Sami Zayn Returns Home, Drew McIntyre and Matt Riddle VS The New Day
Sami Zayn kicked off this week’s Monday Night Raw to a huge ovation from the crowd in Quebec City. Sami thanked his fellow countrymen in French before he was interrupted by The Judgment Day. Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley, Senor Money in the Bank Damian Priest, “The Prince” Finn Balor, and the NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio all surrounded the ring before Sami said he hadn’t come alone. Kevin Owens’ music then hit as the Prizefighter made his return to Raw by laying out the Heels to the delight of his home crowd. This was a good opening segment when you factor in the crowd reactions, and it also did its job in setting up a tag team match between the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions and two members of The Judgment Day.
Grade: B-
The first match of the night saw Drew McIntyre once again team up with Matt Riddle to take on The New Day. This was a fine contest, I do like the duo of McIntyre and Riddle (as long as the end goal is to make Drew a Heel) and The New Day know what they’re doing. Rather interestingly, Erik of The Viking Raiders attacked Drew McIntyre (behind the referee’s back) which stopped Riddle from making the tag and this allowed Kofi Kingston to hit Trouble in Paradise for the win. Kofi and Xavier started to celebrate, but they were then quickly ambushed by The Viking Raiders, even though it was eventually Drew McIntyre who stood tall. The only thing I really took away from this is The Viking Raiders’ win-loss record isn’t going to get any better any time soon.
Grade: C+
Intercontinental Championship: Gunther VS Chad Gable, Shinsuke Nakamura Promo, Rhea Ripley VS Candice LeRae
JD McDonagh told Jackie Redmond that he hopes his friendship with Finn Balor makes The Judgment Day stronger. Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio then walked in and told Finn they had to figure out who would be facing Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn later tonight. Ripley then “banned” McDonagh from the conversation. We then got a video package for Shayna Baszler which felt like something out of Mortal Kombat before Otis and Maxxine Dupri hyped up Chad Gable ahead of his Intercontinental Championship match against Gunther. Master Gable thanked his prized pupils before it was time for the former Olympian to try and shock the world by defeating The Ring General. The crowd were fully behind Chad Gable as he tried to “chop down” the Champion, but Gunther wasn’t having any of it and decided he would just chop his opponent himself. This was a decent little match that got enough time to tell a decent story. Both guys came close to picking up the victory without really hitting their big finisher, but in the end, it was Master Gable who picked up the win, by count-out! I still have no idea whether I liked or disliked this finish. On one hand, it protects Gable and gives him another shot at the Intercontinental Championship and it also means that Gunther keeps his title and he can now go on to break the record for the longest-ever IC Title reign. However, on the other hand, having The Ring General’s first-ever singles loss on the main roster be a count-out is a little bit lame.
Grade: C+
The Judgment Day couldn’t get on the same page backstage as it was clear that Finn Balor and Damian Priest didn’t want to team with one another. Rhea Ripley told them to sort it out as otherwise, they’ll do it her way. Gunther was then shouting at Imperium for some reason and Ludwig Kaiser didn’t seem too impressed with Giovanni Vinci before Cody Rhodes was interviewed. After Byron Saxton asked him a question, Cody decided to take this interview out to the entranceway so he could see all of the fans. Cody said he’d be watching the main event between Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and The Judgment Day “closely”. We then got a video promo from Shinsuke Nakamura who revealed that he said the words “I know about your back” to Seth “Freakin” Rollins last week. The way Shinsuke cut this promo felt very much like a comic book/movie Villian and I’m all for it. Shin is playing this character really well so far, and his line about how he and Seth “aren’t that different” really hit hard. Whilst it wasn’t very long, this was definitely one of the best and most notable moments on this week’s Raw.
Grade: B-
Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley was then accompanied to the ring by the NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio as “Mami” looked to get revenge on Candice LeRae after last week’s “hit and run” attack. This was short, Rhea dominated Candice and she quickly picked up the victory by making LeRae tap out in her devastating submission move. Michael Cole made a complete mess of selling this move twice before Raquel Rodriguez arrived on crutches. This was quite clearly a ruse as Raquel’s injury couldn’t have gotten worse than last week and after she dropped Rhea Ripley, she announced that she is now medically cleared to compete and will battle Ripley for the Women’s World Championship at Payback. This was all very oddly done. I like Rhea being dominant because she should be. However, did she need to destroy Candice LeRae, no, but that’s only because Candice isn’t established on the main roster. The 26-year-old Champion dominating the 20-year-veteran is actually a good story if the veteran had already been positioned as a threat (which LeRae has not). Also, Raquel’s whole story this past month is she wants to get her hands on Rhea Ripley as soon as she’s medically cleared. Rodriguez is now cleared, but she’s waiting till Payback to get her match. I don’t like to be harsh with my grades, but something about this just felt off.
