Monday Night Raw Review - October 21, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Seth "Freakin" Rollins and Bronson Reed Brawled

WWE has been showing Superstars walking into the arena for a while now, so it was a pleasant surprise for Rollins to attack Reed from behind. Their brawl carried into the arena and Reed nearly hit a splash onto Rollins through the announce table before Rollins rolled out of the way. This got the show off to a hot start and effectively reignited the rivalry (I believe it's been a few weeks since they last interacted and got physical). It was later announced that they'll face off at Crown Jewel. I love that it's not happening on Raw, but Reed has to win.

The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) def. Authors of Pain to Advance in the World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament

We saw plenty of New Day against Authors of Pain during their storyline over the summer, so this was nothing new, but the match was decent while it lasted. New Day advancing to next week's number one contender's Triple Threat made the most sense. Post-match, The Final Testament attacked R-Truth (who went after The Miz at ringside) before The Wyatt Sicks returned to make the save. I guarantee you Wyatt Sicks vs. Final Testament won't be a banger of a feud, but I feel like it will be a nice use of both factions.

Damage CTRL (IYO SKY and Kairi Sane) def. Women's World Champion Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez by Disqualification

I know she just came back at Bad Blood, but Rodriguez still looks like she's got some ring rust. She didn't have the strongest showing here, but this was a solid match otherwise. Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson getting involved caused the disqualification, so the chaos in the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship picture continues. Meanwhile, Rhea Ripley again got through Rodriguez and Morgan with ease before getting her hands on Dominik Mysterio. If Rodriguez isn't going to pose a threat to Ripley, what's the point of her being there?

The LWO (Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee) def. The Creed Brothers to Advance in the World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament

As much as I want to see Lee get a serious singles push, it was cool that he and Mysterio got to represent LWO in this mini tourney. They work wonderfully together and had a fun match with the Creeds here. I'm hoping we'll get more of Mysterio against American Made (specifically Chad Gable) after next week's number one contender's Triple Threat, which will also feature New Day and War Raiders.

Bron Breakker def. Jey Uso to Win the Intercontinental Championship

While I enjoyed their original encounter more, this was still a quality main event. While The Bloodline's interference was expected yet logical, I could have done without so much of it toward the end. Personally, I have no issue with Breakker regaining the gold since it gives Jey a reason to want revenge on The Bloodline and his reign never needed to be lengthy to begin with (just getting that moment was enough in my opinion, not to mention he can potentially win another singles title down the road).

Overall Show

I thought this was the best edition of Raw we've gotten since the change back to two hours. The renewed focus on the tag team division has been refreshing, the brawl between Rollins and Reed was well done and the title change/storyline development at the end was newsworthy. The two hours flew by and they're making the most of the format. Lilian Garcia returning as the ring announcer (in light of Samantha Irvin's shockingly abrupt departure) was also a treat, despite her many botches throughout the night.

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