WWE Monday Night Raw Review: 04/08

Seth “Freakin” Rollins Starts the Show, Rusev VS Sheamus

After a chaotic Summerslam weekend, the Monday Night Raw following started with Seth “Freakin” Rollins and company as Paul Heyman waxed lyrical about the “future of the industry” Bron Breakker, the “Tribal Thief” Bronson Reed, and the “real World Heavyweight Champion”, Seth “Freakin” Rollins! Seth then said that this should show that no one should ever doubt him again, that he is the greatest, and this brought out LA Knight who called Seth smart, but not because of his cash-in, but because he managed to weasel his way out of a beating at Saturday Night’s Main Event! Knight then quickly challenged Rollins to a match for the World Heavyweight Championship, and whilst The Visionary said no, Adam Pearce came out and made it official for the show’s Main Event! Rollins and Heyman’s promos were very good here!

Grade: B

Dominik Mysterio wasn’t happy with the lack of respect from The LWO, and AJ Styles then walked over to say he’s not done going after the Intercontinental Championship! It was then time for the opening match of the night as Rusev once again clashed with Sheamus! This was more of the same between these two men; it’s very hard-hitting, and they’re absolutely giving it their all! However, I do feel like this story needs to end soon, because we’re just getting the same type of match every time! However, unlike in previous encounters, this match ended in a count out before both men continued to brawl around the ringside area, with referees and security guards having to break everything up! Trust me, they didn’t do a very good job!

Grade: C+

Penta VS Grayson Waller, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair VS The Judgment Day: WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships

The New Day were still grieving backstage when Grayson Waller confronted Adam Pearce about his guys not getting a rematch for the World Tag Team Championships! This annoyed Pearce who instead decided to give Waller a match with Penta, and that’s exactly what came up next! This was actually a good match, I enjoyed it, I like Grayson Waller, it’s good that he’s being featured on TV again! The New Day were fun on commentary, they excel at that role, and eventually, Penta was able to score the win with an insane-looking Mexican Destroyer!

Grade: B-

After Rusev and Sheamus continued to brawl through the back, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair made their way down to the ring to celebrate becoming the brand-new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions! This segment was horrible in terms of promos, but thankfully, The Judgment Day came out asking for a rematch, and that’s exactly what they got! This match was more than fine, I think Roxanne and Raquel are terrific together, I’m enjoying them more and more by each passing week! Alexa and Charlotte are fine together, I’d end it sooner rather than later, but that wasn’t to be here as Bliss nailed Perez with a Sister Abigail to score a successful retention!

Grade: C+ (for the match)

Dominik Mysterio VS Dragon Lee, Becky Lynch Gets Interrupted

Iyo Sky was talking with The Kabuki Warriors backstage before Rhea Ripley told Iyo to go and beat Naomi so she can finally beat her for the Women’s World Championship! Lyra Valkyria had no interest in hearing Bayley’s apology, telling her to leave her alone, before Dominik Mysterio went one-on-one with Dragon Lee! These guys have history, fighting over the NXT North American Championship back in late 2023, and they had some good moments here! Both men are also going to be fighting for the AAA Mega Championship at TripleMania in a couple of weeks’ time, and yeah, this was pretty decent! Ultimately, though, it was all about the finish as not only did El Grande Americano show up, but two other masked men also appeared, helping “Dirty” Dom to a victory! However, Dominik wouldn’t stand tall as he was taken out by AJ Styles!

Grade: B-

Sami Zayn talked about wanting to become a World Champion “the right way” before he got involved in the Sheamus-Rusev brawl! Becky Lynch was then out next to talk about how she’s done with Lyra Valkyria, and it’s all about giving new opportunities to different women now! This is when Becky got interrupted by Nikki Bella who called Lynch a “liar and a fraud”! Becky then retaliated by taking shots at Nikki’s failed relationship with John Cena, and the fact that her scene from Happy Gilmore 2 got cut! Bella then challenged Lynch to a Women’s Intercontinental Championship match, and The Man decided she’d rather sucker punch her rival instead! I thought Becky Lynch was brilliant here; this is the best she’s looked in years!

Credit: WWE

Grade: B

World Heavyweight Championship: Seth “Freakin” Rollins VS LA Knight

After Naomi laughed at Stephanie Vaquer and Natalya challenged Becky Lynch to a match (which Becky instead agreed to face Maxxine Dupri), it was Main Event time as Seth “Freakin” Rollins put his newly won World Heavyweight Championship on the line against LA Knight! This was a solid match, it got plenty of time, but as expected, it wasn’t exactly dramatic as that will be saved for a later date! Instead, as Seth was looking to Stomp LA’s head onto the exposed floor, CM Punk attacked, causing the disqualification, but Knight was not happy at all! This is when Bron Breakker arrived and wrecked Punk with a Spear as Bronson Reed dealt with The Megastar, and this eventually resulted in Seth Rollins standing tall with a Stomp! However, just as I thought the show was about to end, Roman Reigns’ music hit as The Tribal Chief showed up in what was a terrific moment! Unfortunately for Roman, he couldn’t do anything, as Rollins delivered a nasty-looking Stomp followed by a Breakker Spear to see The Visionary stand tall! I sense WarGames!

Grade: B-