Heydorn’s Raw Receipt 10/12/26

The good, bad, and ugly from this week’s episode of WWE Raw.

-Look at the Penta presentation this week. Holy shit. That’s top star stuff. Not only did Penta get time for a show-opening and Money in the Bank-winning victory promo this week, but his briefcase had pyro. Pyro! You heard it right. Smoke poured out of the case. How much do you think Fanatics will charge for one? Halloween is right around the corner. The MITB win for Penta was a way for WWE to keep his momentum moving forward without having to give him a major title win that would derail company plans elsewhere. Between his presentation this week and the straight-forward babyface mission promo he cut in the ring, you got to see a guy that the powers at be are fully behind. The sky is the limit for Penta now.

All the way in

-I’m on the record saying that the Je’Von Evans ambulance spot at Money in the Bank over the weekend was silly. Too silly. However, thank the lords they sold the spot correctly on Raw this week. Often in WWE, major spots take place and it’s either glossed over or sometimes outright ignored by not only commentary, but the wrestlers involved — i.e. The Usos and Roman Reigns last week after Jacob Fatu was run over by a car. This week, Evans looked like a guy who crashed through the top of an ambulance made of wood — lol, I had to. He was bandaged up and he limped. Not only did this sell the Money in the Bank match, but it created a lot of sympathy for him and heat on Breakker once Breakker speared the cast right off him. Evans vs. Breakker incoming.

-It’s safe to say that the Big Cass experiment on Raw is about washed. What is it with this guy in WWE? He loses confidence the minute he steps foot in the WWE ring. He was never really rolling outside of WWE, but in those performances you were able to see some natural charisma and ability. In WWE, all of that is sacrificed and you get a weak big-man character that has now lost to small guys like Dragon Lee, Je’Von Evans, and Rey Mysterio. The match with Mysterio this week wasn’t bad, but it was flat because Cass was flat and the audience doesn’t have a true sense of who or what he his.

-The segment of the night was all the material around building Liv Morgan vs. Chelsea Green for the Crown Jewel Championship at … Crown Jewel — which may or may not be in Saudi Arabia. All of it was straightforward, but it told a story and worked to get the audience fully lined up behind Chelsea Green. That’s pro wrestling. Thumbs way up.

-Now, it’s interesting to see Roxanne Perez pin Green like she did this week. Obviously it was a way to build the Morgan match for Green, but also a way to continue dropping seeds of potential dissension between Morgan and Perez. I can’t help but think how much better this would have landed if Perez held Money in the Bank.

Oba doesn’t need Heyman

-Oba Femi straight up turned down Paul Heyman’s pitch. Damn. WWE is clearly gearing up for a storyline there, but the question is where does it go? If you’re the company that’s the exact question you want fans to be asking at this point. Femi was tremendous. There is a coolness and smoothness to his mic work that is captivating.

-How’s the overall Oba Femi push going? It’s going just fine — the crowd reaction was loud this week, which was just like last week and the week before. It’s slow moving, though. That’s risky. If you’re WWE, you don’t want to slow his momentum by not crowning him when the time is right. Timing is everything and sometimes the optimal window for big business only opens once. They are going to try and finesse the Femi thing all the way to WrestleMania, but fans want it right now.

-Optimal follow-up on the show this week regarding LA Knight’s loss to Roman Reigns at Money in the Bank. Knight talked A LOT about winning this match and he didn’t. There’s a story there and WWE rarely takes it. They did with Knight and it should make for intriguing television for the next couple months.

-Damn. Bravo, Chad Gable and Rey Fenix. Match of the night without question. Crazy action and a hot audience that was ready for all of it. Gable defending the WWE Men’s Intercontinental Championship is now appointment viewing. Keep the challengers coming. At the same time, WWE is working to setup a long-term program between Gable and Ethan Page. Why? I’ll enter into evidence Page’s backstage attack on Fenix this week. That’s a helluva mid-card match and the exact match that should be built up at this point. Both Page and Gable need it.

High school drama

-Why? Why must Becky Lynch and Stephanie Vaquer bicker the way they do. They act like petty freshman in high school. Lynch vs. Vaquer is still a money match for WWE, but it gets less compelling every time they argue like children when they should be sizing one another up as championship caliber wrestlers.

-How about the aura of 946 as they walked to the ring without any entrance music. A very nice artistic touch. This can’t really be explained inside the WWE narrative, but sometimes show business is show business. The entrance felt menacing and it helped set the tone for the match.

-As a main event, The Bloodline vs. The 946 delivered. The brawl was wild and worthy of the intense story that’s been told so far between both teams. Why not do a real finish? Carmelo Hayes joining 946 would’ve been more impactful had the move actually led to a victory. Plus, the match was billed as a fight nobody could really stop and then the referee stopped it pretty easily. The story would’ve gained a lot with a definitive outcome and a loss simply wouldn’t have hurt The Bloodline given the Hayes circumstances and interference.

A big opportunity

-As for Hayes in 946, that’s a money move. Hayes is perfect for the group and the group is perfect for him. This is the first time since joining the main roster that he has something real to sink his teeth into. It’s a big opportunity. This is him being elevated. He has the ball and now needs to run with it.

What was your favorite part of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!

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