Match Ratings For WWE Raw 4/22/19, Podcast Notes From Sean Ross Sapp Of Fightful.com

Opening segment

• Triple H comes out to the ring. He’s followed by Seth Rollins. They have a positive interaction.
• Seth Rollins touts his accomplishments and says that he’s ready for his next challenger.
• Triple H says that Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are apparently still in Vegas.
• There’s a top contender tournament. This leads to Samoa Joe showing up to say that he’s going after two belts.
• He’s interrupted by Rey Mysterio, Drew McIntyre and The Miz.
• Is it just the first six people to interrupt Seth Rollins? Is that the rule? Baron Corbin is next.
• AJ Styles, too. Everyone gets a turn.
• They literally announced this before the show.
• Confused why Braun Strowman wouldn’t be in this.

Top Contender Tournament Semifinal
AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe and Rey Mysterio
7.75/10

• Rey Mysterio and AJ Styles go at it early and have some nice chemistry.
• Styles stops Rey with a great backbreaker. Cool to see AJ work with someone smaller than him.
• Samoa Joe is working like a man who is trying to prove he belongs. He is slamming with a vengeance.
• Rey does a nice outside-in dropkick.
• Samoa Joe manages to land his double super back body drop. You read that right. It’s far from the first time, too.
• Mysterio gets a big crucifix drop and DDT on Joe before a 619.
• Styles catches Mysterio midair with two powerbombs and a Styles Clash on top of Joe.
• Styles pins Joe.
• Had I saw more of that match instead of commercials, it probably would have hit 8.25/10

Naomi defeated Billie Kay (w/ Peyton Royce)
SQUASH

• Naomi has a great pose at the end of her slide.
• A whole hell of a lot of us are confused about the Superstar Shakeup, Cole. Not just Mike Rome.
• IIconics cut a typically funny promo about Ariana Grande and Starbucks. However, WWE wrote it because Coachella just happened and it was stupid as hell.
• Naomi runs through her offense and pins Billie Kay. Is she getting a partner?
• Billie throws a fit. They really don’t have to win at all to be champs.

Top Contender Tournament Semifinal
Baron Corbin defeated The Miz & Drew McIntyre
6.25/10

• Baron Corbin has a great workin’ punch. Drew McIntyre has a great suplex. Miz has great crowd control.
• That’s what this match is early.
• Miz is playing babyface and I’m not quite used to it yet.
• We see a Tower of Doom. Another. Dove. Cries.
• During the commercial Miz flew from the top rope to the floor with a double clothesline.
• Miz busts out the old Figure Four and the YES Kicks.
• The Miz is getting babyface chants!
• Drew hits Miz with a Claymore, but Baron steals the pin
• Oh my. Big Banter Baron. IT’S HAPPENING.
• Styles cuts a promo after the match about Corbin overcompensating.

Zayn travelin’

• Sami Zayn does a fantastic slideshow presentation about his time off of WWE.
• He says he burst into tears at the beauty of one of those images.
• This is hilarious. He shows off how happy he was not wrestling.
• I dunno about going to “you people” promos every week so soon after Daniel Bryan did the gimmick. It might water it down.
• Zayn says that the crowd should go on a vacation of their own to hell. He falls down laughing in the ring.

Cesaro defeated Cedric Alexander
5.75/10

• Cedric Alexander’s music hits as Sami Zayn is leaving the ring.
• Cesaro still has the Bar’s theme.
• Cedric sells very loudly.
• Cesaro controls the majority of this match, but Cedric fires up. There’s not a ton of heat to this match, but they’re getting some good reactions.
• The highlight for this to me was the great Cedric Alexander Michinoku Driver.
• Cesaro wins with a catching European Uppercut.

Backstage Crappenings

• The Usos cut a promo, and Jey makes light of Jimmy’s DUI. They run down the tag team division, and are interrupted by the Revival. Oh, yes. Please. Yes.

The VIKING RAIDERS

• The Viking Raiders destroy Lucha House Party. Good. They’re super annoying team.
• PowerBombSlam from Rowe. I forget his new name.
• Hahahahahah they renamed their finisher the Viking Experience instead
• Horny Wooly Mammoths was a better team name than the Viking Experience. That’s what Hawkins and Ryder called them, citing their personal experience as an advantage.

Becky Lynch defeated Alicia Fox
3.75/10

• I think Becky Lynch is implying Lacey Evans slept her way to the top.
• Lacey comes out and has some really great delivery and says both titles will be hers after Money in the Bank.
• So uh…. both titles are on the line at Money in the Bank? Eh?
• Alicia Fox is back. Corey Graves buries her big time.
• Becky has to let that spinning back kick go. This is not a good match early.
• I don’t know that putting Becky Lynch in heatless competitive matches with Alicia Fox was the best way to capitalize on her momentum.
• Alicia Fox is thrown into the barricade. The second spin kick is much better.
• Alicia Fox almost dropped Becky on her head.
• Disarmher. End.
• Lacey Evans lays out Becky with two Women’s Rights.

Robert Roode defeated Ricochet
5.25/10

• Shedding light on why Robert Roode is going by that name, but not explaining why a bunch of people switched brands after the Shakeup.
• There’s a lot of dip, duck, dodge, dive from Ricochet.
• Corey Graves got offended that Cole called Robert “BOBBY.”
• Roode gets a nice vertical suplex, and that’s as exciting as it gets for him in this one.
• There was a nice spinebuster that was caught in mid-air, too.
• I can tell they don’t want to bury anyone by having them lose in minutes, but the crowd was out of this one by halfway through.
• Ricochet misses a 630 and gets posted. Glorious DDT wins it for Robert.

WHAT

• Bray Wyatt is a children’s show host.
• He has the Firefly Funhouse. Firefly Funhouse has me intrigued. I can say that much.
• He’s got Mercy The Buzzard, Abby The Witch,
• Well this is certainly different for Bray Wyatt. He says he’ll never be a bad person like he was again. He keeps a reminder to prevent it.
• He chainsaws a cardboard cutout.

Top Contender Tournament Finals
AJ Styles defeated Baron Corbin
5.75/10

• Baron Corbin says he’s more concerned with showing up dorks on the internet and Seth Rollins than beating AJ Styles.
• Corbin does his great ripcord slam. As is tradition, he has some nice moves.
• I liked Styles teasing a Clash on Corbin.
• Baron does one of his better Deep Sixes ever.
• Styles is able to apply a Calf Crusher, but Corbin gets out.
• Styles hits the Phenomenal Forearm for the win.
• Rollins comes out to shake Styles’ hand.
• Not on tonight’s show: Lashley, Strowman, newly signed EC3 & Eric Young.

Rating guide

10- Perfect, 9- MOTY Territory, 8- Excellent, 7- Great, 6- Good, 5- Average to above average, 4- Slightly below average, 3 or below: Poor

Each match starts at a 5 and slides up and down based on entertainment, execution, time, environment, reaction and stakes. The ratings are in no way an indication of a “star rating,” which is a completely different system. A standard, non-offensive “TV match” lands at a 5.The gap between 5.75-6 is generally the largest, with anything reaching 6 being recommended viewing.
These are opinions, and incredibly inconsistent ones. Don’t take them too seriously, and have (and share) your own!