Bianca Belair VS Nikki Cross
Monday Night Raw kicked off with a match between the Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair and the returning Nikki Cross. This match wasn’t great in my opinion. Even though the Nikki Cross character is a whole lot better than her superhero persona, it doesn’t make her a better in-ring talent. They both did ok, but it just felt off. Also, Damage CTRL had to interfere but the bit I liked about this was after Bayley threw Bianca into the ring post, Cross took out the Role Model before she laid out Damage CTRL. Her motives are definitely interesting. In the end, the interferences meant Belair was able to win with the K.O.D. Nikki shouldn’t have lost in her first match back but let’s be honest, she was never going to beat the EST. After the match, Damage CTRL attacked Belair before the returning Alexa Bliss and Asuka came to make the save.
Grade: C-
Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar, Austin Theory VS Seth “Freakin” Rollins
Alexa Bliss and Asuka were then being interviewed backstage by Cathy Kelley before Bliss challenged/demanded a tag team title shot against Damage CTRL. They’ve never earnt this opportunity, but hey, at least it will be another good win for Sky and Kai. Corey Graves was then hosting one of those sit down, side by side interviews between Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar even though the Beast wasn’t present at first. Lashley talked about how he will beat him like he did at the Royal Rumble before he called Lesnar a “Bobby Lashley wannabe”. I liked that line. After this, Brock Lesnar’s music hit and he came down to the ring. He praised “the fine folks of Texas” before he told Bobby he was only coming here to fight. The All Mighty obliged and came down to the ring before the two brawled. This was solid, but it wasn’t as good as their one from a few weeks ago. However, Triple H coming down to stop this before threatening to call the match off if the two made any more physical contact was really cool. Also, two of the people that broke up the brawl happened to be NXT’s Duke Hudson and Von Wagner. Wagner was actually bigger than Brock which was quite funny.
Grade: B+
When we came back from the Ad break, it was time for the United States Champion Seth “Freakin” Rollins to take Mr. Money in the Bank Austin Theory. This match was great, easily the best wrestling stuff on this show. Seth Rollins is a guy that makes everyone else look better and considering Theory is already really good, it made everything better. This was a competitive bout and both men looked like they could win at certain points. In the end, Theory’s ego cost him. He tried to prove to Seth that he was the king of the cash-in by going for the Pedigree. Seth reversed it and then hit the stomp to get the win. Another good win for Seth Rollins but a brilliant showing from Austin Theory. 2 and a half years ago, Theory was Seth’s disciple. Now, Theory’s good enough to have disciples of his own.
Grade: B+
Roman Reigns appears on Raw, Damian Priest VS Karl Anderson
Roman Reigns arrived on Monday Night Raw to a roar from the crowd. He talked about how he usually hypes up his opponent, but with Paul, he doesn’t want to, so he left it to his Wiseman. After this, The Miz interrupted. He acknowledged his Tribal Chief before he talked about how Paul has metal in his punching arm. Reigns then superman punched the A-Lister before he talked about how he can knock Paul out. This was all fine. The Miz was then in the trainer's room where he was trying to get out of his match with Mustafa Ali. Ali then walked in and took the mick out of him. This isn’t the way to make Ali a likeable babyface. It was then time for the Judgement Day’s Damian Priest to take on the O.C’s Karl Anderson. This match was alright, it wasn’t anything special but both men looked good coming out of it. Both the O.C and the Judgement Day caused interference at some point and in the end, Karl Anderson got the win with a backslide. After the match, The Judgment Day laid out Styles, Gallows and Anderson to make themselves look good. The Judgement Day have to win this match on Saturday.
Grade: B-
JBL and Happy Corbin, Matt Riddle VS Otis: Trick or Street Fight
MVP and Omos were in a dark corner and P told the world that he would be showing up on SmackDown with a surprise in store for Braun Strowman. JBL came out and he seemed more happy than usual. The reason for this was because he was in his home state of Texas. In the end though, he started dissing them before he welcomed Baron Corbin. I liked how Corbin said that he knows everyone loves him because they boo him. R-Truth then came out, did some comedy and got beat up. Truth’s on TV a lot right now. After this, it was time for a Trick or Street Fight between Matt Riddle and Otis. Matt Riddle came out dressed as Ezekiel which was quite funny whilst Otis and Gable came out as Chippendale dancers which was also quite funny. The match itself was good fun. It’s never going to be an amazing technical matchup, but the spots were still good fun. Candy Corn Kendo Sticks were used as well as pumpkins and at one point, Elias kneed Gable who went flying through a Halloween themed table. Otis even hit the caterpillar which was really cool to see. In the end, Matt Riddle got the victory by hitting the RKO onto Otis while he had a pumpkin on his head. Can’t say anything bad about this match.
Grade: B
The Miz VS Mustafa Ali, Johnny Gargano reveals all
Damage Control were backstage and Dakota Kai was rightly complaining about the fact that Bliss and Asuka were being given a title shot. Bayley then hyped the two up. After this, it was time for a match between The Miz and Mustafa Ali. This match was alright but unfortunately, the crowd was pretty flat for most of it. Both men did some good stuff, Ali’s selling when he goes into the turnbuckle is great and Miz’s facial expressions are excellent. Late on in the match, The Miz was grabbed by Dexter Lumis who was in the crowd. Security then chased Lumis off before Miz got back in the ring, got met with both a superkick and a 450 Splash meaning Mustafa Ali picked up the win. It’s great to see Ali picking up wins, but what happened to his feud with Seth Rollins? It looked like it was set up perfectly for the two to battle at Crown Jewel, but it just hasn’t happened.
Grade: B-
After this, it was time for WWE Investigates! Byron Saxton did a sit-down interview with Johnny Gargano who revealed that The Miz had been paying Dexter Lumis to attack him. The evidence of this came from a conversation that Johnny had recorded on his phone. He also said that it seems like The Miz has stopped paying him meaning Dexter is out to properly hurt him. This stuff was all fine, but the Way stuff was brilliant. Johnny called Dexter his son-in-law before saying that his family fell apart after the wedding. There were then re-enactments of Dexter Lumis leaving the Way house with Indi Hartwell crying before he was on the street asking for money before the Miz came up to him. The best part about all of this was that Gargano was playing all of the characters. This guy is so good.
Grade: B for the story, A for the acting
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Damage CTRL VS Alexa Bliss and Asuka
The WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships were on the line in the main event as Damage Control’s Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai took on Alexa Bliss and Asuka. This match didn’t work for me. It seemed pretty slow and didn’t really have any great moments in it. Near the end, Bayley and Bianca Belair brawled before the two went crashing through 2 tables after the Role Model hit a Bayley-to-Belly. Back in the ring, Dakota Kai was taken out which allowed Alexa Bliss to hit the Twisted Bliss onto Iyo Sky to get the win. The match wasn’t great and the decision to have Bliss and Asuka beat Sky and Kai was even worse. If they were to beat them, they needed to at least earn the opportunity.
