-I’d classify whatever it was we saw this week for the final build to Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell as weak and lazy. Sure, they had a little bad luck when Paul Heyman’s mic fried, but it’s not as if he said anything all that worthwhile anyway. The segment didn’t put much heat on Lesnar and it didn’t feature Femi as much of a dominant force either. He simply stomped around angry inside the Hell in a Cell structure. How does Oba Femi not cut a go-home promo? One of the best attributes that Femi has is his ability to talk. There is an authenticity with him that resonates. Let the man speak! Plus, there was so much to string together in terms of the history between Lesnar and Femi, WrestleMania, King of the Ring, and Femi giving up his shot at the title for this match with Lesnar. None of that was brought into focus and it was a massive missed opportunity.
-Sidebar. Oba Femi destroyed some security guards again this week. This time, truly without a good reason. Kind of came across as a jerk. Femi kicked the spirit out of the dude that didn’t get up properly for his Fall From Grace finisher. Femi really is learning a thing or two from Brock Lesnar.
-I’ll take a vowel please. Look, the Otis and Akira Tozawa vs. The Vision feud has been some of the best stuff on WWE television throughout the last couple weeks. They had something there that could be leveraged into an early slot on a PLE or a main event position on a TV show. Instead? WWE presented the match without the titles on the line on Raw this week. Don’t get it. Yes, you want to put heat on the heels, but find another way to do that without having to actually trot the match out there before it’s ready.
-Speaking of The Vision — it appears as if Austin Theory is the focal point of that group now. Bron Breakker is officially in the background. It’s odd to see because of how much notoriety Breakker had and the push he was reportedly in line to receive. At the same exact time it’s not odd at all. Breakker is less interesting than Theory right now. He looks like he’s lost some confidence along with his direction.
-How good was the video package for Chad Gable? His homecoming, SummerSlam, the IC title. All of it painted a tremendously likable narrative for Gable and his entire journey in pro wrestling. He’ll certainly have the full audience on his side this weekend opposite the big, bad Penta character who everyone hates. Not. This video package is why you want to put a heel opposite Gable. He’s so easy to root for, so why hurt that effort by positioning him against another babyface that everyone also loves to root for? It doesn’t make a lick of sense. WWE had something here in this moment with Gable and they made it less interesting because of poor booking.
-Sooooo, that little promo piece for Sol Ruca and Raquel Rodriguez was odd. WWE has said they will do more with AI inside of their creative. Hopefully this wasn’t an example of that. It was awkward and bad.
-A strong win for Je’Von Evans over Rusev this week. Evans needed it badly. He can’t be an underdog that never wins. Nobody can get over that way. The win won’t launch Evans into a higher spot on the show, but it’ll help the perception of him as a star long-term.
-That Joe Hendry and Danhausen concert was something out of my worst nightmare. Painful and cringeworthy stuff. Stuff that would cause embarrassment for the viewer if anyone else walked into the same room while it was on. Hendry looked like he hated all of it and it was far beneath the comedy of Danhausen. A miss of epic proportions.
-Ryan Garcia and The Judgment Day turned babyface by ending the abomination of a segment. Not really, but it certainly felt like it. Luckily for WWE, Danhausen is pretty teflon at this point. Fans will still be on his side despite whatever the hell this was. Joe Hendry I’m not so sure. He’s like the Chumbawamba of pro wrestling. One hit wonder.
-On Raw, the middle of the card is being booked better than the top. Je’Von Evans got a nice win this week, but so did Ethan Page. Page beating Rey Mysterio isn’t nothing. Like Evans, if Page is going to matter on a weekly basis, he has to have some credibility behind him in the form of victories. This one over Mysterio helps to that end. How Page isn’t the guy facing Chad Gable for the IC title at SummerSlam is beyond me.
-The Bloodline stuff makes no sense. Period. In the same go-home segment for a PLE match, you had both The Bloodline and Team LA Knight act like babyfaces and heels within seconds of one another. It’s not optimal pro wrestling and not very much fun to watch either.
-Now, the only positive coming out of this confused and backwards segment was Solo Sikoa. He’s clicking right now and seems comfortable in his role and with his character. WWE soon won’t have a choice with him. Fans are heading his way.
-Sol Ruca wasn’t lighting the world on fire with her WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship run, but damn they pulled the plug on it quick. She essentially didn’t even really have a run with that belt and WWE used some equity in Becky Lynch to help get Ruca started on the main roster. So, regardless of how you feel about Raquel Rodriguez winning the belt this week, this entire deal is a setback for Ruca. As for Rodriguez, good for her. She can be a menacing heel champion on the show and I’m looking at Roxanne Perez chasing her down for that belt eventually.
-A couple video packages and a little brawl segment this week between Iyo Sky and Liv Morgan ahead of their world title showdown at SummerSlam. That’s it? Like Femi and Lesnar, this was lazy. Yes, better than nothing, but get the two of them in the ring and put some context around the match and the world title. This was flat and the match doesn’t have much heat going into the weekend.
-The segment of the night award goes to Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. That victory is probably a testament to the rest of the show more than it truly being great, but these two did a nice job of reinforcing what their story is heading into SummerSlam. The entire narrative is around Rollins being in Roman’s head and always a step ahead of him. Rollins reiterated that with his promo, but also showed it by catching Reigns trying to use a steel chair and using it himself instead. Like The Bloodline, WWE hasn’t done a good job of telling a story that makes fans invest in one side or the other on this. The reaction will be mixed for both guys in Minneapolis on Sunday night.
A straight B- for the go-home edition of WWE Raw this week. What’s your grade for the show? Let us know in the comments!
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