Seth “Freakin” Rollins Returns to Raw, Braun Strowman VS Chad Gable
After a recap of Clash at the Castle, Monday Night Raw kicked off with a massive surprise as Seth” Freakin” Rollins made his long-awaited return to Monday Night Raw! Seth was clearly delighted to be back as he said he’s come back for the World Heavyweight Championship which is why he’s got his eyes on the Men’s Money in the Bank Briefcase. However, Damian Priest then arrived to show respect to the former Champion before he made it clear to Rollins that this is “El Campeon’s Show” now. In fact, Priest got so annoyed with Seth that he offered to face him for the World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank which The Visionary gladly accepted! I didn’t see any of this coming whatsoever, and that is a great thing! Also, that’s such a close match to call which is only going to heighten the drama, and it’s just awesome to see Seth “Freakin” Rollins back!
Grade: B
Chad Gable was furious with Alpha Academy backstage before he demanded Adam Pearce give him a match so he can climb back up the rankings. Pearce agreed to this by giving Chad none other than Braun Strowman! This was an entertaining contest where Braun just beat up Gable as The Master trash-talked his students. In the end, Strowman was able to get the win before Master Gable went off at his students some more, even stealing the crutch off of Maxxine Dupri. This combined with Gable shoving over Akira Tozawa finally made Otis snap as he floored his former hero before the good guys all walked off! Once again, this story has been superb!
Grade: B (Overall)
Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Iyo Sky VS Zelina Vega VS Kiana James, Sami Zayn Gets Interrupted, Carlito VS Dragon Lee
We got an amazing bit of content when Pat McAfee was using the “Piero Patostrator” to discuss what went down with Liv Morgan and The Judgment Day last week before Damian Priest questioned Finn Balor as to what is going on with him. The two ended up joking around as Dominik Mysterio was looking for his purple cow vest! It was then time for the first Qualifying Match for this year’s Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match as Iyo Sky, Zelina Vega, and Kiana James all went at it! This was a decent little match, Iyo was obviously the standout, but Zelina has improved a lot over the past couple of years whilst Kiana deserves a spot on Monday Nights. Interestingly, it was Vega who was in control towards the end up until Liv Morgan arrived in a purple cow vest and this distracted Vega enough for James to wipe her out, but in the end, it was Sky who nailed KJ with Over the Moonsault to score the victory and book her ticket to Toronto!
Grade: C+
Sami Zayn was out next to say that he’s officially done with Chad Gable, but he’s still going to be looking out for the rest of the Alpha Academy. Sami then said it’s time to find new challengers as Bron Breakker’s music hit! Bron made it clear that Zayn is the next name on his list of targets only for Sheamus to arrive and say he has his eyes on the Intercontinental Championship as well. This ticked off Breakker who felt disrespected before Sami just booked a match for the two of them for later on. This was totally fine, it made Bron look good again, and these are two strong contenders to Sami’s Title reign!
Grade: C+
Dragon Lee got a video promo where he called out Carlito before Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn were celebrating their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships victory at Clash at the Castle, only to be given a warning by Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark. Carlito’s music then hit as it was time for him to go one-on-one with Dragon Lee. This match was fine, nothing great, nothing bad, but there was at least some storytelling involved as Liv Morgan arrived to distract Dominik Mysterio before Zelina Vega attacked the Women’s World Champion from behind. This started a brawl between The Judgment Day and The LWO which allowed JD McDonagh to trip Lee up and this ultimately set Carlito up to hit the backstabber for the win!
Grade: C+
Drew McIntyre Quits, Damage CTRL VS Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, Bron Breakker VS Sheamus
We got a recap package showcasing CM Punk shenanigans at Clash at the Castle before Otis, Akira Tozawa, and Maxxine Dupri officially quit the Alpha Academy. Gable made it very clear that he expelled them, and that he’s going to win Money in the Bank! Drew McIntyre then headed down to the ring and he was clearly ticked off to the point where he just quit. He then ignored Adam Pearce and made it clear to Triple H that he meant it, and yeah, this was very short and sweet, but I honestly don’t blame him given everything that’s happened!
Grade: C+
It was then time for some Tag Team action as Damage CTRL’s Dakota Kai and Kairi Sane took on Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. All four women are talented competitors, and they’re all arguably Tag Team specialists! However, this was a pretty rushed contest that focused more on Lyra Valkyria on the outside. In the end, Lyra distracted King Kota and opened the door for The KC’s to hit the After Party to score the win!
Grade: C
We then headed straight into another match between two heavyweights as Bron Breakker and Sheamus collided! Sami Zayn watched on closely as Bron and Sheamus delivered a hard-hitting affair that was probably the best individual match of the night! Breakker has been booked so well since joining Monday Night Raw whilst Sheamus is so good at what he does! In the end, though, we actually didn’t get a winner as Ludwig Kaiser attacked The Celtic Warrior (to cause the DQ) before Bron Speared Sheamus. Officials then pulled Breakker away from the scene as Kaiser set up for his running dropkick, but he was ultimately floored himself by a wicked Spear from The Badass! Things then got even more heated as Breakker shoved Sami, so yeah, this was all a lot of fun!
Grade: B
Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Finn Balor VS Jey Uso VS Rey Mysterio
After Damian Priest caught Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan doing things and Karrion Kross and The New Day got video promos, it was Main Event time as Finn Balor, Jey Uso, and Rey Mysterio clashed for a chance to head to Money in the Bank! This was a good match between three veteran performers, and the only real issue I have with it is it was very clear as to who was going to win! Still, the action was solid, I thought Finn Balor in particular looked really good, and the closing phases were also good as The Judgment Day arrived to cost Rey Mysterio the match before “Main Event” Jey Uso eventually took advantage with an Uso Splash to score the victory! After the match, however, things turned dark as some masked individuals were seen destroying people, including Chad Gable who I’m pretty sure is now dead! Anyway, this was all done as the debut of the new Wyatt Sicks, and yeah, it was well done!
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