Becky Lynch kicks off the show, The O.C VS The Judgement Day
The Monday Night Raw following Survivor Series kicked off with “the Man”, Becky Lynch. Becky talked about how she has missed the fans before she went into the crowd to compliment people on their t-shirts (mainly Becky and Seth ones). She then started talking to a guy called Bobby because he liked the X-Men and this other guy called Zachary because why not. Bayley then came out and called the crowd a bunch of “idiot peasants” before she said that Bobby sucks. Bayley was clearly limping at this point which isn’t a surprise given she’d just competed in War Games and then out of nowhere, Damage Control’s Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky showed up and started to attack Becky Lynch. The Man fought this off before Bayley joined the fray and started fighting in the merchandise stand. In the end, the WWE officials managed to break it up. I thought this was pretty decent, it’s been a while since Becky was a big-time face with the crowd.
Grade: B
The Women’s segments continued as Rhea Ripley came out to take on Mia Yim. They had a decent battle but after Dominik Mysterio got in the ring, AJ Styles ran out and took him and Rhea out (by accident) which saw the referee call for the bell. Balor, Priest and the Good Brothers then came down to the ring and started to brawl before AJ Styles challenged the Judgement Day to an 8-person tag team match. This match was alright, everyone looked decent in it and at one point, AJ Styles pinned Finn Balor, but the match didn’t end as Rhea Ripley managed to break it up. After some more battling between the two teams, Rhea Ripley managed to pick up the victory for the Judgement Day by pinning Mia Yim after hitting the Riptide. This was alright but I didn’t understand why we needed Yim VS Ripley beforehand.
Grade: C+
The Bloodline, The Street Profits VS Alpha Academy
Byron Saxton caught up with the returning Street Profits backstage and they confirmed that they are ready to return to in-ring action. The Alpha Academy came up to them and Chad Gable made it clear that he can’t stand the Street Profits and because of this, Gable has requested a match between the two teams for later on in the show. This segment was saved by Chad Gable. The Bloodline then came out all united and Sami Zayn lead the celebrations. Sami thanked Jimmy Uso for always having his back before he told Jey that he is on his side. The Usos and Sami then hugged and as they asked Solo to come over, Kevin Owens’ music hit. KO said that he understands why Sami did what he did as that is something that KO has done many a time and after this, Kevin said that he wants nothing to do with Sami Zayn ever again. KO then admitted that he is so happy that Sami’s talent is being appreciated before he said he isn’t finished with Jey Uso. The right-hand man then accepted his challenge for a match in the main event. Everyone played their roles excellently well in this, from KO and Sami’s acting too Solo not wanting to hug his brothers.
Grade: B+
Backstage, the returning Candice LeRae was walking down the hallway before Cathy Kelley asked her how she was feeling. She then called out Damage Control before she reminded them who the hell she is. In the background, Nikki Cross was sticking her head round a few boxes. Matt Riddle and Elias were then backstage and they talked about how they want to win the tag team championships. The Bloodline then walked past and laughed at this comment. It was then time for the match between the Street Profits and the Alpha Academy. We already know how good these two tag teams are and you could tell that the Street Profits were happy to be back. At one point, both Ford and Dawkins dived over the top rope onto their opponents and also, Montez Ford picked up and body slammed Otis. I never thought I’d be saying that! In the end, the Street Profits got the win after Montez Ford hit his awesome frog splash onto Master Gable. The whole point of this match was to remind people how good the Street Profits are and they definitely did that.
Grade: B-
The New United States Champion, The Miz VS Dexter Lumis
The brand-new United States Champion Austin Theory came down to the ring and told everyone that they were stupid for doubting him. He then said that he is the face of Monday Night Raw now and he never wants to be called a kid ever again. Seth Rollins then came out and told Theory that this is still Monday Night Rollins before he said the words “congratulations Kid”. Rollins then challenged Theory to a rematch, but Austin said that that match will happen “on the champ’s time”. This was all solid stuff, these two are great. The only thing missing is Rollins calling Theory his disciple.
Grade: B
We then got a video package showcasing the entire story between The Miz and Dexter Lumis. This was actually pretty good. The Miz was then being interviewed backstage holding a bag of money before he said that he was unable to compete because his hand is still injured. Adam Pearce came up to him and told him that the match will happen “no matter what”. The two then had an anything goes match and it was fine. The Miz had this thing that looked like the object you put at the end of a table tennis table onto Lumis’ head, but it didn’t affect him at all. The two then brawled into the crowd before Lumis hit his trademark elbow drop through a table. Lumis then carried Miz back into the ring before he locked in his finishing manoeuvre to get the win meaning Dexter Lumis is officially apart of Monday Night Raw. After the match, Lumis started handing some of his money out to kids in the crowd before Miz ambushed him from behind and stole money out of this kid's hand. Gargano then super kicked the A-Lister before he gave the note back to the child. Gargano and Lumis then celebrated together by doing a thumbs up. The match wasn’t amazing, but I enjoyed the post-match stuff.
Grade: C
Candice LeRae VS Dakota Kai, Alexa Bliss looks despondent
Candice LeRae returned to in-ring action to take on Damage CTRL’s Dakota Kai. Kai was selling her injuries from War Games so well you wonder if they were actually real. Anyway, both women were super talents on NXT and they showed why they are more than good enough to be competing on the Main Roster. Dakota Kai hit some awesome looking kicks whilst Candice LeRae hit one of the best suplexes I have ever seen. In the end, Mrs. Wrestling managed to pick up the victory after hitting a twisted neckbreaker from the second rope. Overall, both women look great coming out of this. Candice got a big win to remind the WWE Universe that she is important whilst Dakota Kai looked like a badass for being able to compete at such a high level given the fact that she was in War Games for 40 minutes.
Grade: B
Cathy Kelley was interviewing Bianca Belair, Asuka and Alexa Bliss backstage and Belair was talking about how happy she was to put Damage CTRL in the rear mirror and also how happy she was to have such an amazing team. Throughout this, Alexa Bliss looked despondent and on the screen behind them, Bray Wyatt’s logo appeared multiple times. Asuka then spoke in Japanese before Cathy Kelley asked if Alexa Bliss had anything else to add. Bliss’ answer had nothing to do with what Belair had said before. Also, Belair was only looking at Asuka throughout this, so you have to think that this was done deliberately. I really want to see heel Alexa.
Kevin Owens VS "Main Event" Jey Uso
The main event of Monday Night Raw saw Kevin Owens take on Jey Uso. This almost felt like a 2020 episode of Friday Night SmackDown which isn’t a bad thing as these two always deliver great results. At one point, Kevin Owens went for a Swanton Bomb, but Jey Uso got the knees up. This played into the rest of the match as KO was clearly struggling with his back and this allowed the Right-Hand Man to take control. Both men came close to winning this match but in the end, Kevin Owens managed to get the victory after hitting the stunner. This was a big win for KO and it feels like Owens is on the path to fight Roman Reigns at some point. I hope it’s Elimination Chamber. As for Jey Uso, he continues to prove why he is called “Main Event” Jey Uso. His selling is excellent and his facial expressions after KO kicked out of his superkick was top draw. In my opinion, Jey Uso is definitely one of the best options to dethrone Roman Reigns.
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