Monday Night Raw Review - February 20, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Sami Zayn Attempted to Reconcile with Kevin Owens; Zayn def. Baron Corbin

Originally, I was disappointed that Zayn and Owens didn't officially reunite at the end of Elimination Chamber given they were in Montreal and it would have made for an amazing moment, but it actually makes more sense to hold off on that because they still have some storyline issues to work through with each other. Zayn apologized to Owens here, but that clearly wasn't enough. Over a month remains until WrestleMania 39, so WWE can take their time telling this story ahead of the inevitable tag title match with Owens and Zayn facing The Usos. Corbin vs. Zayn was an impromptu match a la Corbin vs. Cody Rhodes last week, though this was a bit more competitive. It worked out well and resulted in a good rebound win for Zayn.

Mustafa Ali def. Dolph Ziggler

These two have been interacting and going back and forth in backstage segments for weeks, but I wouldn't blame you for forgetting about them or for not knowing they existed since some of them have aired exclusively on WWE's social media channels. The bottom line is that it's impossible to care about either guy right now. This was a nice match while it lasted, but it felt like it belonged on Main Event. The story is that Ali took Ziggler's advice and is using it in a heel way (a la Bo Dallas from his NXT days), and although I like that character development for Ali, it might be too little, too late.

Paul Heyman Interrupted Cody Rhodes

Of all the promos Rhodes has cut since returning at the Royal Rumble, this was easily his weakest yet. That isn't to say it was bad by any means, but he and Heyman weren't able to capture the same magic they had a few weeks ago due to Heyman appearing on the Titantron and not in person. It was an adequate exchange, but nothing fans will remember like their last encounter. It's worth noting the crowd didn't rebel against Rhodes despite Zayn getting screwed at Elimination Chamber, so I'm thinking he'll be just fine.

Asuka def. Nikki Cross

This was far from the battles they had in NXT years ago, but it was still a solid match that was given a decent amount of time. It suffered from a predictable outcome, however, with Asuka winning. Asuka will have to lean more heelish if the build to her bout with Bianca Belair for the Raw Women's Championship is going to be interesting, but I have faith they can make it work. Asuka facing Carmella next week is smart given the mini feud they've had over the last month.

Seth "Freakin" Rollins def. The Miz

I realize this stemmed from Rollins laying out Miz on Miz TV last week, but it didn't need to be as long as it was. Yes, Miz is a two-time WWE Champion, but he's also lost quickly and decisively to Dexter Lumis and Rick Boogs in recent months, so it's virtually impossible to take him seriously. They had quality chemistry here, but it was certainly questionable to have Miz score as much offense as he did. No clue what his announcement next week is, by the way. That first face-off between Rollins and Logan Paul should be fun.

Becky Lynch and Lita Challenged WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Damage CTRL on Ding Dong, Hello! Hosted by Bayley

Although the execution of this segment was awkward, I liked the end result. For the record, I'm over the feud between Bayley and Lynch, but Lynch wanting to challenge for Damage CTRL's WWE Women's Tag Team Championship (which have not been defended since December, by the way) alongside Lita is logical. It's a cool attraction for next week's Raw. There are a lot of ways these women can factor into WrestleMania, but I'm hoping it will be a six-woman tag team match with Lynch, Lita and Trish Stratus taking on all of Damage CTRL.

Bronson Reed def. Chad Gable

Reed just keeps rolling with these squashes. He was extremely impressive at Elimination Chamber despite being the first man eliminated, and although he comes out to a quiet reaction most weeks, he wins over the crowds by the end with his awesome offense. He can go far if can continue to be built up. As for Otis being scouted by Maximum Male Models, that has the potential to be comedy gold if done right, as stupid as that sounds.

Bobby Lashley Attacked Elias

Elias is just another guy on the roster at this point and I can't imagine ratings are through the roof any time he appears. That said, he played his role well here in getting laid out by a frustrated Lashley, who beat Brock Lesnar by disqualification and was subsequently put through a table at Elimination Chamber. This was a quick and painless segment to establish that Lashley is putting everyone on notice, most notably Lesnar and Bray Wyatt (who called out Lesnar and Lashley on SmackDown last week). I'm sorry but Lashley vs. Wyatt one-on-one does nothing for me (assuming that's the direction they're going in), especially because there's no story there. A Triple Threat would be more tolerable.

United States Champion Austin Theory def. Edge

As much as I wanted to see the top titles split again, I've been happy with how the United States Championship has taken center stage on Raw in the absence of a world champion. Edge contending for the title made it feel important considering he likely hasn't challenged for a midcard championship in almost two decades. This was an entertaining main event with the finish playing out predictable with Finn Balor costing Edge the win, but I appreciated that Theory got to pin Edge and we didn't get a disqualification. It's a huge victory for Theory (who can now move on to feud with John Cena) while Edge and Balor can resume their rivalry heading into 'Mania.

Overall Show

Raw had a streak of strong shows from Raw 30 through last week, but that streak ended with this episode. The opening segment was excellent and I enjoyed Theory vs. Edge, but a lot of what we got in the middle was middling. It didn't help that the Ottawa crowd was quiet for a majority of the show, but it's not like they had a lot to get excited about. This was a flat follow-up show coming off a hot Elimination Chamber event, but WWE still has the rest of the road to WrestleMania to heat things up again.

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