Results
- El Grande Americano def. Original El Grande Americano (9:54)
- AJ Lee def. Bayley (WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship) (10:39)
- Penta def. Dragon Lee (WWE Intercontinental Championship) (12:40) (Recommended)
- Nattie def. Maxxine Dupri (4:18)
- Stephanie Vaquer def. Raquel Rodriguez (10:10)
Oba Femi shocks Brock Lesnar
This week’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, held on 3:16 day inside the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, opened with a sea of hooded men, led by Seth Rollins, abushing the ring. Rollins got on the microphone as the rest of the hooded squad guarded him from ringside.
Rollins said he plans to kill The Vision, which he said he created. “If you stand next t0 Paul Heyman, consider yourself marked for death,” he said. It didn’t take long for this segment to be cut off by Paul Heyman, who appeared on-stage.
Heyman, sporting a nasty, bruised-up right eye, appeared distraught while staring down Rollins. “I wasn’t going to come out here, but I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Heyman said, while getting booed out of the venue.
Heyman kept shouting “FAFO,” (F*** Around and Find Out), before shouting “F5,” which caused Brock Lesnar to appear. Lesnar took off his cowboy hat and leather jacket, making it clear he didn’t show up to talk. Rollins’ masked henchmen proved to be useless against Lesnar, who tossed around many and scared away others.
After taking out all of the men, Lesnar went face-to-face with Rollins. But then, suddenly, the lights went out and Oba Femi’s music hit. Femi got into the ring and had his eyes laser-focused on Lesnar – it seems clear that the NXT call-up wants to answer Lesnar’s Wrestlemania challenge.
Lesnar glanced at Rollins, causing him to roll out of the ring. This brief pause allowed Femi to lift up Lesnar for a huge powerbomb. Femi stepped on Lesnar’s chest while pointing to the Wrestlemania sign – ’nuff said.
Femi vs. Lesnar was the obvious Wrestlemania matchup choice, and that brief segment sold it quite easily. They’re making Femi a star with how they have called him up, and this Wrestlemania match, if handled correctly, could continue that. Rollins got overshadowed here big-time.
One Americano beats another Americano
We were shown a clip from Saturday’s AAA Rey de Reyes, when the Ludwig Kaiser version of the El Grande Americano won a four-way. The OG Americano was handcuffed outside of the ring, causing him to lose the match.
The first match of the night saw both the Original and copycat El Grande Americanos face off. A distraction at ringside by Rayo and Bravo Americano allowed the copycat Americano to take control of the match in the opening minute. The Original Americano had momentum heading into the break after sending the other Americano over the top and to the outside with a German Suplex. The Ludwig Kaiser Americano scored an awesome head kick during the break.
OG Americano was gaining steam as the show returned, scoring a series of German Suplexes. After taking out Rayo and Bravo, he got a near fall with a Burning Hammer. The crowd started booing after a Kaiser near fall, they got a little ahead of the referee’s count and thus thought the match had ended for a moment.
A moonsault from Kaiser was caught by the OG Americano for an Ankle Lock, but he reached the ropes to force a break. OG Americano bridged a deadlift German Suplex into a pin attempt, but the referee didn’t count the attempt due to Rayo being on the ring apron. As the referee was watching OG Americano take out Rayo, Bravo slid into the ring and loaded Kaiser’s mask with a metal plate.
OG Americano came off the top rope with a headbutt, but upon impact had collided with the plate in Kaiser’s mask! This allowed Kaiser to go for the pin and win in just under 10 minutes.
Michael Cole summed up what has made this rivalry so interesting thus far: We have yet to see a match that didn’t end due to the Kaiser Americano winning via interference. While the in-ring between these two was fun and the finishing sequence was creative, it felt a little less interesting due to the result being such a foregone conclusion.
Backstage, Roman Reigns was seen telling The Usos that they “did the right thing” by pressing CM Punk last week over his comments about their family.
Danhausen used a t-shirt cannon during the commercial break to plug his new WWE Shop merchandise.
Liv Morgan reveals the truth about Finn Balor
In a pre-taped video package, Liv Morgan revealed that, since she joined Judgment Day, she has been plotting to try to kick Finn Balor out of the group: “I only put up with you out of respect for your relationship with Dominik.”
“You couldn’t hang with the Judgment Day anymore,” she continued. “You’re pathetic, you’re a loser, you’re washed up, and it made me sick calling you family every week.”
Morgan said everyone in the group is going to do better without him. Curious what JD McDonagh being able to “soar” will look like without a tag partner – maybe some appearances on Main Event?
The broadcast announced that Penta will defend his WWE Intercontinental Championship later tonight.
