Monday Night Raw – March 2, 2020: Heavy Sigh
IMG Credit: WWE
Monday Night Raw
Date: March 2, 2020
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler, Tom Phillips
This is a weird one as it’s the fallout show from Super ShowDown as well as the go home show for Elimination Chamber. Hopefully we get more for the latter than the former as Elimination Chamber is hardly looking like a strong show at the moment. I’m not sure what we are going to see added but they need to do a lot of it. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
Here are Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar to get things going. Heyman does his usual shtick and then says he can’t do this. It’s their job to make you interested in Wrestlemania and yes, this year’s card looks like the best in years. The problem is the main event, which is a sham. Drew McIntyre is overhyped, because he eliminated Lesnar from the Royal Rumble with the help of a low blow from Ricochet.
McIntyre leaves and the fans sing goodbye to Brock, who is having trouble standing after the kick. Brock staggers up the ramp and here’s McIntyre to take him down with another Claymore and pose with the title. The fans want one more so McIntyre delivers and Lesnar is out cold. You don’t see someone take Lesnar down like that every day so well done.
Here are the Street Profits and sweet goodness they are over in Brooklyn, with the red solo cups in the crowd being a nice touch. Tonight is their last chance at the Raw Tag Team Titles and they want the smoke.
Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Murphy/Seth Rollins
Murphy and Rollins are defending and have the AOP with them. The champs jump the Profits to start and the fight is on as we take an early break. Joined in progress with Dawkins fighting up and bringing Ford in for a very high springboard crossbody to bot champs. Rollins takes Ford down with a Sling Blade and a buckle bomb into an enziguri gets two.
Dawkins gets sent into the post but another buckle bomb/enziguri combination sees Murphy kick Rollins by mistake. With Murphy sent outside, Ford goes up but Rollins shoves him down. Rollins calls the AOP down but they get ejected in a hurry. As the referee is with the AOP, Kevin Owens sneaks in for a Stunner on Rollins, setting up the frog splash to give Ford the pin at 5:04 shown.
Rating: C+. That was a surprise as even with the stipulation, I wouldn’t have bet on the title change. At some point you need to just give the fans something to cheer about and that’s what happened here. Odds are we’re going to be seeing Owens vs. Rollins at Wrestlemania in some form and if that’s the big win for Owens, Rollins doesn’t need a title at the time. Let the Profits win here and see what they can do with the titles for a change.
Post break, Rollins is livid and demands a rematch at Elimination Chamber. They’ll deal with Owens later, and Owens can make all the rules for whenever Rollins gets his hands on him. Murphy does not seem pleased with the whole thing.
24/7 Title: Ricochet vs. Riddick Moss
Moss is defending and takes Ricochet down with the early power. Ricochet gets sent outside and we take an early break. Back with Ricochet slugging away and kicking Moss down so the standing shooting star can get two. The superkick is blocked and Moss grabs a neckbreaker (with Moss falling forward instead of laying out) for the clean pin at 8:29.
Rating: D+. That’s a much bigger surprise than the opener and I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not. I’m not big on seeing Ricochet lose twice in a row but at the same time, I’m glad that he isn’t stuck in the 24/7 mess. Also, as meaningless as it is in the grand scheme of things, WWE is giving Moss a chance to do something so points for giving someone a shot, which is what they’ve been trying to do more of lately.
Here’s AJ Styles for his match against Aleister Black but first, AJ complains about Undertaker attacking him. He’s not in a good mood because even Hollywood is telling him to run from the Undertaker. We see a video of Mark Wahlberg saying AJ should give up, and AJ isn’t happy with Marky Mark giving him advice. Tonight AJ has Aleister Black and he hopes Undertaker is paying attention.
Aleister Black vs. AJ Styles
The Good Brothers are here, but hold on because AJ has a clause in the contract: to get to AJ, Black has to beat Karl Anderson.
Aleister Black vs. Karl Anderson
Black sends him to the floor to start and baseball slides Gallows. A kick to the head drops Anderson and Black stares AJ down as we take a break. Back with Black fighting out of a chinlock and hitting the standing Lionsault. Black Mass ends Anderson at 5:43. Not enough shown to rate and it’s not like anything but Black Mass matters.
