WWE Raw – Feb 24th 2020: Results & Review

Welcome to this week’s Monday Night Raw review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and if you have the Coronavirus, then you should switch to Cuervo. Beef Wellington is a great way to sneak a knife into jail and this review is getting started, now.

Match #1: Angel Garza def. Humberto Carrillo

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Humberto Carrillo will fight the good fight until the last breath leaves his body, but the last breath may well leave his body before he figures out an answer for Angel Garza. The suave former NXT Cruiserweight Champion once again outsmarted his do-gooder cousin, pulling ahead at the tail end of a match that was both incredibly crisp and amusingly petty. The two were just as likely to superkick each other as go to the ground in a slap fight like they were play-wrestling on the couch. The bout quickly spiraled into an escalating duel of roll-up attempts, and Garza opted to fight smart rather than hard, grabbing a handful of his cousin’s tights to keep him to the mat. It was a cheap shot tactic that probably worked 100 times when they were kids. Might as well make it 101.

My Opinion: 3.8 out of 5 – This kicked ass. Angel did his sinister Eddie Guerrero impression the whole time and I loved it. This match reminded me of the Eddie/Chavo/Rey matches from 2004-2005 WWE, because this, like those matches, was of high-quality while having time to go all the way and room to maneuver. Angel has made tremendous progress in just a short amount of time as a character. Seeing Angel grin like a Bond villain from bell to bell made me smile like a Catholic priest with a small b…never mind. Carrillo is behind Angel in the charisma department, but went neck to neck with the latter in terms of wrestling skill. There was a competitive streak to this that made it more like a sibling rivalry then a grudge match, which was a welcome change from the usual “anger for anger’s sake” angle. This better be the start of a proper rivalry, because this was too good to not do again.

Match #2: Ricochet def. Luke Gallows

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Beating Brock Lesnar will require something of a miracle, but Ricochet is giving a pretty good argument for getting it done yourself these days. With just three days to go until his WWE Title bout with The Beast, the former United States Champion dispatched Luke Gallows to make it two-for-two against The O.C. following last week’s win over Karl Anderson. As far as dry runs for Lesnar go, you could do worse than Gallows, who is strong, mean and a noted thrower of hambones. But Ricochet provided a solid example of how he might prevail on Thursday, whittling Gallows down with a blitz of superkicks and dropping him with the 1-2 of the Recoil and Shooting Star Press. He has done all he can, and at this rate, Lesnar will be a cinch. Okay, definitely not a cinch. But maybe. Just maybe …

My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – These two just didn’t go well together this time. Ricochet tried, but Luke was just off here. It’s a shame, because Luke has come a long way over the years and become a reliable fighter, but he just didn’t rise to the occasion like I hoped he would.

Match #3: Aleister Black def. Erick Rowan

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

What can stop Aleister Black? Black was forced to play defense and hope Rowan slipped up. He did, in a very unexpected way, accidentally knocking his precious pen off its perch from the ring steps. Rowan understandably tended to the pen, but the distraction allowed Black to regain his footing and catch the big man with a pair of Black Masses for the win.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was a strong fight that did well for not having as much time as it should have gotten. These two have chemistry together and there’s no doubt about that. Black…hoo-boy…I like him. I miss him as Tommy End, but maybe that time will come again, some day. Erick lost some steam from the engine by losing again, but having 50/50 booking with Black just feels wrong. If these two must fight then Black must win. In any case, this was good stuff.

Match #4: Bobby Lashley def. R-Truth

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

This Thursday, R-Truth and Bobby Lashley will throw their hats into the Tuwaiq Trophy Gauntlet Match. And despite the stiff competition, it’s looking like the match might be Lashley’s to lose. After an interview with Lashley and Lana on the winter premiere of “Truth TV” went south — The All Mighty didn’t much care to talk about “Sonic the Hedgehog” — a match between the two ended quickly when Lashley countered the scissor kick with a Spear. And yes, Truth once again emulated his childhood hero John Cena in defeat; victory in the Gauntlet Match is looking like a long shot, but one can only hope he makes like his idol and never gives up.

My Opinion: 1.7 out of 5 – I hate squash matches. Why waste a good pairing on some-thing neither man needed? What does sacrificing Truth do for Lashley? Why not just have a fifteen minute match with Lashley spearing Truth after Truth does a top-rope move or some-thing? F— it.

