Welcome to Monday Night Raw as we barrel towards Wrestlemania 40. Number One Contender for the Women’s World Championship Becky Lynch looks for revenge when she goes one on one with the destructive Nia Jax. And amid all the Bloodline drama from Friday night, Drew McIntyre looks to rub salt into the wound against Jey Uso.
CODY RHODES IN-RING PROMO
We see a recap of Friday’s challenge laid out by the Rock and Roman Reigns, and it looks like we will waste no time getting an answer. Cody Rhodes is out and the crowd sings him to the ring. Cody sums up the Rock’s long promos saying the Rock called the fans meth heads and talked about Cody’s dog (don’t ever talk about his dog) and more importantly the challenge for a tag match on night one of Wrestlemania. Cody says that during their original conversation on the phone, Rock told Cody that the people wanted Rock v.s. Roman. You know, not the worst piece of explanation for this. Cody introduces Seth “Freakin” Rollins and it sounds like they are officially on friend terms. Cody acknowledges that Seth has continued to offer his help, but he fully understands if Seth wants to focus on Drew and decline the tag match. Seth says he respects Cody giving him the out, but he meant it when he said that taking down the Bloodline is the biggest thing they can do. Seth talks about Roman Reigns being so close to having absolute power with the Rock in the Bloodline. Seth has a new name for the Rock and it’s…Diarrhea Dwayne. OOF. Did Dwayne give him that one? Seth dares the Rock to try the World title off of him. He tells the crowd he received full medical clearance and he will be at Smackdown on Friday to confront the Bloodline. Cody tells Rock that him and Seth will be there Friday to give the Bloodline a clear answer on what is happening at Wrestlemania. Solid segment that was carried by just how over everything is.
GUNTHER DEFEATS DOMINIK MYSTERIO
If you’re the praying type, go ahead and say one for Dominik Mysterio who has to face *checks notes* GUNTHER?! Dominik has a death wish and starts chopping GUNTHER and even paint-brushing the Intercontinental champion. GUNTHER hits one chop on Dominik and that boy falls right out of the ring. Excellent. GUNTHER is just in there chopping Dominik and the crowd is eating it up. To Dominik’s credit he is not giving up and even gets GUNTHER in position for the 619…and then promptly eats a lariat that turns him inside out. Dominik actually hits the 619 but misses the Frog Splash and gets planted by the T-Rex drop kick. GUNTHER hits a massive powerbomb and Dominik has to tap out to a Boston crab. That was super fun match between two characters you wouldn’t expect to interact. I’d love to see a rematch down the line with a babyface Dominik.
BACKSTAGE WITH DAMAGE CTRL & ADAM PEARCE
Damage Ctrl is here at Raw and tell Adam Pearce that they are here only to scout the competition in Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler. Shinsuke Nakamura comes up and Pearce tells him he will have an announcement regarding GUNTHER’s opponent at Wrestlemania. I’m really thinking were getting a multi-man match now.
SHAYNA BASZLER & ZOEY STARK DEFEAT KAYDEN CARTER & KATANA CHANCE
We hear from former champions Kayden Carter and Katana Chance who say it’s Wrestlemania season and they will do whatever it takes to get a shot at the championships at the show of shows. Chance and Carter hit an impress Double Spanish Fly from the top onto Zoey Stark but it only gets a two count. Chance and Carter are so much fun to watch, they have some really innovative tag moves. They hit the After Party on Zoey but Shayna pulls Carter out into the Clutch. This distraction allows Zoey to rollup Chance for the win. After the match Damage Ctrl get in the ring. Dakota Kai says after the Kabuki Warriors retain their tag titles tomorrow night on NXT, they’ll fight Zoey an Shayna in Houston on Raw. Shayna says it’s about time and they’ll see them next week.
BACKSTAGE WITH THE JUDGMENT DAY
Judgment Day is in the trainers room with Dominik. Damian Priest and Finn Balor says they will make things right with Imperium and he expects JD McDonagh to make things right with GUNTHER. Gulp. Andrade comes in and quickly checks on Dominik before leaving. Very interesting.