I’m not even going to bother putting AJ vs. Black here because you know what’s coming.
Aleister Black vs. Luke Gallows
Gallows jumps Black before the bell and wins an exchange of kicks to the head. Some elbows to the chest set up the chinlock but Black fights up with some knees to the ribs. Black gets sent outside and we take a break. Back with Black fighting out of a chinlock (same sequence going into and coming out of the break in both matches) and striking away. Gallows stomps him down in the corner and that’s a DQ at 5:32. Again not enough shown to rate but it’s the old “beat X to face Y trope”, with the real match likely coming on Sunday.
Post match Black takes the Magic Killer and NOW AJ is ready to go.
AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black
AJ kicks away at the tired Black but Black kicks him in the head. That earns him a backbreaker and a brainbuster as AJ is all fired up. The Phenomenal Forearm, with an Undertaker pin, finishes Black at 2:30.
Ruby Riott is only responsible for herself these days and on Sunday, she’ll prove she is ready to strike whenever she pleases. There are no friends inside the Elimination Chamber.
Liv Morgan vs. Ruby Riott
Sarah Logan is guest referee. Liv drives Ruby into the corner to start and slugs away, setting up a springboard dropkick. An armbar has Ruby in more trouble until she makes a rope. Ruby is right back with a cravate and some stomping in the corner, though Logan drags her away. Liv slugs away until a Downward Spiral gives Ruby two. The kickout knocks Ruby into Logan, who comes up favoring her shoulder. Ruby’s forearm gets a slightly delayed two so she yells at and then shoves Logan. Liv uses the distract to grab a rollup for a fast counted pin at 4:39.
Rating: D. Points for trying to do something to hide the fact that Shayna Baszler is the most obvious Elimination Chamber winner ever but this isn’t exactly a thrilling way to go. The Riott Squad wasn’t the most successful or thrilling story in the world, though to be fair the Raw Women’s division needs some fresh names and Riott seems like a possibility if they can build her back up.
Post match Logan shoves Ruby down so Liv can enziguri Ruby, only to get kneed in the face by Logan.
Long recap of Edge returning but getting destroyed by Randy Orton the next night.
No Way Jose and the Conga Line ask what is in Erick Rowan’s cage. Rowan actually agrees to show them so he takes it out of the cage and it’s a HUGE spider, which sends everyone running away. I’m kind of surprised by them actually paying it off, but a spider? That’s all they could come up with?
We look back at the McIntyre/Lesnar segment.
Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler
This was originally going to be Asuka (here with Sane) but she was injured so the match was changed. Shayna misses a kick to the head to start so she cranks on the arm and spins Sane’s hand around for a little twist. A headscissors puts Shayna down but the sliding forearm is countered into another armbar. Shayna grabs a spinebuster and stomps on the leg, followed by a hard whip into the post.
Back in and Sane’s come back is cut off with a kick to the face, followed by another pull on the leg. Asuka offers a distraction so Sane can get two off a rollup, only to have Baszler kick her in the head. Cue Becky Lynch in a yellow coat to stare Shayna down as we take a break. Back with Becky on commentary (and wearing Lawler’s crown) and Sane hitting a DDT. Shayna is right back with a gutwrench superplex for two but Sane kicks her down, only to have the Insane Elbow blocked with raised boots (OUCH). The Kirifuda Clutch finishes Sane at 12:45.
Rating: D+. This really missed and I’m not sure why. The way the match went, it felt like it should have been about four minutes long and then just kept going. The other problem is, as has been the case for weeks now, there is no reason to believe that Shayna isn’t winning on Sunday and there’s no hiding it. It makes the matches, including the Elimination Chamber, feel like we’re wasting our time and that gets old in a hurry.
Post match Shayna chokes Sane out again.
Rey Mysterio and Humberto Carrillo are ready to finish Angel Garza and Andrade.
