WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction, Highlights of Go-Home WrestleMania Show
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Cody Rhodes and Solo Sikoa. WWE
Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of WWE Raw on March 27.
This is the final episode of Raw before WrestleMania 39 this weekend, so we can expect WWE to tie a bow on all of the major storylines heading into the pay-per-view.
Before he battles Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes stepped into the ring with Solo Sikoa for their first-ever singles match.
We also saw The Miz host Lita, Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch on Miz TV, Brock Lesnar and Omos have a weigh-in, and a huge eight-man tag match with The Street Profits, Ricochet and Braun Strowman taking on Alpha Academy and The Viking Raiders.
Let's take a look at what happened on the go-home episode of Raw before WrestleMania.
Miz TV and Becky Lynch vs. Iyo Sky
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The Miz opened Raw with an episode of Miz TV. He seemed excited to be on The Road to WrestleMania because he is serving as the host this year.
He brought out Lynch, Stratus and Lita as his guests to discuss their upcoming match against Bayley, Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai at the weekend. Predictably, Damage CTRL made their way to the ring. This inevitably led to a match between Lynch and Sky.
The Man pounced on Sky as soon as the bell rang. She had full control of The Genius of the Sky until a distraction at ringside allowed the heel to kick her in the face.
After both women put in a great effort, Lynch scored the win with a Manhandle Slam. Even though there was a little mayhem early on, the finish to this match was clean.
The Miz TV segment felt unnecessary as a way to facilitate this bout, but it was a good way to have The Miz kick off the show and remind us he is the host of WrestleMania. He is good in his role and did his job here without taking any focus away from the women in the ring.
The match that followed was a PPV-level performance. It was a competitive fight with great physicality and some standout moments. It was a fantastic way to get the show going and put the crowd in the right mood.
Winner: Becky Lynch
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Say what you want about The Miz, but this guy is always dressed like a million bucks. He and Cody Rhodes are the only guys who wear a suit every week.
- The A-Lister got a pretty loud reaction when he had the crowd say "Miz TV" with him.
- Bayley did a good job shutting down the "What?" chants.
- Lynch hit a reverse DDT that almost had a bad landing because Sky fell a second too late. Thankfully, she was fine.
- Sky bridged too high when she hit the German suplex, so she had to hit a second one. The sequence looked great, though.
Mustafa Ali vs. Seth Rollins
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Mustafa Ali and Seth Rollins interacted backstage, which led to The Visionary saying he would face Ali in a match even though his rival was trying to be his friend.
Ali used his speed and agility to avoid Rollins at first. He tried to reason with him, but The Visionary kept pursuing. The former leader of Retribution was turned inside out by a clothesline.
Rollins hung him in the Tree of Woe and hit one of the most brutal Stomps he has ever performed. He hit a second to get the win once Ali crawled to the middle of the ring.
This was short and little more than a squash match, which doesn't help either man involved. All this did was bury Ali.
Everything they did looked good, but it wasn't enough.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Grade: C-
Notable Moments and Observations
- The small little detail of Rollins mentioning how Ali was pursuing him and the U.S. title a few months ago as the reason why he didn't want to work with him was great. Continuity matters.
- Ali's new gimmick is weird. It kind of felt like WWE was going to make him and Dolph Ziggler a tag team at one point, but it just led to Ali doing a watered-down version of Bo Dallas and his positivity gimmick.
- The Stomp Rollins hit in the corner was nuts. Ali sold it like a pro.
Omos and Brock Lesnar Weigh-in, 8-man Tag Match
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Omos and MVP were out first for the weigh-in with Brock Lesnar before the powerhouses meet for a match at WrestleMania.
The Beast Incarnate attacked Omos when he got to the ring, but the big man was able to stop him with one kick. Lesnar retreated out of the ring, and the segment ended with them staring at each other.
This all felt like a waste of time, though, because Omos already got the better of The Beast in their last meeting.
Next up was Montez Ford, Angelo Dawkins, Strowman and Ricochet taking on Erik, Ivar, Otis and Chad Gable in an eight-man tag match. These are the four teams that will compete in the men's WrestleMania Showcase, so they were only temporary alliances.
Gable and Dawkins started with a fast-paced exchange of takedowns and counters as the crowd chanted "We want the smoke."
The babyfaces had the upper hand until both teams came face-to-face and began to brawl. We returned from a break to see Erik keeping Ford grounded.
Ford and Ricochet ended up getting the win over Erik with a great sequence of high-flying moves that got the crowd on its feet. The final few minutes were a lot of fun, but the bout as a whole was the usual madness you would expect from a match with eight people.
Winners: The Street Profits, Strowman and Ricochet
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- It would have made more sense for Lesnar to get the upper hand since Omos put him down in their last encounter. That way, they could have been on even ground heading into the match.
- WWE put together some great video packages for Asuka, Finn Bálor and other names who have matches at WrestleMania.
- Seeing Gable with three big guys like Otis, Erik and Ivar was a funny juxtaposition.
- Gable countered a headscissor takeover into an ankle lock, but he almost lost his balance and fell over while doing it.
- Ford hit Gable with a vicious chop at one point.
- First, it was Mandy Rose, and now it's Maxxine Dupri. Otis has something that gets the women to pay attention.
Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green vs. Mia Yim and Candice LeRae
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With Carmella out with an injury and Piper Niven wanting nothing to do with her, Chelsea Green once again found herself without a partner.
Thankfully, she ended up meeting Sonya Deville in Adam Pearce's office, so he paired them and gave them a chance to earn a spot in the women's WrestleMania Showcase.
Their opponents were Mia Yim and Candice LeRae. The HBIC and Poison Pixie had the majority of the offense, but Green and Deville didn't go down without a fight.
After a distraction from Deville, Green hit Yim with an Unprettier for the pin and the win. They will be the fourth team in the showcase.
Considering WWE only booked a handful of matches for this week's show, it's a little disappointing to see any of them only getting a couple of minutes. This wasn't a squash, but it wasn't much of a match either.
Winners: Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville
Grade: C-
Notable Moments and Observations
- It's too bad The O.C. aren't around right now due to AJ Styles being injured. It was fun seeing Yim run with them.
- Deville is really great at talking trash during her matches. Her voice carries, so you can always hear her yelling at people.
Damian Priest vs. Rey Mysterio
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Dominik Mysterio came out to watch Damian Priest take on his father and WrestleMania 39 opponent, Rey Mysterio. The jaded son gave a promo before the match trashing his dad once again.
The Master of the 619 was not his usual energetic self as he walked down the aisle. He looked dejected and upset that his relationship with his son has degraded so much.
We returned from a break to see the match already underway. Rey hit a wheelbarrow bulldog before heading to the top rope for a seated senton.
Priest was able to use his size and power to regain control. He dominated his smaller opponent for a few minutes, but Dominik ended up causing a disqualification when he attacked his father.
Legado del Fantasma made the save and drove Dom and Priest out of the ring.
The match was fine, but it was the father-son drama that sold everything. The bout between Rey and Dom is either going to be one of the best things on the card or one of the most forgettable.
Winner: Rey Mysterio by disqualification
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
- We saw another video package before this match for Bianca Belair. WWE's production team always nails these videos. The Bloodline parody of Goodfellas was great, too.
- We need to see a new angle of when Rey punched Dom. It looked like it was a stiff shot, but it's hard to tell with the camera behind the younger Mysterio.
- Dom said he wished Eddie Guerrero was his real father and vowed to take the Mysterio name for himself at WrestleMania.
- It's weird that after having such a high-profile spot alongside Bad Bunny two years ago, Priest is the only member of The Judgment Day without a 'Mania match.
- The way The Archer of Infamy leveled Rey with a clothesline looked nasty in the best possible way.
Gunther vs. Dolph Ziggler
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Before he takes on Sheamus and Drew McIntyre this weekend, Gunther faced another former intercontinental champion in the form of Dolph Ziggler.
The Showoff hit a dropkick and a jumping DDT right after the ref signaled for the bell, but once the IC champ regained his composure, he unleashed a chop that knocked Ziggler out of his boots.
We didn't get to see much before the show cut to a commercial, but when it returned, Ziggler was beginning to make a comeback.
The Ring General regained control, though, and hit a powerbomb followed by The Last Symphony for the win.
The match was decent, but most of it took place during the commercial break. The crowd seemed a bit deflated at the end.
Winner: Gunther
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci need a run with the tag titles. They are just as talented as Gunther between the ropes.
- WWE should also pair Ziggler and Ali together. It seemed like their weird storyline might go in that direction, but then it just fizzled out. The Showoff is too good to be used so sporadically and only to put others over.
- The fameasser Ziggler hit is one of the best we have seen in a while. Gunther sold it perfectly.
Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa
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The main event of the night saw Cody Rhodes take on Solo Sikoa.
The Street Champ wasn't as concerned with winning as he was with softening Rhodes up for Roman Reigns.
They locked up and Sikoa didn't budge when Rhodes hit him with a shoulder tackle. The American Nightmare tried to stick and move to avoid the powerhouse, but one throw immediately put The Bloodline's enforcer in the driver's seat.
This was a tough battle for both men that spilled out of the ring more than once. For Sikoa, this was all about inflicting as much damage as possible, so he used parts of the environment to cause Rhodes even more pain along the way.
The American Nightmare managed to regroup and hit several signature moves like the Cody Cutter, but Sikoa was able to get his foot on the bottom rope to avoid being pinned by the Cross Rhodes.
The 30-year-old avoided a moonsault, but he was unable to avoid another Cody Cutter. The Usos came down to the ring to distract Rhodes, and Sikoa drilled him with a superkick and a side slam for a close two-count.
However, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens came out to fight the titleholders while The American Nightmare finished off Sikoa with another Cross Rhodes.
This was a fun main event to cap off the show. This week's Raw was a little light on action because there were so many video packages to hype WrestleMania, but this bout and Lynch vs. Sky were definitely worth watching.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- The look on Heyman's face was so much different than it is when he accompanies Reigns to the ring. He is always in awe of The Tribal Chief, but he just looked excited to watch Sikoa dish out some punishment here.
- The way The Street Champ threw Rhodes over his head like it was nothing was an impressive display of power.
- Sikoa has great facial expressions and knows how to play to the crowd. He is going to have a great singles run when he breaks away from The Bloodline, especially if WWE keeps him with Heyman or gives him another manager.
- The powerslam Rhodes hit on Sikoa looked great.