NIA JAX DEFEATS BECKY LYNCH (VIA DQ)
Becky Lynch has her championship shot at Rhea Ripley but she also has a blemish on her record that goes by the name of Nia Jax. A win tonight by the Man would go a long way in boosting her momentum to Wrestlemania. Other than a flurry or two this match is all Nia to start with. Becky begins having success in the air, but when she jumps from the apron Nia catches her and plants Becky with a Samoan Drop onto the outside. Nia attempts the Annihilator but Becky moves and Nia gets nothing but the mat. Becky pounces and locks in the Dis-Arm-Her. Nia is able to leave the ring with Becky in her arms and tosses Becky into the barricade. Liv Morgan is here and she attacks Nia Jax! This match is over and Nia wins by DQ. Liv gets in the ring and starts to argue with Becky. Before they come to blows Nia grabs both of them and lays Liv and Becky out. I think a four way at Wrestlemania would be a fine match, but truly I’m not interested in anything other than a Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch match. Save the four way for Backlash.
BACKSTAGE WITH ADAM PEARCE & RICOCHET
Ricochet is backstage with Adam Pearce and says that closed mouths don’t get fed. Good fire out of Ricochet here and Pearce asks Ricochet to trust him. Judgment Day come in and say JD should have a shot against GUNTHER. JD starts to give his pitch to Pearce aaand we cut to commercial break.
BACKSTAGE WITH BECKY LYNCH & LIV MORGAN
Liv Morgan is walking backstage and Becky confronts her. Becky says she already apologized and when she did what she did last week it was because of Nia and not Liv. Liv tells Becky that the Man can dish it but not take it. They agree to fight next week. Rhea comes into frame and laughs at Becky’s problems.
ADAM PEARCE ANNOUNCEMENT
Adam Pearce says its been a challenge to find a worthy opponent for GUNTHER at Wrestlemania. He has narrowed it down to six men: Sami Zayn, Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bronson Reed, JD McDonagh and Chad Gable. These six men will compete next week in a gauntlet match with the winner facing GUNTHER at Wrestlemaina.
ANDRADE DEFEATS APOLLO CREWS
Andrade’s here for his re-debut and the full entrance is awesome. Glad he left and showed what he could do in AEW, Triple H clearly has plans for him. His opponent is Apollo Crews who is actually alive and well! Man it’s still a mystery they aren’t doing more with Apollo. Even if you don’t think he has all the tools, he is beyond good enough to be a weekly player on TV. This was a classic greatest hits squash match but it was down extremely well. Andrade looked great and got a great reaction. He may not be in the mix for Wrestlemania outside of a battle royal, but he will be an important piece in WWE TV post Mania.
SAMI ZAYN INTERVIEW
Jackie Redmond is backstage with Sami Zayn. She asks him what is going through his mind with the gauntlet announcement. Sami says he has been talking about the belief that a path to Wrestlemania would present itself. Now it has and this gauntlet match is the only thing standing in his way of making history. “This is it, this is the path. This match next week is the most important match of my career.” Valhalla and Ivar come in, Valhalla says she has been praying to the Gods all day as to why a man like Sami is in the gauntlet over Ivar. Wild because Pearce just announced it. Anyway a match is made with Sami and Ivar tonight.
BACKSTAGE WITH CANDICE LERAE & INDI HARTWELL
Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell are talking and Candice is freaking out about their recent losses. Indi tells Candice to relax and they will get them next time. Candice says their may not be a next time. Natalya and Tegan Nox are nearby and Natalya agrees. She tells Nox that they need to do whatever it takes to win. Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile come in and Maxxine tries to give Candice a pep talk. Candice tears Maxxine down and says she doesn’t need a pep talk from someone who couldn’t lace her boots. Damn. Look if this gets Candice Lerae the respect she deserves on TV, I’m all for it.
DAMIAN PRIEST & FINN BALOR DEFEAT LUDWIG KAISER & GIOVANNI VINCI (NON-TITLE)
This non title match is a result from the back and forth between Judgment and Imperium last week, but it also is a nice reward after Imperium beat the New Day last week in that street fight. The fans aren’t sure who to cheer here. GUNTHER and Dominik worked earlier because Dominik is a mega heel and GUNTHER is just so different to watch in the ring. This one is two heel tag teams that the crowd wants to boo. Halfway through the match the crowd starts to break out in “Let’s Go Balor” chants as Imperium cuts the ring off. Smart pivot to get the crowd more engaged with this one. Balor is a great heel but he is also an excellent babyface. Balor makes the hot tag to Priest who is cleaning house all by himself. Kaiser tries for a suplex but Priest swings the hips and plants Kaiser with a Broken Arrow. Balor gets back in and hits the Coup De Grace onto Vinci, which would have had the match won but for Kaiser breaking things up. Balor takes out Kaiser with a dive and Priest nails Vinci with a forceful South of Heaven for the win. This turned into a really fun tag match.
