Monday Night Raw Review - March 7, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

RK-Bro def. Alpha Academy and Seth "Freakin" Rollins & Kevin Owens in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match to Win the Raw Tag Team Championship

The pre-match promos from Rollins, Owens and Chad Gable were fine but didn't accomplish anything outside of killing time. Speaking of killing time, I would assume that's why this lasted as long as it did, but I have no complaints. This was a terrific Triple Threat tag team match with a hot closing stretch. That RKO in mid-air to Gable was just fantastic. RK-Bro were considered by many to be the least likeliest winners coming into this show, so the fact they regained the gold is interesting. I'd definitely be down for a rematch between RK-Bro and Alpha Academy at WrestleMania 38.

24/7 Champion Dana Brooke and Reggie def. Tamina and Akira Tozawa

I was hoping that the opening tag team title match going as long it did would mean that we'd be spared of the 24/7 Championship crap this week, but apparently not. This is easily the worst stuff we get on Raw weekly. It's the same four people and I couldn't care less about any of their love drama. The match itself was total throwaway, but on the bright side, it was over in under two minutes and Brooke got to win in her hometown.

The Miz, Logan Paul and Jerry Lawler Addressed the Audience

I was today-years-old when I realized Lawler has ties to Cleveland. I always thought he was just a Memphis guy, but he mentioned that he spent quite a bit of time in Cleveland, too. I don't think it's an obvious connection for many fans and thus I don't think he was needed on this show. This felt like an excuse to bring him back for one night after a two-year absence. The segment was whatever and was obviously designed to put heat on Miz and Paul in their hometown, so at least it served a purpose in that respect. I'm not sure where The Mysterios were.

NXT Champion Bron Breakker and Tommaso Ciampa def. The Dirty Dawgs

Breakker making his Monday Night Raw debut was super cool. I wish his appearance was a surprise, but I understand wanting the audience to get to know him better with the pre-match promo and the video package. I'm not kidding when I say the guy is main-roster-ready right now. That was evident in this enjoyable tag team affair. It wasn't quite on the level of last week's tag team match on NXT but still solid. I could honestly see Breakker losing the NXT Championship soon (possibly to Dolph Ziggler on Tuesday's show) and being called up soon after.

Omos def. Apollo Crews

As I've said before, this Omos push isn't for me. I realize he looks menacing given how huge he is, but the dude is abysmal in the ring and not worth the television time he's been getting on his own, at least not yet. To his credit, his pre-match promo backstage was probably one of the best I've ever heard him cut, but I don't think he's connecting with the crowd yet. This was a fairly straightforward squash. I feel bad for Crews, who won the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania almost exactly one year ago. It looks like we're getting Omos against Commander Azeez out of this and that sounds awful. Maybe they'll exceed expectations.

Edge Addressed AJ Styles

You can tell Edge has had a ton of input on a lot of his stuff creatively since he returned two years ago. Most of his matches have been excellent, but the promos are where he has really shined. This promo in particular was very good, but what I loved most about this segment was the presentation. It was perfect. The dimmed lights were a nice touch and he gave the audience nothing to cheer for. Keeping an "injured" Styles on the show this week was a smart call as well. Edge knocked it out of the park yet again with this one and, as I said last week, I'm extremely excited for their WrestleMania match.

Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan def. WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Queen Zelina and Carmella (Non-Title)

Per the stipulation, Ripley and Morgan have officially entered themselves into the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania, which is now a Triple Threat also involving Sasha Banks and Naomi. For those keeping track, Banks and Naomi did nothing to earn the title shot other than simply announce their intentions to challenge the champions. The tag titles mean virtually nothing, so WWE throwing all of their directionless women into the tag title picture for WrestleMania is so damn lazy. I suppose it's an upgrade over being thrown in the equally-meaningless WrestleMania Women's Battle Battle Royal, but not by much. The match itself was fine. I wish Ripley had a more important 'Mania match this year, though.

United States Champion Finn Balor def. Austin Theory by Disqualification (Non-Title)

This was a renewal of a rivalry from a few months ago. In fact, Theory actually beat Balor the last time they went one-on-one and I believe this was the rubber match. It's unfortunate that it merely served as a backdrop for Priest's attack on Balor because they actually work really well together. I'd love to see this rivalry revisited over the United States Championship coming out of WrestleMania if Balor is still champ and Theory defeats Pat McAfee. What we got was good and it lasted longer than I thought it would given the non-finish. A rematch between Balor and Priest has to be considered a lock for 'Mania at this point.

Kevin Owens Issued an Invitation for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin to Appear on The KO Show

Owens said earlier in the show following his failure to become Raw Tag Team Champion that he had another idea in mind to get on the WrestleMania card. He went off about his disdain for Texas and how he wanted to have a WrestleMania-worthy guest on The KO Show at the event but that it wouldn't be JBL, Booker T or Shawn Michaels. As expected, he called out Stone Cold, and as cool of a moment as it was, the way the commentators were talking about it was weird. Corey Graves mentioned it's been 19 years since Austin's last match, but why would that be relevant if he wasn't wrestling? Fans were expecting him to wrestle following recent reports (that appeared to be credible), so only having him is a slight letdown, even though it should be fun. From a storyline standpoint, I'm not sure why Austin wouldn't accept Owens' offer to appear at WrestleMania, and it's not like Austin hasn't appeared for WWE in a decade. He was on their first pandemic Raw back in March 2020. This whole thing was very confusing.

Overall Show

Fans may not want to admit it, but Raw has been significantly better these past few months than it has been in a long time. Compared to AEW and other promotions, sure, Raw doesn't measure up, but for what I expect out of WWE and Raw specifically, it's been worthwhile with some strong segments and matches. Some of the stuff on this show didn't do much for me personally, but that opening tag title match was wonderful and the Edge segment was captivating. We got more WrestleMania developments as well, so I appreciate that they're not waiting until the very last minute to confirm the entire card like last year (even if this year's two-night WrestleMania card is far from the greatest ever on paper).

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