A Room with a Review: Raw 02/03/20

Posted: February 4, 2020/Under: Belts/By: Richard Phillips

There’s a blizzard in Salt Lake City, but the fans went around knocking on every door until they were allowed in, so the show must go on.

Raw starts with footage of Edge being taken to a local medical facility last week after the heinous attack by that dastardly viper, Randy Orton. Said snake slithers to the ring so slowly that The Undertaker was seen gesturing to speed it up. Every time Orton starts to speak, the fans begin booing and chanting “You Suck”. It’s not quite as loud as Roman after WrestleMania 33, but it’s close. Randy finally says that he can’t do this and leaves the ring. Well, that killed 15 minutes.

Now they are showing a recap of the men’s Royal Rumble match, focusing on Drew McIntyre. Drew will face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, but tonight there will be a Triple Threat match between Ricochet, Seth Rollins, and Bobby Lashley to see who will face Brock at the next Saudi show. I really wish they would stop with those.

The first match of the night is Lana vs Liv Morgan. Why won’t this feud end? It’s been the weak spot of every great Raw they’ve had over the last month. Liv beats Lana even quicker than last week with the same modified Flatliner. While Liv is celebrating in the ring, The Riott Squad music hits. It’s Liv’s former teammate, Ruby Riott, making her return after nine months away from the ring. Ruby’s all smiles until she hits Liv with an STO. She leaves Morgan in the ring with Lana, who gets in a facebuster for good measure.

After a commercial break, Mojo Rawley and Riddick Moss are already in the ring. Mojo is facing Drew McIntyre. Pray for Mojo. Drew cuts a promo on Brock Lesnar, then hits a Claymore kick on Mojo as soon as the bell rings.

Charly Caruso is backstage interviewing Buddy Murphy and AOP. Seth Rollins shows up to take over talking duties so they can prepare for their match.

Speaking of that match, it starts right after the next commercial break. It’s a 6-man Elimination Tag Team match pitting Buddy Murphy and AOP (Akam and Rezar) against Kevin Owens and the Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar). Samoa Joe is not medically cleared tonight after landing on his face last week. The good guys dominate early with Erik and Ivar focusing on Rezar. Both Viking Raiders perform moves on AOP on the outside of the ring. Ivar goes to hit a crossbody, but hits the LED board on the side of the ring, “injuring” his shoulder. While the ref is distracted, Seth Rollins hits a stomp on Erik and rolls him into the ring so Murphy can pin him. Erik is eliminated and Ivar has to go to the back due to injury. Can KO survive without his teammates? We’ll find out, after this commercial break.

Back from the break and the bad guys are firmly in control. Owens hits a DDT on Buddy Murphy, but Akam tags in and quickly regains control. Murphy tags back in and after some back and forth offense, Owens eliminates him with a pop-up powerbomb. KO follows this up by eliminating Akam after a stunner. Owens nearly pulls off the upset, but Rezar gets the victory after a distraction by Seth Rollins. Salt Lake City gives Owens a standing ovation after his effort.

Charly is backstage with Ricochet, who they are going to keep giving a microphone to until he masters it.

Aleister Black is apparently still on East Coast time, as he is just now rising from his coffin. His opponent is Eric Young, so I guess he’s facing name brand jobbers now. Black wins in quick fashion after hitting Black Mass. He sits in the middle of the ring and cuts a great promo. He’s a compelling talker, for a Dutchman.

Next is a video package showing the events leading to Andrade’s wellness violation, I mean, indefinite injury absence. The man responsible for this turn of events, Humberto Carillo, heads to the ring while we enjoy a commercial break.

It’s Humberto Carillo vs his cousin, Angel Garza w/ Zelina Vega. Oh, man. Inject this match into my veins. After arguing with each other in Spanish, Garza jumps Carillo and hits him with the Wing Clipper. He throws his cousin to the outside as Vega peels back the mat. Before Garza can hit the DDT, Rey Mysterio runs to the ring to save the day. Rey Rey gets in the ring with Garza and we’ll find out after the commercial if they are going to have a match (spoiler alert: they are).

Surprise, surprise, it’s Rey Mysterio vs Angel Garza. This match slaps, as the kids say. I really think that Garza could be the heir apparent to Eddie Guerrero. He has that Latino Heat swagger that makes you root for him, even if he is cheating to win. Jerry Lawler still has a problem with the concept of Zelina Vega and Andrade only having a business relationship. Action moves to the outside and Vega distracts Mysterio long enough for Garza to hit him with a superkick. He follows it up with a DDT on the exposed concrete floor, resulting in a disqualification.

Charlotte Flair is heading to the ring and is expected to name her WrestleMania opponent. I’m not putting any money on that happening. Charlotte makes sure to point at the WrestleMania sign, as is tradition. As Charlotte explains her reasoning, Rhea Ripley appears! Make sure to read last week’s column, where I suggested that Charlotte would challenge Rhea. Charlotte walks past Ripley and heads to the back without saying anything.

Next, it’s Asuka w/ Kairi Sane vs Natalya. I have a feeling that Nattie is going to end up greener than Lacey Evans after this match. They have a nice exchange where Nattie accuses Asuka of trying to shoot on her and the follow-up exchange looks like they are legit mad at each other. This leads to a spinning sit-out powerbomb from Nattie, so I’m thinking they are still working together. Nattie turns a guillotine choke from Asuka into a suplex in an amazing feat of strength. Kairi Sane is able to distract Natalya long enough for Asuka to apply the Asuka Lock for the win. That was a great match. Afterward, Asuka demands a rematch for Becky Lynch’s Raw Women’s Championship. Becky heads to the ring to accept. Kairi tries to jump Lynch from behind, but Becky takes her out with one hand.

Time for the main event. It’s the Monday Night Messiah, Seth Rollins, vs The Almighty Bobby Lashley vs The One and Only, Ricochet. What happened to the days of one-word nicknames, like Iron Mike Sharpe or Mean Mike Enos? While Ricochet is the only babyface in the match (and he helped Drew eliminate Brock from the Royal Rumble), MBS seems to like the older names on the Saudi shows, so we might be getting Brock vs Lashley. A lot of fast-paced action early on in the match. Bobby Lashley hits a great DDT/neck breaker combo on Ricochet and Rollins. Buddy Murphy and AOP head to the ring and start fighting Seth’s opponents, but KO and the Viking Raiders run down to neutralize them. Ricochet and Lashley team up to hit Seth with a tandem superplex. Rollins rolls out of the ring and Ricochet hits Lashley with a 630 splash for the win. As soon as the bell rings, Brock Lesnar appears and hits Ricochet with an F5. Brock’s Raw 2020 streak continues!

Raw continues to entertain with only a few weak spots on the show. My biggest complaint is that post-Rumble is usually considered the Road to WrestleMania, but this year it will feature a detour through Saudi Arabia, which always messes with the momentum of these feuds. What are your thoughts on the Saudi shows? Let me know in the comment section below.

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