WWE Monday Night Raw Review: 16/02

The Usos and LA Knight VS The Vision

This week’s edition of Monday Night Raw was supposed to start with The Usos, but The Vision quickly interrupted as Logan Paul wanted to put himself over! This brought out Adam Pearce, who gifted Bronson Reed a spot in next week’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match, before LA Knight showed up to set up a 6-Man Tag Team match between himself, Jimmy and Jey Uso, and The Vision! I thought this match was decent enough; I really like Bronson Reed, he feels like a clear leader in this group, whilst Logan Paul and Austin Theory are both very talented competitors! It was slightly odd seeing LA team up with The Usos, given their history, but I suppose that all of that is in the past now! Anyway, The Vision used their chemistry to great use, with Bronson sending Knight crashing through the barricade, before Reed delivered a Tsunami to get the win! After the match was over, Logan Paul started to trash-talk Michael Cole, leading to the masked man nailing Paul with a Stomp on the announce table (to end the segment)! Who is this guy?!

Grade: B-

Women’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Asuka VS Bayley VS Nattie, CM Punk Speaks

After Adam Pearce seemed confused over what was in this huge crate, El Grande Americano asked for a shot at the Intercontinental Championship, something Pearce agreed to as long as Americano could win his Number 1 Contender’s match tonight! After a video package for all three women, Asuka, Bayley, and Nattie collided in Triple Threat action, with the winner earning a spot in next weekend’s Women’s Elimination Chamber Match! I didn’t particularly enjoy this match; there were bits early on that I liked, but it felt like it got worse as the match went on! Asula and Bayley are so good; I don’t doubt that for a second, but I’m already bored of Nattie (again), and it’s only been two weeks! Her character is basically Ronda Rousey, and we all know how that went! Anyway, it was Asuka who eventually won this match after making Bayley tap out in the Asuka Lock, and dearest me, what are we doing with The Role Model?

Grade: C

Oba Femi told Adam Pearce that he’d need time to decide what’s the best move for him moving forward, resulting in Oba coming face-to-face with Rusev! Liv Morgan was then supposed to have a sit-down interview with Michael Cole, but it really didn’t last long as Stephanie Vaquer interrupted to cut an entire promo in Spanish. Now, whilst I don’t know what Stephanie said, it’s clear that it wasn’t very nice as Liv ended the segment crying! Personally, I’m really enjoying this feud, particularly as Dominik Mysterio being involved allows Vaquer to speak in her native language! Anyway, we then headed into the ring for another promo segment as CM Punk made his thoughts known towards Adam Pearce! See, Pearce and the WWE higher-ups aren’t impressed with Punk as they feel like he’s jeopardising the Main Event of WrestleMania, but the reigning World Heavyweight Champion isn’t worried as he knows that he’s The Best in the World, not Roman Reigns or Finn Balor! Speaking of Finn Balor, this brought out The Prince, but he wasn’t alone as both Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh accompanied their Judgment Day brother! Finn put himself over as the true Best in the World, but Punk laughed this off, stating that all of Balor’s accomplishments happened when he was alone, whilst now he’s just being held back by The Judgment Day! Because of this, CM Punk was happy to allow The Judgment Day to attack him to prove his point right, but Finn Balor had other ideas, holding back both Mysterio and McDonagh! This was effective, but we all know who’s winning at the Chamber!

Grade: B-

Intercontinental Championship Number 1 Contender’s Match: El Grande Americano VS ?, AJ Lee Calls Out Becky Lynch

After The Kabuki Warriors made it clear to RHIYO that Asuka’s going to be the one who wins at Elimination Chamber, El Grande Americano was set to go one-on-one with a mystery opponent in what was a Number 1 Contender’s Match for the Intercontinental Championship! The mystery opponent was revealed to be none other than Penta, and I was actually quite disappointed as I was hoping for Chad Gable! Anyway, this match was good fun; I enjoyed it, and I do think El Grande Americano is very good! Penta is also talented; I’ve grown fonder of him since I first saw him, and my only real gripe with this match was Michael Cole still getting Rayo and Bravo mixed up! Like, it’s not hard! Anyway, after a distraction by the Original El Grande Americano, a brilliant Mexican Destroyer was enough for Penta to defeat Americano, and I’m a bit confused why we’re going to do Penta-Dominik Mysterio again, but maybe that’s just me!

Grade: B

Raquel Rodriguez took Liv Morgan out to “touch grass”, whilst JD McDonagh wasn’t happy with Finn Balor not letting him take out CM Punk! Balor made it clear to McDonagh that he needs to prove that he’s good enough to be World Champion, not get help from others, before AJ Lee came down to the ring to cut a promo! AJ put herself over for carrying the Divas Championship with pride, saying that she now wants to focus on facing a number of talented women who have been killing it over recent years! However, that can’t happen until she overcomes her “Becky Lynch” problem, which is when she called out Becky to come and face her in the ring! Now, whilst Lynch did arrive, the Women’s Intercontinental Champion is clearly scared of Lee, hiding behind that fact by saying that she won’t attack AJ, so she won’t have “any excuses” when The Man comes out victorious in Chicago! I can’t lie, I’ll be quite happy for this feud to end soon, mainly cause I want to see AJ Lee fight different people!

Credit: WWE

Grade: C+

Men’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Dominik Mysterio VS Je’Von Evans VS Gunther

Credit: WWE

After Bronson Reed and Paul Heyman made it clear to Adam Pearce that he needs to deal with the masked man for good, it was Main Event time as Dominik Mysterio, Je’Von Evans, and Gunther went at it to earn their way into the Men’s Elimination Chamber! This was a really fun match; the best of the night, and I had a great time! The number of times that Gunther wrecked Je’Von was fantastic, and Dominik’s face when Gunther took a hammer off him was hilarious! Speaking of, Dragon Lee decided to show up and take out Gunther with the ring bell, resulting in The Ring General being out of the final action! So, this is when I expected Mysterio to get the win, but how wrong I was, as The Young O.G. nailed Dom with a fantastic O.G. Cutter to get the win! Je’Von Evans is going to be in the Elimination Chamber Match; that’s insane!

Credit: WWE

Grade: B+