Match #5: Angelo Dawkins def. Murphy (Buddy Murphy) (Disqualification)

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

This Thursday, The Street Profits will challenge Seth Rollins & Murphy for the Raw Tag Team Titles, and they may well get the win. Until then, however, Rollins and his disciples are going to pull out any and every stop they can to keep their momentum intact. In the first of two bouts splitting the champs and challengers, Angelo Dawkins got the win over Murphy when The Monday Night Messiah interfered, bringing the bout to a disqualification. Murphy never quite got out of the blocks, but Montez Ford didn’t begrudge Rollins for wanting to protect his partner — as he said, “Dawkins hit him so hard last week, they removed his first name.” But it was King Tez’s offer to do the same to Rollins that brought out the fire in the self-styled savior, signaling the beginning of their one-on-one contest in earnest.

My Opinion: 1.4 out of 5 – Two squash matches in a row? F—!

Match #6: Seth Rollins def. Montez Ford

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

With Murphy and Angelo Dawkins ejected from ringside, the second of two singles bouts pitting the Raw Tag Team Champions against their challengers came down to the age-old question of who was the better man: Seth Rollins or Montez Ford. Results aside, we still do not know. Yes, The Monday Night Messiah got the victory. But Ford, a living fireball of charisma and athletic specimen of the highest order, made him work for it from minute one. King Tez took the Grand Slam Champion to the limit, narrowly dooming himself when his gorgeous Frog Splash missed the mark, allowing Rollins to spring with the Stomp. The win will surely boost Rollins’ ranks as he and Murphy head into their title defense. But this should not necessarily be taken as a harbinger.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was Ford’s best match so far. Rollins looked great, as usual, but Ford was the surprise here. I’m glad he delivered, because he has underwhelmed so far…until now. This was a very athletic, energetic and brisk battle that never lacked life. Vince might need to keep this pairing handy for the year.

Match #7: (Main Event) Randy Orton def. Kevin Owens

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

It seemed last week like Seth Rollins’ disciples were about to be outnumbered. This week, The Monday Night Messiah’s flock seemingly grew by one, though not perhaps in the way one might expect. The referee for Kevin Owens’ main event bout with Randy Orton turned out to be a Rollins convert, one who administered a lightning-fast count in the waning seconds of a match that saw a brawl erupt between Rollins’ crew and the opposition of The Viking Raiders and Street Profits. But Rollins (who unsuccessfully tried to get Orton to Con-Chair-To a downed Owens after the match) seemingly disavowed his new follower almost immediately, professing ignorance when KO revealed a hidden “Monday Night Messiah” shirt beneath the zebra stripes. Not that it saved the official; KO nailed him with a Stunner and drove him through a table in a pointed warning to Rollins and all who follow him, though there is something to be said for the spread of Rollins’ message. Before, Owens could at least tell outright who he was fighting. Now, it could be anyone.

My Opinion: 2.7 out of 5 – While not one of their best together, this did have some nice hits and shots in it, like a Barry Manilow concert in Ireland. I write the songs the whole world sings and kiss my ass you ginny sack of shite! I wanted this to be a classic, but it was mostly a commercial for the current angles and story-line between Orton and Owens (against others, anyway). Hey, at least it didn’t get the Coronavirus…drink Cuervo.

News Of The Night:

1. A Seth Rollins/Kevin Owens match for Wrestlemania was teased as the finale of the show was all about their mutual hatred.
2. Becky Lynch brawled with Shayna Baszler after the contract signing for the Women’s Elimination Chamber Match went awry (as always).
3. Buddy Murphy is the latest victim of Vince McMahon’s Madonna-ization by being re-named “Murphy”…Murphy, it’s you.
4. A referee wearing a Seth Rollins shirt under his uniform helped Rollins screw over Kevin Owens.
5. Angel Garza hit on Charly Caruso…and she liked it.
6. AJ Styles fights Aleister Black, next week, after he and The O.C. attacked Black during the show.
7. There were many attempts throughout the night to plant the idea of Ricochet pulling off a miracle win for the WWE World Title, so that remains a tangible, if un-likely outcome.
8. Drew McIntyre did a fine interview where he directly addressed the Vince McMahon promo where he declared Drew was a future World Champion.
9. Paul Heyman cut another great promo where he teased Ricochet winning the title (likely a red herring for promotional purposes only, but it was nice that the effort was made).

Final Verdict: 3.4/5

There were several week points for this show, but three matches were set-up for success and achieved some, while the promos were there to enhance the matches, so that counts for something.