Monday Night Raw Review - August 29, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Damian Priest) def. Dolph Ziggler and AJ Styles; Edge and The Mysterios Attacked Judgment Day

I know Balor beat Ziggler last week on Raw, but why was Styles the partner for Ziggler? I know he's had issues of his own with Judgement Day, but he hasn't feuded with them since the spring, so that was a bit random. The match itself was well wrestled and gave the group a much-needed win. The post-match angle with the babyfaces outsmarting the heels set up Edge and Rey Mysterio vs. Balor and Damian Priest at Clash at the Castle. So, I guess Dominik will just be in their corner? Is that where he turns? Also, I'm disappointed it doesn't look like Beth Phoenix will be involved in any way after they teased her confronting Rhea Ripley last week.

Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss and Asuka def. Dani Mo, Kayla Sparks and Katie Arquette

I've heard of Mo, Sparks and Arquette (who's likely related to David Arquett) before, so I'm glad they were able to keep their actual ring names here instead of having them changed. This was the standard squash match for the babyfaces that it should have been. We've barely seen Belair in action over the last month, so I liked that she returned to the ring here for a dominant win ahead of Clash at the Castle. They effectively hyped up their six-woman tag team match at the event with their post-match promo.

The Street Profits def. Alpha Academy

This match was preceded by Kurt Angle appearing and being immediately interrupted by Alpha Academy, who were about to attack him for denying their invitation to join the group before Street Profits made the save. The stipulation was that Angle would've been forced to join if Street Profits lost, but sadly, that turned out not to be the case. On the bright side, I liked how they gave an otherwise pointless match more meaning. It was a very good match, they got time, and the finishing sequence was terrific. In other words, I can't complain.

Matt Riddle and Seth "Freakin" Rollins Had a Heated Exchange Ahead of Clash at the Castle

No, that isn't a typo; WWE has officially given Riddle his first name back. Here's hoping they ditch the "Freakin" from Rollins' next. Nonetheless, this was excellent exchange from the two rivals before their big bout on Saturday. I was already looking forward to it, but the intensity they showed here really added an extra layer to their feud and made it feel more personal, especially once the other remarks were shown that were supposed to be "off the air." This was wonderfully done and I've been digging this more serious side to Riddle lately.

United States Champion Bobby Lashley def. The Miz (Non-Title)

It was never explained what happened to Miz after being abducted by Dexter Lumis last week (other than Lumis being arrested during NXT and later released as we found out on this show), but that's the point. Miz was too scared to share his side of the story, so now we're left wondering what exactly the hell happened. Lashley vs. Miz was solid but nothing out of the ordinary. It merely existed so Lumis could continue playing mind games with Miz, and it worked.

Kevin Owens def. Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Jey Uso

The setup for this was fantastic. I'm glad Sami Zayn joined The Usos on Raw, not only because he's the best thing going in WWE right now but also because we got that interaction between Owens and Zayn. I wasn't sure if they were actually going to go with Owens and Zayn teaming up against The Usos, but it indeed looks like they're headed in that direction and I couldn't be happier. I just hope they take their time with it and not rush into it anytime soon. Owens vs. Uso was a quality contest that kept Owens' momentum alive and the storytelling was strong.

Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah def. Dakota Kai and IYO SKY to Win the Vacant WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

I applaud the effort to make the tag titles feel important for the first time in forever with the pre-match video package and by putting this match in the main event slot. From an in-ring standpoint, this wasn't a main event-worthy match, but given the circumstances, I was fine with its placement. Any matchup involving Aliyah isn't going to be great, but it was decent enough. Much like the vast majority, I wasn't a fan of the outcome. Rodriguez and Aliyah winning wasn't worst case scenario of everyone in the tournament and Belair's crew costing them the win was logical. Although Kai and SKY winning the belts would have been predictable, it was the way to go in my opinion seeing as how Rodriguez and Aliyah simply aren't interesting as characters and don't have the same chemistry that Kai and SKY do. I'm willing to give Triple H more of a chance to see how this plays out since he's still new to the role, but I'm skeptical, especially if Sasha Banks and Naomi are on their way back soon. They should be feuding with a heel team for the titles.

Overall Show

I agree with the general consensus that this was one of the weaker editions of Raw since Triple H took over Creative, but I wouldn't at all call it a bad show. I actually enjoyed this episode on the whole, even though it ended in a sour note for me. Nothing too newsworthy happened outside of the new champs being crowned in the main event, but there was a ton of excellent storytelling and that was carried the episode for me. That said, it wasn't the best go-home show I've seen. I'm sold on Clash at the Castle, but the Riddle and Rollins exchange was the only thing that left me more excited for the event than I was previously.

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