Monday Night Raw Review - March 6, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kevin Owens def. Solo Sikoa by Disqualification

These two originally faced off on the last SmackDown before Royal Rumble in late January. This also had a non-finish, but I was totally fine with that because neither guy should have lost decisively. The match itself was entertaining and the crowd was into the action. Post-match, Sami Zayn saved Owens from Sikoa and Jimmy Uso. Owens walked off instead of accepting the alliance. I love that their reunion is being dragged out because it's going to be a big moment when it happens (and it'll be soon because WrestleMania 39 is in less than a month).

Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair def. Carmella (Non-Title)

Belair and Carmella are no strangers to one another, as they had a handful of matches in the summers of 2021 and 2022. Even with Carmella being gone for so long, this still didn't feel fresh, but it was a well-worked match that didn't overstay its welcome. Asuka and Belair continue to face off without actually doing anything, so the build has felt flat so far. Meanwhile, Carmella and Chelsea Green have great chemistry together and I wouldn't mind them sticking together as a team.

Logan Paul Attacked Seth "Freakin" Rollins on Miz TV Hosted by The Miz

Paul received nuclear heat from this crowd, while Rollins was beyond beloved. The mic work from all involved in this segment was solid and they effectively set up the WrestleMania match between Paul and Rollins, but the crowd reactions were really what made this a fun segment. The story they're telling makes perfect sense. Paul is back in his element as a heel and it makes you wonder why he was a babyface in the first place.

Omos def. Dolph Ziggler

Losing to Omos in under a minute has got to be a new low for Ziggler, short of being off the show all together. I appreciate that they're trying to tell a story with him and Mustafa Ali, and whatever the hell Ali is doing now is an improvement over whatever the hell he was doing before, but I'm not shocked crowds don't care because both guys are at the bottom of the barrel at the moment. Meanwhile, Omos needs a few more wins before he faces Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. Not that it would make him feel like more of a threat in any way, but it's better than nothing.

Johnny Gargano def. Finn Balor

I appreciated that the commentators acknowledged how these two first/last went one-one-one at NXT TakeOver (in Portland) three years ago. They have history and are capable of a great match, but they didn't receive enough time for this to reach that next level, nor was it intended to. The primary focus was furthering the feud between Balor and Edge with Edge costing Balor the victory and getting one step closer to their WrestleMania match.

Piper Niven def. Nikki Cross

I'm not sure if the idea was for this to be a hard-hitting affair for as long as it lasted, but it was far from a smooth encounter and didn't come off well. It was only a minute or so long, but it was rough. Of course, the two are former tag team partners, so they had bad blood and it was logical for them to be intense toward each other. On the bright side, Niven was able to rebound following her loss to Candice LeRae last week.

John Cena Accepted United States Champion Austin Theory's WrestleMania 39 Challenge

I'm definitely in the minority on this after seeing everyone's reaction on social media, but I was not a fan of this segment at all. That isn't to say it was terrible or anything, but Cena basically burying Theory with his promo was a bizarre approach. Why would anyone want to see Cena face this guy he just said sucks and no one cares about? It also makes the United States Championship look like trash because Theory currently holds it. The worst part of it for me was when Cena implied that it doesn't matter if Theory wins or loses, so again, what's the point? Theory didn't have much of a chance to respond beyond just calling out Cena's bald spot. Yes, Theory will obviously win at WrestleMania, but will that be enough to make up for Cena obliterating him on the mic here? It needs to be a pretty decisive win with strong follow-up in order to make this worth it.

Chad Gable def. Baron Corbin

These two have worked well together dating back to their NXT days and had a string of matches in the fall of 2019 as well, but this was way too short to be what it could have been. It didn't help that both guys are currently heels, so the crowd didn't have any incentive to care. Gable picking up a rare singles win gives me some hope he could be pushed on his own if he and Otis go their separate ways, but I'm not holding my breath.

Damage CTRL Accepted Trish Stratus and WWE Tag Team Champion Becky Lynch and Lita's WrestleMania 39 Challenge

This played out as expected, and although there wasn't anything special said by any of these six stars, it got us to the necessary destination: a six-woman tag team match at 'Mania. In my opinion, that's WrestleMania-worthy and is the perfect use of all of them. I also assume we're still getting a number one contender's match with multiple teams on Night 1 with the winners challenging Lynch and Lita for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship on Night 2.

Sami Zayn def. Jimmy Uso

This was an enjoyable main event with Zayn bouncing back from his loss to Sikoa on SmackDown and proving he can win on his own against The Bloodline. Jey Uso emerged from the audience halfway through and teased aligning with Zayn only to lay him out at ringside in what was an outstanding angle. I thought this would be where Owens made the save for him, but I'm happy they're holding off on that for another week or two. Instead, it was Cody Rhodes, who could play an important role in getting Zayn and Owens back on the same page. This was an excellent ending to the show.

Overall Show

This was easily the best edition of Raw in weeks if not months. It was a big night as far as making multiple matches official for WrestleMania and pushing storylines forward, and although all of them were expected, they needed to be formally announced with WrestleMania one month out. Boston being a hot crowd throughout the episode helped quite a bit and WWE managed to keep me interested for a majority of the three hours. The key now is maintaining this momentum in the remainder of the road to WrestleMania.

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