The WWE European tour to WrestleMania reached its final stop, with Monday Night Raw hosted in the O2 Arena in London. It was an entertaining episode that saw storylines progress, with the Showcase of the Immortals just a few weeks away.
Here are five key takeaways from Monday Night Raw in the United Kingdom.
In the main event of Raw, Bianca Belair was the special referee in the much-anticipated rematch between Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky. The match was excellent as expected, but Belair took some much-expected bumps from both competitors.
The drop-kick she took from Iyo knocked her out of the ring, and when Ripley landed her finisher, Belair was nowhere close to delivering the pin count. After taking another kick from Ripley, she used her authority to make it a double disqualification. This led to a massive beatdown for Ripley, as she held the belt to close the show.
With the match ending in a no-contest, Raw general manager, Adam Pearce, is expected to book a triple threat for WrestleMania.
Unlikely alliances were formed as Intercontinental Champion, Bron Breakker, teamed up with Penta to take on the Judgment Day. As expected from any Judgment Day match on Raw, there were shenanigans that caused some confusion. Breakker inadvertently speared Penta, and Finn Balor synched in the Coup de Grace for a much-needed victory.
In a subsequent segment, Balor told Judgment Day he would approach Pierce for another title shot, but Liv Morgan also wants to get a shot for Dominik Mysterio. With the champion and Penta still having unfinished business, a Fatal Four Way match for the championship is expected at WrestleMania.
After weeks of verbal bouts on Raw, John Cena found himself at the end of a Cross Rhodes in his latest segment with the champion. Their promo battle was fantastic, as both superstars went for the jugular, but Cena was knocked down after a sneak attack failed.
This feud has been the hottest in WWE, and it’s worthy of a WrestleMania main event. It was good to finally get some physicality in the build as well.
After Jey Uso won the Royal Rumble and chose Gunther as his opponent, the Ring General promised him Hell. What has been seen so far is Gunther attacking Uso like a coward and choking him out on several occasions.
Adding Jimmy Uso to the feud breathed some life into it, and their singles battle was a good watch. Gunther decimated Jimmy and beat him to a bloody pulp while Jey watched in anguish.
This added some heat to Gunther and built up more empathy for Jey, which will be crowned with a World Heavyweight Championship win, as predicted.
It was a nice touch giving the New Catch Republic a match in their home turf, but the New Day needed the win to continue their momentum. That victory has seen them challenge the War Raiders, and the New Day needs to win the titles to elevate them.
The War Raiders are a great team, but their championship reign has been underwhelming.
The Monday night Raw episode from London was a banger with a red-hot crowd. All roads lead to Minnesota and the return of El Grande Americano, or Chad Gable in his hometown.
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