Monday Night Raw Review - September 4, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Sami Zayn and Jey Uso Embraced

I had completely forgotten about the possibility of Jey interacting with Zayn now that he's on the Raw roster, so I really like this Jey's first segment on the brand. They officially buried the hatchet, but stars such as Drew McIntyre and Matt Riddle still have issues with him for what The Bloodline did to them. This was a logical start to Jey's singles run on Raw as there's a lot of different directions they can go in from here. For example, how will Kevin Owens react? I can't imagine he'll be as forgiving.

The Viking Raiders def. Matt Riddle and Drew McIntyre in a Tornado Tag Team Match

These teams along with The New Day have been trading wins for weeks, and it feels like WWE is simply killing time with them until an opportunity at the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship arises. If nothing else, these matches have given them all something to do in the meantime. They had a fun match enhanced by the stipulation. Kofi Kingston accidentally costing McIntyre and Riddle the win leads me to believe a Triple Threat tag team match is coming, hopefully with a shot at the tag titles on the line.

World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins Called Out Shinsuke Nakamura; Ricochet def. Nakamura by Disqualification

In case you missed it, Nakamura attacked Rollins after Payback went off the air on Saturday night (WWE later posted the footage online). They had a strong feud heading into the pay-per-view, but I have no desire to see it continue considering Rollins won clean and fans are simply not buying into him as a legitimate threat to the World Heavyweight Championship. Nakamura and Ricochet had a quality contest that never kicked into the next gear, but it was more about showing that Nakamura has an edge with him getting intentionally disqualified. The Nakamura-Rollins rematch looks like a lock for Fastlane, but WWE will have to do more to heat up Nakamura before then.

Sami Zayn Interrupted The Judgment Day and JD McDonagh

Judgment Day being draped in gold is an awesome sight. They've had an excellent past year, and although I was hoping WWE would finally move forward with their split coming out of Payback, this is at least something different. McDonagh also presented Damian Priest with a new Money in the Bank briefcase, so perhaps he'll officially be welcomed into the group soon after all. This was solid and set up Zayn vs. McDonagh for later in the show.

Shayna Baszler def. Zoey Stark

These two had a match a few weeks back that the crowd was completely quiet for because they had no reason to cheer for either woman. Yes, Baszler was basically the babyface in her feud with Ronda Rousey and Stark turned on Trish Stratus at Payback, but I'm still not convinced either of them have actually turned. Thus, I wasn't surprised the crowd was quiet for this match too despite it being well worked. Baszler showed respect toward Stark afterward, so it's possible they become a tag team. Yes, putting Baszler back in the tag team ranks is WWE's brilliant idea for how to follow up on what was supposed to be a big win over Rousey at SummerSlam.

Raquel Rodriguez def. WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Chelsea Green

Green's tag team partner Piper Niven didn't accompany her to the ring for her match on Main Event last week, which I didn't anything think of because, well, it was Main Event. Per Adam Pearce, she isn't currently medically cleared to compete, so hopefully she's okay. This was a simple squash for Rodriguez, who announced afterward she'll challenge Rhea Ripley to a rematch for the Women's Championship next week on Raw with Dominik Mysterio barred from ringside.

The Miz Attacked "John Cena" on Miz TV

I could see this segment being polarizing as most fans will find it either very entertaining or very dumb, but I fell into the former category. It was so stupid that it actually worked in my opinion, specifically because Miz (and the cameraman, God bless him) committed to the bit. I was worried this was leading to Miz and Cena renewing their rivalry, but Miz instead challenged Knight to a rematch. That was another feud I didn't want to see extended past Payback, but a second straight win over Miz certainly wouldn't hurt Knight.

JD McDonagh def. Sami Zayn

This crowd had clearly seen enough of Zayn as he already appeared twice earlier. I would've just saved the match for next week, but what we got was good while it lasted. McDonagh winning (albeit with help from Mysterio) should've been big for him, but it didn't end up mattering since Zayn laid him out afterward, anyway. It pretty much defeated the purpose, but on the bright side, the Judgment Day drama still has me intrigued and invested.

Intercontinental Champion Gunther def. Chad Gable

I'm really happy that WWE not only gave these guys the main event spot but also did a stellar job of giving this a big fight feel by building it up with promos and video packages throughout the night. Gable's family being ringside was a tremendous touch and had to make some viewers think he could realistically walk away with the title. The only reason I wish this happened on pay-per-view was so they didn't have to deal with commercials, and while those were a hinderance here, it was still a terrific title match, nonetheless. With the win, Gunther will become the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion later this week. I'd be down for a rematch between Gunther and Gable at some point with Gable finally taking the title once the record is in the rearview.

Overall Show

This was a better show than I expected considering it aired on a holiday. WWE has traditionally phoned it in on Labor Day, and while this wasn't a super strong show, it was enjoyable enough and benefited from a hot main event. The real test will be when football returns next week and whether WWE will continue to put forth the same level of effort creatively. Even with stars such as Cody Rhodes and Becky Lynch absent, I thought this was a successful show that effectively moved several things forward.

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