‘WWE Raw’ Review (Jan 22nd 2024)
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: The New Day vs. Imperium (Double count-out)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
After weeks of animosity, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods took on Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci in a vicious tag team contest. Kingston and Woods were a house on fire, continuing to pummel Kaiser and Vinci at ringside. The fight was so intense that both teams were counted out. The fight continued with the two teams bombarding each other at the tech area. The brawl did not stop until both teams went crashing through the tech area table!
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #2: Ivy Nile def. Valhalla
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Undeterred by Valhalla’s bizarre energy, Ivy Nile muscled her way to an early advantage. With Maxxine Dupri at ringside, Valhalla could not use her devious tactics, and Nile caught her with the Pitbull to seal the win.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #3: “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio def. The Miz
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Adorned in his Lucha-style sheepskin boots, “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio battled the recently reformed Miz. The Awesome One had his work cut out for him, as he had to contend with Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh, who were taking plenty of cheap shots at ringside. Despite the unfavorable odds, The A-Lister hit It Kicks on Mysterio, but McDonagh interfered to set up Mysterio to hit The A-Lister with the 619 and a frog splash for the win. After the match, #DIY came to the rescue for The Miz, fending off The Judgment Day.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #4: Ivar def. Chad Gable
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Trying to bounce back from his shocking loss to Akira Tozawa last week, Ivar squared off against Chad Gable. Gable kicked out of a gruesome powerbomb and still had the strength to put Ivar in an ankle lock. Ivar frighteningly flew from the top rope to hit an amazing leg drop, Gable kept fighting and locked in the ankle lock once more. The Master of the Alpha Academy hit an incredible German suplex, but Valhalla distracted Gable to allow Ivar to hit the Doomsault for the three-count.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #5: Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark def. Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark took one step closer to a potential WWE Women’s Tag Team Match as they took care of Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell. Baszler and Stark wrapped up the victory after a Z-360 on LeRae. After the match, Damage CTRL attacked the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Katana Chance and Kayden Carter.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #6: Drew McIntyre def. Damian Priest
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Months of animosity could only lead to an incredible main event matchup between Drew McIntyre and Señor Money in the Bank Damian Priest. The two warriors lived up to the hype, brutalizing each other in a hard-hitting affair that left both men with bruises and scars, some of which occurred during an early Broken Arrow from Priest to McIntyre onto the announce table. R-Truth ventured to ringside to give Priest his cut, but Priest shoved him to the ground. Truth kept trying to hand Priest the money, giving Señor Money in the Bank the opportunity to hit South of Heaven onto the distracted McIntyre. Priest looked poised to pin McIntyre, but R-Truth cost Priest once again as he kept trying to give Priest the money. After Priest tossed R-Truth from the ring, he got clobbered by a Claymore Kick, spelling his doom.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Final Verdict: 2.5/5
This week’s Raw felt very similar to last week’s show… Once again Raw felt like it was treading water, just passing time until the Royal Rumble. There was eerily the same quality of matches too, with only a couple of matches scraping above average and some… woof! Looking at the responses to some of the matches online I’m even feeling like I might have been a little generous with my own scores here! The saving grace this week was the Cody/Punk promo and R-Truth’s brilliant interference in the main event. Truth is on fire right now and I’m all for anything he’s got planned with The Judgement Day!
