Jey Uso Starts the Show, Karrion Kross VS Xavier Woods
Monday Night Raw kicked off this week with “Main Event” Jey Uso coming through the crowd to the delight of the WWE Universe. Jey talked about how he’s the man who’s going to win Money in the Bank on Saturday before Chad Gable arrived and cut another great promo on how he’s a “miracle walking” before he took shots at Uso’s past decisions. When Jey questioned Chad, Master Gable attacked him, only to get dropped before The Wyatt Sick6’s music hit and this clearly frightened Gable. The segment then ended with Sister Abigail giving another box to Michael Cole. This was all fine, Gable’s promo was particularly strong, but it also didn’t do much.
Grade: C+
After Michael Cole revealed that there was another VHS tape in the box, we headed into the first match of the night as Karrion Kross took on Xavier Woods. This match was a bit too slow for my liking and it didn’t really feel like it established anything. Karrion was in control for the most part, but he got far too cocky and it ultimately resulted in Woods sneaking away with a roll-up victory. However, the aftermath was good as AOP beat down Xavier Woods before Kross tried to break the arm of Kofi Kingston. At least that furthered the storyline!
Grade: C+
Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan VS Zelina Vega, Seth “Freakin” Rollins Promo, Dakota Kai VS Ivy Nile VS Zoey Stark: Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match
Damian Priest caught Dominik Mysterio off guard by telling him that he’d just spoken to Rhea Ripley and that she wasn’t happy at all. Things then got worse as they headed into The Judgment Day Clubhouse to see that Liv Morgan was playing 2K24 with the rest of the group before Finn Balor questioned Damian Priest over him changing. This was all really well done! Zelina Vega then cut a promo about how she was born to be a Champion before it was time for Zelina to take on Liv Morgan with the Women’s World Championship on the line. This was another slow-ish match, even though there was a lot of storytelling at play. Rey and Dominik Mysterio were both at ringside watching on as Liv dropkicked Rey after Mysterio shoved his son for literally no reason. Later on, Dominik threw a chair in the ring for Vega who used it to attack Dom before this distraction allowed Liv Morgan to hit ObLIVion to score the win! There was a lot going on here, but I thought the ending was alright!
Grade: C+
Drew McIntyre cut a brilliant promo on both CM Punk and the Men’s Money in the Bank field before Seth “Freakin” Rollins arrived to cut a promo. Seth talked about how he needs to beat Damian Priest at Money in the Bank before The Visionary said he’s at his best when he’s under pressure. This brought out Finn Balor as Rollins called him jealous before Damian Priest arrived to make it clear that this wasn’t Finn Balor’s issue. Balor then attacked Rollins which Priest clearly didn’t like, but after Seth took both men out with a Superkick, El Campeon retaliated and dropped his challenger with a South of Heaven. I think WWE have done a great job building this Priest-Rollins feud, I’m really looking forward to their match this weekend!
Grade: B-
Ludwig Kaiser cut an amazing promo on Sheamus and his unfortunate injury before Damian Priest made it clear to Finn Balor that he doesn’t want him out there with him on Saturday. Dakota Kai, Ivy Nile, and Zoey Stark then all arrived as it was time to determine the final competitor in this year’s Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. This was a decent encounter, I thought Zoey Stark looked particularily good whilst Dakota Kai and Ivy Nile also had good showings. Dakota is such an underrated performer and it feels like she deserves more opportunities, but there are clearly other plans for her right now as Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn arrived and took out Kairi Sane. This distracted Kai and opened the door perfectly for Stark to hit the Z360 and book her ticket to MITB!
Grade: C+
Dominik Mysterio VS Rey Mysterio, Bron Breakker Interrupts Sami Zayn
We got another Wyatt Sick6 video where it was (kind of) revealed that Bo Dallas and Uncle Howdy are the same. Whilst this was a little hard to understand at times, it was still shot well and their line about going after people that “belittled their families” is an interesting one to keep an eye on! Anyway, Chad Gable then played some great mind games to try and convince Otis to come back to him before it was time for Dominik and Rey Mysterio to go one-on-one! I’ll be honest, I’ve had enough of seeing these guys feud because it feels like it’s been going on for far too long now, and WWE needs to stop going back to it! The action itself was fine, with Liv Morgan playing another key role in it, but this time, Morgan accidentally cost Dominik the match before Liv tried to apologise to “Dirty” Dom afterwards!
Grade: C
Sheamus got his own video promo to explain why he’s going to Money in the Bank before Sami Zayn arrived to cut a promo. Sami said that whilst he wouldn’t take anything away from Bron Breakker, he will beat him on Saturday before Bron arrived and basically called Sami both “brave and stupid”. Zayn then fired back with a great promo on how Breakker’s maybe not as good as he thinks he is before The Badass just Speared the Intercontinental Champion because why not?! Sami was able to jump out of the way at the second Spear attempt, but Breakker eventually got him again to end the segment standing tall!
Grade: B-
Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Drew McIntyre VS Sheamus VS Ilja Dragunov
After Lyra Valkyria and The KC’s attacked Damage CTRL, and Ilja Dragunov got his own video promo, it was Main Event time as Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, and Ilja Dragunov for the final spot in the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. This was a really good match that was very hard hitting which isn’t exactly surprising given the individuals involved. Dragunov particually showed out here with another superb display that included a couple of amazing H-Bomb's, including one to Sheamus on the outside! However, towards the end, The Czar was taken out by both McIntyre and Sheamus before the two old foes went at it, ultimately resulting in a win for Drew following a massive Claymore! After the match, McIntyre explained why he will leave Toronto as the World Heavyweight Champion, and at this point, I wouldn’t put it past him!
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