WWE HALL OF FAME 2024 ANNOUNCEMENT
Michael Cole gives a shout out to how Paul Heyman made him and Taz great announcers when they would sit in the edit bay after taping Smackdown. Very very cool to hear. The announcement was made online earlier but now we get the official graphic that Paul Heyman is the first inductee in the 2024 Hall of Fame. Well deserved for the modern day GOAT manager.
DREW MCINTYRE INTERVIEW
Jackie Redmond is backstage with Drew McIntyre and asks Drew if he thinks Seth listened to anything Drew had to say. Drew says no because Seth Rollins is a junkie. A spotlight junkie. I mean… Drew says that Seth can’t help himself. “He does this to the determent of his body and his mind.” Drew says he doesn’t care anymore, as long as Seth shows up at Wrestlemania. Drew says all he ever wanted from Jey Uso was an apology. Hilarious because Jey did apologize. God I love Drew.
BACKSTAGE WITH DAMAGE CTRL & RHEA RIPLEY
Damage Ctrl run into Rhea Ripley backstage and Rhea hits Iyo with the Walter White “stay out of my territory.” Iyo shrugs it off.
SAMI ZAYN DEFEATS IVAR
Michael Cole freaks out again about the antlers and Valhalla puts the antlers on Cole’s head! A huge “Michael” chant breaks out. Not a bad idea to have Sami have to fight off a much bigger man if he is indeed the one who wins the gauntlet next week. Ivar dominates most of this match, countering a Helluva kick attempt with his spin kick. Ivar plants Sami with the double underhook powerbomb but Sami is able to kick out. Ivar counters the Helluva kick again with the sit-out bomb. Ivar tries for the Doomsault but Sami moves and this time he does connect with the Helluva Kick for the three. After the match “Big” Bronson Reed attacks Sami with a body block and then nails the Tsunami!
GUNTHER INTERVIEW
Cathey Kelley is backstage with GUNTHER. She congratulates him on his victory over Dominik. GUNTHER gives respect to Dominik for bringing the fight. He says the field of challengers should be stacked and he is flattered that all of these competitors are fighting for a shot at him. Chad Gable interrupts GUNTHER and tells him that he is so sick of the condescending smile on GUNTHER’s face. Gable says this gauntlet match is his path to redemption for his daughter. “That means taking that smile from your face and putting it on my daughters face.” GUNTHER laughs it off but Gable is focused.
JEY USO PROMO
Jey Uso says that all he has heard from Drew is whining and complaining. If Drew wants an apology, then Jey is sorry. He is sorry for what he is about to do to Drew tonight. “And you’re gonna find out that Jey don’t play.”
BACKSTAGE WITH R-TRUTH, XAVIER WOODS & DIY
DIX/Regeneration X is playing WWE 2K24 with Xavier Woods where Miz comes in and says they need to hit Judgment Day where it hurts. They need to take the tag titles from Priest and Balor.
DREW MCINTYRE DEFEATS JEY USO
Man this entrance Jey does not get old, it’s going to look amazing at Wrestlemania. These two waste no time with Drew flinging Jey outside onto the announce table and then saying YEET into the camera. We’ve seen these two battle a few times on Raw since Jey joined the brand but they always bring the intensity. Drew keeps bringing Jey outside and ramming Jey against the barricade and ring apron. Jey gets the upperhand and is about to hit the Uso Splash when Solo Sikoa appears from the crowd. The distraction from Solo is enough to allow Drew to hit the Future Shock DDT but Jey kicks out. Cody Rhodes is here and he goes right for Solo. They brawl through the crowd as Jey counters a Claymore in the ring with a series of superkicks. Jey plants Drew with a spear and goes up again for the Uso Splash only to see Jimmy Uso waiting for him on the outside! Jey turns around right into a Claymore and Drew gets the win. We’re at the point where the Bloodline has cost Jey way more than they ever did to Drew. Jimmy grabs a chair but Seth Rollins comes out to make the save, blowing right past Drew in the process. Drew waits for Seth to run off Jimmy before laying the World Champion out with a Claymore. Drew is yelling at a lifeless Seth that this is what happens when you take your eyes off what’s important. Really strong close to a fun show.
