By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw on the USA Network (Episode 1,398)
Aired live on March 9, 2020 from Washington, D.C. at Capital One Arena
[Hour One] The Raw opening video aired… Pyro shot off on the stage and a graphic listed the location of the event. The broadcast team of Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, and Jerry Lawler checked in and hyped the return of Edge. A shot aired from the garage area backstage. Phillips said they had their cameras awaiting the arrival of Edge…
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch headed to the ring for a promo dressed in all black while the broadcast team hyped her WrestleMania match against Shayna Baszler. Phillips noted that Baszler is the only person to eliminate the entire field of Elimination Chamber entrants by herself.
Lynch stood in the ring and listed to the “Becky” chants before telling the DC crowd that The Man has come around. Lynch said the time for joking around is over because she finally knows who her WrestleMania opponent is – “the cage fighter Shayna Baszler.” Lynch set up a video package that recapped Baszler’s Elimination Chamber win.
Post match footage aired of Baszler talking about how she wrecked every person in the Chamber to send a direct message to Lynch. Baszler looked into the camera and said, “I will take the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania and there’s not a damn thing you can do, bitch.”
Lynch put over Baszler’s accolades and said that she’s also a world class scumbag. Lynch said she might be a bitch, but she’s the bitch who runs the division. Lynch said she used to recognize Baszler as a the constipated robot from NXT. Lynch recalled that Baszler refused to shake her hand last year at WrestleMania after she took the title from her friend Ronda Rousey.
Lynch said Baszler has been hiding in the shadows looking to rewrite history. Lynch said it will be heart vs. skill and The Man vs. The Queen of Spades. Lynch said she believes that Baszler is underestimating her. “And I’m going to smash your face in for it,” Lynch said before dropping the mic…
The broadcast team hyped Drew McIntyre as being in action on Raw… A shot aired of Rey Mysterio walking backstage while Saxton hyped his match with Angel Garza as coming up after the commercial break [C]…
Powell’s POV: That’s more like it. Lynch has a program she can sink her teeth into and she delivered her best promo in weeks. Forget the over the top aspects we’ve seen lately, Lynch delivering a straight forward pro wrestling promo is Lynch at her best.
1. Rey Mysterio vs. Angel Garza (w/Zelina Vega). During his entrance, Garza stopped along the barricade and waited for a female fan to kiss his cheek. She kissed her hand and placed it on his cheek instead. Garza followed up by kissing her on the cheek. Garza caught Mysterio with a kick to the face, then dropkicked him to ringside. Garza removed his tearaway pants heading into a picture in picture break. [C]
Garza set up for his own 619, but Mysterio cut him off with a dropkick. Mysterio sent Garza to ringside and then did a slide under the bottom rope and landed on him on the floor (love that spot). A graphic listed Natalya and Live Morgan vs. The Kabuki Warriors for later in the show.
Garza went back on the offensive with a reverse slingshot suplex. Mysterio rallied until Garza cut him off with a kick. Garza placed Mysterio on the top rope. Mysterio knocked Garza to the mat and then went for a Canadian Destroyer, but Garza caught him. Mysterio performed a huracanrana that put Garza on the ropes and then hit a 619 and followed up with a springboard splash for the win…
Rey Mysterio defeated Angel Garza in 9:00.
Powell’s POV: An enjoyable opening match. Mysterio is having one hell of a run. I was skeptical when he was brought back because he’s had so many injuries over the years, but he’s been fantastic. My guess is that Paul Heyman has had a lot to do with the way the company has been better about treating Mysterio as the true legend that he is.
Footage aired from earlier today of Kevin Owens arriving at the building and finding AOP and Murphy blocking his path. Seth Rollins laughed and entered the picture with a bucket of popcorn. Rollins laughed and offered Owens some popcorn. Owens threw his rolling suitcase at AOP, but was quickly beaten down by AOP and Murphy while Rollins continued to eat the popcorn… [C]
Powell’s POV: For those didn’t see Elimination Chamber, Owens started the popcorn bit by arriving through the crowd while eating popcorn during the Raw Tag Title match.
The broadcast team hyped the return of Steve Austin for next week’s 3:16 Day edition of Raw. Phillips set up footage of Rhea Ripley’s appearance at WrestleMania host venue Raymond James Stadium (thanks in part to the XFL running the same venue)…
Powell’s POV: This footage aired on WWE television previously and was well worth repeating. Ripley came off very well and the Raw audience needs to get to know her personality.
