WWE Monday Night Raw Review: 02/03

Linus O'Howell
2 days ago
5 min read

The Vision Starts the Show, Gunther VS Dragon Lee

After a nearly 5-minute recap package for the Elimination Chamber, this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw kicked off with The Vision seething over the actions of Seth “Freakin” Rollins! Paul Heyman said he hates Seth Rollins, that Seth keeps trying to steal the credit for everything, but worst of all, he cost Logan Paul a shot at “Main Eventing” WrestleMania! Adam Pearce then arrived to state that he needs to have a chat with Seth Rollins, but this was before a bunch of masked men led away both security guards and The Vision! This left Paul Heyman alone in the ring, allowing Seth “Freakin” Rollins to brilliantly smash Heyman in the back with a steel chair, before a vicious Stomp left The Oracle in a bloody mess! I didn’t expect Seth Rollins to beat up Paul Heyman, but it was very well done! This then led into a backstage segment, as Paul was being lifted into an ambulance as Jimmy Uso arrived to attack Austin Theory (who thought he was being picked up by Logan Paul)! Then, in quite comical fashion, LA Knight revealed himself as the ambulance driver, and I’m really not sure that that is legal!

Grade: B+

It was then time for the opening match of the night as Dragon Lee looked to get revenge on Gunther! Before the match even started, Dragon Lee attacked Gunther in the entranceway, and this was actually quite a smart move! On Sunday, I watched Dragon have a terrific match with Jake Cartwheel on AAA, and he once again showed out here in one of the best WWE TV matches in a while! Lee is such an underrated performer; he always puts on strong matches, and it helps when you’re facing one of the best in the business in Gunther! The hard-hitting nature of this one was off the charts, with both guys taking big hits, whilst Gunther’s arrogance nearly cost him! However, The Ring General continued his evil antics, ripping off the mask of Lee, and this led into the finish as Dragon Lee was forced to tap out just moments later! Gunther is just brilliant!

Grade: B+

AJ Lee Celebrates, The Original El Grande Americano VS Rayo Americano, Rusev Calls Out Oba Femi

Asuka was absolutely seething at Kairi Sane, whilst Austin Theory made it clear that he was going to make Jimmy Uso pay! AJ Lee then arrived to celebrate becoming the brand-new Women’s Intercontinental Champion, as AJ thanked the fans for giving her the belief that she was good enough to return and become a Champion again! Lee also said that now that Becky Lynch is in her rearview mirror, she’s looking ahead to new challengers, putting the rest of the Raw Women’s Division on notice! There wasn’t much to this, but it will definitely be a good thing to see AJ face other women!

Grade: C+

After the two Americanos came face-to-face, Liv Morgan cut a great video promo stating that she was going to use her privilege to expose Stephanie Vaquer at WrestleMania! This feud has been so good! The Original El Grande Americano was then out next as he was looking to teach Rayo Americano a lesson! If you’re not watching AAA, you’re missing out, especially with this Americano storyline! The polar opposite reactions they get are amazing, with “the original” being the Babyface in the States, whilst “the real” one is a Mexican icon! It’s an incredibly unique situation that I’ve never seen before, and that’s why this feud is working so much for me! Bravo kept interfering here, trying to help his “brother” score the win, but it wasn’t meant to be, with The Original El Grande Americano eventually scoring the win with a Chaos-Theory Suplex! I’m very excited for Rey de Reyes!

Grade: B

After promos from both Nattie and Penta, Liv Morgan gave Raquel Rodriguez the idea of going after AJ Lee’s Women’s Intercontinental Championship before Dominik Mysterio asked Finn Balor and JD McDonagh to be in his corner tonight! The Judgment Day agreed to be out there as support for Dom, but nothing more, as Rusev was then shown seething on the announce table! The Bulgarian Brute called out Oba Femi, saying that he’s had enough of hearing about The Ruler, and this led to Oba coming out and starting a brawl! Femi-Rusev should be quite a strong match, but it still feels like we’re just treading water with Oba right now!

Grade: C+

Jimmy Uso VS Austin Theory, Dominik Mysterio VS Penta: Intercontinental Championship

Bayley and Lyra Valkyria both told each other that they deserve a shot at the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, whilst Iyo Sky came out of Adam Pearce’s office at that moment! Jimmy Uso was then looking for revenge as he went one-on-one with Austin Theory! There’s always one match on a wrestling show that feels pointless, and this was definitely that one! The Vision shouldn’t have even been here; they should’ve been with Paul Heyman, and also, this match only went three minutes as Logan Paul just decided to get into the ring to cause the DQ finish! After this, Jey Uso returned, no-selling his injuries as The Usos took out The Vision with a pair of crutches! This achieved nothing!

Grade: C-

Danhausen had a list of demands for Adam Pearce, before WWE’s newest signee “cursed” The Judgment Day! Je’Von Evans then stated his claim for being next in line for the Intercontinental Championship, before Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky seemingly “broke up” to focus on their respective singles careers! What a mess! Anyway, it was then time for the Main Event match of the night as Penta challenged Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship! The story of this match was focused around The Judgment Day at ringside, with Finn Balor and JD McDonagh keeping to their word of just watching and not getting involved! To be fair to Dominik, he dealt with this quite well (for the most part), really taking the fight to Penta in what was a back-and-forth contest! Mysterio even kicked out of the Penta Driver at one point, but Dom’s desperation then started to show, asking JD to give him the ring hammer! However, as McDonagh went to do that, Balor stopped him, stating that Mysterio wanted to (initially) do this on his own! This cost Dominik big time, with Penta wiping The Judgment Day out, before Mr. Cero Miedo wrecked Dom with a Mexican Destroyer to get the win, gifting us with a brand-new Intercontinental Champion! I’d say that Penta has earned this accolade, so good for him! The question now surrounds what’s going to happen with The Judgment Day moving forward?!

Grade: B

CM Punk and Roman Reigns Come Face-to-Face

The final segment on this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw saw more hype being built towards the WrestleMania 42 Main Event as CM Punk and Roman Reigns once again came face-to-face! Roman started hot, stating that “we” brought Punk back to sell some t-shirts, not to be a World Champion as that’s far too much responsibility for him! Reigns also said that once he beats CM Punk at WrestleMania, he’s going to send The Best in the World into a retirement tour, saying that “we’ll” earn quite a bit of money from it! This angered Punk, with him making it clear to Reigns that he’ll finish The Tribal Chief off for good, and when he does, he’ll bury him “next to your father”! Jeez! This was quite the fiery end to this show, with Roman Reigns’ reaction being priceless! This felt quite far from Punk, but I get the feeling that Roman can top it (which is scary)! Also, props to Reigns for always saying "we"; it perfectly portrays his position in the company!