‘WWE Raw’ Review (Oct 30th 2023)
Welcome to this review of this past Monday’s episode of WWE Raw, right here on Nerdly… Let’s see what went down on this week’s show!
Match #1: Dom Mysterio def. Ricochet
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Thanks to a major distraction from Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley and JD McDonagh on the apron, NXT North American Champion “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio picked up the quick pin on Ricochet with a handful of tights.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #2: The Creed Brothers def. The Alpha Academy
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
After answering The Alpha Academy’s open challenge earlier in the day, The Creed Brother overcame The Alpha Academy in their Raw debut. Shortly after Ivy Nile took out Junior Alpha Academy member Akira Tozawa at ringside, Julius Creed defied logic by lifting Otis on his shoulder and setting up Brutus to slam into his gigantic opponent from the top rope for the three-count!
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #3: #DIY def. Imperium
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In an explosive showdown. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa looked extremely impressive when they joined forces to overcome Imperium’s Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci with Meeting in the Middle.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #4: Xia Li def. Candice LeRae
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The official was forced to stop Xia Li’s match against Candice LeRae after the dangerous Li took down The Poison Pixie with an earth-shattering spin kick.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #5: Seth “Freakin” Rollins def. JD McDonagh
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Prior to his matchup against Seth “Freakin” Rollins, JD McDonagh launched a pre-match attack on The Visionary. Nevertheless, the World Heavyweight Champion showed his resilience once again by insisting he compete. Señor Money in the Bank Damian Priest was at ringside to see Rollins overcame McDonagh with a Pedigree/Stomp combination for a monumental win just five days before he defends his title against Drew McIntyre at WWE Crown Jewel.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #6: Chelsea Green def. Natalya
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
In honor of Halloween, the chaotic Trick or Street Fight pitting Natalya against WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Chelsea Green (who was dressed as The Hart Fondation with Piper Niven) incorporated a variety of weapons, including pumpkin pie, a Candy Cane Kendo Stick, a Halloween decorated table, a garbage can lid, bobbing for apples implements, pumpkins, flying candy, and Nikki Cross’s head sticking out of the table. In the final moments, Green accidently threw a pie into Niven on the apron. The distraction, however, allowed Chelsea to hit The Queen of Harts with the Un-Pretty-Her for the win.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #7: Damian Priest def. Sami Zayn (DQ)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Moments after Finn Bálor and “Dirty” Dom interfered in Sami Zayn’s match against Damian Priest, “Main Event” Jey Uso charged to the ring to get Sami’s back and attacked Señor Money in the Bank for the disqualification.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
Well this was a pleasant surprise. This episode was a HUGE step up for WWE’s red brand with three fantastic WRESTLING matches, yes I said wrestling matches… The Creed Brothers got the call-up from NXT and made one hell of an impact in their Raw debut, going toe-to-toe in an actual wrestling match against Alpha Academy. This was an oh-so-solid display of actual professional wrestling, no gimmicks, just wrestling. OK, so we got some shenanigans OUTSIDE the ring but inside. Pure wrestling greatness! As if one great tag match wasn’t enough, we got DIY versus Imperium, which kept up the fantastic in-ring action, with the most welcome return of the DIY of old (including THAT clap), in a fun and hard-hitting match. Of course Seth Rollins couldn’t deliver anything but a great match, as always, with (love him or hate him) JD McDonagh managing to give the champ a run for his money. The rest of the card was take it or leave it but it’s probably worth watching the entire show just to take in the three great matches this week.. plus some of the stuff outside the three matches was fun in a sports entertainment way.