Charlotte Flair made her entrance while Saxton noted that it had been five years since he last held the NXT Women’s Championship. Flair brought up the Ripley video and labeled her the new shiny toy. Flair said the package was inspiring and even fired her up. Flair said Ripley is not her and will never be her.
Flair told Ripley to enjoy being the next big thing because it won’t last. She said she wants to teach Ripley a lesson. She said it’s one thing to stand in an empty stadium and talk about your dreams and it’s another thing to being in a stadium with 90,000 people and be humbled by The Queen.
NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley made her entrance. Ripley said she was going to explain something to Flair, who cut her off and said we already heard her talk for two minutes. Flair said it’s not NXT, it’s Raw and it’s her kingdom. “So you are excused,” Flair said. Ripley dropped Flair with a punch. Flair sat on the match with a shocked look on her face, then smiled as Ripley left the ring and smiled as she looked back at the ring. Flair got to her feet and smiled as she checked her lip…
Powell’s POV: A solid segment, though I would like to see Flair be more of a heel to help make Ripley. She’s playing the role of an arrogant star, but she’s not going after the fans or doing much to get the fans to dislike her.
A shot aired of Randy Orton standing backstage in a dark area while the broadcast team hyped Edge’s appearance… An ad for NXT hyped the show being broadcast from the WWE Performance Center on Wednesday with Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne vs. Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly for the NXT Tag Titles, and Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grimes for the NXT North American Championship… [C]
Phillips hyped AJ Styles as the guest on Tuesday’s WWE Backstage television show…
2. Bobby Lashley vs. Zack Ryder (w/Curt Hawkins). The entrance of Ryder and Hawkins was not televised. The broadcast team noted that Lana was filming a movie and that’s why she wasn’t in the corner of Lashley. Ryder got in a moment of offense, but Lashley shut it down quickly and hit the Dominator for the win…
Bobby Lashley defeated Zack Ryder in 1:20.
Powell’s POV: A simple squash win for Lashley. The Lana story told by the broadcast team is true. I’m not sure if she’s filming it now or if she’s shooting a different movie, but she landed a role in a Bruce Willis film, according to Deadline.com.
The broadcast team recapped Drew McIntyre’s recent events and hyped him as being in action for later in the show… [C]
Aleister Black was shown sitting crosslegged backstage and was apparently about to deliver a promo when someone knocked at his door. Seth Rollins and Murphy walked into the room. Rollins said it was nice to meet Black and that Murphy had told him a lot about Black. Rollins spoke of being a master of the numbers game.
“I want you on my side,” Rollins said. Murphy tossed Black a Rollins’ t-shirt. Black declined. Rollins said that he might not have been clear in that Black is either with him or against him. Black said those sounded like fighting words. Black said that if they were then Rollins knocked on the right door because he would accept (a fight)…
Erick Rowan made his entrance with his spider cage and received a weak reaction when he held his hands up in the ring.
[Hour Two] Drew McIntyre made his entrance as Rowan’s opponent. McIntyre walked up the steps where the spider cage was located and simply walked around it…
3. Drew McIntyre vs. Erick Rowan. McIntyre tossed Rowan at ringside. McIntyre picked up the ring steps and placed the spider cage on the floor at ringside. McIntyre slammed the top piece of the ring steps onto the cage. Rowan attacked McIntyre, but McIntyre quickly fought him off. McIntyre led the 3-2-1 countdown to the Claymore Kick and scored the pin…
Drew McIntyre defeated Erick Rowan in 2:20.
Powell’s POV: I guess this was their way of writing off the cheesy mechanical spider. Let’s hope there’s not a PETA for mechanical pets. Anyway, I’m not sure why they didn’t announce Rowan as the opponent, as this match was more stronger on paper than what most of us probably imagined it would be when they billed McIntyre as simply being “in action.”
