WWE Monday Night Raw Review: 26/10
Adam Pearce Starts the Show, Sami Zayn VS Je’Von Evans: Undisputed WWE Championship
Adam Pearce was in the ring to start this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw as he needed to make an announcement regarding tonight’s Main Event! Unfortunately, Stephanie Vaquer is unable to compete in tonight’s Number 1 Contenders match, so instead, Becky Lynch is going to challenge Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Championship tonight! Pearce was then about to say more before he got interrupted by Sami Zayn, who wasn’t happy that the Undisputed WWE Champion had been asked to come down to Raw for promotional reasons, only to not get booked for the actual show! Sami used his privilege of being the WWE Champion to get some TV time for himself, kicking Pearce out of the ring as “The Last Real Good Guy” took shots at all the guys gunning after him! Zayn would also say that he is still underrated, even as WWE Champion, and that he should only be mentioned in the same realms as Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, and Eddie Guerrero! Sami would then get interrupted by Je’Von Evans, with The Young O.G. not happy to hear his name mentioned, to the point where he wants to go on to Crown Jewel and face Roman Reigns! Whilst Sami wasn’t having any of this, Adam Pearce was more than happy to return and give Zayn more TV time, with the Undisputed WWE Title on the line! As a segment, that was a pretty good way to start the show! As a match, this was also decent! Sami and Je’Von have fought in the past, so they know each other well, and I liked the fact that Sami was defending his Title against an up-and-coming talent; this worked well for an episode of Raw! When Sami tried to escape at one point, Penta showed up with his Money in the Bank Briefcase, causing a slight distraction, before Bron Breakker would wreck Penta with a Spear! This would cause more of an issue for Je’Von Evans, with Sami Zayn delivering a Helluva Kick to successfully retain his Undisputed WWE Title! After the match was over, Penta and Je’Von tried to fight back, only to get destroyed by both Breakker and Bronson Reed!
Grade: B (Overall)
Bayley VS Lyra Valkyria: No Disqualification, Raquel Rodriguez VS Iyo Sky, Chad Gable and Dragon Lee VS Big Cass and Ethan Page
Liv Morgan wasn’t happy about having to defend her Women’s World Championship against Becky Lynch, whilst Raquel Rodriguez told her that she’s going to set the tone of their night! We then got a video package recapping the feud between Bayley and Lyra Valkyria, before Penta and Je’Von Evans demanded that Adam Pearce gives them a shot at The Vision and the World Tag Team Championships! For some reason, Pearce booked this for Crown Jewel, so that’s certainly something! It was then time to put an end to a long-term rivalry as Bayley and Lyra Valkyria clashed in a No Disqualification Match! I really enjoyed their match at Saturday Night’s Main Event back in July; it was a brilliant way to put over a newly-turned Heel, but since then, WWE’s booking of Lyra Valkyria has been incredibly questionable! This match was the culmination of all of that! The wrestling was great; some of the bumps both women took were terrific! Bayley did a dive onto a steel chair; she also did a crazy dive that sent both her and Lyra through a table! The Role Model would also deliver an Elbow Drop to Valkyria through another table, and I just thought that the actual wrestling was superb! Unfortunately, we then got the finish, which saw Bayley force Lyra to tap out after using a kendo stick to her advantage! As much as it’s nice to see Bayley win for once, she shouldn’t be beating Lyra Valkyria, and Lyra certainly shouldn’t be tapping out! Like, where does Valkyria go from here?!
Grade: B+
Iyo Sky is going to remind Raquel Rodriguez of who she is tonight, whilst Royce Keys challenged Solo Sikoa to a match in Brooklyn, New York, for next week’s show! Raquel Rodriguez would then make her way down to the ring as the Women’s Intercontinental Champion was set to go one-on-one with Iyo Sky! There’s an argument that this match should’ve been for the Women’s IC Title, given the fact that Iyo pinned Raquel in tag action last week, but I suppose the decision not to put the belt on the line only made the result more obvious! I feel like I see Rodriguez and Sky fight all the time; I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve brought up the fact that Iyo VS Raquel was the first-ever NXT Stand and Deliver Main Event, but I will keep doing so until these two appear on different shows! As expected, Sky was once again able to get the better of Rodriguez, sneaking away with a roll-up victory to further build to their eventual IC Title collision! However, after the match was over, Roxanne Perez would arrive to take out Iyo, with The Judgment Day standing tall!
Grade: C+
After a weirdly shot Bloodline video that saw Solo Sikoa accept Royce Keys’ challenge for a match, Chad Gable and Dragon Lee teamed up to take on the pairing of Big Cass and Ethan Page! This match came about after both Ethan and Big Cass attacked Chad and Dragon Lee last week, with Page moving closer and closer to finally getting his shot at the Intercontinental Championship! Unfortunately, this match had to come to a premature end due to an injury to the Champion, with Gable landing hard on the floor! Ethan Page would then pin Dragon Lee to get the win, but all that matters now is Chad Gable’s health, as he is on a fabulous run at the moment!
Grade: -
Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan VS Becky Lynch
After The Vision said they accept the challenge of Penta and Je’Von Evans, it was Main Event time as Becky Lynch challenged Liv Morgan for the Women’s World Championship! I have to say, I’m a little bit confused as to what happened to Stephanie Vaquer given the fact that she competed on the recent WWE in Hawaii Tour, whilst Vaquer also filmed a video over the weekend literally pulling a Seth Rollins with her crutches! For some reason, storyline or not, WWE had to go with Liv Morgan VS Becky Lynch instead, which was fine for what it was, with a couple of decent near-falls! However, WWE was never going to win here, as people cannot stand Liv Morgan and The Judgment Day, whilst Becky Lynch having the Title again would be anything but inspiring! So, what WWE decided to do was have Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez break up a pinfall when it looked like Becky was going to win, causing the DQ finish, before both Chelsea Green and Iyo Sky ran down to make the save! This would then open the door for Tiffany Stratton to attempt another cash-in, only for Dominik Mysterio to pull Liv out of the ring! This is the problem with WWE; they’ve got some really exciting breakthrough stars, but they still repeat the same things from years past, and it’s boring!
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