Monday Night Raw Review - May 2, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Drew McIntyre and Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro Attacked The Bloodline

It's about time Roman Reigns showed up on Raw. I don't want him to get overexposed, but seeing as how he's a double champion, he should probably have a presence on the program more often so the Superstars of Raw have something to fight for. This was a pretty basic segment with the babyfaces getting the better of the heels, but it was well done and the execution was excellent.

Kevin Owens and Alpha Academy def. Ezekiel and The Street Profits

Street Profits have been acting like heels for a few weeks now, so I'm not sure why they teamed with babyface Ezekiel here. Also, has their win over RK-Bro already been forgotten about? At any rate, this was an enjoyable six-man tag team match while it lasted. Alpha Academy haven't won very many matches in recent months, so this was a necessary victory for them. I was surprised Ezekiel was the one pinned and not one of The Street Profits.

Veer Mahaan def. Burt Hanson

Mahaan has been destroying enhancement talent since showing up on Raw last month and this was no different. Hanson getting mic time beforehand was a nice change of pace to put more heat on Mahaan when he won. I appreciate that officials haven't given up on him yet, but we'll see if they stay the course. I thought Rey Mysterio may finally return here to set that match up for WrestleMania Backlash, but no such luck.

AJ Styles def. Damian Priest

These two have had quality matches in the past, but I feel like they haven't been given a chance to really go all out yet. That was the same feeling I got after this outing as well, but it was still entertaining. Priest was protected in defeat with the way Styles pinned him and, per the stipulation, Priest is banned from ringside for Edge vs. Styles at Backlash. Finn Balor then made the save for Styles when the heels started attacking him, which was a cool visual. I've been waiting a long time for Balor and Styles to interact on TV in a meaningful way, so hopefully this leads to them forming an alliance. If nothing else, it gives Balor something to do for a change.

United States Champion Theory Confronted Mustafa Ali on Miz TV with The Miz; Theory and Miz def. Ali in 2-on-1 Handicap Match

Miz and Theory praising each other on Miz TV was mildly entertaining, but once Ali, this segment played out pretty much the same way it did last week. I'm actually shocked they're playing into Ali's Twitter antics as much as they are and it will be interesting to see how he's booked moving forward. Yes, he lost this Handicap match a week after returning, but the odds were stacked against him, so it's almost excusable. Ciampa attacked Ali once again afterward, so I'm not sure if they're already moving away from Ali challenging for the United States Championship so Ali vs. Ciampa can happen. Time will tell, but why tease it if that wasn't the plan?

Dana Brooke def. Nikki A.S.H. to Win the 24/7 Championship

I thought we had seen the last of this crap storyline with the double commencement storyline two weeks ago, but apparently not. Ugh. Nikki won the title from Brooke backstage earlier in the evening and Brooke beat her here in a formal match to regain the gold. How anyone can bring themselves to care about this trash, I have no idea. Unfortunately, it still isn't over because now Brooke and Reggie are getting a divorce and who knows how long that's going to drag on for. Nikki seemingly dropping the superhero shtick thanks to Doudrop is a positive, though.

Cody Rhodes Attacked Seth "Freakin" Rollins

This was another top-notch verbal exchange from Rhodes and Rollins. They've done a lot of talking lately, but both guys are great on the mic and thus these promos have delivered in my opinion. Rollins incorporating Dusty Rhodes into this one was a nice touch and the subsequent brawl was a small preview of what to expect in their rematch at the pay-per-view. I haven't been high on Rhodes doing the Cody Cutter in the past because everybody does a damn cutter nowadays, but it looked awesome here.

Bobby Lashley def. Cedric Alexander

Alexander approached MVP backstage beforehand about possibly reforming The Hurt Business. Not only did MVP decline, he also put Alexander in a match with Omos' Backlash opponent Lashley, which was basically a death sentence. Alexander is obviously a talented dude, but he was fed to Lashley here in what was a glorified squash. This was designed to make Lashley look dominant before he likely loses to Omos on Sunday.

Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair, Liv Morgan and Asuka def. Sonya Deville, Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley

This was along the same lines of last week's main event in that it was a multi-person affair that featured plenty of star power. It gave me the same vibe as well in that it could have headlined a house show and sent the crowd home happy. Of all six Superstars, I thought Morgan in particular had the most impressive performance. I was happy she scored the win for her team because she needs the credibility boost ahead of her eventual match with Ripley.

Overall Show

Raw has been a much stronger show on the whole in 2022 than it has been in a long time, but I didn't think this was one of the red brand's better efforts. It certainly wasn't a bad show, but it didn't feel like a lot of what happened mattered. As a go-home show, it didn't exactly make me any more excited for WrestleMania Backlash than I was previously, which is not good. There was some nice stuff sprinkled throughout the three hours, but not enough to make it feel like must-see TV.

SEE MORE: Raw Reviews