Orton was shown standing backstage and then a video package recapped his angle with Beth Phoenix from last week… Lawler hyped the return of Edge for later in the show…
The Kabuki Warriors made their entrance heading into a break. The broadcast team questioned how Asuka would respond given that she couldn’t be 100 percent after being the Elimination Chamber with Shayna Baszler. Phillips noted that Asuka’s opponents were also in the match…
An ad for Smackdown hyped that Paige will confront Bayley, and Jeff Hardy will make his return… [C] Phillips announced Rollins vs. Black for later in the show in a first-time ever matchup…
The Kabuki Warriors stood in the ring and did their Japanese IIconics routine (or whatever you want to call it). They both laughed a lot and yelled in Japanese, which led to the crowd giving them the “What?” treatment. Sane asked Asuka how she was feeling. Asuka made a sad face and showed off her wrapped hand and wrist. Asuka yelled that she wanted to beat someone. They said something about “mean girl” and laughed, then Natalya’s entrance music cut them off…
4. WWE Women’s Tag Champions “The Kabuki Warriors” Asuka and Kairi Sane vs. Natalya and Liv Morgan in a non-title match. Natalya had her left shoulder taped to sell her Elimination Chamber injuries. Ruby Riott walked to ringside heading into a PIP break. [C]
Lawler mistakenly referred to Asuka as “Aksana” at one point. Oops. Phillips quickly corrected him. Riott remained at ringside and was shown laughing as the Kabuki Warriors isolated Natalya. Sarah Logan walked out and waved at Morgan while standing near Riott.
Suddenly, Riott and Logan started fighting one another at ringside. Morgan went up top and dove onto both of her former Riott Squad teammates. Natalya wanted to make a tag, but Morgan was down on the floor. Natalya threw a discus clothesline at Sane and got a two count. Asuka made a blind tag. Natalya put Sane in a Sharpshooter, which Asuka broke up with a kick to the head. Asuka covered Natalya and pinned her…
The Kabuki Warriors beat Natalya and Liv Morgan in 10:55 in a non-title match.
Powell’s POV: It wasn’t a title match, but at least we finally saw the WWE Women’s Tag Champions work a televised tag team match. It’s also good to see that the Riott Squad storyline didn’t end in forgettable fashion at the Elimination Chamber when the trio never actually ended up in the ring all at the same time.
Phillips hyped Edge’s return and that Orton was in the building. They showed the garage area of the building while Saxton said they were still awaiting the arrival of Edge… [C]
The OC trio of AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson made their entrance for an in-ring promo. “Not once, but twice the Undertaker has stuck his nose in my business where it doesn’t belong,” Styles said. “Not once, but twice the Undertaker has taken moments from me.” Styles complained about Taker costing him “a beautiful trophy” and costing him a match at Elimination Chamber.
Highlights aired of Styles vs. Aleister Black from the pay-per-view. Back live, an Undertaker chant broke out. Styles said saw Taker lose to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania three years ago. Styles said Taker left his gear in the ring afterward and it seemed as though he was riding off into the sunset. Styles said he thinks Taker should have done that after Brock Lesnar ended The Streak, but that’s beside the point.
Styles said Taker ruined the post Reigns match moment. Styles said he wants Taker at WrestleMania. Styles said he would have been hesitant about calling out Undertaker ten or 15 years ago, but he no longer sees a mythical monster or a Phenom.
“What I do see is a broken down old man named Mark Calaway,” Styles said. He said Taker should have retired ten years ago when he was in his prime. He said he doesn’t know why Taker keeps coming back, but he has a good idea. “It’s his wife,” Styles said. “The Undertaker and Michelle McCool are married if you didn’t know.”
Styles said that McCool plays Taker like a fiddle. He said that whatever she wants, she gets despite her husband getting hurt every time he steps foot in the ring. “They’ve got a beautiful, beautiful family, everything’s great, but she’s just the most conniving person I have ever met in my entire life.” Styles told the fans they could boo all they want, but the truth is the truth.
Styles said he had advice for Undertaker. “Undertaker, your wife is going to run you into the ground and I’m gonna help her,” Styles said. “I’m going to make sure that you die in that ring at WrestleMania. How about this, let me rephrase it. I am going to take the Undertaker’s soul at WrestleMania. I am going to do exactly what his wife wants me to do.”
Styles said he was challenging Taker to a one-on-one match at WrestleMania. “Come on, Taker, you’ve already lost your dignity, your pride, your mystique. Like I said, you’re just a broken down old man.” Styles said the people don’t give a damn about Taker. He told Taker to accept his challenge and he will literally put the nail in Taker’s coffin…
Aleister Black was shown with his eyes closed backstage while Phillips hyped his match against Rollins… [C]
Powell’s POV: I definitely could have done without the line about making sure that Taker dies in the ring and I can’t say that bringing McCool into the angle does anything for me. But they definitely needed a hook for this match and the promo at least made it feel personal. If nothing else, it was nice to hear Styles deliver a serious promo rather than the gloating goofball promos that he’s been doing as the leader of The OC.
