Monday Night Raw Review - April 17, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Paul Heyman Announced a Short-Term Agreement Between The Bloodline and The Judgment Day

It was business as usual with The Bloodline (sans Roman Reigns) out in the ring until Judgment Day confronted them, only for Heyman to reveal that an agreement was actually made between the two factions to take care of each other's business. It was a cool twist. The segment lasted a little longer than it needed to, but it effectively set up two big matches for thee show. This also might be the last time we see The Bloodline and Judgment Day interact with the Draft coming up.

Solo Sikoa def. Rey Mysterio

Sikoa continues to working with all of the top talent and having impressive performances. This was no exception. It was an entertaining affair that actually made me sad we never got a Mysterio vs. Umaga feud back in the day (unless we did and I'm totally blanking). Not only did Sikoa win, he also kicked out the 619 before doing so (with an assist to The Usos, of course). That's quite the endorsement of Sikoa, who has to be the most protected star on the roster right now outside of Roman Reigns.

Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair def. Dakota Kai (Non-Title)

It feels like we're back in the fall of 2022 with Belair feuding with Damage CTRL again. Obviously, that was less than six months ago, so this didn't exactly feel fresh despite being a well-wrestled match. The rekindling of this rivalry should be brief before IYO SKY challenges Belair for the Raw Women's Championship. Plus, the focus is on the tension being teased within Damage CTRL and not so much Belair having to overcome the odds.

Adam Pearce Made Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar Official for Backlash

Rhodes called out Lesnar, who showed up and stood on the ramp, but Rhodes was held by the weakest security team you'll ever see. All in all, this was a well-done segment to officially set up Rhodes vs. Lesnar for Backlash. I was originally worried that Lesnar would be cheered over Rhodes, but that hasn't been an issue so far with Rhodes maintaining his popularity. We'll see if that's still the case in Puerto Rico.

Seth "Freakin" Rollins def. The Miz

Despite his abundance of television time, I don't think Miz has ever felt less important in WWE than he does right now based on how he's been booked for the last year or two. That said, this was a super fun match. These two have always had excellent chemistry together (their Backlash 2018 match for the Intercontinental Championship is still a classic) and this was another example of that. Unfortunately, it feels like Rollins is just spinning his wheels right now following his feud with Logan Paul.

United States Champion Austin Theory vs. Bobby Lashley Ended in a No Contest (Non-Title)

This was a pretty random match as there was no real reason for it to happen. Yes, Theory beat Lashley to retain the United States Championship back at Raw 30 in January, but it would have been nice if that was acknowledged beforehand. They had a quality contest and I was fine with the non-finish because neither guy should've lost. Bronson Reed attacking Lashley was perfect and it was the most heat he's gotten since arriving on Raw.

Trish Stratus Explained Her Actions

I thought Stratus' mic work was solid, but this might have been better suited in a sit-down interview backstage. The piped-in boos were noticeable and the "What?" chants were obnoxious as always, but I appreciated her explanation for why she attacked Lynch and Lita last week. No, it doesn't make much sense why she'd want to defend the tag titles with Lynch and be competitive with Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez if she was going to turn on her regardless, but whatever. I'm just happy we have another feud in the division that isn't over a title.

Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville def. Candice LeRae and Michin

You could practically hear a pin drop in the arena, that's how quiet the crowd was. It's a shame because the women worked hard and I'm a fan of everyone involved, but the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship scene continues to be ice cold. On the bright side, it's possible WWE took Corey Grave's comments regarding the division to heart because this is the most exposure the division has gotten in a while. The match was decent and gave the heels a win before they challenge for the tag titles on Friday's SmackDown.

Matt Riddle and Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens def. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio)

Judgment Day's mission was to prevent Riddle, Zayn and Owens from making it to Backlash in one piece. Obviously, they failed. This was a strong six-man tag team match with constant action and a lively crowd. The babyfaces reigning supreme was logical and we got a chaotic post-match brawl between everyone to boot. It was a hot way of going off the show after a largely lifeless third hour.

Overall Show

I thought last week's edition of Raw was better than this one, but it was still a vast improvement over whatever the hell that post-WrestleMania show was. I have no idea what Vince McMahon's status is with WWE Creative at this point, but I hope his involvement is kept to a minimum if the shows primarily remain run by Triple H. I enjoyed this episode on the whole, though the flow definitely died down during that third hour until the main event.

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