Monday Night Raw Review - February 13, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Adam Pearce Announced Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley as the Main Event

I thought it was too late for Lynch and Bayley to try to work their way into the women's Elimination Chamber match, but apparently not. Truthfully, Pearce should have told them, "Sorry, not sorry," but at least the Triple Threat match they set up for the main event had stakes, and it's not like WWE hasn't done a seven-person Chamber before (see: 2018). Belair wanting to welcome all challengers was in line with what her character would be. All in all, this segment was well done.

The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Damian Priest) def. The Street Profits

Priest and Montez Ford will both be competing in the United States Championship Elimination Chamber match, so this was a logical match to do. It would have been silly for Balor to lose before the intergender tag match on Saturday, so him pinning Angelo Dawkins for the victory was the right call. This was an enjoyable affair for as long as it lasted. I also liked how Dominik Mysterio said Rhea Ripley wouldn't be appearing again before she returned anyway to lay out Beth Phoenix.

Bobby Lashley Attacked Brock Lesnar During Their Contract Signing for Elimination Chamber

This was the sort of stuff I was hoping to get from these two heading into their first match at Royal Rumble 2022, but better late than never. Lesnar was anxious to have Lashley sign the contract, but Lashley played mind games with Lesnar instead by signing it from the stage. I thought Lashley was still a babyface, but this segment indicated otherwise. This was great and left me looking forward to their rubber match. I'm expecting some sort of a non-finish to set up a gimmick match at WrestleMania 39.

Piper Niven def. Michin

Both of these women came up short in last week's qualifier for the women's Chamber, though neither of them were pinned. Of the two, Niven needed the win more as she should be booked as a dominant powerhouse now that she's finally been repackaged. There wasn't much to the match and the crowd was quiet, but what we got was actually quite good. It's encouraging to see Niven given a chance to shine.

Cody Rhodes Endorsed Sami Zayn; Rhodes def. Baron Corbin

Rhodes' exchange with Paul Heyman last week was on another level and this was equally exceptional. What a spectacular segment. Rhodes endorsing Zayn face-to-face was what I wanted to see but didn't think we'd actually get it. The mic work here was phenomenal and I loved how Rhodes showed confidence in Zayn even though Zayn wasn't confident in himself. Another nice touch was this segment starting out of nowhere in the middle of a backstage Baron Corbin promo. That turned Rhodes vs. Corbin into an impromptu match coming out of the commercial break and the way it was executed felt organic. WWE has nailed it with Rhodes since his return, and if they can keep it up through WrestleMania, he absolutely has to be the one to dethrone Reigns.

Asuka, Nikki Cross and Carmella def. Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez and Natalya

Although this was billed as being Raw vs. SmackDown, it was impossible to care about the brand warfare aspect of the match because the Brand Split has meant nothing since Triple H took over Creative. That said, it was a well-worked match with Asuka being the obvious star. I loved how she wrecked everyone in the ring regardless of whether they were her opponents or partners. She is absolutely the odds-on favorite to win the women's Chamber on Saturday.

Bronson Reed def. Mustafa Ali

I'm glad they're having Ali embrace the whiny character he's become in the past few months, constantly begging for opportunities he doesn't deserve despite always losing. Meanwhile, Reed has been handled perfectly so far. Ali had a brief flurry of offense, but otherwise, this was all about Reed. He was extra impressive in this outing. I would be all for him taking the United States Championship, especially if the only other option is him getting beat this early into his run.

Austin Theory Attacked Seth "Freakin" Rollins on Miz TV Hosted by The Miz; Rick Boogs def. Miz

Logan Paul eliminating Rollins from the men's Royal Rumble hadn't been acknowledged prior to this point, so I appreciated Miz brought it back up here and it was fitting given his own history with Paul. Rollins had sound logic for disliking Paul (which will hopefully make Paul the heel in their program) and Miz getting fired up and mentioning that he's actually headlined WrestleMania unlike Rollins was excellent. I expect Rollins to eliminate Theory from the Chamber to get his revenge once and for all. Additionally, Boogs beating a weakened Miz was fine. Time will tell as to whether he can get over long-term.

Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair def. Bayley and Becky Lynch in a Triple Threat Match (Non-Title)

I feared this would be the WrestleMania match at one point, so I'm glad we got it here. Plus, it made for a star-studded main event before Elimination Chamber. Lynch or Bayley would have earned entry into the women's Chamber had they won, but Belair winning keeps the match as is. This was consumed by commercial breaks, but it was an entertaining Triple Threat otherwise. I know there were rumors of Lynch teaming with Lita and possibly Trish Stratus against Damage CTRL at Elimination Chamber, but I'd rather they save that for WrestleMania instead.

Overall Show

Raw's been on a roll since Raw 30 as this was another strong show from the red brand. The three hours won't be without a fair amount of filler and dull points, but there's been less and less of it since Royal Rumble I've noticed. The build to Elimination Chamber has been successful and thus this was an effective go-home show. I'm excited for the event, not only because of the card on tap but also because of the electric environment Montreal is bound to bring.

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