WWE Monday Night Raw Review: 02/11
Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn Come Face-to-Face, Chad Gable VS Ethan Page: Intercontinental Championship
The final Monday Night Raw before Crown Jewel kicked off with Roman Reigns coming down to the ring to talk about Sami’s comments last week, whilst also highlighting 946! Sami would then make his way down to the ring as he wanted him and Roman to say things to each other face-to-face, out of respect for one another as they’re family! Reigns found this to be interesting as he doesn’t believe that families are supposed to disrespect one another, whilst The Tribal Chief also said that nobody gained more from being in The Bloodline than Sami, with him messing around with Johnny Knoxville before Reigns added him to the family! Zayn would then fire back by stating that everyone remembers that match from WrestleMania 38, whilst nobody remembers Roman’s match from the same night! Zayn said that he’s sick and tired of people disrespecting and underestimating him, with the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion knowing he’s one of the best! Roman Reigns would then end the segment by demanding acknowledgement from everyone in the arena, and I have to say that this segment was excellent! Sami is doing incredible work right now!
Grade: A-
After a hype package, we went straight into the opening match of the night as Ethan Page challenged Chad Gable for the Intercontinental Championship! Chad was heavily taped up for this match after that horrible landing he suffered courtesy of Ethan last week, with Page using his high IQ to target the injured neck! Gable would continue to try and fight this off with ankle locks, whilst he delivered a wonderful Angle Slam to drop Page onto the announce table! Gable would then deliver the Chaos Theory, but he was unable to sustain the cover due to his injury, with Page then dropping Gable right on his head with a Twisted Grin for a close near-fall! However, after Master Gable was sent neck-first into the exposed turnbuckle, Ethan Page expertly transitioned from a roll-up to delivering an Ego-plex to get the shock win, meaning yes, “All Ego” is the new Intercontinental Champion! Firstly, Chad Gable deserves a ton of credit as he’s had an excellent reign, with this being yet another highlight match for him! Secondly, Ethan Page knows how to make a Championship prestigious, so he’s a great successor for Gable! Also, yay to Page being a Champion again!
Grade: A-
The Judgment Day VS Chelsea Green, Tiffany Stratton, and Iyo Sky, John Cena Returns to Raw, The Vision VS Penta, Je’Von Evans, and Dragon Lee
Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa endorsed one another backstage, before we went straight into 6-Woman Tag Team action as Chelsea Green, Tiffany Stratton, and Iyo Sky teamed together to take on The Judgment Day! I was very worried at the start of this match that we were going to get yet another fake cash-in attempt from Tiffany Stratton, as that’s all that WWE seems to want to do nowadays! Thankfully, that didn’t happen, as we instead got a pretty straightforward match that felt like it went pretty smoothly! I thought Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez looked particularly good in this match, although neither of them would ultimately be involved in the finish! Instead, after Green slapped Perez to the outside, Liv was able to drop Chelsea with an ObLIVion to get the win, making an early statement ahead of Crown Jewel! Usually this would mean that Chelsea Green’s going to win the Women’s Crown Jewel Championship on Saturday, but I’m still not convinced!
Grade: C+
After 946 cut a promo from a stairway, John Cena made his return to Monday Night Raw to announce more details regarding the “John Cena Classic”! The first of those announcements was that the John Cena Classic will take place on December 14th on a special second Raw of the day, taking place live from Disney World! The second announcement that Cena made was to reveal his own Championship for the event, whilst Cody Rhodes was officially confirmed as the first invite for the tournament! Cena would put Cody over for carrying the company on his back, whilst Randy Orton would then interrupt proceedings to continue to build to Crown Jewel, with Orton reminding Rhodes that he only cares about being a professional wrestler, none of this outside nonsense! Orton simply wants to beat Rhodes at Crown Jewel, stating that the Last Man Standing stipulation is more to him than just a stipulation! I hope Orton wins, but he definitely won’t! As for the John Cena Classic, it only matters to me if someone on the rise wins it!
Grade: C
Bayley was trying to talk to Adam Pearce backstage, only to get interrupted by Jade Cargill, Michin, and B-Fab! After Bayley called them “pathetic”, we were set for another 6-Man Tag, as this time, Penta, Je’Von Evans, and Dragon Lee joined forces to take on The Vision! This was a decent little match; the wrestling was good, but it was more just a build-up match to this weekend’s World Tag Team Championships match! Towards the end of the match, Logan Paul would attempt to hand Penta’s Money in the Bank Briefcase to Austin Theory, only for Penta to cut him off! However, Penta would then get floored by Bronson Reed, with Je’Von Evans and Theory fighting in the ring, before Bron Breakker wrecked Evans with a Spear to get the win! New Tag Champs this Saturday?!
Grade: C+
Royce Keys VS Solo Sikoa
After Liv Morgan basked in her and The Judgment Day’s glory, and Jade Cargill, Michin, and B-Fab destroyed Bayley backstage, it was Main Event time as Solo Sikoa finally went one-on-one with Royce Keys! This was the first match we’ve seen Royce Keys have since he formed 946, meaning this was the debut of his brand-new entrance! To be fair, it was pretty cool, with security walking Keys down to the ring with Jaida Parker out front! Keys beat Sikoa up for a lot of this match, up until the point where Solo was going to get the win, only for 946 to cause the disqualification! Roman Reigns and The Usos would then arrive to even the odds, with a brawl taking place before Reigns got smashed with a steel chair by another mystery man! Unbelievably, that mystery man was revealed to be none other than 2-time TNA World Champion Cruz Montana, with Montana beating the crap out of Roman, as OTM put Jey Uso through the announce table! Then, as 946 left, Sami Zayn showed up and nailed Reigns with a Helluva Kick, making a statement ahead of Crown Jewel! Firstly, well done to Cruz Montana on going from the lower card in AEW, to TNA, and now to the Main Event feud moving into Survivor Series! However, this is a massive loss for NXT, with Montana looking like the biggest star on the show each week, so that’s a shame! Also, what happens to his feud with Dion Lennox now?!
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