WWE Raw – March 4th 2019: Results & Review
Welcome to this week’s Raw review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have night of bad talkers cutting promos, so get ready for that. That being said, there are some good things to cover, so let’s do so before Pete Davidson decides to date every super-model on the planet at the same time.
Match #1: Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley & Baron Corbin def. Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor, Braun Strowman & Kurt Angle
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
There is a difference between a superteam and an actual team, and after a few weeks of dominance, Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin & Bobby Lashley are beginning to look very much like the latter. That ominous development proved to be a problem for the equally-talented-but-less-cohesive collective who opposed them on Raw: Braun Strowman, Kurt Angle & Intercontinental Champion Finn Bálor. True, Angle was muscling the clock backward by sheer force of will. And Strowman was reducing everything in front of him to a cloud of dust. Even Bálor got his team to the cusp of victory after a one-two of a Running Powerslam and a Coup de Grâce to Corbin. But the squad had no answer for Lio Rush, who broke up the Irishman’s pinfall and instigated a mad scramble that ended with Strowman plowing both himself and The Man of the Hour through the barricade. The night, however, ended with a ruthless display of power by McIntyre, Corbin and Lashley, who disposed of a reeling Angle on the outside and downed Bálor with a Claymore and double chokeslam on the steel steps. In short, it was an impressive collection of parts, dismantled utterly by a dominant whole that is looking more and more ironclad by the week.
My Take: 3 out of 5 – This was a good match that made little use of Kurt Angle, despite being the biggest star in the match. Balor did just fine, but there was something missing from him that normally would be there. I don’t have an answer for that either, but it is important to bring it up, even if it is cryptic. Everybody worked hard here to make this match feel like it was destined for greatness, but it all just felt so-so.
Match #2: Natalya def. Ruby Riott
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Interfering in Natalya’s matches seems to have become the thing to do; luckily, The Queen of Harts at least managed to get all the way through her contest this week before a third-party came a-callin’. One week after being wrecked by Becky Lynch, the former SmackDown Women’s Champion was looking to get in and get out quick against Ruby Riott — and she did, hitting the road moments after pinning Ruby with a roll-up to avoid an ambush by Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan. Her departure, however, was spoiled by the arrival and exit of Lacey Evans, who graced the WWE Universe with one of her now-signature pageant walks down and back up the ramp. And there was no mistaking the look in the Hart heiress’ eyes as the belle passed her by: Although The Lady of WWE had laid no hands on Natalya, she had the look of someone who had been slapped in the face by Evans all the same.
My Take: 2 out of 5 – If Vince ever wanted to know why people are more interested in All Elite Wrestling (which practically doesn’t even exist yet), this match is a great example of why. Vince Russo and folks like him would have you believe that short matches like this one are what bring ratings, because they only go one segment. I’ve never met a person, either wrestling fan or not, who wants to watch a two minute wrestling match. People think that short matches are what’s wrong with wrestling, because they represent what they perceive to be what makes wrestling fake. The kind of people that want the short, middling bouts are normally the ones that only watch the TV show and don’t buy tickets, so why even bother catering to them? If the argument is that TV ratings are everything, then why not just push all of the wrestlers that people actually like and give them matches between each other? Does it sound like I’m talking like a simple moron? Well, that’s the only way to make a point to someone like Vince McMahon (he doesn’t read this anyway).
Match #3: Heavy Machinery def. The B-Team, The Ascension and Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins (Tag Team Gauntlet Match)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Ever since stomping their way up from NXT, Heavy Machinery have been somewhat difficult to pin down. Are they jovial, protein-shake guzzling jocks or vile dumpster-divers who are stealing the thunder of more deserving Superstars? The remainder of Raw’s Tag Team division seems to have firmly cast their votes in favor of the latter, saving the worst of their insults to the quirky, boulder-like Otis. They certainly lived to regret it. Their schoolyard-bully insults riled up some genuine aggression from the quirky big men, who dismantled each and every one of their aggressors in a Gauntlet Match with relative ease. The B-Team were first to fall; The Ascension followed; and Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins — the one team who held back in insulting Heavy Machinery — were the last to go, with Otis scoring the decisive pinfalls on all three teams. No one will argue that Otis isn’t an odd cat — least of all him. But clearly, insult him at your own risk.
My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – This was not quite as good as the other gauntlet matches from 2018 or early 2019, but at least the action did its job.
