Raw 05.02.2024

Whoo-hoo! The RadiantGame Team is now in our city—St. Louis, Missouri! Today is packed with excitement, featuring a chance for the tag team championships in a Fatal Four-Way match. How will Miz and R-Truth respond to last week’s assault from The Judgment Day? And what’s next for Cody after his controversial decision to let The Rock take his place in the main event of WrestleMania? Let’s dive in and find out the answers for ourselves!

Monday Night Rollins

The red show kicks off with none other than its champion, Seth "Freakin'" Rollins. In his signature fashion, Seth strutted into the ring and shared his thoughts on Cody’s decision last week. For Rollins, it's a golden opportunity to seek revenge for two humiliating losses from a few years ago and prove that he is THE champion in WWE.

Raw 05.02.2024 - Drew tries to convince Cody to try one more time to beat Roman.

Seth called out Cody, and lately, everyone seems to want a piece of him. However, fans seem divided on Cody’s choice. Maybe they were hoping for another clash with Roman Reigns, but I agree with The Tribal Chief's take: they fought once, and it’s over. Time to move forward. But just as things started heating up, Drew McIntyre arrived, with his own thoughts about the World Heavyweight Championship. After taking out CM Punk for months, Drew believes he deserves the title shot and advises Cody to finish his story elsewhere.

Raw 05.02.2024 - Drew attacks Seth and immediately gets punished by Cody.

Rollins reminded Drew of his two failed title shots, and Drew snapped back by pointing out Seth’s two losses to Cody. The exchange grew tense, leading to Drew delivering a Glasgow Kiss to Seth. Cody stepped in to stop the attack, sparking an interesting dynamic between these top competitors. It’s clear things around the World Heavyweight title are about to get intense, and the solution won’t be simple.

Fatal Four-Way Match for Tag Team Title Opportunity

The second round of the tag team title tournament featured DIY, The New Day, Diamond Mine, and Imperium. As you probably know, I’m a big fan of Imperium and Gunther, but tonight, I didn’t see any allies for Vinci and Kaiser. Personally, I thought DIY or The Creed Brothers had the best chance at victory.

Raw 05.02.2024 - OMG moment of the year?

Rather than describing every detail of this chaotic match, I’ll just point out some OMG moments: Julius Creed diving onto all of his opponents, Ciampa’s White Noise, and a massive powerbomb/superplex combo. The Creed Brothers were looking strong but lost focus, allowing DIY to capitalize. Johnny and Ciampa took the hidden tag and secured the win. Now, they’ll face Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate in the next round.

Raw 05.02.204 - DIY are going to face Pete Dunne and Taylor Baite

Becky Gets Another Chance

Tonight, Becky Lynch faced Shayna Baszler for a spot in the Elimination Chamber, a crucial stepping stone for both women. While I didn’t have much faith in Shayna, she put on a strong performance with plenty of submission holds targeting Becky’s arm, aiming to prevent the Manhandle Slam.

Raw 05.02.2024 - One of the most brutal none hardcore women match in this year. 

Both women delivered a spectacular match. Shayna, known for her violence and technical prowess, is always a threat in the ring, though it’s a shame she’s never won singles gold in WWE, settling for the tag division instead. The match ended awkwardly with a botched finisher from Becky, but it still earned her a spot in the Elimination Chamber, where she’ll have a chance to take on Rhea Ripley.

Rhea Livid as Hell

Our Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley, is in the ring, and she’s furious—understandable, given Nia Jax’s recent dominance over her. Rhea doesn’t want to wait until the Premium Live Event (PLE); she wants to end things with Jax now. But, of course, Adam Pearce came out to stop the carnage. General managers can’t physically stop superstars, though, and Nia easily threw Pearce off the ramp and gave Rhea a brutal fight.

Raw 05.02.2024 - Mommi is not on top tonight.

Once again, Nia’s size and strength gave her the upper hand, finishing the exchange with a devastating Annihilator on the champ. This makes it three wins in a row for Jax, and while it seems like Rhea is in danger, I have a feeling that come match time, everything will play out the way Ripley plans.

Mixed Tag Team Match

Mixed tag team matches aren’t common these days, but Alpha Academy and The Viking Raiders got involved in one tonight. Maxxine and Tozawa faced off against Ivar and Valhalla. Sadly, Maxxine still needs work in the ring—her performances are painful to watch. No complaints about Valhalla, who did well against her opponent. Thankfully, the men saved the match. Ivar and Akira have great chemistry, despite Tozawa being three times smaller than his opponent. Predictably, Ivar finished the match with a massive powerslam from the second rope.

Raw 05.02.2024 - Ivar finishes Tozawa with a big powerslam.

R-Truth Still in the Family?

Backstage, The Judgment Day were discussing their plans when Ron (R-Truth) showed up, apologizing for being late. Finn and Damian tried to explain to Truth, once again, that he isn’t part of The Judgment Day and that last week wasn’t some kind of initiation. But R-Truth being R-Truth, he didn’t care. In the end, Finn and Priest let him hang out in the locker room, even though they left shortly after. Classic Ron!

