Overall this was a solid Raw. It didn’t have a huge go home show feel but given how much crossover there is between Raw and Smackdown lately I don’t think it will matter, as everything will be nice and tidy after Smackdown this Friday. Kevin Owens cut a fun promo explaining that he’s going after Roman Reigns to open the show and then hit a stunner on Finn Balor after the opening match. We’ll have to wait until Friday to find out who will join Bianca Belair, Asuka, Alexa Bliss, and Mia Yim in the WarGames match against Damage Ctrl, Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley. The OC and Judgement Days feud continued with a huge backstage brawl tonight. Drew Mcintyre picked up a win against Baron Corbin. Austin Theory once again looked more vicious as he beat Mustafa Ali pretty handily. The script was swiftly flipped however as he was chased around by Bobby Lashley after the match. Oh yeah, Akira Tozawa is back and he’s got regular ring gear.
Monday Night Raw is in Albany, New York tonight for the final show before Survivor Series. In the main event Asuka will take on Rhea Ripley to determine who will have the advantage this weekend at WarGames.
GOOD Kevin Owens Promo:
KO opens tonight’s show by giving his reason for teaming with the Brawling Brutes and Drew Mcintyre at WarGames. He says while some people might assume it’s Sami Zayne, it’s actually because he’s going after Roman Reigns. Then he once again brings up his teammates and they enter through the crowd a la The Shield. Judgement Day then interrupts, and after Finn Balor talks some trash he’s challenged to a match by Sheamus which ends up being a six man tag match that is next. Kevin Owens promo was definitely the highlight of the opening segment, but it was still entertaining all around.
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
GOOD Sheamus, Butch and Ridge Holland vs. Finn Balor, Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio:
With Kevin Owens joining commentary this is an opening match filled with big names. Even Drew Mcintyre and Rhea Ripley are at ringside. After Judgement Day dominates the early action, the babyfaces make a comeback and Sheamus picks up the win for his team with a Brogue Kick. After the match Judgement Day swarmed the ring to attack but the OC joined the fray to make the save. The whole thing is capped off by a Kevin Owens stunner. This was a solidly exciting opening match for sure.
Result: Sheamus by Pinfall via Brogue Kick
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.00 Stars
SQUASH Omos vs. Johnny Gargano:
After Gargano is interviewed about his and Lumis’ upcoming singles matches with The Miz, the interview is interrupted by the Miz himself. He claims to have hurt his hand and so tonight instead of facing Gargano himself he found a replacement in Omos. The match is a short one, after a brief flurry from Johnny Omos hits his chokeslam for the win.
Result: Omos by Pinfall via Chokeslam
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – SQUASH
GOOD Seth Rollins Interview:
Rollins is interviewed from a different location by the commentary team. He discusses his US Title defense this weekend against both Austin Theory and Bobby Lashley. It appears Seth isn’t making a full babyface turn just yet. At the end Theory comes on and is once again very serious. He ends the segment by letting Rollins and Lashley know they should watch his match against Mustafa Ali tonight.
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
GOOD Austin Theory vs. Mustafa Ali:
Although Ali is able to hit some incredible spots in this match, this is very clearly dominated by Austin Theory. He’s once again much more aggressive than he was only a few weeks ago and he’s able to pick up a relatively easy victory with an A-Town Down. After the match but before Austin can attack Ali, Lashley appears and tells Theory to wait for him in the ring. Bobby mocks Theory for his failed cash in attempt, and after a brief verbal exchange Lashley attacks him. Theory is able to hit Lashley with a chair but it doesn’t do much damage and he runs backstage. They go past Ali who’s getting medical attention and Austin Theory pushes him in Lashley’s way. This makes the Almighty upset and he throws Ali back out in front of the crowd before applying the Hurt Lock to end the segment.
Result: Austin Theory by Pinfall via A-Town Down
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.00
GREAT Alpha Academy vs. Matt Riddle and Elias:
This turned out to be one of the longer matches of the night, and it really did a good job of featuring Elias. Gable looked outstanding as usual, and so did Riddle but it seems like Elias really found his stride tonight. He is able to hit Drift away and Riddle follows that with a Floating Bro to pick up the win. He and Riddle have very good chemistry together as a team.
Result: Matt Riddle by Pinfall via Floating Bro
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.50 Stars
GREAT Drew Mcintyre vs. Baron Corbin:
After a backstage dust up in the locker room while Corbin played poker with JBL, we got our second singles match of the night. Given the history between these two it was nice to see how much time they were given for this match. Both men were incredibly physical as always and JBL was great on the outside including the spot where he caused the distraction. Akira Tozawa returned with a completely new look, including regular wrestling gear. He stole JBL’s cowboy hat and that distraction gave Mcintyre the opening to hit the Claymore and pick up the win.
Result: Drew Mcintyre by Pinfall via Claymore Kick
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.50 Stars
GOOD The OC and Judgement Day backstage segment:
This starts out as just an interview with The OC but AJ Styles and company are swiftly interrupted by the Judgement Day. After Finn Balor makes a few comments the two teams start brawling and the fight even spills into the parking lot. In the end Dominik Mysterio is slammed into a car before things are broken up between the two sides.
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
GREAT Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley Women’s WarGames Advantage match:
Bianca Belair, Asuka and Alexa Bliss enter together. Mia Yim does not join them because of the brawl that just occurred backstage. First the good guys announce that they will announce their fifth partner this friday on Smackdown. Oddly enough Damage Ctrl watches this one from the backstage area. Asuka and Ripley are a great match up as they can both bring serious intensity. This one’s back and forth the whole way and I think it’s probably the match of the night and it’s not even over yet. Eventually Damage Ctrl does get involved but it’s only a few moments before Bianca and Bliss are there to try to even the odds. There’s enough of a distraction that Rhea is able to hit a Riptide to give her team the advantage at WarGames this weekend. After the match both sides fought and Mia Yim even came back to get involved. The show ends on a high note for sure, and this should be a fun Survivor Series with the two WarGames matches.
Result: Rhea Ripley by Pinfall via Riptide
Clark Taylor’s WR Star Rating – 3.50 Stars
Overall: Overall this was a solid Raw. It didn’t have a huge go home show feel but given how much crossover there is between Raw and Smackdown lately I don’t think it will matter, as everything will be nice and tidy after Smackdown this Friday. Kevin Owens cut a fun promo explaining that he’s going after Roman Reigns to open the show and then hit a stunner on Finn Balor after the opening match. We’ll have to wait until Friday to find out who will join Bianca Belair, Asuka, Alexa Bliss, and Mia Yim in the WarGames match against Damage Ctrl, Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley. The OC and Judgement Days feud continued with a huge backstage brawl tonight. Drew Mcintyre picked up a win against Baron Corbin. Austin Theory once again looked more vicious as he beat Mustafa Ali pretty handily. The script was swiftly flipped however as he was chased around by Bobby Lashley after the match. Oh yeah, Akira Tozawa is back and he’s got regular ring gear.
Matches: 0.50/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.50/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.50/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3.00/5 Stars
Photo Credit: WWE.com
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
