WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact
Picture

Monday Night Raw Review - October 31, 2022

10/31/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair def. Nikki Cross (Non-Title)

Cross was back to being crazy Nikki Cross from her NXT days, which is the right role for her. That said, I wish she cut a promo establishing her new personality, or a brief vignette would have been nice. I honestly didn't mind her losing one week after returning because it's about Belair heading into Crown Jewel, but I thought they had a very good opener. Then again, they always worked well together in NXT, so I can't say I was surprised by the quality of the contest.

Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley Brawled

This was originally supposed to be a one of those split screen interviews with the two, but Lesnar opted to go to the ring and call out Lashley instead. The two briefly brawled and the roster had to break them up, so no one got the upper hand this week. It wasn't much different than what they've done already, but the crowd was into it, so why fix what isn't broken? I'm very curious to see what kind of match they have at Crown Jewel after their initial encounter at Royal Rumble underwhelmed.

United States Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins def. Austin Theory (Non-Title)

Did I miss the part where Rollins and Theory had beef? I know Theory faced and beat Mustafa Ali last week, but I don't remember Rollins and Theory getting into it at all. Booking a heel vs. heel match was a weird call, but this ended up being the best bout of the night by a wide margin. Theory looked like he was on Rollins' level and gained some credibility in defeat, though him continuing to lose as Mr. Money in the Bank isn't doing him or the briefcase any favors.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns Attacked The Miz

Reigns doesn't appear often on Raw, so this was a treat. This existed solely to hype this upcoming clash at Logan Paul at Crown Jewel, and although Miz coming out at first felt random, I like how they tied it back to Miz's alliance and subsequent feud with Paul with Miz mentioning that Paul could realistically get that "lucky shot" in on Reigns to win the title, only for Reigns to drop Miz. This was well done, and Reigns showing a new layer to his character by acting offended and frustrated that anyone sees Paul as a legitimate threat to him is fantastic.

Karl Anderson def. Damian Priest

For those following the situation, Anderson's match for the upcoming New Japan Pro-Wrestling show (the same day as Crown Jewel) has been cancelled, so he may not yet have to vacate the NEVER Openweight Championship after all. This was a well-wrestled affair. Anderson lost to Finn Balor last week, so it was logical for him to win this week. Despite that, The Judgment Day stood tall afterward, so The O.C. haven't quite figured out how to counteract Rhea Ripley.

Baron Corbin Attacked R-Truth

I've seen several people make the comparison that JBL is WWE's Dan Lambert and I couldn't agree more. I loved Lambert in the beginning of his AEW run, but his shtick got old after a while and I hope JBL plans to switch it up eventually if the plan is for him to stay with Corbin in the long run. As for Truth, he was only out there to be attacked and put more heat on Corbin, so mission accomplished. I assume we'll get a match between them next week on Raw. Truth has been all over WWE TV lately between Raw, NXT and Main Event, so it's nice to see him get a mini career resurgence of sorts and be used in proper doses. This was a a simple and straightforward segment.

Matt Riddle def. Otis in a Trick or Street Fight

If you've been reading my reviews long enough, you'll know I'm a sucker for the holiday-themed matches, specifically the Trick or Street Fights. It's total Halloween campiness, sure, but they're always a blast and these were the right people for it (though I prefer to see Riddle back to being the serious singles star he was during the rivalry with Rollins). Alpha Academy were the stars of this thing and Riddle dressing up as Ezekiel made me chuckle.

Mustafa Ali def. The Miz

It sounded like Ali received a slightly bigger reaction this week compared to past weeks, but he's still not as over as he should be given how much television time he's had lately. I'm seriously wondering what it's going to take. Him beating Miz here is a step in the right direction and it was a nice match while it lasted, but I can't imagine most of the audience buy him as being on Rollins' level currently.

Johnny Gargano Revealed The Miz’s Secret in “Tell-All” Interview

This was a parody of 60 Minutes and a funny one at that. Byron Saxton played his role well as the interviewer and the reenactments from Gargano were hilarious. That said, I do think Gargano has leaned a little too heavily into the comedy in recent weeks. It feels like a step back from what he was doing previously. As for him revealing that Miz and Dexter Lumis were in cahoots early on, it's quite the stretch, but I appreciate the explanation. I was hoping for something juicer than that, personally. Can this storyline be salvaged?

Alexa Bliss and Asuka def. Damage CTRL (IYO SKY and Dakota Kai) to Win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

This came together after Bliss and Asuka thwarted Damage CTRL's interference in the opener. As Kai said backstage, however, there was no reason for the titles to be on the line because the babyfaces did nothing to deserve a shot. They're one of three women's teams WWE has, so that's probably why. The match was solid, but I wasn't a fan of the finish. Damage CTRL didn't do much as champs and they've already lost them in less than two months. If Bayley loses to Belair again at Crown Jewel, it might be time to pull the plug on this group because it clearly isn't working as well as we all thought it would.

Overall Show

For a holiday show, I enjoyed this edition of Raw on the whole. It had the usual mix of entertaining action, successful storyline progression and hype for Crown Jewel on Saturday. The title change was also a slightly eventful way to end the night, for whatever it's worth. This wasn't Triple H's strongest shows as the momentum died down the stretch, but it was an improvement over last week's dull three hours. Happy Halloween!
SEE MORE: Raw Reviews
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Interviews
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    NXT PLEs
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    Slammy Awards
    SNME
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    The World Is A Vampire
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Network Specials
    WWE PLEs
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2025 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact