Jamie-Leigh brings us this weeks Raw Recap!
To open Raw, we see the arrival of Paul Heyman, Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa earlier in the day. Heyman tells Jimmy that he needs to solve the Sami Zayn problem and Solo will take care of the Kevin Owens problem.
Match 1: Kevin Owens vs Solo Sikoa
Before the match can even begin, Kevin Owens attacks Solo Sikoa, the two brawl on the outside of the ring for a short while, until Kevin Owens rolls back into the ring. The match now officially starts. I love that these two are big powerful men, but they are so agile as well. A hard hitting match between the two, neither man is looking weak. Jimmy Uso runs out, distracting Owens whilst he is on the top turnbuckle. Solo able to take advantage of the distraction. We see more action on the outside. This is a really good match! Owens hits some big moves on Solo including a swanton bomb, goes for the pin and Jimmy Uso breaks it up leading to the DQ. Jimmy and Solo on the attack after the match, until Sami comes out to make the save! Jimmy and Solo retreat through the crowd. Sami extends a hand to Owens, but Owens doesn’t accept it. That was a really good match! I like how Solo and Owens show both power and athleticism. The ending of the match really helped to further the story. Grade B-
Recap of Bobby Lashley at SmackDown.
Backstage Segment: Bobby Lashley went to SmackDown to face Bray Wyatt man to man. But instead, Bray played games. Bobby wants to know what it will take for Bray to face him like a man. Behind Lashley, we can see the TV start to flicker, then the big Raw logo behind Lashley flickers as well. Lashley doesn’t see this, or just doesn’t acknowledge it.
Backstage Interview: Carmella
The interview starts with Carmella talking about how she should be in the Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania, but she isn’t because of Adam Pearce being incompetent. Chelsea Green appears and agrees completely with Carmella. Green says that after the match, they should go speak to Adam Pearce’s manager. Carmella asks Green to accompany her to the ring.
Match 2: Bianca Belair vs Carmella w/Chelsea Green.
Carmella using a lot of heelish tactics in this match, Bianca is using her power and athleticism. A lot of taunting between the two ladies. Chelsea Green there to help out with distractions. Carmella hits a superkick and gets a 2 count. Chelsea gets into the ring and is thrown out by Bianca, Bianca follows Chelsea to the outside and throws her into the timekeepers area. The match continues when Bianca gets back into the ring. She hits Carmella with the KOD and picks up the victory. Chelsea gets back into the ring and her and Carmella begin to attack Bianca, Asuka’s music hits and she enters the ring. Carmella and Chelsea stand face to face with Asuka and she spits blue mist which hits Chelsea in the face. Carmella and Chelsea exit the ring, leaving Asuka and Bianca to stare at each other in the ring. This wasn’t actually a bad match, obviously the main focus is Bianca vs Asuka at WrestleMania, but it did give Carmella and Chelsea some decent TV time with the looks of forming a team. Grade C-
Backstage Segment: Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
Sami asks Owens if he now sees what he means, that the Bloodline cannot be taken down by one person. Sami knows how the Bloodline works, because he was in the Bloodline. Owens says he knows, he has been fighting them alone for 8 months. Owens asks Sami to leave him out of his plans.
In Ring Segment: Miz to moderate the face to face meeting of Seth Rollins and Logan Paul.
We see a recap of last week’s Miz TV. Logan Paul and Seth Rollins enter the ring, massive crowd response for Rollins. Miz attempts his “my hand goes up, your mouth goes shut” bit, but the crowd continue to sing Rollins entrance music. Logan tells the crowd to shut up as the segment has a time limit. Crowd continue to sing. Logan claims he is better than Rollins, the crowd chant some choice words at Logan. Seth tells Logan that we don’t like him because he is the scum of the earth and we don’t want him in our house. Seth says the time for talk is over, it’s time to fight. Logan tells Seth, that if he wants to do something he will do it, but he doesn’t want to do it because he doesn’t fight for free. Miz says he can make the match happen at WrestleMania because he is the host. Seth tells him to go backstage and sort it, then throws Miz out of the ring. Logan attacks Seth, goes for the stomp, but Seth avoids it. Seth then backs Logan up into the corner, but Miz interferes, gets a superkick from Seth for his efforts. Logan manages to hit Seth with a right hand, knocking down Seth. Logan tells Seth to let him know about WrestleMania when he wakes up. Nice segment, a lot of crowd interaction. I really don’t like Logan Paul, I will admit that he does have talent but there is just something about him that just really annoys me. Hopefully it will be a half decent match between Seth and Logan at Mania.
Recap of the VIP Lounge from last week’s Raw.
Match 3: Omos w/MVP vs Dolph Ziggler
We see Mustafa Ali in the crowd with a Ziggler sign, clearly continuing the story between him and Ziggler. What has Dolph actually done to basically now be a jobber? This is just a squash match to keep Omos looking dominant before his match with Brock Lesnar. Omos defeats Ziggler easily. After the match, MVP tells the crowd, that Omos will tame the Beast at WrestleMania. Awful use of Ziggler, I get that Omos is supposed to be a monster, but Ziggler should be able to do more. Grade F
Backstage Segment: Maximum Male Models watching Otis and Chad Gable – Baron Corbin interrupts as he thinks the MMM’s are talking about him, he gets told they are talking about Otis. Maxine tells Corbin that if he can take out Chad Gable, she will consider taking on Corbin as a client.
Backstage Segment: Paul Heyman, Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa in a locker room. Heyman tells Jimmy that he is the man who will solve the Sami Zayn problem. Heyman tells Jimmy that he needs to bring Jey back into the Bloodline, otherwise Roman will blame him.
