Monday Night Raw Review - August 15, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Judgment Day Attacked Rey Mysterio

Despite what they've done with Judgment Day since SummerSlam, I still can't bring myself to care about the group as much as I did when Edge was at the helm. They've lost a lot and I can't shake the feeling they're headed for more losses against Edge, both next week when Damian Priest faces Edge and again at Clash at the Castle when Edge likely faces Finn Balor. That said, this was a solid segment to get more heat on Judgment Day. Rhea Ripley getting physical with Rey was a nice touch and I'm sure we're headed to a mixed tag team match involving Beth Phoenix eventually.

Asuka and Alexa Bliss def. Nikki A.S.H. and Doudrop in a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Asuka and Bliss were always my pick to win, though there was the chance of Nikki and Doudrop advancing if there was interference from Bayley's crew. Thankfully, that didn't happen. This was better than the quarterfinal match on last week's Raw and the crowd was into the action. Asuka and Bliss vs. IYO SKY and Dakota Kai is the next logical match to do in the semifinals. I still hope SKY and Dai go all the way and become champions.

Ciampa and The Miz def. Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander

Ali and Alexander have been having a blast as partners in recent weeks on Main Event and I love that they were able to bring their alliance to Raw this week. Granted, they lost, but it was a fun match and they looked credible in defeat. Ciampa picking up the win for his team was interesting. They've been acting really close in recent weeks, leading me to believe a betrayal from Miz is coming.

Drew McIntyre def. Kevin Owens by Disqualification

Call me a traditionalist, but I prefer seeing SmackDown Superstars relegated to SmackDown and Raw Superstars relegated to Raw. I know McIntyre is challenging for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Clash at the Castle and may be appearing on both brands if he wins, but there really was no reason for him to be on this show when he's already being advertised for Friday's SmackDown. Nonetheless, the verbal exchange that preceded this from McIntyre and Owens was outstanding. You can tell they weren't overly scripted and that's what these shows need more of. The match that followed was damn good and I'm excited for an eventual rematch down the road. This was one instance where I didn't mind the disqualification finish because neither guy should have lost.

Riddle and Seth "Freakin" Rollins Brawled

This marked Riddle's first appearance since SummerSlam where he was laid out by Rollins for a second time. Not only did Riddle announce he was cleared to compete, he also revealed he was in the building and went down to the ring to brawl with Rollins. This was very well done and I loved that Riddle showed a more serious side, which we haven't seen from him on the main roster. Riddle vs. Rollins is now official for Clash at the Castle, by the way.

Veer Mahaan def. Beaux Keller

We haven't seen Mahaan on Raw since the July 18th episode where he had that weird backstage segment with Sarah Schreiber. I was worried he was going to become a comedy character, but based on how he came across here, he's back to being a monster heel. That's a relief. This was a successful showcase for Mahaan, who I hope can get back on track with a string of wins and find some direction.

United States Champion Bobby Lashley def. AJ Styles

They built up this first-ever-encounter with a really nice video package earlier in the evening. Thus, I was surprised it wasn't saved for the main event. Perhaps they plan on continuing the feud with them involved, but Miz and Ciampa coming down to ringside halfway through wasn't necessary (though I thought what they did with Dexter Lumis jumping the barricade was cool). The crowd was quiet early on and they didn't any incentive to cheer one babyface over the other, but they came alive once they picked up the pace down the stretch. They had a great match on the whole and I appreciated that it had a clean finish.

Dakota Kai def. 24/7 Champion Dana Brooke (Non-Title)

I was so hoping this would be contested for the championship so Kai could win it and proceed to throw it in the trash, never to be seen again. Sadly, that was not the case. Regardless, this was a simple squash for Kai. I wouldn't have minded it being even shorter than it was, but at least it was relatively brief and Kai won decisively. This was one of those matches that may have been better received earlier in the show. The crowd sat on their hands and I can't blame them with it being so late in the night, not to mention this wasn't a meaningful match by any means and Brooke has meant nothing for so long.

Theory def. Dolph Ziggler

This was Theory's first Raw in a few weeks and this feud hasn't been furthered since prior to SummerSlam, so I would have waited to do the first one-on-one match between them. I also wouldn't have done it in the main event when Lashley vs. Styles had higher stakes. This was as well-wrestled as you'd expect despite not having a ton of crowd heat. Theory winning clean was the right call. Hopefully this is the end of this program, but what's next for Theory if he's not cashing in anytime soon (or at least I hope he isn't)?

Overall Show

This was probably the least eventful edition of Raw since Triple H took creative control and I was definitely starting the feel the three hours by the end, but it was still much more bearable than your average Raw from the Vince McMahon regime. Styles vs. Lashley and McIntyre vs. Owens were two terrific matches, there was quality storyline advancement, and they built toward matches for next week's Raw and at Clash at the Castle. The new formula, or lack thereof, for Raw has been a breath of fresh air and the Triple H effect is absolutely being felt. At the end of each episode, I'm left looking forward to the following Monday night, something I have not been able to say with this show in several years.

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