Monday Night Raw Review - October 10, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Matt Riddle Interrupted The Bloodline

Bloodline's interaction with Logan Paul on Friday's SmackDown was disappointing, so this was a significant improvement. The continued teases of tension within their ranks has been fun to follow and Sami Zayn, of course, has been an absolute treasure. Jey Uso also played his role remarkably well. I love that WWE is taking their time with this story and not rushing into anything. I also appreciated that Riddle acknowledged that he can't challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship as long as Reigns is champ. This set up Riddle vs. Zayn for later in the night nicely.

Johnny Gargano def. Austin Theory

I'm happy this was saved for the "season premiere" of Raw and not put on the Extreme Rules card with a pointless stipulation. They didn't get a ton of time, but they maximized their minutes and had a very enjoyable encounter. The most surprising part is that Gargano won clean. I've been critical of WWE doing so many interference finishes lately, but this is one instance where I wouldn't have minded Theory cheating to win. I mean, I think he's won one match since becoming Mr. Money in the Bank three months ago. It's nearly impossible for fans to take him seriously at this point, and he's the one with a guaranteed world title shot at his disposal.

Rey Mysterio def. Chad Gable

Mysterio vs. Gable was never a match I knew I wanted to see until now. Gable always shines in every singles match he has, while Mysterio continuing to kill it at this stage of his career will never not amaze me. This was an entertaining outing as you'd expect from them with Mysterio picking up the much-needed victory (I don't think he had won a singles match since March). I'm still not super compelled by his ongoing angle with Dominik, but it's been well done so far and Dominik has been getting great heat to his credit. I just question where he goes following this feud because he sticks out like a sore thumb on the Raw roster.

The O.C. Attacked The Judgment Day

Finn Balor has been telling Styles for weeks that he has no friends and that he should join Judgment Day instead. There was some speculation among fans that The Good Brothers could return and reunite with Styles to help even the odds, and although they wrapped up their run in IMPACT recently, I thought they were New Japan Pro-Wrestling bound. Well, I was wrong. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows were at their best in WWE with Styles, but they don't interest me otherwise. This is a logical development, but what they do once this rivalry is over will dictate whether this run for them will be successful or not.

Candice LeRae def. Bayley

Everything that we saw involving Damage CTRL indicated Bayley isn't done with Bianca Belair yet, which makes sense with WarGames fast approaching and you just know they're going to be on opposing teams. If that's the case, why would Bayley lose a second straight match? I'm not complaining, though, because LeRae lost to Dakota Kai last week and this win was a nice boost for her. The match was fine while it lasted but could have been better if it was longer.

Dexter Lumis Crashed Maryse's Birthday Celebration for The Miz

You had to know exactly where this was going as soon as it was announced. I've liked a lot of what Miz and Lumis have done up to this point, but this segment sucked. Miz and Maryse did their usual shtick and Lumis popping out from underneath the table (along with Maryse ending up face first in the cake) was extremely predictable. We desperately need to reach the next step of this storyline, and thankfully, we're getting it next week when Miz and Lumis face off. If Miz wins, Lumis leaves, but if Lumis wins, he earns a contract. I'm assuming it will be the latter.

Omos def. Joseph Torres and Robert Adams in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match

You can copy and paste anything I've written about Omos in the last month or two because my thoughts haven't changed. He really isn't needed on this roster because he's abysmal and there's plenty of other people I'd rather see get his television time. All of these squashes have been the same, and it appears the endgame will be a match against Braun Strowman, likely at Crown Jewel. That could very well be a disaster, or it may exceed expectations. Time will tell.

Brock Lesnar Attacked United States Champion Bobby Lashley; Seth Rollins def. Lashley to Win the United States Championship

Everything about this was exceptionally executed. Lesnar cut a brief promo prior to his title defense listing everyone he's conquered. He included Lesnar, who then resurfaced for the first time since SummerSlam. In storyline, is Lesnar backstage at every Raw waiting for someone to say his name in a promo? Nonetheless, his attack on Lashley allowed the opportunistic Rollins to take advantage and win the U.S. title. Those nearfalls on Lashley were terrific. Lashley is protected in defeat and gets his rematch with Lesnar (presumably at Crown Jewel) while Rollins can have a hot run as champ. Everyone wins. Okay, so Lashley is probably losing to Lesnar, but I can't complain because at least he won the first one and he can endure the loss.

Matt Riddle def. Sami Zayn

Riddle and Zayn are no strangers to one another having had a few matches already at the start of the summer, but this was another well-wrestled affair from them. I liked how it was paced and the storytelling subtleties with Zayn and The Usos at ringside. Zayn losing and The Usos doing nothing to prevent it despite being at ringside was interesting. I'm curious if Riddle's bad blood with Bloodline isn't over yet or if it's already onto to something else for him next week.

D-Generation X Reunited

This segment started with less than 10 minutes left in the show, and while I'd normally have an issue with that sort of things, we've seen so many damn DX reunions in the last 20 years that this should have been as short and sweet as it ended up being. All four guys got their catchphrases in and even Chyna and Billy Gunn got nods. The crowd ate it up and were sent home happy. Nothing of storyline significance happened, but oh well. Hopefully this is the last we see of DX for many more years.

Overall Show

I enjoyed SmackDown's "season premiere" last Friday and thought this "season premiere" for Raw was even better. Both shows felt more like post-WrestleMania shows than what we got earlier this year, funnily enough. We had the returns of Lesnar and The Good Brothers, a fun little DX reunion, a new champion crowned, a hot crowd in Brooklyn, quality wrestling and more storyline progression. Other than that little stretch in the second hour with the birthday celebration and the Omos squash, this was an excellent show. Triple H is doing an effective job of maintaining the buzz surrounding the product, but of course, you can't keep bringing people back weekly.

SEE MORE: Raw Reviews