The broadcast team and a graphic touted that WWE reached over 40 billion YouTube views…
Charly Caruso found the dark and smokey area where Randy Orton had been standing around all night. She asked him for his thoughts on Edge, who was on his way to the arena. Orton didn’t say a word and simply nodded…
5. Riddick Moss vs. Cedric Alexander for the WWE 24/7 Championship. Alexander went for a springboard move and was tripped up. Moss shoulder blocked Alexander in the corner and then performed a neckbreaker and got the pin. Moss yelled afterward that he’s the greatest 24/7 Champion of all-time and said he’s not going anywhere…
Riddick Moss defeated Cedric Alexander in 2:10 to retain the WWE 24/7 Championship.
Powell’s POV: Well, we learned that Moss’s character isn’t a mute thanks to his post match yelling.
Phillips hyped Edge’s appearance. The NXT ad aired again… [C]
MVP was in the middle of speaking to the crowd and insulted them by saying he could think of better cities that he’d rather be in. He said DC isn’t even a state. MVP said he’s transitioning from in-ring competitor to absolute brainiac.
[Hour Three] MVP said that in order to build his stable, he needed a solid foundation. MVP said he would build his stable around a guy like Edge. MVP said he and Edge go way back. MVP said Edge has a problem with focus, but he could lead him back to the prominence he once held if he focuses and listens to him.
MVP said Edge wasn’t there to see the fans. An SUV was shown arriving in the garage area. Edge exited the SUV and walked intently through the backstage area while MVP spoke of having a proposition for him.
Edge’s theme music played and he walked right to the ring. Edge took the mic from MVP and asked, “Where is he?” Edge told Orton to grow a set and “get out here right now.” Edge handed the mic back to MVP, who told him that he was focused on the wrong thing and was embarrassing himself. “Speaking of the wrong thing, how is your wife?” MVP asked.
Edge speared MVP. Randy Orton attacked Edge out of nowhere, but Edge came right back and dropped Orton with an RKO. Edge rolled out of the ring and grabbed a chair, then went back and grabbed a second chair. Orton escaped the ring. MVP went after Edge, who applied a standing triangle hold. Edge released the hold and MVP fell to the mat.
Edge glared at Orton, then picked up MVP and gave him a weak RKO onto one of the chairs. Edge picked up the other chair and yelled, “This is you, Randy,” before giving MVP a Conchairto. Fans chanted “one more time.” Edge obliged while Orton watched from the stage.
Edge’s music played while the long distance staredown continued until the broadcast team started narrating replay footage. Edge and Orton were still staring at one another afterward. Edge left the ring and ran after Orton, who headed backstage going into a break. [C]
Powell’s POV: A solid segment. I didn’t expect to see MVP play a part in this and I’m guessing that ends here, but it gave Edge someone to attack since it wouldn’t make any sense for him to get too much revenge on Orton before WrestleMania.
The Undertaker and AJ Styles contract signing for WrestleMania was announced for next week’s Raw in Pittsburgh…
Washington imagery was shown, then Phillips set up a video on Triple H being presented the lifetime achievement award by Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Arnold Classic event…
A pre-taped Paul Heyman promo was set up by Phillips inviting fans to view the Lesnar vs. McIntyre match through the eyes of Heyman. Heyman delivered a pre-taped promo while various highlights were shown. Heyman listed Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Ric Flair, Steve Austin, John Cena, and The Undertaker at WrestleMania, then said no one has ever been so dominant for so long.
A Drew McIntyre rebuttal aired. He said everything that Heyman said is true. McIntyre noted that he eliminated Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, and how Heyman tried to spin it as a fluke. Footage aired of McIntyre hitting Lesnar with three Claymore Kicks. They already had footage of McIntyre’s match with Rowan included in the highlights. McIntyre said he would pin Lesnar to become WWE Champion at WrestleMania…
A Lesnar vs. McIntyre graphic was shown while Phillips said the question was whether McIntyre would be victimized at WrestleMania…
An intense Edge was shown searching for Orton backstage. Caruso approached him and informed him that Orton left the arena…
Ring entrances for the Rollins vs. Black match took place. Rollins was still munching on popcorn and even let fans along the barrier take some. Black made his usual entrance on the rising platform while Phillips hyped Austin for next week…
6. Seth Rollins (w/Murphy) vs. Aleister Black. Black cleared Rollins to ringside and then struck his pose while they went to a PIP break roughly 90 seconds into the match. [C] Black performed a springboard moonsault onto a standing Rollins. Murphy hopped onto the apron and was punched off by Black. Rollins rolled up Black for a two count. Black came right back with a kick and a snap German suplex and had Rollins pinned, but Murphy broke it up for the DQ.
