Monday Night Raw Review - February 27, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa and Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champion Jimmy Uso) def. The Street Profits

The Usos still haven't formally interacted since they defended the SmackDown Tag Team Championship on the February 10th edition of SmackDown. Jimmy said nothing new during the pre-match promo, but the match itself was enjoyable for what it was, even though the outcome wasn't really in doubt. I want to see WWE capitalize on Montez Ford's standout singles showing at Elimination Chamber and not continue to compete in random tag matches, but it was business as usual for him and Angelo Dawkins here.

Brock Lesnar Accepted Omos' WrestleMania 39 Challenge on The VIP Lounge Hosted by MVP

We all hoped MVP throwing out the WrestleMania challenge to Lesnar on Omos' behalf last week was a red herring, but apparently not. This was a bizarre segment. Lesnar looked to be having fun out there, but the crowd didn't sound like they knew how to react to most of it. They were probably hoping the match wouldn't be made official like the rest of us. Unfortunately, it was. What an absolute waste of Lesnar at WrestleMania.

Cody Rhodes def. Chad Gable

There are three guarantees in life: death, taxes and Chad Gable having an excellent performance before losing. I was looking forward to this from the moment it was announced earlier today and, unsurprisingly, it did not disappoint. This was very well wrestled as expected with a terrific finishing sequence. Gable sold the hell out of that Cody Cutter and the subsequent Cross Rhodes. Post-match, Rhodes declared he'll be at SmackDown this Friday when Roman Reigns is also present.

Asuka def. Carmella

These two have had a mini feud going since Carmella came back on the Raw after the Royal Rumble. Carmella has played her new (old?) role really well and has been an excellent foil for the aggressive Asuka. Although I'd prefer to see Asuka steamrolling through her opponents ahead of WrestleMania, I don't mind her having a competitive contest with Carmella. I'd like to see her not scream during her promos, though. That's too close to the last version of Asuka.

Candice LeRae def. Piper Niven

Niven had LeRae beat in that Elimination Chamber four-way qualifier on Raw a few weeks back before Carmella stole the pin, so they had some unresolved issues. This was decent, but it was way too short to be anything memorable, and the quiet crowd couldn't have cared less. LeRae won with a little assistance from Nikki Cross at ringside, so apparently they might be a team going forward. Either way, more needs to be done to get these women over with the audience.

Seth "Freakin" Rollins Invited Logan Paul Before Attacking The Miz on Miz TV

In the least shocking moment in recent Raw history, Miz's announcement was that he'll be hosting WrestleMania this year. I suppose that makes sense given it will be Hollywood themed and there's no other obvious match for him. The Rollins and Miz stuff has been done to death lately and I don't love how Rollins is still doing the over-the-top nonsense. I want Paul getting under his skin to give him more of an edge. At least this set up Paul returning to Raw next week.

Bobby Lashley def. Elias

Lashley laid out Elias with ease last week and defeated him with ease this week as he should have. I was going to praise this for being short and sweet, but then we basically got confirmation it will be Lashley vs. Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania followed by Wyatt shenanigans on the Titantron. It was more of the same from Wyatt, who hasn't had any character development in many weeks and has become one of the least interesting parts of these shows.

Johnny Gargano def. Otis

I appreciated that Gargano brought up in his backstage interview earlier in the episode that he previously lost to Otis several months ago. In fact, I believe that marked that his first loss since returning in August, so I was glad he was able to avenge the loss. This match was more focused on Otis interacting with Maximum Male Models at ringside than the action itself, but it was fine while it lasted and gave Gargano a needed win before he faces Finn Balor next week.

Becky Lynch and Lita def. Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai and IYO SKY) to Win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

Lynch and Lita teaming up was certainly a spectacle and I'm sure it meant the world to Lynch. I wanted the match to be better, but there were a handful of spots that were awkward and didn't look great. Perhaps it was Lita's ring rust, but I applaud the effort from all four women, nonetheless. Trish Stratus received a bit of a subdued reaction when she came out (it absolutely would have been louder had this happened in Canada last week), but the visual of her, Lita and Lynch celebrating together to close the show was special. I have no problem with Lynch and Lita winning the titles on Raw if the idea is for them to team with Stratus to take on all of Damage CTRL on Night 1 of WrestleMania while Lynch and Lita defend against Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler on Night 2.

Overall Show

This was a flat show a lot like last week. The crowd was sounded unimpressed by what they got and I can't say I blame them too much. There just wasn't anything overly exciting about this episode. Sure, we got some WrestleMania developments and plenty of matches announced for next week, but these three hours were largely a bore. The shows should be matching the energy Raw had coming out of the Rumble, not putting people to sleep a little over a month before the biggest event of the year.

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