CM Punk Starts the Show, Seth “Freakin” Rollins Promo, Jey Uso VS Xavier Woods: Intercontinental Championship
Monday Night Raw kicked off this week with an appearance from CM Punk as the Chicago-born star talked about how banged up he was following his brutal Hell in a Cell Match with Drew McIntyre. Punk said it’s time for him to take some time away to recuperate and be around his family which is when Seth “Freakin” Rollins arrived to give us a stare-down that could well be the start of their eventual WrestleMania feud! Seth then headed to the ring and threw a few shots at The Best in the World before Rollins turned his attention to the man who took him out of action for 2 months, Bronson Reed! Seth said that Bronson succeeded in making a name for himself, but he failed at taking out The Visionary for good! Rollins then challenged Reed to a match at whatever time suited him before Jey Uso’s music hit to the annoyance of Seth. There were two promo segments to start this show, and both of them were effective. We also got a couple of teases for potential feuds down the line which is also a good thing!
Grade: B- (Overall)
It was then finally time for the first match of the night as Jey Uso put his Intercontinental Championship on the line against “The New Day’s” Xavier Woods! This was honestly a very weird match as Xavier Woods was in control for a lot of it before Jey Uso caught Woods with a Superkick mid-air before Jey just hit the Uso Splash to get the win! Like seriously, this was very sudden! After the match, Xavier Woods had no interest in shaking “Main Event” Jey Uso’s hand which is when Bron Breakker arrived to wreck Uso with a Spear. Woods wanted no part of this, but Kofi Kingston went into the ring to help his old friend, only to get dropped by a Spear of his own. However, the most important part about all of this is Breakker also delivered a nasty-looking Spear to Xavier Woods, and that’s key because Woods was only there because of Kingston!
Grade: C+
Pete Dunne VS Sheamus: Good Ol’ Fashioned Donnybrook Match, Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, and Pure Fusion Collective VS Lyra Valkyria, Natalya, Zelina Vega, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter
Rhea Ripley said she’s not at all finished with Liv Morgan yet before Karrion Kross was speaking to The Miz. R-Truth then walked in saying her forgave The Miz for his actions last week, but Miz told Truth that they’re team is done and that he wants a match with him next week! It was then time for a “Good Ol’ Fashioned Donnybrook Match” as Sheamus went one-on-one with Pete Dunne! This was a good match, it was physical as both shillelaghs and cricket bats were used as weapons! There were also beer barrels around the ring, and at one point, both men climbed on top of a stack of barrels as Sheamus delivered a white noise to send both men crashing through the table! It then looked like Pete Dunne had the match won after tying Sheamus’ hands behind his own back, but The Celtic Warrior somehow fought back and delivered a Brogue Kick for the victory!
Grade: B-
Liv Morgan, Dominik Mysterio, and Raquel Rodriguez pulled up to the arena, but weren’t very interested in talking to Jackie Redmond so they just left again! Adam Pearce was then talking to NXT General Manager Ava which is when Ethan Page appeared to tell Pearce that he needs to handle CM Punk! Sexyy Red then appeared and disrespected All Ego before we had ourselves a “little” 10-Woman Tag Team Match! Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn were pairing up with Pure Fusion Collective as the Heel team whilst Lyra Valkyria, Natalya, Zelina Vega, and The KC’s were the good guy team! This match was fine, there are some talented women in here, but I feel like Lyra Valkyria is the person that I need to talk about the most here. See, Lyra was on the outside for the entire match as the Heels were in control, but at the end, Valkyria finally tagged herself into the match and won with her old NXT UK move! Like, I don’t get it. Also, stop having Pure Fusion Collective lose!
Grade: C
World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther VS Sami Zayn
After Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill accepted Damage CTRL’s challenge for a shot at the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, it was Main Event time as Sami Zayn looked to beat Gunther once again, but this time, for the World Heavyweight Championship! This was a really good Main Event, and I think what helped it is there were reasons to believe that either man could walk out as the Champion! I mean, at one point, Sami delivered 2 Helluva Kicks in quick succession before he got floored by a massive lariat from the Champion! Gunther then delivered a Powerbomb which only resulted in a 2 count before The Ring General hit a second one which Sami somehow kicked out of at 1! I mean, this was actually very cool, and both men’s selling of it was superb! Gunther then locked in a sleeper hold which Sami refused to tap out of, but in the end, Gunther was finally able to keep Sami Zayn down enough to retain his World Heavyweight Title! I was glad to see Gunther win here as he shouldn’t be losing the belt this early, and before the show went off air, we got a cool moment between Gunther and Cody Rhodes!
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