Aleister Black defeated Seth Rollins by DQ in 7:35.
After the match, Rollins motioned for help from AOP, who headed to the ring. The Viking Raiders ran out to help and were quickly outnumbered. The Street Profits ran out and helped the other babyfaces clear the ring. Montez Ford took the mic and called for an eight-man tag match. Rollins accepted heading into a break… [C]
Powell’s POV: I honestly thought they would do something to get out of the Black vs. Rollins match and that’s why it wasn’t advertised before the show. Now I have no clue why they never bothered to advertise it, but I know this wasn’t worth giving away when the first time billing could have been saved for a showdown match somewhere down the road.
7. “The Street Profits” Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins and “The Viking Raiders” Erik and Ivar vs. Seth Rollins, Murphy, and “AOP” Akam and Rezar. Lawler said that if the Viking Raiders were any dumber you’d have to water them twice a week. Erik performed a suicide dive onto Rezar, who didn’t budge. Both men ended up on their feet and jawed at one another until Murphy hit Erik with a flying knee heading into a break. [C]
Erik was isolated coming out of the break and eventually tagged in Ford, who had a nice flurry of offense on Murphy and the other heels heading into a PIP break. [C] Ford was isolated by the heels coming out of the break. Ford eventually blasted Murphy with a great looking superkick, then made a hot tag to Ivar, who worked over multiple heels.
Erik tagged into the match and the Raiders set up for a double team move that was broken up when Ivar was knocked off the ropes by one of the AOP members. The wrestlers performed rapid fire spots. Rollins set up for a Stomp that Erik avoided and then slammed Rollins to the mat.
Ford tagged in and hit a top rope frogsplash on Rollins and had him pinned, but Murphy broke it up. The Viking Raiders took out AOP and Murphy with dives. Ford kicked Rollins to ringside, pointed at the WrestleMania sign, then performed a suicide dive onto everyone other than Rollins at ringside. Ford returned to the ring where Rollins was waiting and hit him with a Stomp that led to the pin.
Seth Rollins, Murphy, and AOP beat The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders in 23:55.
After the match, Kevin Owens showed up and pulled Rollins to ringside. AOP went after Owens. Owens took out one of the AOP members and Murphy with Stunners, but Rollins put him down with a Stomp. Rollins executed a second Stomp. Rollins motioned to Murphy to leave the ring, which he did. Rollins picked up Owens and gave him a third Stomp to close the show…
Powell’s POV: I guess we’ll never know what amazing main event they had planned for this episode before Montez Ford selfishly stole it by issuing the challenge for an eight-man tag match. Anyway, I’m still not keen on seeing Rollins and his crew in these eight-man tag main events on a regular basis, but the match filled the time and everyone worked hard. The post match angle continued the build to the apparent Rollins vs. Owens match at WrestleMania. Overall, Raw was an interesting show as they kicked the build to WrestleMania into another gear. I will have a lot more to say about Raw in my audio review that will be available to Dot Net Members within the hour. Let me know what you thought of the show by giving it a letter grade in our weekly post Raw poll on the main page.
That McIntyre/Rowan segment was odd. First, Erick Rowan is now an “in action” guy. So, I guess his push has stopped. Second, they didn’t mention the spider from last week that Rowan showed to No Way Jose. Third, did McIntyre, the lead babyface, just kill an animal?
Did he kill an animal? Clearly, no. Obviously, no. They established that it’s mechanical.
Did the announcers try to sell it as a real creature? At worst he broke Rowan’s Halloween decorations.
Flair not doing much to get Fans to dislike her? I disagree
many fans don’t like her they are sick of her always being in the Title hunt when you have other women Wrestlers in the locker room who deserve a title shot. you would think Flair was the only woman on the roster. she’s as bad as Lesner.
“Lawler mistakenly referred to Asuka as “Aksana” at one point.“
Last night he called Humberto Carrillo “Humberto Guerrero” because Tom mentioned Eddie and a few other former US champs. I guess Jerry started paying attention because he heard a name he recognized, unlike the names of the current talent.
How long until he calls him Humberto Del Rio.
Honestly? I’m fucking *shocked* that he hasn’t already.
Hunico Carrillo!
AJ Styles speaking the pure and honest truth (minus the wife angle). Taker has become one of the plodding old men that desperately needs someone else to carry him to a decent match. At least Styles isn’t afraid of a challenge. Retire already old man. You’ve done enough damage to your accomplishments.