Match 4: Finn Balor w/ Judgement Day vs Johnny Gargano w/ Dexter Lumis
These two should put on an excellent match. With Judgement Day and Dexter Lumis at ringside, there is the possibility of all hell breaking loose, and both men are extremely talented. It’s a fast paced match, plenty of trading of offence. We are getting a good match without any interference (so far). We do get Gargano flying outside of the ring and taking out Dominik. Edge’s music hits! Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley go towards the entrance to try and stop Edge, but he comes through the crowd, pushes Balor off the top turnbuckle. Gargano hits the Final Best and pins Balor for the victory. After the match, Lumis takes out Priest, Edge gets into the ring and spears Balor. Edge tells Balor it’s not over! This was a great match, between two very talented men. I’m happy that Gargano picked up a win. It’s a good way to further the storyline between Edge and Judgement Day. Grade B
Recap of SmackDown – Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns Segment.
Backstage Interview with Edge: Edge says that next week, he will be in the ring by himself waiting for Balor, but will Balor have the ‘stones’ to do the same.
Match 5: Nikki Cross vs Piper Niven
So, this match has come about because Piper Niven has injured Candice LaRae who Nikki has been stalking. Ok. Nikki with the attack on Niven before the bell rings, Nikki putting up a lot of fight, but she is inevitably squashed by Niven. Niven hits her finisher for the victory. Again, another squash match, it was nice to see Nikki try and bring the fight to Niven. Grade D
Backstage Segment: Rick Boogs and Elias. Elias tells Boogs that he won’t learn unless he goes out there and does it himself. Elias tells Boogs to go over to Bronson Reed and say “I want to fight you”. Boogs goes over to Bronson, and then Bronson comes over to Elias and asks “you want to fight me? See you next week”. Elias obviously not happy about this, and asks Boogs what he said to Bronson. Boogs tells Elias that he told Bronson that Elias wanted to fight him. Elias very unhappy about this and walks off. Boogs very confused by what he has done wrong.
In Ring Segment: John Cena and Austin Theory.
Stu the cameraman wasn’t there! I was looking forward to seeing the interaction between Cena and Stu. Cena gets into the ring and instantly Austin Theory’s music hit. Theory gets into the ring with Cena, there are lots of Cena chants from the crowd. Theory challenges Cena to a match at WrestleMania for the United States Championship. We get the verbal back and forth between Theory and Cena. Cena eventually asks the crowd if they want to see Theory vs Cena at WrestleMania. Crowd very vocal and loud about what they want. So, the match is set, John Cena vs Austin Theory at WrestleMania for the United States Championship. Cena wishes Theory luck, says he will need it. Cena then leaves the ring, heads up the entrance ramp. As he gets to the stage, Cena tells Theory that he isn’t ready for the WrestleMania stage, but Boston deserves to see someone who is, Cena then introduces Cody Rhodes! Cena and Rhodes share a hug on the stage.
Backstage Interview with Sami Zayn: Zayn says that Owens is right in everything he said earlier. Tonight’s match for both him and Jimmy Uso is about survival, and he isn’t going anywhere until he sees an end to Roman Reigns and the Bloodline.
Match 6: Chad Gable w/ Otis vs Baron Corbin.
The Maximum Male Models are watching this match backstage. Not a long match, a lot of offence from Corbin but it eventually leads to Gable putting on the Ankle Lock and making Corbin tap out. Gable is a brilliant wrestler, and it does seem like he can get a good match out of anyone. But this might have been one of the not so good matches. I hope that Gable gets a decent singles push soon. Grade D+
Recap of last week’s Women’s Tag Team Championship Match.
In Ring Segment: Becky Lynch, Lita & Trish Stratus – Damage Ctrl
Lynch & Lita are in the ring, say there is someone they need to thank, Trish Stratus comes out. Trish tells Lita she will always have her back. The three are interrupted by Damage Ctrl. Bayley tells the Hall of Famers that they are selfish, that it should be Damage Ctrl’s time. Trish tells Bayley she can go from ‘I am retired’ to ‘I was retired’ very quickly. Trish challenges Damage Ctrl to a match at WrestleMania – Becky Lynch, Lita and Trish vs Damage Ctrl. Damage Ctrl try to attack the trio, but get dealt with very quickly.
Main Event: Jimmy Uso w/ Solo Sikoa vs Sami Zayn
Zayn attacks from the bell. The match goes to the outside quickly, with both men getting the upper hand. Solo attempts a Samoan Spike, but the ref sees and ejects Solo from ringside. Zayn hits a Blue Thunder Bomb but Jimmy kicks out at 2. As both men are down, Jey is seen in the crowd. Jey makes his way to ringside, and stands on the announcers table. Jimmy is distracted by his brother, Zayn attempts a Helluva Kick, but Jimmy able to avoid. But Zayn rolls up Jimmy for the victory! After the match, Sami is stood outside of the ring, Jimmy is still in the ring and Jey gets in the ring. The twins stand face to face, but Jey leaves Jimmy in the ring. He stands with Sami, and pulls Sami into a hug!! Sami is shouting to Jimmy that it isn’t too late, but Jey hits Sami with a superkick! Jey throws Sami into the ring, and Solo comes back to the ring. The Bloodline attempt their beatdown on Sami, but Sami is saved by Cody Rhodes. A great main event, definitely something that has put even more interest on the Bloodline storyline. I’m hoping that Jey attacking Sami is him just saving Jimmy from Roman, rather than turning his back on Sami, but we will see where it goes. Grade B
Overall, this was a decent show. Clearly building more towards WrestleMania, but it has added more interest in certain matches for me personally. I’m looking forward to SmackDown to see what happens with the Bloodline.
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