With a symphony of slams and drama at a high, Monday Night RAW came and left Music City, but not without shaking things up and exciting all in attendance, including myself. Belts were on the line, older rivalries continued, new beef began to sizzle, and Dirty Dom, The New Day, and Logan Paul continued to get booed into silence. The crowd was fully alive and thunderous, the matches were electric, and most importantly Jey Uso chose his opponent for the main event of WrestleMania. As we await the big show in April, we prepare for the Elimination Chamber and there were two qualifying matches on this episode.
Stars of Country music and professional football were in attendance and NXT’s Roxanne Perez even appeared. Outside of the matches, Rhea Ripley offers Iyo Sky a shot at her Championship belt on the Raw after the Elimination Chamber. The New Day shows face and continues to get no respect. AJ Styles makes his official RAW comeback but is interrupted by Dirty Dominik Mysterio and his lackey Carlito. The boo-heavy back and forth turns into a match on next Monday’s Raw. Not long after, Styles runs into Bron Breakker with the Intercontinental Championship draped on his shoulder. Not much is said, but the intense stares said it all. After less-than-satisfactory results, Finn Balor is further disappointed with Dom and Liv Morgan. The Judgement Day has been slowly cracking for weeks, could an end be near? Also, before the night ended, CM Punk delivered yet another long-winded promo until Logan struts to the ring to speak his mind, stake his claim, and prepare to take on Rey Mysterio in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match.
Big Announcement
Becoming the new most electrifying man in sports entertainment, Main Event Jey Uso is beginning to live up to his moniker as the recent winner of the superstar-studded Royal Rumble. With that win, the Yeet Master General was awarded a championship match of his choosing on the biggest event of the year, WrestleMania. Since the Rumble victory on February 1, 2025, fans and the WWE locker room alike have been wondering if he will choose to face Cody Rhodes and the Undisputed Championship or more likely, Gunther and the World Heavyweight Championship. As most of us expected, the boiling feud between Jey and Gunther reached another peak. After receiving a beatdown via surprise attack, Uso had no choice but to pick the World Heavyweight Championship. Despite repeated warnings and constant putdowns, the match is set. On April 19, 2025 – Sun, April 20, 2025, WrestleMania 41, Main Event Jey Uso will challenge The Ring General Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship. Will this be the Yeet of the year, or will Gunther continue his dominance?
Matches
Match 1: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai
In one of the best matches of the night and with no outside interference, the tag team of Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai of Damage CTRL defeated Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez of The Judgement Day. Sky continues to prove she deserves another chance at the Women’s title.
Match 2: Bayley vs Lyra Valkyria (Elimination Chamber qualifier)
Unfortunately for Lyra Valkyria, her reign as the inaugural Women’s Intercontinental Champion has been bumpy. Lucky for her, this match wasn’t for her belt because Bayley made decently quick work of her and qualified for the Women’s Elimination Chamber.
Match 3: The War Raiders vs Brutus Creed & Julius Creed (American Made)
The War Raiders retained their Tag titles after desperation caused American Made to get disqualified.
Match 4: Logan Paul vs Rey Mysterio (Elimination Chamber qualifier)
In the night’s main event, a hungry and determined Logan Paul shows that his athletic prowess and command of the ring will make him a legitimate star. While the legendary Rey Mysterio once ruled the ropes and turnbuckle, he couldn’t overcome Paul’s ferocity.
After the match, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods viciously attack an already beaten Mysterio as Paul slowly exits.
Dark Matches
If you’re unfamiliar, dark matches take place off-camera as a crowd warmup as well as showcasing stars not on the night’s main card. There were three great matches, one of which should’ve been on the show.
Match 1: Maxxine Dupri vs Zoey Stark
Stark accompanied by Shayna Baszler, makes quick work of Dupri.
Match 2: Penta vs Grayson Waller
To no one’s surprise, Penta delivers a great performance against A-Town Down Under’s Grayson Waller. After a back-and-forth match, Penta claims victory and celebrates with San Francisco 49ers tight end, George Kittle.
Match 3: Bianca Belair & Naomi vs Piper Niven & Chelsea Green
This match weirdly took place after the show. What’s weird isn’t the match but the matchup. Why have champions facing off outside of the show? We don’t see enough of the Tag Champions, Belair and Naomi as it is. Needless to say, Niven and Green were overpowered and outclassed in an exciting end to the night.
For a more detailed discussion, Ricky Valero and I do a recap show every Tuesday following Raw. Check out below.
Senior Critic. Observing the human race since 1988.
