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Credit: WWE.com
The entire week leading up to WrestleMania 37 was filled with events and it all kicked off with Monday’s episode of WWE Raw.
Before leading the fight for the WWE Championship, Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley both had singles matches against someone they had recently run into.
The Scottish Warrior defeated Baron Corbin and The All Mighty faced its former Hurt Business rival, Cedric Alexander.
The New Day will defend the Raw title against AJ Styles and Omos this weekend, so WWE has booked a rematch between The Phenomenal One and Xavier Woods for Monday’s show.
We also saw future opponents, Asuka and Rhea Ripley team up to tackle the champions for women, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler, in a non-title battle.
Let’s take a look at everything that happened on Saturday and Sunday during the home delivery of Raw on the way to WrestleMania.
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Raw started with McIntyre moving to the ring. We saw a clip last week of Corbin attacking him before The Scottish Warrior delivered a promo about his upcoming fight with Lashley.
He got a little choked when he talked about the conversations he had had with his mother through his years about his career and all the sacrifices he had to make. Lashley came out with MVP to make his promo short.
Lashley called McIntyre a great champion, but said his time was up. McIntyre tried to provoke a fight, but MVP told him he would have to wait. King Corbin joined the party and said he was going to stop McIntyre from ever getting it in WrestleMania.
Grade: C +
Analysis
It was a decent promo segment, but it did not have the sense of urgency needed for the final show before WrestleMania.
McIntyre and Lashley were good with delivering their lines, but Corbin slowed things down. His presence was not necessary. In fact, his short speech would have been more effective if it had been presented during an behind-the-scenes interview.
This segment did not cover any new ground or make the match between Lashley and McIntyre more interesting. It was rather faint, but those involved did their best.
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The first game of the evening was a rematch from last week in which Styles Woods took on. Omos and Kofi Kingston were there to support their partners from the ring.
Style first struck with a few strokes and a hip throw. Styles locked Woods in the Calf Crusher, but he was distracted when Kingston threw a microphone at Omos.
This allowed Woods Styles to roll up for the pin. The New Day is celebrated as their challengers watch in anger.
Grade: C-
Analysis
It was a short game that did nothing to make this feud more exciting, but what we did see was entertaining.
Woods and Styles only had time to hit a few moves, but each looked good. The stuff with Omos and Kingston was invented and could still be entertaining.
Was it necessary? No. Was it good? Can be. Was it funny? Yes.
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Braun Strowman delivered a passionate promo from inside a steel cage about his WrestleMania clash with Shane McMahon. After he finished, McMahon brought Elias and Jaxson Ryker forward to confront him in a handicap match.
After the break, the bell rings and Strowman immediately takes control of the situation. He throws Ryker out of the ring before running after Elias. Ryker prevented him from hitting a power slam to save Elias.
They bumped The Monster Among Men into the game after hitting a double-sided suplex. They each took turns beating moves from the top rope, but Strowman kicked out.
The big man recovered and beat both men with a power play for the victory.
Grade: C
Analysis
The Strowman promo may not have made a lot of sense, but he did so with more heart than expected. He was convincing and did more to make this match matter than all the previous moments he had with McMahon.
The match that followed was as predictable as it gets. McMahon took the chance against Strowman, but he still came out on top as we all knew.
Elias and Ryker looked good for the few seconds they had the upper hand. Although this whole segment was at its average, it was still the best thing we saw during this feud.
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Asuka and Baszler began a heated exchange before the Empress scored her first goal. Asuka brought her to the corner for a label, but Ripley refused.
Baszler broke away before Ripley decided to make a turn. She picks up The Queen of Spades and throws her to her corner. Jax comes in and trades with the number 1 contestant before they start throwing punches.
Ripley notices Asuka again against her will and watches as she places Jax in an octopus stretch. The Irresistible Force tipped over to escape, but Asuka struck a knee in the face.