Andrade/Angel Garza vs. Humberto Carrillo/Rey Mysterio
Carrillo chops at Andrade to start so Andrade bails to the floor in a hurry. Mysterio doesn’t want to wait and tries a hurricanrana off the apron, earning himself a whip into the barricade. A double backdrop puts Carrillo down but he’s back with the springboard armdrag. The springboard crossbody gets two on Andrade so Garza tries to TAKE OFF HIS PANTS, only to have Carrillo whip him in and TAKE OFF THE PANTS FOR HIM.
A big dive to the floor takes out Andrade and we take a break. Back with Garza pulling Carrillo off the apron for a face first crash onto the apron. Garza’s abdominal stretch is broken up and an enziguri allows the tag to Rey. A heck of a tornado DDT plants Andrade for two but Carrillo’s big dive hits the barricade and we take another break. Back again with Rey kicking Andrade to the floor but Garza blocks the 619.
Rey doesn’t minds as a Canadian Destroyer gives him two, only to have Andrade elbow him in the head. The Eddie Guerrero dance looks to set up the Three Amigos but Carrillo breaks it up with a missile dropkick. Andrade’s running knees in the corner get two on Carrillo with Rey making the save. A hurricanrana to Andrade sets up a double 619 and there’s a hurricanrana to put Garza on the floor. Carrillo moonsaults Andrade for the pin at 19:10.
Rating: C-. This felt even longer than it was as this feud has lost any momentum it ever had. It feels like they’re just continuing with it for the sake of continuing with it because Andrade’s suspension threw everything off. I’m sure they want to go with Carrillo as champion sooner or later but it’s not exactly a thrilling way to get there.
Here’s Beth Phoenix for the medical update on Edge. Before she can get anywhere though, it’s Randy Orton interrupting to offer her a hug and a handshake. Those aren’t happening so Orton sits on the top, only to cut her off again. Orton talks about going to a show in 1999 when he was 19 years old with his dad Bob Orton introducing him to agents Tony Garea and Jack Lanza. Orton was just a fan back then and couldn’t believe that he was seeing all of these stars.
Edge was the only wrestler to come up and shake his dad’s hand though and Randy was so proud. Bob introduced the two of them and Edge said maybe one day they could work together. That gave Orton some confidence and just a few years later, they were fighting for the Intercontinental Title and stealing the show every night. Then they came together as Rated RKO and won the Tag Team Titles.
Orton started making some bad decisions though and got himself into a hole that he shouldn’t have been able to get out of. He was able to be there for his family though and now he wants Edge to be able to do the same thing for their daughters. Everyone has blamed Orton for what he did but it wasn’t Orton’s fault at all. It’s Beth’s fault because she has enabled Edge, who is a junkie for the roar of the crowd.
Beth did nothing to stop him so Orton had to stop him so Edge could be a husband and father. Orton has realized that he loves Edge’s kids and Edge more than Beth ever could. Beth finally slaps him and it’s an RKO to drop her, with Orton immediately storming off. A bunch of referees and wrestlers come down to check on her to end the show. There’s your other big incentive for Edge to come back and the fiery promo should be great. Orton’s explanation was good and fits his rather crazy outlook on things, which is all you need most of the time.
Overall Rating: D. This show started off well and then came crashing down after about forty minutes. I lost any and all interest in this thing and was looking for anything to draw me in. The wrestling was fine enough and they set some things up but egads they did everything they could to make me stop caring. More than one thing felt like it went on forever and you could feel every minute of the three hours. I know I’ve said it time and time again but Elimination Chamber could not feel less important and that makes the TV shows building towards it that worse. Just not a good show and it kept getting worse.
Results
Street Profits b. Murphy/Seth Rollins – Frog splash to Rollins
Riddick Moss b. Ricochet – Neckbreaker
Aleister Black b. Karl Anderson – Black Mass
Aleister Black b. Luke Gallows via DQ when Gallows attacked in the corner
AJ Styles b. Aleister Black – Phenomenal Forearm
Liv Morgan b. Ruby Riott – Rollup with a fast count
Shayna Baszler b. Kairi Sane – Kirifuda Clutch
Humberto Carrillo/Rey Mysterio b. Andrade/Angel Garza – Moonsault to Andrade
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