Drew McIntyre Explains His Actions
Drew McIntyre was already in the ring at the start of this week’s Monday Night Raw as he explained why he dropped Jey Uso last week. The reason was quite simple as Drew hasn’t forgiven or forgotten what Jey and The Bloodline did to him last year, but the difference between the two is McIntyre laid him out face-to-face rather than from behind (I thought that was a nice touch). The Scottish Warrior then said he hasn’t joined The Judgment Day, but he will be on their team for WarGames this Saturday. This brought out Jey Uso who wasn’t at all impressed before every other competitor in Saturday’s Men’s WarGames match also came down to the ring (as well as the Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley). Adam Pearce then appeared out of nowhere to tell them that no contact was allowed and that each team had roughly an hour to confirm who would be competing in the Advantage Match which would be taking place in the Main Event. Also, Pearce told Rollins and Co that they must have a fifth member of their team by the end of the night. Overall, I thought this was a decent start to the show that allowed Drew McIntyre to explain himself whilst also getting people hyped for the evening ahead.
Grade: C+
Nia Jax VS Raquel Rodriguez, Becky Lynch VS Xia Li, Johnny Gargano VS Ludwig Kaiser
Damian Priest wasn’t very impressed with Rhea Ripley backstage for getting Drew McIntyre on their team without discussing it as a group. Priest also made it clear that as the leader of the WarGames team, he should be the one to earn the advantage for The Judgment Day. It was then time for the first match of the night as Nia Jax took on Raquel Rodriguez in a decent little match. Neither Wrestler is particularly amazing inside the squared circle, but the crowd were certainly into it. This contest also helped Raquel Rodriguez because she arguably got the biggest reaction from the crowd that she’s had on the Main Roster because she was facing someone as disliked as Nia Jax. In the end, despite multiple attempts, Raquel just couldn’t quite pick up Nia and this allowed Jax to hit the ANIAlater onto Rodriguez to get the victory.
Grade: C+
We got a video package showcasing Xia Li training before Drew McIntyre walked into “The Judgment Day Clubhouse” and straight away made it clear that he doesn’t like any of them. Priest then told McIntyre that he doesn’t like him either before they “agreed” that Drew should be the one in tonight’s WarGames Advantage Match. I actually quite liked this little interaction between Priest and McIntyre. Seth “Freakin” Rollins then agreed that it should be Jey Uso who faces Drew McIntyre in tonight’s Main Event before Cody said he’s going to make a phone call regarding their fifth member. It was then time for another women’s contest as Becky Lynch and Xia Li collided. Both Becky and Xia have important matches coming up this week so it was sort of a contest that neither superstar could really afford to lose. I personally felt this was a solid-to-good match that showcased Xia Li as the talent that she should’ve always been. However, after a bit of odd refereeing, Lynch reversed Li’s attempt at the Roundhouse Kick and dropped the Chinese Superstar with the Manhandle Slam to get the victory. After this, Damage CTRL arrived before Bianca Belair, Shotzi, and Charlotte Flair all appeared as a brawl started. Considering Damage Control were there, I feel like this would’ve actually been a good time to end a match with a distraction/some interference as a win for Xia Li would’ve been huge, especially as she’s facing Lyra Valkyria for the NXT Women’s Championship tonight.
Grade: C+ (Because of the Ending)
Ludwig Kaiser made it clear to Giovanni Vinci to stay in the back for his match with Johnny Gargano before we got a video package for Zoey Stark. This was smart. It was then time for a match between Johnny Gargano and Ludwig Kaiser and it’s one I enjoyed a lot. Both Johnny and Ludwig are terrific Professional Wrestlers and some of the moves/shots in this match were terrific. What also helped was the fact that the crowd got massively behind Gargano which is lovely to see, but I can’t help but feel like the ending spoiled it a bit. For whatever reason, Giovanni Vinci decided to ignore Kaiser’s orders by coming down to ringside and this ultimately distracted Ludwig enough for Johnny Wrestling to hit One Final Beat to get the W. Whilst this does further the descension between the members of Imperium, I feel like this match deserved a clean finish.