Backstage, Roman Reigns and The Usos were seen chatting about CM Punk again. The Usos said they still need an apology from Punk for his comments about their family. Reigns interjected: “I don’t need an apology, but y’all do.”
AJ Lee taps out Bayley in IC title bout
In the first of two title matchups tonight, AJ Lee put her WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship on the line against Bayley. Bayley was hoping to begin her first title reign in one and a half years, and more importantly, earn a win which could land her a spot on this year’s Wrestlemania card.
Commentary noted that the previous one-on-one between Lee and Bayley dates all the way back to 2013, when Lee stopped by NXT tapings at Full Sail University as part of her run as Divas Champion. Bayley won this title opportunity on last week’s Raw by prevailing in a gauntlet match.
Bayley countered a Shining Wizard into a Half Crab submission at the seven-minute mark, a fun sequence. Lee kicked Bayley away to escape the submission, but Bayley countered by coming off the ropes with a knee strike.
Lee escaped one Bayley-to-Belly, but was caught by the second attempt, although it only rendered a two-count. The two women traded strikes as they worked back up to their feet. Lee hit the ropes and scored a Shining Wizard upon second go around. A Black Widow submission was reversed into a sidewalk slam by Bayley.
Bayley climbed to the top for an elbow drop, but Lee rolled out of the way. Lee then locked in the Black Widow submission, which forced a tap to end the bout in 10 minutes. This was a short but fun title match between these two. Curious to see what they do with Bayley and this storyline of her potentially missing Mania again.
Back from a commercial break, we saw Becky Lynch attacking Lee on the stage. She brought Lee down to ringside, where she tossed the champion into the barricade and stomped a hole through her.
We were shown a clip of Randy Orton attacking Cody Rhodes on Friday’s episode of Smackdown.
Penta retains IC title in fast-paced showdown against Dragon Lee
Penta defended his WWE Intercontinental Championship in the next segment against an opponent not announced ahead of time. Who did he end up getting paired with? Dragon Lee!
These two were in some exciting back-and-forth exchanges late. Lee avoided a Mexican Destroyer from Penta, then, in a homage to former tag partner AJ Styles, connected with a Styles Clash for a near fall.
Penta escaped an Operation Dragon then got a near fall of his own with a Penta Driver. The fight went to the ring apron, where a springboard move from Penta was stopped mid-air by a superkick from Lee, sending the champ to ringside. Lee came flying through the ropes with a huge tope suicida, sending them both tumbling over the announce desk. Justified “Holy s***” chants for that moment.
Back in the ring, Lee hit an Operation Dragon, but it still wasn’t enough to beat Penta. Lee tried to come running forward with an elbow strike, but Penta dodged the move and came running off the ropes for a Mexican Destroyer. He scored the finisher then earned the pinfall win in 12 minutes. This was a really fun one – even though this match had no real storyline attached to it, I kinda wished they had gone a little longer.
Backstage, Logan Paul and Austin Theory were seen telling Paul Heyman that they can handle Seth Rollins for him. Heyman said that The Vision has no real leverage right now and thus shouldn’t try to go after Rollins. He proposed that Paul and Theory go after the tag titles, then move on to singles belts. Paul said they’re gonna take out LA Knight amid their quest toward the tag titles.
Nattie makes quick work of Maxxine Dupri
A grudge match was up next, as Nattie faced former Hart Dungeon trainee Maxxine Dupri one-on-one.
Dupri escaped a rear naked choke from Nattie, reversing the move into an Ankle Lock. Nattie reversed the move into a roll-up, which Dupri countered into her own pin. Nattie transitioned to another choke, which Dupri worked her way out of with another roll-up. Dupri dropped Nattie with a wheel kick, then started to gain momentum with a pair of lariats.
Dupri connected with a splash in the corner then a Fisherman Suplex. She peeled down her singlet straps then scored her step-up legdrop to the back of the head for a near fall. Dupri went to the top rope a minute later, but Nattie dodged her high-flying attack then scored a nice discus lariat. The blow allowed Nattie to lock in the Sharpshooter. Dupri tried to crawl to the ropes and escape the hold but was dragged back into the middle of the ring, eventually causing her to tap out.
This was just four minutes, but I really enjoyed the action between these two. But my god, the crowd couldn’t care less about this program. They were sitting on their hands from start to finish.
The next segment saw Michael Cole interview Randy Orton, who was FaceTiming in from an undisclosed, low-bitrate area. Orton was first seen ignoring Cole, instead chatting with someone on the phone. Once he got off the call, Orton said he isn’t going to do an interview with Cole tonight. Orton said he had a chat with someone recently who made it clear why he attacked Cody Rhodes on Smackdown. “I’m a killer … Wrestling has more than one royal family,” he said. That was odd.
They announced that Orton will appear on Friday’s Smackdown.