Grade: C-
The Miz VS ?, Becky Lynch Promo, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven VS Katana Chance and Kayden Carter
Tommaso Ciampa cut one of his always cool promos when he sits on a chair in front of a garage door before he said he’s got to remind people that he can carry this brand and he even said the words “Do It Yourself” which is definitely exciting. The Miz was then in the ring and he spoke a little bit of French to the WWE Universe in Quebec (which makes sense given his wife’s French) before he announced that his “top-level” opponent is none other than Akira Tozawa. Whilst it’s sort of a shame to have Tozawa in this role, he is a lot of fun and him constantly saying “YEAH” to The Miz was quite funny. LA Knight then arrived to join commentary for this match which delighted Wade Barrett just as much as it did the audience and I thought this was decently fun. This was never going to be a 5-star classic, but it did what it needed to do in getting LA Knight on TV and furthering The Megastar’s feud with the A-Lister. In the end, a distraction from Knight allowed Tozawa to pick up the victory which was a really cool moment for him. It should happen a lot more than it does (like a lot more), but that’s just the way it goes sometimes (unfortunately).
Grade: C+
Rhea Ripley wasn’t impressed with Damian Priest when she got back to “The Judgment Day” Lounge so she said they’re going to do it her way. Becky Lynch then arrived as The Man had something to say regarding Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark. Becky said some things before Trish came out and complained about Quebec City not even being Montreal (which was quite funny) before Stratus demanded to be thanked because that’s what she does. Trish then said she’s going to shine inside a Steel Cage before Lynch announced that it’s going to be The Man against Zoey Stark in a Falls-Count Anywhere match next week. I really enjoyed this feud heading into Night of Champions and adding Zoey Stark into the mix was a really smart move. However, I’ve lost all interest in this feud now and I just need it to end (which it should do at Payback). Also, as loud as the Quebec City crowd had been, they didn’t care about any of this one bit which isn't a good sign at all.
Grade: C-
Byron Saxton tried to interview Chelsea Green and Piper Niven and it was pretty clear that Piper’s not a fan of Chelsea’s act. We then got a cool video package for Piper Niven which I’m always going to like before it was time for the new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions to take on Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. This was a pretty short match where Chance and Carter looked strong against Green, but as soon as Niven tagged in, she destroyed Kayden before she dived onto Katana to get the victory. I really don’t know what to think about this because the Champions won and Piper looked dominant which is great, but Chance and Carter looked like complete losers which is the complete opposite of where they should be and where they deserve to be.
Grade: C
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (as well as Cody Rhodes) VS The Judgment Day
Seth “Freakin” Rollins confirmed that he has been suffering with back problems for over 4 years now which is kind of crazy before Seth said that his main issue with Shinsuke Nakamura isn’t that he brought that up, but more because he mentioned Rollins’ family. The World Heavyweight Champion delivered his lines well (as always) and I’m really looking forward to Rollins-Nakamura at Payback. It was then time for the main event as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn took on The Judgment Day. Rhea Ripley forced Finn Balor and Senor Money in the Bank Damian Priest to team up together and this didn’t go long before shenanigans took place. For whatever reason, JD McDonagh arrived and attempted to throw Damian Priest’s Money in the Bank Briefcase to Finn Balor, but it was instead intercepted by Kevin Owens who just “plonked” Balor on the head with it because it’s Kevin “Flipping” Owens. The Judgment Day then beat up KO and Sami before Cody Rhodes arrived to make the save and this led into a 6-man tag team match with the NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio joining the fray. One of my favourite feuds that will never, ever truly go anywhere in WWE is the one between Kevin Owens and Rhea Ripley, and this continued here as Ripley just body slammed Owens, and KO (being KO) sold it like a Champ (which he ironically is). In the end, though, it was Kevin Owens who got the last laugh as after Cody Rhodes laid out Balor and Priest with a couple of Cross Rhodes, Sami Zayn Helluva Kicked “Dirty” Dom before Owens hit the Stunner to get the victory. Whilst I’m never a fan of The Judgment Day losing, KO winning in front of his home crowd on his return was well earnt and deserved.
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