Top 10 Moments from WWE’s Raw
Here are the Top 10 moments last night’s Raw:
- 10.) Physicality during Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch’s faceoff
Dominik Mysterio opened the show, introducing Rhea Ripley and celebrating her win against Nia Jax in Perth at this past weekend’s Elimination Chamber. While the crowd drowned out his words with boos, they showered Ripley with adoration. Becky Lynch cut the celebration short, graciously congratulating Rhea before talking some trash in anticipation of their upcoming match at WrestleMania.
After exchanging a few words, Ripley and Mysterio started back up the ramp. This allowed Nia Jax to attack Lynch. Backstage, Jax explained that she feels she should be the one to challenge Ripley rather than Lynch.
- 9.) Sami Zayn ends his losing streak
Sami Zayn, still on the hunt for an avenue to WrestleMania, faced Shinsuke Nakamura. While the vocal San Jose crowd was fully behind Zayn, he fought from underneath for most of the match, with Nakamura controlling the action.
Ultimately, Zayn landed a couple of precise Helluva Kicks to seal the win, his first televised victory in months. This desperately needed victory helped Zayn pick up some momentum heading towards the biggest show of the year.
- 8.) Raquel Rodriguez dominates Chelsea Green
Following her impressive performance at Elimination Chamber, Raquel Rodriguez took on Chelsea Green. Prior to the match, Green took the mic and expressed her frustration over Rodriguez being the surprise entrant in the Last Chance Battle Royal, claiming she would have won had she known of Rodriguez’s participation in the match.
As for the match, Rodriguez quickly shut down Green by squashing her with a Tejana bomb in a match that lasted less than 90 seconds.
- 7.) Dirty Dom’s Next Opponent?
Reigning Intercontinental champion Gunther, joined by Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser, addressed the crowd after beating Jey Uso in their title match last week. He acknowledged that while Uso’s performance was impressive, and he was the closest to beating the Ring General… but he still lost. Gunther asked, after this defeat, who is left to be his opponent at WrestleMania 40? Only missing Rhea Ripley, The Judgment Day entered the ring. Damian Priest took the mic first, announcing the Judgment Day’s plan to acquire Gunther’s gold at WrestleMania. Gunther asked who of the four of them it would be, before Mysterio stepped up. Gunther laughed in his face and shoved him.
Later on backstage, Mysterio ran into Andrade. The recently returned luchador told Mysterio that he had a meeting with Raw General Manager Adam Pearce to discuss his next opponent, and said that he’ll see Mysterio soon.
- 6.) The New Day and Imperium battle
After the staredown with The Judgment Day, Kaiser and Vinci of Imperium remained in the ring to clash with The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods in a street fight. The two teams have been embroiled in a nasty feud for months now, but none of their previous bouts have hit as hard as this. Vinci was especially physical, dealing blows that could practically be felt through the screen.
The New Day responded by beating Imperium with kendo sticks, ones that left visible lesions on their backs. When it seemed like the new day had the match won, Kaiser dragged the referee out of the ring, preventing him from completing the count of three. The fight continued until Kaiser rolled up Woods and held onto his waistband to ensure the pinfall, and a victory for Imperium.
- 5.) Chad Gable pleads his case for a rematch at WrestleMania
Adam Pearce, in the middle of a phone call with Bronson Reed, was approached by Chad Gable. Gable explained why he should be Gunther’s WrestleMania opponent, saying that every other guy wants this opportunity to win the title, but for him, it’s personal. The last time Gable challenged for the title, Gunther made his daughter cry by savagely defeating her father while she watched from the front row.
- 4.) R-Truth’s new friends
The Miz, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa found a sullen R-Truth in The Judgment Day’s clubhouse. Truth only recently caught on to the fact that The Judgment Day did not want him in their group, and he reminisced about all of the good times he had with them. The Miz and DIY told Truth that they were going to cheer him up by getting revenge. R-Truth thanked The Miz, as well as Shawn Michaels and Triple H, not realizing that he was actually talking to Gargano and Ciampa.
- 3.) Drew McIntyre calls out Seth Rollins
Drew McIntyre came out to address the crowd about his victory at Elimination Chamber–and his upcoming WrestleMania match. The Scottish Warrior said that he was hurt during the men’s Elimination Chamber match, and that a doctor even told him he may not be able to compete at WrestleMania. But McIntyre reminded us that he is not CM Punk, so an injury won’t keep him from competing.
McIntyre continued to mock Punk by sitting down in the middle ring. After cracking a joke about Punk’s straight edge lifestyle, McIntyre beckoned his WrestleMania opponent–Seth Rollins–to join him in the ring. McIntyre inquired as to why Rollins was sticking his nose in The Bloodline’s business instead of focusing on his own WrestleMania match. McIntyre said he is worried about what will happen if Rollins gets involved with Cody Rhodes’ battle with The Bloodline. He expressed his concern, stating he wants Rollins at 100 percent at WrestleMania–but The Bloodline could injure him, or they could also interfere in the match and once again cost McIntyre his big moment. Rollins insisted that the risk was worth taking because the future of the company is at stake, firing up the crowd by saying The Bloodline must be taken down to secure the future of the wrestling industry.
- 2.) Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax ends in disqualification
After attacking Becky Lynch earlier in the night, and each of the women’s Elimination Chamber competitors last week on Raw, Nia Jax sought to continue her path of destruction in a match against Liv Morgan.
Jax overpowered Morgan for much of the match. Fans were excited to see Lynch emerge from the crowd to attack Jax, but Morgan was left disappointed that the match ended in a disqualification. Backstage, as Lynch firmed up plans with Adam Pearce to take on Jax next week, Morgan interrupted to tell Becky that her interference in the match was selfish.
- 1.) Cody Rhodes stands his ground
In the main event, Cody Rhodes took on Grayson Waller.
Courtesy WWE
This came about after Rhodes was disrespected by the Aussie at Elimination Chamber. As Rhodes dominated the beginning of the match, commentary announced that Paul Heyman was backstage.
Rhodes won the match, but didn’t have much time to celebrate. Heyman approached the ring flanked by three men in black suits. Rhodes grabbed a chair in anticipation of an attack from The Bloodline, but Heyman assured him that he was the only Bloodline member here. He was simply there to send a message to Rhodes, that he must rescind his challenge to The Rock–or else.
Rhodes refused, saying he used to be a fan of The Rock, which is why he has refrained from disparaging him in the press after being slapped in the face, so challenging The Rock to a match is the least he could do.
Heyman attempted to approach Rhodes, but Rhodes warned him that if he took one more step forward, he would not hesitate to attack. When Heyman neglected to heed his warning, Rhodes kept true to his words, attacking the three men. Heyman gave his signature “Call Roman Reigns” on his phone, which he also did for The Rock on his phone, and the show closed as Rhodes told Heyman that he is no longer being hunted by The Bloodline–he is now the hunter out for blood.