Backstage, Danhausen put a curse on Grayson Waller. He originally intended to curse Kofi Kingston, but Kingston put Waller in front of him to dodge the spell. I thought Waller was already cursed, considering it’s been nearly six months since he last wrestled on Raw.
Vaquer takes down Liv Morgan teammate Raquel Rodriguez
The final match of the night saw WWE Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer go head-to-head with Raquel Rodriguez. The goal here for Rodriguez was to try and wear down Vaquer, who is set to face Judgment Day teammate Liv Morgan at Wrestlemania.
Rodriguez had the advantage before a commercial break, tossing Vaquer head-first into a ring post. Vaquer started to gain some momentum after the show came back, coming off the top with a crossbody to Rodriguez.
Vaquer set up Rodriguez for a meteora in the corner after knocking her down with a dragonscrew. She was about to land the Devil’s Kiss, but Rodriguez escaped the move then gave the champ a massive inverted suplex.
Rodriguez tried for a corkscrew splash in the corner, but Vaquer dodged the move. Vaquer hit the Devil’s Kiss the second time around. Morgan got onto the ring apron, briefly distracting Vaquer and allowing Rodriguez to drop her with a head kick. It was at this point that IYO SKY came down to the ring and chased Morgan.
Rodriguez pounced SKY, sending her flying onto the announce table. Vaquer came off the ring apron with a dive to Rodriguez, then she dumped Morgan over the guardrail and into the timekeeper’s area.
Back in the ring, a second crossbody attempt off the top from Vaquer was caught and turned into a powerslam from Rodriguez. A Tejana Bomb attempt from Rodriguez was countered into a roll-up from Vaquer for the victory in 10 minutes.
Backstage, Lyra Valkyria proposed a new gameplan for getting Bayley onto the Wrestlemania lineup together by going after the women’s tag titles. This conversation was interrupted by The Kabuki Warriors, with Asuka stating her frustration that they made her lose the #1 contenders match last week.
The broadcast confirmed that Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi is booked for Wrestlemania. It was also announced that next week’s Raw will include an appearance from Lesnar, as well as The Usos vs. Logan Paul & Austin Theory for the tag titles.
Roman Reigns strikes a nerve with CM Punk
The night closed out with an appearance from Roman Reigns, who is just weeks away from his Wrestlemania matchup against CM Punk.
Reigns was quick to call out Punk, telling him to come to the ring and “handle some business.”
Punk made his way to the venue and, in an attempt to psyche out Reigns, spent a long time high-fiving fans around the ring and posing for cameras. Punk said he didn’t appreciate Reigns referring to him by his legal name. He said he won’t do the same for Reigns “because I don’t obsess over you or look at your Wikipedia.”
Punk said he won’t call Reigns “Joe,” as he said that would be an insult to a Samoan he actually respects.
Punk claimed that he already won the main event of Wrestlemania, as he’s currently in Reigns’ head. Reigns said that Punk isn’t the one who made this fight a main event, stating that Punk hasn’t headlined anything for a long time.
Punk said that sending The Usos after him was a “right message, wrong messenger” situation. Reigns told Punk that if he wants to know what the top-dollar players in the company do, he needs to go ask his wife.
Reigns tried to climb through the ropes and leave but was stopped by Punk: “My ring, my belt, my show. I tell you when you can come and when you can go, and young boy, now’s not the time.” Reigns obeyed Punk, stepping back into the ring.
Punk said that he’s going to split Reigns’ ego in two at Wrestlemania when he wins the match with a GTS. Reigns said, “You’re not faster than me, you’re not stronger than me, you can’t do anything that I do in this ring. You’re not better looking than me; you’re nothing to me. This, you, that title on your waist, it’s an embarrassment. You’re a tryhard that’s making us all look terrible, because at the end of the day, you’re old.”
The old line bothered Punk, causing him to immediately drop Reigns with a right hand. Raw General Manager Adam Pearce, along with a few other WWE staffers, was quick to get between these two so as to prevent any further brawling. These two faced off as the show went off-air.
Unlike the past verbal sparring sessions between these two, many of which had a storyline being told throughout them, this one was just a back-and-forth slugfest. They took turns trading insults, trying to get a rise out of eachother, and it was Reigns who won. I like the storyline that both of these guys are trying to act smug, but in the end they’re both losing their temper and showing that they’re much more invested in this Wrestlemania matchup than they want to admit. I definitely preferred some past segments between these two, but I enjoyed this one.
Final thoughts
This was a solid episode of Raw. A strong opener which, while it definitely made Seth Rollins look like a footnote of the show, made Oba Femi look like a star. An enjoyable final segment, and the wrestling ranged from great to good. Raw is doing an adequate job of building to this year’s Wrestlemania.
