WWE’sMonday Night Rawsaw its first weekly show following March 1st’s historicElimination ChamberPLE, whereJohn Cena turned heel and joined forces with The Rock, shocking fans all around the world. Cena’s heel turn further also serves as fuel for the eventual clash between The G.O.A.T. andThe American Nightmare, Cody Rhodes, at WrestleMania 41 this April, a match that could be one for the ages. This unexpected outcome fromElimination Chamberhas set the stakes high for the ongoing Road to WrestleMania, with plenty of WWE superstars still reeling from Saturday’s bewildering events.
Whether it be an enragedCM Punk talking smack about The Rock and Cena, culminating in a violent brawl with adversarySeth “Freakin” Rollins, or an empoweredIYO SKY dominating Rhea Ripley, this week’sRawhad a lot of WWE Superstars stirred up and ready to fight for their shot at a WrestleMania match. Continue reading to catch up on everything you might have missed from this week’sMonday Night Rawon Netflix.
What Time Does ‘Monday Night Raw’ Start?
Monday Night Rawbegan at its usual time of 8pm ET / 5pm PT, with the show concluding around 10:45pm ET / 7:45pm PT. This makes it one of the longer episodes ofRawsince the show’s Netflix debut in January.
Where Does ‘Monday Night Raw’ Take Place This Week?
The most recent stop forMonday Night Rawprior to this week’s show was at the Heritage Bank Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.This week’s show headed further up north to the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. WhileRawtypically moves from state to state each week, WWE’s flagship show will stay in New York a little while longer, with next week’s show taking place at the monumental Madison Square Garden in New York City, one of the most famous arenas in the world.
Who Were The Special Appearances On Last Week’s ‘Monday Night Raw’?
A majority ofRaw’s eclectic roster was present forMonday Night Rawon March 3. Among the many Superstars featured in this week’s show, the most notable include the aforementioned CM Punk and Seth Rollins, who were easily two of the biggest standouts this week. Other major Superstars from this week’s show include Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY,Bron Breakker,Jey Uso,Gunther, andLyra Valkyria. As always, every Superstar showed up ready to put on a marvelous spectacle for fans, making the most of their time inside and outside the ring.
Who Are the Announcers on This Week’s ‘Monday Night Raw’?
Monday Night Raw’s announcer line-up featured the show’s usual team, with commentary duoPat McAfeeandMichael Coledelivering their signature brand of hilarious and exciting commentary over the night’s events.Alicia Tayloronce again serves as ring announcer for this week’s show in Buffalo.
What Were This Week’s ‘Monday Night Raw’ Matches?
Following the explosive opening brawl between Punk and Rollins,Monday Night Rawfeatured four exciting matches for fans to feast their eyes on. First up wasIntercontinental Champion Gunther vs. Otiswith the Intercontinental Championship title on the line. While Otis proved himself very capable against The Ring General, he unfortunately could not withstand Gunther’s Powerbomb, which knocked Otis down long enough for Gunther to win by pinfall.
Next up was the Women’s Intercontinental Championship match:Lyra Valkyria vs. Ivy Nile. Ivy Nile got the leg up on Valkyria in the most literal sense, consistently targeting the Champ’s leg, causing immense harm to her opponent. However, that wasn’t enough to put Valkyria down, as she successfully performed a Nightwing to win the match, defending her title for yet another week.
After a brief segment withPentaattackingLudwig Kaiser(taking revenge for Kaiser stealing their Triple Threat Match withPete Dunnelast week), the third match of the night commenced:The War Raiders vs. American Madein a World Tag Team Championship Match. This is the second time in recent weeks that these two Tag Teams have crossed paths in the ring, withIvarandErikdefeatingThe Creed Brothersin their last match-up. And as luck has it, The War Raiders were once again victorious this week, with Ivar decimatingJulius Creed, which led to the Tag Team duo overpoweringBrutus Creedwith the War Machine finisher and winning the match for the World Tag Team Champs.
The main event onMonday Night Rawthis week was none other thanIYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley. It’s safe to say most fans expectedWomen’s World ChampionRhea “Bloody” Ripleyto reign supreme over the Damage CTRL member, especially with a WrestleMania match on the line. However, fate had different plans for The Eradicator, as an altercation between Ripley andBianca Belairgave SKY an opportunity to overpower the Women’s World Champion with an Over the Moonsault, pinning Ripley and claiming the Women’s World Championship title for herself, as well as a match against Belair at WrestleMania 41. It was a shocking turn of events for the entire WWE Universe, but few deserved it more than the wickedly talented IYO SKY.
What Are Next Week’s ‘Monday Night Raw’ Matches?
Next week’sMonday Night Rawmain event will be the highly-anticipated Steel Cage Match, with Seth Rollins finally facing off one-on-one with his arch nemesis, CM Punk. Also announced was a Singles Match between Jey Uso and Grayson Waller, as well as a Tornado Tag Team Match with LWO (Dragon Lee&Rey Mysterio) taking onThe New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston). No matter where the chips fall for these WWE Superstars, it’s certain to be a historicMonday Night Rawat New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden.
