would have been very different. Balor then offered him a spot in the Judgement Day but once again, Styles said no which led to all four members beating him down. Finn then had the opportunity to end AJ’s career, but he didn’t because he's his "friend". I liked this and I think AJ joining could be good. Either way, seeing four of them in the entrance didn’t look right for me. I either want 3 or 5, not 4.
Damian Priest VS Matt Riddle, Edge returns
Because of the previous segment, Damian Priest was already in the ring for his main event matchup with his old buddy Matthew Riddle. This match was pretty good. Everyone knows that Riddle is talented, and he showcased his mix of technical ability and his striking game whilst Priest showed off his power. For me, Damian Priest is one of the most underrated talents in the world. Everyone talks about how great Rhea and Finn are, but I feel that Priest deserves to be mentioned like them. Anyway, Matt Riddle hit the Broderick but surprisingly, Priest kicked out. I haven’t seen that happen too many times. In the end though, Riddle was able to sneak a victory with a roll up. It makes sense that Riddle got the win given he needs one heading into Extreme Rules but it’s a shame for both Priest and the Judgement Day. However, they attacked him straight away to kind of show that even when the don’t win, they still run Monday Night Raw. Someone who didn’t agree with this though was Edge as he “returned” and managed to take out the whole group (besides Rhea). Edge even challenged Finn Balor to a match at Extreme Rules. I wasn’t a big fan of that. Firstly, Priest deserves to be on the card so couldn’t Edge have teamed with AJ Styles to take them on but also, the two are facing each other in an “I Quit Match”, a stipulation that in my opinion, isn’t very good.
Maybe a bit harsh on omos?