Monday Night Raw Review - February 6, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Street Profits Saved Edge and Beth Phoenix From The Judgment Day

You could just tell Edge is genuinely stoked to be back (alongside his wife, no less) and that makes me happy. He effectively recapped his rivalry with Judgment Day and set up himself and Phoenix against Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley in an intergender tag team match at Elimination Chamber. By the way, Ripley didn't appear with the rest of Judgment Day as it was said that she's currently in Australia doing promotional work for WrestleMania 39.

Damian Priest def. Angelo Dawkins to Qualify for the United States Championship Elimination Chamber Match

I liked how the opening segment transitioned right into this match because Dawkins and Priest were already in the ring. Dawkins has looked terrific in the ring for the last year and he's gotten himself into great shape, but of the two, Priest belongs in the Elimination Chamber. He's not winning back the U.S. title, but I'm looking forward to him interacting with everyone else in there. This was a good match with Dawkins looking competitive before eating defeat.

Dexter Lumis def. Baron Corbin

Corbin lost to Johnny Gargano in an Elimination Chamber qualifier last week, so he was looking for revenge here. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the match whatsoever, but the focus was more so on Corbin enduring yet another loss and JBL's reaction at ringside. Lumis has barely been used since his feud with The Miz ended, so Corbin losing to him means this latest push of his is officially dead in the water. JBL dumped him backstage afterward. I'd like to see Corbin return to his Lone Wolf roots, but I get the feeling this was done to write off JBL and that there aren't any plans to follow up on this.

Brock Lesnar Challenged and Attacked Bobby Lashley

Cowboy Brock continues to be a riot. He discussed his unresolved issues with Lashley, being eliminated by Lashley at Royal Rumble, and how they're currently tied with one win apiece. That brought out Lashley, who said Lesnar would get his desired match at Elimination Chamber, but only on his terms. Lesnar laying him out with an F5 was simple, but the crowd ate it up and even cheered for him to do it again. The endgame should still be at WrestleMania, so it's interesting they're not the rubber match there. I assume a fourth match is planned for 'Mania, ideally with a stipulation.

Carmella def. Candice LeRae, Michin and Piper Niven to Qualify for the Raw Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Elimination Chamber Match

Carmella is basically bringing back her old heel gimmick from several years ago and I'm all for that. She has no chance of winning the women's Elimination Chamber match, but this was her in-ring return and I had no issue with her advancing. It was a well-worked Fatal 4-Way with all four women getting their time to shine. LeRae and Michin will likely challenge for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship soon and Niven not getting pinned was key.

Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin def. Alpha Academy

Alexander and Benjamin have been on a mini losing streak lately and this marked their first win. Then again, Alpha Academy loses to everybody, so it shouldn't have been too shocking. In all seriousness, this was a very enjoyable affair and both teams worked with a sense of urgency. MVP was in the corner of Alexander and Benjamin for this, meaning we're one step closer toward that Hurt Business reunion.

Asuka def. Chelsea Green

Green disrespecting Adam Pearce backstage got her a match against Asuka. In other words, this was his way of punishing Green. This wasn't very long, but it was still longer than it should have been. With Green's current gimmick, she could have lost in under a minute here and it wouldn't have mattered. Asuka should be murdering people at this point (but not literally, of course). I'm on board with the recent repackaging of both Asuka and Green.

Cody Rhodes and Paul Heyman Exchanged Words

This will go down as one of the greatest promo exchanges on Raw in many years. What exceptional stuff from these two. I loved how Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns wasn't personal for Rhodes until Heyman made it personal with what he said about Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes has a story for everything and that anecdote he shared about Dusty's time in ECW was awesome. From the facial expressions to their material to how they finished it off, everything about this was wonderful. I appreciate that they're not waiting until after Elimination Chamber to start the build for Rhodes vs. Reigns. Fingers crossed we get more segments like this from them leading into WrestleMania.

Montez Ford def. Elias to Qualify for the United States Championship Elimination Chamber Match

With this taking place so late in the show and Elias being involved, I don't blame the crowd for being quiet for this early on. They eventually came alive thanks to Ford's fun offense. That outcome here was never in doubt as Ford is an excellent fit for the Elimination Chamber. Hopefully he has a breakout performance that sets the stage for him as a singles star (without The Street Profits formally breaking up).

Becky Lynch def. Bayley in a Steel Cage Match

This was much better than their last one-on-one encounter in late December as well as the Steel Cage match from the other night at NXT Vengeance Day. I'm glad they were able to have the match they were capable of after being cut from Raw 30 due to time constraints. Lynch teased backup earlier in the evening and it ended up being Lita, which was a cool surprise. Obviously, this isn't the end of the Lynch vs. Bayley feud as I hoped it would be, but does this mean we're getting Lynch and Lita vs. Damage CTRL at Elimination Chamber? Sign me up.

Overall Show

Raw 30 was a blast, but that was expected because that was an anniversary episode with legends. Last week's show was above average by recent Raw standards, but again, that was expected coming off Royal Rumble. I didn't have high hopes for this show, but it wound up being one of the strongest shows Raw has done in many months. There was a lot to like, plenty of build for Elimination Chamber and minimal filler. That's three straight weeks of thumbs-up episodes. We can only hope Raw can keep it up in the weeks ahead.

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