Jey Uso Starts the Show, The Creed Brothers VS DIY: Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships WrestleMania Qualifying Match
Monday Night Raw kicked off this week with Jey Uso calling out his twin brother Jimmy Uso. Jimmy and Solo Sikoa then quickly arrived and the two Usos got into a war of words before it resulted in a brawl beginning. The Bloodline looked to be in control, but Cody Rhodes ran down to make the save. There actually surprisingly wasn’t much to talk about here, but I thought Jimmy and Jey’s delivery was both really good.
Grade: B-
Paul Heyman told Adam Pearce backstage that no one else in The Bloodline had authorised Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa’s appearance on Monday Night Raw before Heyman said he was here on official business. We then went into the first match of the night as The Creed Brothers and DIY collided for the right to go to WrestleMania 40. This was definitely the best match of the night as both teams brought it as you would expect them to. The crowd was also really hot here which helped matters, and the only problem I had with it is both teams should be going to The Show of Shows. However, in the end, there could only be one, and that team was DIY as Tommaso Ciampa was able to pin Julius Creed after a nice sequence. I think you know who I’m rooting for at Mania!
Grade: B
Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell VS Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, Cody Rhodes Speaks, Dominik Mysterio VS Ricochet, Intercontinental Championship Contract Signing
The Judgment Day and Andrade seem to be getting on quite well at the moment before Rhea Ripley told JD McDonagh that he looked like a fool against Ricochet last week. We then went straight into more Tag Team action as Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell took on Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. I like both of these teams, I think they’re all talented in-ring competitors, but what I liked more here was the storytelling. After a decent back-and-forth match, Katana Chance went down hurt and Indi Hartwell decided not to attack her. However, Candice LeRae then tagged herself in, whipped out Kayden Carter, and then made Chance tap out in a nasty-looking submission move. Again, Heel Candice is the best version of Candice!
Grade: B-
Cody Rhodes was then in the ring next as he responded to The Rock with a pretty seething and cut-throat promo. Cody questioned The Rock as to why he doesn’t respect someone who carries “his company” in the form of Seth “Freakin” Rollins and that’s he actually nothing more than Roman’s sidekick. Paul Heyman then arrived to tell Rhodes that as long as he comes alone to SmackDown on Friday, Roman Reigns will do the same thing. You know what I think about this; I trust Cody, I trust Paul, I even trust Roman, but I don’t trust Seth. In terms of this segment overall, I thought it was actually pretty good and actually moved the story forward a bit.
Grade: B
Nia Jax said she’ll have no problem taking Becky Lynch’s spot at WrestleMania once she’s done with The Man before Jey Uso told Cody Rhodes that he has his back when needed. Ricochet then made his way down to the ring as The One and Only was about to go one-on-one with Dominik Mysterio. This was a fine match, there was nothing wrong with it, but the crowd were definitely less into this one than others. However, Ricochet is so good in the ring that he was able to win them over by the end, and Ricochet also managed to score the victory as well despite JD McDonagh’s best efforts to interfere. It looks like we could be heading to a Tag Team match down the line, and my only guess for who Ricochet’s partner would be is Andrade (but I’m not convinced by that).
Grade: C+
Sami Zayn and Chad Gable got into a bit of an argument backstage which resulted in Chad telling Sami “You can’t beat Gunther!” It was then time to head back to the ring for an Intercontinental Championship Contract Signing. Gunther straight away fired shots at Sami for “dressing like all the other bums in the arena” before he told Zayn that he knows he can’t beat The Ring General. This fired Sami up who brought up how he’s one of the best underdogs in WWE history and he’ll prove that again at WrestleMania 40. This was another good segment, mainly because it didn’t go too long, and both of these guys feel like stars which is quite important given Gunther’s Title reign so far.
Grade: B-
The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher, Seth “Freakin” Rollins Interrupts Drew McIntyre, Alpha Academy VS The New Day: Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships WrestleMania Qualifying Matches
The camera followed Sami Zayn to the back to see Re-Generation X talking in the back. Indus Sher then walked past as R-Truth joked “I feel sorry for whoever has to face them tonight!” Of course, it was The Awesome Truth who were taking on Veer and Sanga, and I thought this was okay, but it was a bit scrappy at times. However, I watched this match thinking realistically, there is no way that The Miz and R-Truth would win here. So what did they true, they won out of pure luck as Truth managed to fall onto Veer to score the 3 count. I’m certainly more open to The Awesome Truth winning (one of the belts) at Mania, but that’s only because it’s a Ladder Match.
Grade: C+
Sami Zayn found Chad Gable again backstage to ask him why he said he can’t beat Gunther. Chad’s response was “If you go into a match with Gunther feeling like the Underdog, you’ve already lost.” I really like this thought process, and it especially works because it’s Sami Zayn, a guy who shouldn’t be seen as an underdog anymore. Drew McIntyre’s music then hit, but he was interrupted almost instantly by Seth “Freakin” Rollins who danced his way down to the ring. Seth accepted that he is addicted to the spotlight, but he knows Drew is exactly the same. He also knows that when he beats The Bloodline in the Main Event of Night 1, the spotlight will be shining the brightest on the World Heavyweight Championship come Night 2. Drew McIntyre also had some really great lines here, and honestly, these guys just can’t miss right now (sorry Melo).
Grade: B+
Becky Lynch said she has to keep fighting because that’s what she does best before it was time for another WrestleMania Qualifying Match as The New Day took on Alpha Academy’s Otis and Akira Tozawa. This felt more like a house show match than a normal TV match, which is totally fine by me, especially on a 3-hour show. Unfortunately, there was only one team that was ever going to win this contest, and that of course was The New Day.
Grade: C+
Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax: Last Woman Standing
After Cody Rhodes and Seth “Freakin” Rollins caught up backstage, it was Main Event time as Becky Lynch and Nia Jax clashed in a Last Woman Standing Match. This was good I thought, both women brought it, and Nia Jax is proving why she probably deserves a place on the WrestleMania card. There were some fun spots here, like Becky putting Nia through a table with a Manhandle Slam, but other moments were missed slightly due to ad breaks. In the end, a massive leg drop from Lynch onto Jax through the announce table was enough for The Man to get the win before Rhea Ripley arrived to come face-to-face with her rival to close the show. Again, good work from both.
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