WWE Monday Night Raw Review: 09/11
Penta and Je’Von Evans Start the Show, Bron Breakker VS Oba Femi
After a recap of Crown Jewel, this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw kicked off with Penta and Je’Von Evans basking in the glory of becoming the brand-new World Tag Team Champions! Je’Von was particularly over the moon as this is the first-ever Championship of his WWE career, whilst Penta just kept telling everyone that he loves them! Bron Breakker would then appear out of nowhere to wipe out the Tag Team Champions, with Bron quickly calling out Oba Femi! Oba would happily answer the call, leading to a surprise contest to start the show! Like Wade Barrett said on commentary, this could be a Main Event match on a Premium Live Event, and yet we got it on a random episode of Monday Night Raw! The Vision got involved on multiple occasions, including when Logan Paul handed Breakker a pair of brass knuckles! However, nothing was able to keep Femi down for long, with Oba dropping Bron with a Fall From Grace, only for Paul and Austin Theory to jump into the ring to cause the DQ! After the match was over, Penta and Je’Von Evans ran down to make the save, evening the odds as I assume we’re building to a 6-Man Tag Team Match (with Bronson Reed in place of Logan Paul)!
Grade: B- (Overall)
Ethan Page Celebrates, Rey Fenix VS Chad Gable VS Big Cass: Intercontinental Championship Number 1 Contender’s Match, Cody Rhodes Speaks
After Iyo Sky told Jackie Redmond that she has a good surprise incoming for The Judgment Day, 946 pulled up to the arena! Ethan Page then made his way down to the ring, accompanied by four models, as All Ego wanted to celebrate becoming the brand-new Intercontinental Champion! After beating a wrestler on the best run of his career, Ethan is ready to give the token of excellence what it really needs: a real Champion holding the Title! Chad Gable would then interrupt Ethan, with Gable throwing shade at Page, whilst both Big Cass and Rey Fenix would also arrive, staking their claim for an IC Title shot! Eventually, Adam Pearce would appear in the entranceway to book a Number 1 Contender’s Triple Threat match, which just so happened to be next! Chad and Rey are excellent; I’ve said that time and time again this year, but gosh, is Big Cass boring! Cass is made to look dominant, and yet he never comes off convincing in the slightest! Gable delivered a ridiculous Chaos Theory to Big Cass at one point, although that seemed to cause Chad more harm than good, with Cass eventually dropping Master Gable with a massive Chokeslam! However, Rey Fenix would then deliver a Frog Splash onto the pair of them, with Fenix pinning Gable to get the win! I’m not sure that having Chad Gable get pinned for the second-straight week was a particularly good idea, but Page VS Fenix should be great! Anyway, after the match was over, 946 showed up and attacked all three men in the ring, with Cruz Montana hitting Spin the Block as Royce Keys challenged Roman Reigns to come down to the ring at the end of the show to acknowledge him!
Grade: C+
Cody Rhodes was out next to discuss what went down at Crown Jewel, with Cody admitting that whilst he didn’t need to Punt Randy Orton in order to win that match, he loved doing it! Cody then asked Rey Mysterio to make his way down to the ring as they’re going to be the 2 team captains for Team USA VS Team Mexico at Survivor Series! Both men are clearly excited for the idea of this match, with it being a traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series match, although both Rhodes and Mysterio are yet to decide who’s going to be on their teams! This brought out Dominik Mysterio, who believes he should be the Captain for Team Mexico, which his father quickly rejected! Annoyed by the situation, Mysterio asked Cody to join Team USA instead, an offer that The American Nightmare also turned down, with Dom furious about the idea of either Rey or Cody managing to find someone better for their team than The King of the Luchadores! Clearly, Cody has, as CM Punk’s music hit, with The Best in the World offering his services to Team USA! Whilst this doesn’t feel very important, I appreciate the fun and relaxed nature of doing Team USA VS Team Mexico! Also, “Dirty” Dom was excellent in this segment!
Grade: B-
Bayley VS Michin, The Judgment Day VS Iyo Sky and ?
It was then straight into the next match as Bayley looked for revenge when she went one-on-one with Michin! I have to say, I found this to be quite an enjoyable match! Bayley has always been one of the absolute best female wrestlers to ever do it, whilst Michin is an underrated in-ring competitor! This match went back-and-forth, with neither woman getting a clear advantage, before Bayley would eventually score the win with an Elbow Drop! After the match was over, Jade Cargill and B-Fab attacked The Role Model from behind, with Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, and Tatum Paxley’s attempt to make the save getting dashed by Fatal Influence! Jacy Jayne and Jade Cargill would then shake hands, seemingly forming some sort of alliance on the road to WarGames! 6 VS 6?!
Grade: B-
After Rey Mysterio asked Penta to join Team Mexico at Survivor Series, The Judgment Day made their way down to the ring as they were set to face Iyo Sky and a mystery partner in Tag Team action! That mystery partner was none other than Becky Lynch, who made her way down to the ring to a rather limited reaction! I personally think this was because a lot of the fans genuinely hoped that this was going to be the spot for the return of Rhea Ripley (even if that wouldn’t have made much sense)! What we did get, however, was a decent match which saw Roxanne Perez shine! The Prodigy is amazing; she deserves to be Champion! Speaking of Champions, Raquel Rodriguez hasn’t been on a great run of form recently; losing to Iyo Sky in back-to-back weeks, and incredibly, she once again lost to Sky here! I’m guessing this means that Raquel will retain when they eventually face off for the Intercontinental Championship, but damn!
Grade: C+
Roman Reigns and Royce Keys Come Face-to-Face
After Adam Pearce informed The Judgment Day of upcoming Title defences for both Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, and Je’Von Evans told Penta that Cody Rhodes asked him to represent Team USA at Survivor Series, the final segment on this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw saw Roman Reigns and Royce Keys finally come face-to-face! Whilst Royce Keys praised Roman Reigns for being a man of his word, Royce isn’t, with the rest of 946 appearing around ringside! However, Roman hadn’t come alone either, with The Usos, Solo Sikoa, and a returning Jacob Fatu all appearing outside, getting a modicum of revenge by setting the 946’s truck on fire! Roman would then do a good job of fighting 946 by himself, up until he got floored by Cruz Montana, before The Bloodline ran down to start a massive brawl! The big difference between this week and other weeks was Jacob Fatu, as Fatu ran wild, destroying Carmelo Hayes with an insane Samoan Drop, before The Samoan Werewolf delivered a Splash to Melo through the announce table! The 946 would then retreat, with Roman Reigns issuing a challenge for WarGames! Having Jacob Fatu back in the fold instantly makes The Bloodline feel better, with that shot of him appearing in the flames outside being one of the coolest I’ve seen in recent memory!
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