Monday Night Raw Review - May 29, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Judgment Day Interrupted World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins and AJ Styles

Rollins' first night on Raw as World Heavyweight Champion was treated as a big deal, but this segment played out pretty predictably in order to set up the night's main event. Judgment Day interrupting Rollins made sense because they're basically the top heels on Raw when Brock Lesnar isn't around, but why Styles? He's a SmackDown Superstar and was beat clean by Rollins at Night of Champions. Yes, Adam Pearce acknowledged that Styles shouldn't be on Raw during a phone conversation backstage immediately afterward, but that doesn't make it much better. It's been a month since the WWE Draft and the Brand Split remains meaningless. Go figuree.

Ricochet def. The Miz to Qualify for the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

I don't think Miz has won a televised match in over five months, so the fact he was even in a qualifier for Money in the Bank is comical. I realize he's a former Money in the Bank winner himself, but there was no chance he was winning here. Granted, Ricochet won't win Money in the Bank, either, but at least he's a good fit for it given his aerial offense. This was a fun outing, though.

Trish Stratus and Zoey Stark Attacked Becky Lynch

Stratus and Lynch teasing have an impromptu rematch from Money in the Bank, but that was never going to happen. The angle we got instead was well done with Stratus and Stark establishing their alliance and getting heat by beating up Lynch. I thought we might see Lita emerge to save Lynch and even the odds, but apparently not. It's possible we still get that tag team match eventually, but it likely won't be at Money in the Bank if Lynch and Stark both qualify for the women's Money in the Bank Ladder matchup.

Indus Sher def. Javier Bernal and a Local Athlete

Indus Sher's opponents did not receive formal introductions, but Bernal from NXT was identified by the commentators. His partner was not, but I did recognize him as Kevin Ventura-Cortes from the WWE Performance Center. I only know that because I interviewed him at WWE's tryouts in Nashville over SummerSlam weekend last year before he was hired. Nonetheless, this was a straightforward squash as Indus Sher continue to build momentum.

Imperium Interrupted Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens; Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci) def. Alpha Academy

Owens and Zayn's exchange with Imperium before the bout was hilarious. I'm all for that being their next tag team title feud, but then why have Owens and Zayn beat Imperium two weeks in a row earlier this month? Despite their win here, they still don't feel like a threat. It was a well-wrestled match and Valhalla costing Alpha Academy the win seems to indicate Viking Raiders' issues with them aren't over. It's also worth noting that Maxxine Dupri appears to be a full-fledged member of Alpha Academy at this point. What the hell happened to the other two members of Maximum Male Models?

Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler def. Shotzi & Raquel Rodriguez, Damage CTRL (Bayley and IYO SKY), and Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match to Win the Vacant WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

Rousey and Baszler were the only team that was going to win this thing. Rodriguez and Shotzi work well together, but they're a filler team. Meanwhile, Deville and Green are enhancement talents and Damage CTRL are on the verge of splitting up. This was a decent match with a well-executed finish. We'll see if Rousey and Baszler can breathe new life into the division and if this title run will make Rousey more interesting.

JD McDonagh vs. Dolph Ziggler Ended in a Double Count-Out

Ziggler eliminated McDonagh from that Intercontinental Championship number one contender's Battle Royal a few weeks ago and McDonagh attacked him immediately afterward. I was hoping we'd get an actual match between the two here because it had the potential to be very good, but it was instead kept brief with McDonagh beating the hell out of Ziggler at ringside. That's one way to progress the program, I suppose. I just hope it leads to McDonagh getting heat from the crowd, but Ziggler has been so beaten down over the years that it might be hard for a majority of fans to care.

Cody Rhodes Challenged Brock Lesnar

To not a single person's surprise, the Lesnar vs. Rhodes rivalry is not over yet after Night of Champions. Rhodes cut his usual quality promo challenging Lesnar to a rematch and explained he never tapped out. This played out predictably, but WWE wants to keep this thing going, so it had to happen. I'm hoping this means the rubber match will take place at Money in the Bank and not be dragged out until SummerSlam because I'm already ready for Rhodes to move on.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. Bronson Reed to Qualify for the Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Similar to Miz vs. Ricochet from earlier in the evening, this was another well-wrestled qualifier. Both guys are great and they worked well together. Reed impresses every time but needs to be paired with people who are over like Nakamura in order to get over himself. That's why I wasn't a fan of this outcome. Yes, Nakamura is popular and fans will to see him in Money in the Bank, but Reed would benefit more from being in there than him. Having him lose his first singles match on Raw in such anticlimactic fashion was also disappointing.

World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins and AJ Styles def. The Judgment Day (Damian Priest and Finn Balor)

Rollins and Styles have strong chemistry both as opponents and as partners, so this was unsurprisingly entertaining. The same can be said about Balor and Priest. My issue with it was that it felt like an inconsequential television main event that accomplished nothing. There was no reason for Styles to be involved, and I hated that Priest was pinned. Maybe they're building to Rollins vs. Balor at Money in the Bank, but I'd much rather see Priest in that spot since Balor already lost to Rollins a few weeks ago.

Overall Show

Although I enjoyed this edition of Raw on the whole, it certainly felt like a Memorial Day show in that the three hours dragged and there wasn't a ton to get excited about. The two Money in the Bank qualifiers raised the stakes a bit, new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions were crowned and there was some solid storyline progression and fallout from Night of Champions, so it's not as if the episode wasn't eventful, but I wasn't a fan of the flow and found myself mostly bored once it was over.

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