Monday Night Raw Review - March 18, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Cody Rhodes Saved Jey Uso From The Bloodline

This was the first time we've gotten any mic work from The Usos face-to-face since they split up last summer and it was exactly what it needed to be to heat up their WrestleMania match. Jey played his role well as always, but credit to Jimmy for cutting his best promo in recent memory and I appreciated him taking the serious approach. I thought Rhodes saving Jey might set up a tag team match with them taking on Jimmy and Solo Sikoa later on in the show or next week, but it wasn't announced.

#DIY def. The Creed Brothers to Qualify for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder Match at WrestleMania 40

These teams originally collided late last year and the Creeds won that encounter, so I liked that #DIY were able to avenge that loss here. I also liked that the commentators told the story of #DIY never having a WrestleMania match before, making their win mean that much more. This was a super fun matchup with the Creeds having their most impressive performance on the main roster to date. They'll have other WrestleMania matches in their future, but this victory belonged to #DIY and I'm glad they went over.

Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell def. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter

Much like last week, there wasn't much to this match, but it was all about furthering LeRae's heel turn and having her show more aggression by taking advantage of an "injured" Chance. They kept it short and sweet as they should have. I'm really digging the stuff with Candice as it's given her something interesting to do for the first time since she returned to the company, and I'm curious to see if Hartwell will take her to task over her actions or ultimately turn heel alongside her.

Paul Heyman Interrupted Cody Rhodes

Rhodes has been taking a lot of verbal shots from Rock and I'm happy he finally fired back here. It was long overdue and he had some strong lines. Heyman's portion of the segment was also excellent and they set the stage for the Rhodes and Roman Reigns confrontation on Friday's SmackDown nicely. This was a tremendous piece of business all around. I really hope Rock remains heel post-WrestleMania so we can get him against Rhodes one-on-one eventually.

Ricochet def. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio

Fun fact: Prior to this, Ricochet's last televised singles match was against Mysterio back in October. Needless to say, the man has had zero direction since then, and while I'm all for giving him something to do, Mysterio made more sense to win here if he's in the midst of his own storyline with Andrade. It was a decent match but easily the weakest thing on the entire episode. Ricochet beating Mysterio this week and facing JD McDonagh next week feels like ass-backwards booking to me.

Intercontinental Champion Gunther and Sami Zayn Signed the Contract for Their Intercontinental Championship Match at WrestleMania 40

I wanted Chad Gable to win last week's number one contender's Gauntlet as much as anyone (and Gable's backstage interactions with Zayn before and after this contract signing were fantastic), but I have no doubt Zayn and Gunther are going to kill it at WrestleMania and they did a wonderful job of getting me even more excited for it. They're telling the story that Zayn is the ultimate underdog as always, but I still don't think he has much to gain from being the one to take the title from Gunther, especially after he already made history at 'Mania last year.

Awesome Truth def. Indus Sher to Qualify for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder Match at WrestleMania 40

I honestly couldn't tell you the last time Indus Sher wrestled on Raw before now. I realize the only reason they were considered for a qualifier was because they were an easy team for Awesome Truth to beat, but from a storyline standpoint, it's silly they would be involved in a qualifier and not Imperium. This match was whatever, but it didn't last longer than it needed to and the finish was fitting. Awesome Truth winning the tag titles at WrestleMania has to be the payoff Truth's lengthy storyline with The Judgment Day, right?

World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins and Drew McIntyre Exchanged Words

We've gotten a ton of talking from these two over the last few months and not as much physicality (probably because WWE doesn't want to take any chances with Rollins coming off his injury), but I'm not complaining because all of these segments with them have delivered. We've heard most of this material before, but their delivery was superb. With CM Punk returning to Raw next week in Chicago, will he somehow factor into their 'Mania match and possibly be appointed the special guest referee?

The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) def. Alpha Academy (Akira Tozawa and Otis) to Qualify for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder Match at WrestleMania 40

It was a no-brainer that New Day would advance to WrestleMania, but it was cool that Alpha Academy were made to look credible in defeat and score some close nearfalls. They had a well-wrestled match. It's worth noting that New Day have never won at WrestleMania before as a team. I don't think that increases their chances this year, but that is a pretty wild stat considering they've been around for a decade and have had a handful of 'Mania matches in that time.

Becky Lynch def. Nia Jax in a Last Woman Standing Match

I love the mini video packages WWE is putting together each week to make the main events of Raw and SmackDown mean more. The feud between these two since the fall has exceeded my expectations and this was a worthy blow-off. It wasn't on the same level as Lynch's Last Woman Standing match with Charlotte Flair from Evolution 2018, but it was still very good with a great closing stretch. I'm curious what more Lynch and Rhea Ripley will do to attempt to sell more viewers on their WrestleMania match in the next few weeks.

Overall Show

Some shows are better than others, but by and large, Raw and SmackDown have been producing terrific television and this episode was no exception. In addition to the obvious improvement in production, the mic work in particular has been on another level lately. We got plenty of top-notch promos on this show along with storyline development and solid wrestling. I'd argue this has been the best road to WrestleMania in many years, but it's important it culminates accordingly.

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