WWE Monday Night Raw: 5/2/2022

We’re almost reaching WrestleMania Backlash, and with certain returns that happened last week it seems inevitable that we’d be getting more matches added before next Sunday! From Bobby Lashley versus Omos 2 to Cody Rhodes vs Seth Rollins 2, this payperview is stacked! Speaking of stacked, this week’s episode of Raw was stacked with awesome moments throughout. But how does the show kick off? Well…

Opening segment: Acknowledge the Scottish Warrior.

It was announced this past Friday on SmackDown that the tag team unification match got converted in a HUGE 6 man tag match, as Drew McIntyre joins RK-Bro while the Bloodline will go to war as Roman Reigns joins his cousins, the Usos. Raw kicks off with Reigns and the Bloodline addressing their opponents for next Sunday which got interrupted with 2 surprise RKOs to the Usos as Riddle and Randy Orton planned a sneak attack! Then out comes the Scottish Warrior Drew McIntyre to get up in Roman’s face which then led to a brawl between all six competitors! The Bloodline seemed to have the advantage but at the end, it was the babyfaces that stood tall. I’m very much looking forward for this match, hopefully it gets a “winner takes all” stipulation.

Match 1: Local talent vs Veer Mahan. (Rating:2/5)

I wouldn’t normally cover squash matches, however this one felt interesting. Usually in these types of matches, the bigger names would just get in the ring and destroy their opponents in five minutes or less and the local talent don’t have anything to add other than taking great bumps. But similarly to 2016 before the match got underway, the enhancement talent cut a really great promo on how he was going to not only beat Veer Mahan but also make a name out of himself for years to come. Unfortunately he lost the match after roughly four minutes and was forced to tap out to Veer, but the fact that WWE let this random talent cut a great first promo makes me wonder whether or not they’ve got ideas for this man, just like how James Ellsworth became a recognizable name following his squash match against Braun Strowman.

Match 2: AJ Styles vs Damian Priest. (Rating:4/5)

AJ and Edge 2 is also another match happening at WrestleMania Backlash, so in order to build momentum for this match Styles was forced to do battle with Judgement Day’s Damian Priest under the stipulation in which if AJ won the match, Damian would be barred from ringside at Backlash. Regardless of this being a predictable match, this was still the best match of the night. The styles of AJ and Priest definitely mix well together and both dudes certainly do know the other person’s moves duh to their previous battles in the past. AJ wins the match with a surprise rollup which then prompted Edge to ambush Styles from behind and a two on one beatdown happened! And it seemed as if Judgement Day was ready to hurt AJ’s shoulder more with a couple of steel chairs until FINN BÁLOR came out and made the save to a crazy reaction! Finn forced the heels to retreat and with a Too Sweet gesture to Styles, it seems as if the former leaders of the Bullet Club have FINALLY become a team! Even if this happens to be a short run, this is still legendary nonetheless.

Main Event: 6 Woman Tag Match; Becky Lynch, Rhea Ripley and Sonya Deville vs Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair and Asuka. (Rating:3.5/5)

A HUGE 6 woman tag match to close the show, and I’m so glad that women were able to be the main event of a really great Raw episode. Rivalries definitely blossomed more and seeing Asuka back in action was really fun as well! I truly missed seeing her compete, and the possibilities of who the Empress would be facing is endless. Liv Morgan ended up getting the pinfall victory for her team after pinning Sonya Deville.

Final Rating:4/5