Monday Night Raw Review - February 26, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Becky Lynch Confronted The Judgment Day Before Being Attacked by Nia Jax

We've already seen Lynch and Rhea Ripley interact quite a bit this year, so this wasn't anything new from them, but it did set the stage nicely for their WrestleMania match that is now official. I'd actually like to see Lynch against Dominik Mysterio before then coming off their confrontation here, but WWE obviously doesn't do intergender stuff very often. Jax attacking Lynch was logical seeing as how their rivalry last month was never resolved.

Sami Zayn def. Shinsuke Nakamura

This was a rematch from two weeks ago when Nakamura beat Zayn. Of course, they've had a handful of matches in WWE since 2016 and nothing will ever top that original encounter, but this was still really good stuff. Zayn had to win with the redemption arc he has going at the moment, so this was the right result, especially if the idea is for him to challenge Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania.

Raquel Rodriguez def. Chelsea Green

Props to Rodriguez for working through her current condition at both Elimination Chamber and presumably on this show, too. I wish they'd tell that story on television and explain where she was prior to returning last week. This was a simple squash that gave Rodriguez a quick rebound win following her loss at Chamber, but Green also deserves credit for playing her role well and I liked that she got a chance to talk beforehand.

The Judgment Day Confronted Imperium

Gunther acknowledged the several Superstars who could conceivably challenge him at 'Mania, most notably Zayn and Chad Gable (who met with Adam Pearce backstage a little later on and cut an excellent promo). I still say it'll be Zayn, but I like that they're teasing other options, including Damian Priest in this segment. Priest cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase for a midcard title (a la Austin Theory) would be lame, but again, it's guaranteed to be a red herring. I wouldn't mind seeing that as a non-title match on Raw, though.

Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci) def. The New Day (Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) in a Street Fight

I appreciated that they aired a video package beforehand recapping the rivalry as it made the match mean that much more. Street Fights in WWE are typically tame, but this was an awesome effort from both teams. They made effective use of the stipulation and the crowd was into the action. Imperium beating New Day decisively is huge for them considering they've largely been booked as stepping stones on the main roster and not championship contenders.

Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark def. Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae

Hartwell got a hero's welcome in her home country of Australia on the Elimination Chamber Kickoff show but received the opposite reaction in front of this crowd, who couldn't have cared less about anyone involved in that match. It was fine but par for the course for the matches in the women's tag team division. Do we really need another multi-team match for the WWE Women's Tag  Team Championship at WrestleMania in an attempt to get everyone on the show?

Drew McIntyre Called Out World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins

McIntyre has been an absolute savage as a heel and it's been amazing. His portion of the segment was strong and his exchange with Rollins also delivered. McIntyre asked the question I've been wondering regarding why Rollins is so obsessed with taking down The Bloodline and Rollins gave a sufficient answer. This was another fantastic face-off from these two and I'm looking forward to seeing what more they'll have in store leading up to their World Heavyweight Championship clash.

Nia Jax def. Liv Morgan by Disqualification

With Jax attacking Lynch at the start of the show, I feared for Morgan here, thinking she'd lose clean so Jax could be protected. However, I'm glad that wasn't the case. Instead, Lynch interfered and caused the contest to be thrown out, which creates an issue between Morgan and Lynch and builds toward Lynch vs. Jax next week. The match itself was decent in the time it was allotted and I dug the David vs. Goliath dynamic.

Cody Rhodes def. Grayson Waller

This was your standard singles match and didn't end up feeling like it was main event material, but the crowd didn't seem to mind because Rhodes is so over. We ended up getting a lengthy post-match segment with Paul Heyman addressing Rhodes and really saying nothing of note before Rhodes fought off his security team and cut a fiery promo. That was the best part about whatever this was supposed to be. Heyman had an off night and his role here was unnecessary, but the segment was worth it was Rhodes' money line about hunting The Bloodline.

Overall Show

A thumbs-up edition of Raw featuring fallout from Elimination Chamber, quality wrestling and mic work, and plenty of hype WrestleMania hype and storyline development. I'm glad Raw is maintaining momentum on the road to 'Mania so far and the three hours are largely worthwhile each week with minimal filler. The production values being increased have also made the Monday night experience much more enjoyable.

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