Grade: B- (Would’ve been higher if not for the Finish)
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Number 1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way: Candice LeRae and Indi Harwell VS Katana Chance and Kayden Carter VS Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri VS Tegan Nox and Natalya, Gunther and The Miz Come Face-to-Face, Chad Gable VS Shinsuke Nakamura
Adam Pearce was talking to the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green and Piper Niven backstage before the three were confronted by a bunch of other female teams. Pearce decided to book a Fatal 4-Way match where the winning team would earn a shot at Chelsea and Piper’s Tag Team Titles. Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler had then broken into “The Judgment Day Playhouse” and all this really did was tell us that Ripley-Baszler will be the next feud over the Women’s World Championship. That’s not how you make people believe that Zoey could actually win at Survivor Series. Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri, and Tegan Nox and Natalya were then all in the ring as it was time for a Number 1 Contender’s Match. Whilst this overall action wasn’t the greatest, I was actually impressed with the team of Ivy Nile and Maxxine Dupri who looked pretty good together whilst The KC’s are always a joy to watch. However, I feel like I barely saw Candice LeRae or Indi Hartwell in this contest whilst Tegan Nox just kept getting beaten up. However, that didn’t matter too much, as in the end, Nox scored the victory for her and Natalya by rolling up Maxxine for the 3 count. I really don’t understand why Tegan isn’t allowed to win with her finisher, but there you go. Also, Chelsea and Piper Niven were quite good on commentary.
Grade: C+
Ludwig Kaiser was shouting at Giovanni Vinci backstage as Gunther walked in. The Ring General praised Vinci for his efforts whilst making it clear that he felt like he may have put the wrong person in charge. We then saw the men’s Tag Team Division complaining about wanting their own opportunities so Adam Pearce decided to book a Tag Team Turmoil match for next week where the winning team will earn a shot at the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships. Pearce then came face-to-face with SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis and the two agreed that they needed to have a little chat. The Miz was then in the ring to talk about respect before Gunther made his way down to the ring as it was time for the two to come face-to-face. The Intercontinental Champion trash-talked The Miz about several things before he told him that he should be on the other side of the barricade “with those other weirdoes”. Gunther then started to beat up The A-Lister before Miz went low and delivered a Skull Crushing Finale to stand tall. This was fine, but I’ve seen these guys feature in plenty of better segments.
Grade: C+
Seth “Freakin” Rollins looked slightly frustrated with Jey Uso after Jey brought up his family before Ivar challenged Bronson Reed to a match. This was actually filmed/staged quite well. It was then time for Chad Gable to step up on behalf of his Alpha Academy friends as he went one-on-one with Shinsuke Nakamura. Both of these guys have had a really good few months so it was nice to see them going at one another. The contest itself was totally fine with some nice Suplexes thrown in, even though it didn’t feel as important as it maybe should’ve done. Also, after the turnbuckle was “accidentally” exposed, the referee opted against covering it up and this ultimately cost Chad Gable as when Master Gable hesitated in order to not run face-first into the exposed steel, Nakamura was able to take advantage and win with a roll-up. This finish was pretty poor for multiple reasons.
Grade: C+
Drew McIntyre told The Judgment Day backstage that he didn’t want their help in tonight’s Main Event which Damian Priest responded to by saying “Good, because we weren’t offering”. I already like this dynamic a lot. Bronson Reed then cut a genuinely good and funny promo where he called Ivar a “cosplayer” before he said, “Your Viking Ship won’t be able to survive the incoming Tsunami”. Sami Zayn and the World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin” Rollins then hyped up Jey Uso for one last time backstage before Cody Rhodes came over and said the guy he spoke to on the phone was in (in regards to being their final member at WarGames). I felt quite sorry for Sami Zayn as he clearly wanted the 5th man to be Kevin Owens.
Drew McIntyre VS Jey Uso: Men’s WarGames Advantage Match
In the Main Event of this week’s Monday Night Raw, Drew McIntyre and Jey Uso collided for the right to earn their team the advantage for this weekend’s WarGames match. I thought this was a good Main Event between two guys that you can genuinely call stars. It was also cool to see Drew wrestling as a Heel again as I personally feel that he excels in that role. Whilst the winner of this match was fairly obvious (which is never a great thing), I actually really liked the ending as McIntyre “shockingly” won with the Future Shock DDT. I really liked this as Drew is going to feel almost unstoppable if he has two dominating finishers (something no other wrestler really has). After the match, The Scottish Warrior attempted to continue the beatdown on Jey Uso as the rest of The Judgment Day ran down before Uso’s WarGames partners ran down to make the save (I never want to see that again after this weekend). And then, before the show went off the air, Cody Rhodes confirmed that their 5th and final partner at Survivor Series: WarGames will be none other than Randy Orton! Personally, Orton being in this match over Kevin Owens makes little to no sense. It also made no sense to reveal Randy’s appearance in Chicago, especially as Orton didn’t even appear here. However, if you remember back to the last time that we saw Randy Orton on WWE TV, it was him losing to The Usos in the battle to crown the brand-new Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions. That’s why I’m absolutely fine with all of this, if Orton RKO’s “Main Event” Jey Uso on Saturday.
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