Miz Goes to War

After the beating Miz took last week, he’s out for revenge against The Judgment Day. Tonight, he faced JD McDonagh, and while I expected Miz to have a tough time, things got trickier with Dirty Dom at ringside. But midway through the match, R-Truth appeared, selling Judgment Day T-shirts, much to the fans’ delight. Miz used this distraction to secure the win, leaving the ring with R-Truth. I’m not sure when Truth will realize he’s not in Judgment Day, but this is definitely the funniest segment in WWE right now.

Raw 05.02.2024 - Most expensive pinfall in WWE. 

Gunther Celebrates 600 Days as IC Champion

Tonight was all about celebrating Gunther’s 600-day reign as Intercontinental Champion! While it’s not quite Roman’s 1000+ days as Universal Champion, it’s still an impressive achievement. Imperium decorated the ring in style, and Gunther gave a speech, stating he doesn’t count days but looks for worthy challengers.

Raw 05.02.2024 - How impressive Imperium looks right now. 

Enter Jey Uso. These two last met at the Royal Rumble, where Gunther eliminated Jey. They exchanged respectful words about each other’s achievements, but Gunther pointed out that Jey only had tag team success—50% of the credit goes to his brother, after all. A solo champion like Gunther is 100% responsible for their own success.

Raw 05.02.2024 - The challenge is accepted by Ring General.

Jey threw down the challenge for the Intercontinental title, which Gunther gladly accepted. However, a disrespectful comment from Gunther led to a three-on-one beatdown, with New Day coming to Jey’s rescue. This should set up some exciting tag team matches, but at Elimination Chamber, Gunther will defend his title once again. No disrespect to Jey, but Gunther is on another level right now.

Kabuki Warriors Still on Top

Tonight, the tag team champions, the Kabuki Warriors, faced a serious challenge from former champions Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. The challengers had a slight advantage due to Bayley injuring the Kabuki Warriors with a steel pipe last week. As expected, the match was filled with spectacular spots and exciting moments from both teams.

Raw 05.02.2024 - Insane Elbow by Kairi Sane is always impressive. 

At one point, the "party girls" nearly won the match with their signature move, After Party, but Kairi Sane was quick to save her partner from a pinfall. Kairi then took control, getting rid of Kayden and finishing off Katana with her devastating Insane Elbow. It was almost a solo effort by Sane tonight. While Kayden and Katana put in a good effort, it wasn’t enough to reclaim the titles.

Bull Rope Match

Shinsuke Nakamura tried once again to defeat Cody Rhodes, and I had no doubts that the Japanese star would be crushed yet again. For those unfamiliar, here’s a simple explanation of the bull rope match: both competitors are connected by a thick bull rope with a steel bell in the middle, which can be used as a weapon. The rope also prevents opponents from escaping before the match ends.

Raw 05.02.2024 - Shinsuke tries his best to punish Cody.

Now, I have to ask—why does Nakamura always seem to act like an idiot in these matches? He tried to leave the ring with the rope still attached, which, obviously, isn’t allowed. This match type was invented by Cody’s father, Dusty Rhodes, and Cody paid tribute to him by using some classic (but outdated) moves from that era. While Shinsuke carried the match with his intelligent offense, including landing a perfect red mist into Cody’s face, it didn’t faze the American Nightmare this time. Cody almost ignored the mist and hit Cross Rhodes on Nakamura.

Raw 05.02.2024 - Fatal blow for Nakamura with bullrope. 

The match didn’t end there—Shinsuke rolled out of the ring, and the action continued. However, Nakamura made a foolish mistake, allowing Cody to deliver a low blow using the bull rope, which ultimately sealed the win. I believe this marks the end of their rivalry with Cody sweeping the series 3-0. I hope Nakamura finds a new victim and more success in the near future.

Raw 05.02.2024 - The Scottish warrior strikes another blow at Rhodes.

One pleasant surprise at the end of the night was Drew McIntyre showing up and delivering a Claymore to Cody after the match. This might be a teaser of a potential new rivalry on Cody’s road to WrestleMania.

Final Thoughts and Ranking

With another Monday Night Raw off the air, let's reflect on the show. We discovered the second team set to compete for a shot at Finn and Damian's tag titles. Rhea, once again, was dominated by Nia Jax, which raises concerns about her chances at the PLE. Gunther found himself a new challenger in Jey Uso, which may not shift the championship landscape, but it could still deliver a great match. Meanwhile, Cody seems to have wrapped up his feud with Shinsuke and might now be a target for Drew.

I think McIntyre could give Cody a solid challenge—perhaps even win—but I believe his focus should be on Seth Rollins. Cody, on the other hand, needs to find a way to reach Roman Reigns for a second match.

Overall, I’d rate this show a 6/10. There wasn’t anything particularly special or surprising, and most of the matches were predictable. See you all on SmackDown—stay safe! 😊