Match #4: Elias def. Dean Ambrose
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Never say never, ladies and gentlemen. Dean Ambrose seemed resigned to a lonely, nomadic life of fighting any warm body in his way rather than throwing in with The Shield, but The Lunatic Fringe came around after all, thanks in no small part to the team who has claimed to replace them. Elias had just picked off Ambrose with Drift Away, capitalizing on the lingering effects of his show-opening attack on The Lunatic Fringe (between that and a song that had the city of Philadelphia on the edge of a riot, it was a very good night for The Living Truth) when Rollins and Reigns made their final attempt of the night to rally Ambrose to their cause. The Lunatic Fringe declined and was halfway to the concourse when Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin emerged from atop the ramp, flush with victory and mockingly claiming that they had been willing to offer The Shield a one-time-only match at WWE Fastlane if the reunion was made official. With Ambrose having made his choice, however, the rising trio opted instead to deliver the final blow to what remained of the once-mighty faction. They spoke too soon. The sight of Rollins and Reigns, outnumbered, spurred Ambrose back into action, and The Lunatic Fringe sprinted to his brothers’ side to drive their would-be usurpers from the ring, ultimately joining in the trio’s iconic, three-pronged fist bump as his final sign of solidarity. The band is back together. All is forgiven. And the match is made. One last time it is.
My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – This was a decent match that didn’t do much for Dean, but Elias looked good here.
Match #5: Tamina def. WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
You could say Bayley defeated Nia Jax last week or you could say she got lucky. Either argument would have merit, and whichever one you picked The Boss ’N’ Hug Connection would find no such relief tonight. Facing The Irresistible Force’s tag team partner Tamina in a final preview of Sunday’s WWE Women’s Tag Team Title clash, Sasha Banks found herself on the wrong end of a superkick that brought their bout to an abrupt, brutal end. If it happens again on Sunday, The Boss and Bayley’s historic reign will suffer a similar fate.
My Take: 2 out of 5 – This wasn’t much of a match, but they tried to do something with it, to no avail.
Match #6: (Main Event) Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival def. Aleister Black & Ricochet via Disqualification in a Raw Tag Team Championship Match
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Is it possible to be dominant and embattled? The Revival might just be threading that needle, having both re-established the idea of a traditional tag team holding sway over the Raw division and woefully unprepared for a new, left-field crop of opponents from NXT. The “Top Guys’ ” Raw Tag Team Title reign has been stop-and-start enough that they found themselves defending the championships against Aleister Black & Ricochet just three weeks after winning them. And if not for a fateful interference from Bobby Roode & Chad Gable, Dash & Dawson may well have lost them. The former champions found their reign saved, in no uncertain terms, by Roode & Gable, who were vocally stewing on the outside — perhaps over the lack of an automatic rematch clause that would give them another crack at the titles. Roode & Gable swarmed The Revival in the middle of the match, notching a disqualification for the champions and giving the attackers a chance to assert themselves against the NXT newcomers. Their attempt to throw hands ended in disastrous fashion, however, as Black & Ricochet sent them ingloriously from the ring before posing ominously in the center of the squared circle. Whether Black & Ricochet would have definitely won the titles is a matter of pure conjecture, but the lasting image of the match left no such doubt: Much like The Revival, Roode & Gable may have picked a fight they aren’t ready for.
My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – This match was all about Ricochet going to town on The Revival in a great display of his athletic ability. Make no mistake about this match, but if you’re watching this for any other reason than to see Ricochet impress, then you will be disappointed. I wish this would have been booked to be a bit more even, but at least it was a fun thing to see for the brief time it was here.
News Of The Night:
- Triple H cut a dull promo on wanting to fight Batista that got good in the last twenty seconds.
- The Shield will fight Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley & Baron Corbin at Fast-Lane in what is being promoted as the last time The Shield will be together.
- Becky Lynch will fight Charlotte Flair to gain entry into the Raw Women’s Title Match at Wrestlemania.
- Ronda Rousey turned heel and attacked Becky Lynch.
- Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che and Colin Jost will be the Special Guests of Wrestlemania.
- Braun Strowman may be involved in a feud with Colin Jost and Michael Che.
- Bobby Roode and Chad Gable seemed to have turned heel.
- Torrie Wilson is going into the WWE Hall Of Fame.
- The WWE confirmed that Dean Ambrose is leaving the WWE. Corey Graves was directed to ask why you’d ever want to leave the WWE, since this is the big time league. Renee Young said that Graves had no idea what Dean had planned.
- Batista and Triple H will face off, next week.
Final Verdict: 2.5/5
This was a night of big news and thrilling twists, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a lot of wrestling on it.