Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes, and Drew Mcintyre Promo
After The Rock’s big return last Friday on Smackdown, much was to be discussed on Monday Night Raw. And who else to kick it off but Seth “Freakin” Rollins? Rollins made his way to the ring to open the show with a promo with Rhodes. With the Rock now taking Rhodes spot in the main event of Wrestlemania, it was clear that these two would have to be on a collision course.
Rollins would explain to Rhodes that Rollins needs to face him at Wrestlemania to proves that he has gotten better. Before Rhodes could answer, Drew McIntyre made his way to the ring.
McIntyre interrupted the two to chime in on why he feels he deserves a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship that Rollins has. We walk away with a clearer picture of who will be involved with Rollins, but not when. Will they move it to a triple threat match at Wrestlemania? Will they have Rhodes and McIntyre fight at Elimination Chamber?
The promo was okay and left the audience with some answers and some questions.
Grade: C
New Day vs Imperium vs Creed Brothers vs DIY
The first match of the night seen four teams battle it out. A number one contender match against Butch and Tyler Bate on Friday Night Smackdown is up for grabs. Imperium continued their usual cheap shots on New Day, magnifying their rivalry with each other. The spot in the match with New Day power bombing both members of Imperium, while simultaneously suplexing DIY’s Tommaso Ciampa was done beautifully.
The second half of the match was magnificent, with all teams having multiple spots and opportunities to showcase their skills, but the Creed Brothers continued the roll that they have been on by looking the most impressive of all the teams. DIY got a sneaky victory after Ciampa tagged himself in after a Brutus Bomb by Brutus Creed. Imperium and New Day costed each other the match by attacking each other throughout. While DIY got the victory, there is still much to be seen from the Creed Brothers.\
Grade: A-
Becky Lynch vs Shayna Baszler
Coming into the match, the result was pretty much known. Did anyone really think that Lynch wouldn’t qualify for one of the biggest PPVs of the year? The match itself was super stiff and the crowd was nearly silent the whole match. A few botches, but not enough for it to look REALLY bad. But you could tell this felt like a filler match because they just needed a match on the show. Lynch wins by pinfall after one of the worst manhandle slams I have seen in a while.
Grade: D
Rhea Ripley and Nia Jax segment
Ripley makes her intentions known that she wants to face Nia Jax. Raw General Manager Adam Pearce makes his way to the ring and makes it official: Rhea Ripley vs Nia Jax at the Elimination Chamber for the Women’s World Championship. Nia Jax comes out and Pearce calls for security. Jax fights through security and gives Ripley an Annihilator. At least now we know officially that the match is happening and when.
Grade: C
Mixed Gender Match: Akira Tozawa & Maxxine Dupri vs Ivar & Valhalla
Tozawa and Dupri put on their best Barbie and Ken impressions just to get involved in a squash match. Another filler match that was there for the purpose of maybe building up Ivar and Valhalla as a dominant tag team. Dupri proved once again, just like in the rumble, that she is best used at the side of Alpha Academy as a cheerleader. Multiple botches in the match for her.
Grade: D
Miz vs JD McDonagh
A filler match just for the entertainment aspect. Dominik Mysterio joins McDonagh at ringside. R-Truth takes over the concentration of the match shortly into it for a comedy routine that distracted McDonagh. While trying to get R-Truth’s attention, McDonagh is hit from behind with a skull crushing finale by the Miz for the pinfall.
Grade: C
Gunther 600-day reign celebration
In the segment, we see Gunther basically pat himself on the back for his hard work. He says that no man in the locker room is worthy of challenging him for his Intercontinental Championship. Enter Jey Uso. This is the first encounter we’ve seen with the two so it’s a fresh rivalry. They start a promo congratulating each other on each other’s accomplishments. However, Gunther uses the fact that Uso has never held a singles title. This was a brilliant move by WWE for the promo because that’s where Uso is right now. He is trying to solidify himself as a singles competitor.
Gunther does an absolutely phenomenal job setting up their rivalry with the mic work, while Uso shows the aggressive side of himself by attacking Gunther at the end of the segment. Imperium jumps in with Gunther, while the New Day runs down to help Uso as the segment ends.
Grade: A
Women’s Tag Team Title Match: Kabuki Warriors (c) vs Kayden Carter and Katana Chance
This match was really nothing to be desired. Asuka and Kairi Sane (the Kabuki Warriors) were solid in the match, but misplacement led to the flow of the match just being off from the start. A HORRIBLE miss from the top rope by Sane along with a no-sell Codebreaker by Asuka made it dreadful to watch. The Kabuki Warriors won to retain the titles in the end because someone had to win, right?
Grade: D
Bull rope Match: Cody Rhodes vs Shinsuke Nakamura
A match that paid homage to his father, Rhodes and Nakamura were able to get very creative with the match type. Both men had good moments and the chemistry between the two seemed to be rolling from the very beginning. The biggest highlight of the match came when Nakamura blew mist in Rhode’s face as he went to hit Nakamura with the cowbell. Nakamura would try to capitalize, but Rhodes hit a Cody Cutter. Nakamura kicked out, but to his avail Rhodes hit him with another Cody Cutter that he couldn’t kick out of, giving Rhodes the win. After the match, McIntyre blindsides Rhodes and hits him with a Claymore to end the show.
Grade: B