Ripley and Baszler both got the label and thanks to a diversion from Reginald, The Queen of Spades picked her up with a hood block. We returned from a breather to see Baszler focus on Ripley’s leg.
Asuka got the hot tag and outscored both opponents with a series of quick moves. As the Empress climbs to the upper turn-knee, Ripley pushes her to the ground. She throws Asuka back so Baszler can hit a running knee for the win.
Grade: B-
Analysis
It was a good game with a logical outcome for everyone. Ripley and Asuka should not get along and WWE made sure they were enemies by the time it was over.
Ripley, who cost her own team the match, helped push her storyline while making the women’s champions look strong at the same time. Two birds in one stone.
WWE also announced a four-team match for night one of WrestleMania, with the winners earning a women’s title on night two.
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Benjamin and Alexander confronted MVP earlier in the show behind the scenes. Before the match started, Benjamin and Alexander attacked Lashley to wear him out.
After Lashley was able to break free, the ref asked for the bell and The All Mighty started hitting Alexander in the corner. He hit a neckbreaker before throwing his opponent over the ring.
Lashley dominated his former collaborator until the show was in the commercial series. Alexander tried to return when we returned and was able to push Lashley up the stairs, thanks to a distraction from Benjamin.
The pilot hit some suicide dives. When they returned to the ring, The All Mighty thwarted a DDT attempt. Shelton pleaded with Lashley to concede when he used The Hurt Lock for the win. When he refuses to break the hold, Benjamin comes to his partner’s aid.
Lashley grabs The Gold Standard and places him in the same hold until he falls out.
Grade: B +
Analysis
Lashley currently has two different feuds and he has managed to make both seem important. He shares his storyline with McIntyre while still dealing with his former Hurt Business teammates.
Alexander and Lashley looked good. Even though Lashley looked like a monster, Alexander could take enough offense to prevent him from looking like a worker.
It was a strong segment for all four men. It’s just a pity we can no longer see them as a stable.
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Sheamus joined the commentary team to watch Mustafa Ali fight Riddle. The American champion almost immediately suffocated Ali in a triangle, but he was forced to break when Ali rolled into a fixed position.
Riddle sends Ali over the top rope with a backside and lets the kick follow from the apron. He grabs Sheamus’ hat and dances around until Ali takes him out.
We returned from a break to see Ali under control, but Riddle quickly started trespassing. He hit all his signatures as he prepared to execute his finisher.
Ali resisted and hit a gut for a double. Riddle recovered and won the victory.
Grade: B-
Analysis
We need to pay attention to how WWE added an image of birds flying out of Riddle’s butt when he kicked off his sandals. Okay, we got it out of the way.
Ali and Riddle have good chemistry and have had enough time to deliver a pleasant performance. In the end, Sheamus had no influence on the outcome.
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They locked up and fought for control for a few seconds before breaking away from each other and locking up again. Corbin went for a waistline before tackling the former champion with a shoulder branch.
The king took down McIntyre with a washing line for a quick count. He choked The Scottish Warrior on the rope until the ref.
McIntyre began to build up a steam as he threw Corbin over the ring with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Corbin avoids the Future Shock DDT, but is still thrown into the steel stairs.
We’re back from an ad to see how Corbin tries to reverse his happiness. He ran McIntyre into the ring post to make him fly off the apron. He turned a suplex of the former WWE champion to almost fall.
After both men were close to winning several times, McIntyre scored the Claymore for the win.
Grade: B-
Analysis
Corbin is a big man who always works best when he’s in the ring with someone of the same size, so it’s easy to see why it’s a decent match in the end.
It was by no means great, but it did highlight the strengths of both men and gave Corbin something to do as he does not have his own WrestleMania feud.
MVP commenting helped sell why it happened. He wanted Corbin to take out McIntyre so that Lashley would have an easier challenge beating The King at WrestleMania. It was thin, but MVP made it work.
For the last installment of Raw before ‘Mania, it was a bit flawed. Let’s hope this weekend gives us a show that’s better than building it.