-Just a great segment between Gunther and AJ Styles in the ring to start the show this week. WWE has greased the skids for this since Gunther retired John Cena and that prep very much helped the promo succeed. Clear characters that understand who they are staying in their lanes. They did that, kept it simple, and let the audience come to them.
AJ Styles sold it
-I’m glad Styles didn’t outright agree to the retirement match. They made a point to tell the story throughout the show of him considering Gunther’s offer to put his career on the line. That was notable. Not only was it realistic, but it put more drama around the match.
-Becky Lynch vs. Maxxine Dupri was fine, but there was a sense that everyone in the audience was waiting on Nattie to turn on Dupri. Thankfully she did. This is a good move for Dupri, but Nattie too. Dupri needs time away from the women’s IC title and now she has that, but isn’t off television all together. She will continue to be able to show growth working against Nattie, who is a different type of heel than Lynch. As for Nattie, she’s got a great run in her as this brutal and vicious veteran character. Looking forward to it.
-As for the turn itself, obviously everyone could see it coming, but it worked. Nattie was vicious and the crowd seemed sympathetic to Dupri.
-There could have been stronger follow-up this week on the Bron Breakker suspension angle. They jumped through the hoops and addressed it, but didn’t sell it as effectively as they could. Last week was a huge deal and it didn’t feel like it if you watched Raw this week.
The correct theory about Austin Theory
-If you were wondering what role Austin Theory would play in The Vision, now you know. He’s going to be the designated jobber of the group. He’ll certainly have a chance to break out and become a bigger star, but seeing him lose the match for his team this week properly showcased what WWE thinks of him. At this point, they are probably right.
-Can you believe Saturday Night’s Main Event is this weekend? Me either. Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky, and The Judgment Day tried to put some juice behind their tag title match at that event, but it only kind of landed. They went through the motions and said the right stuff inside their promo, but the material didn’t land in terms of making the audience feel something.
-A real bummer to see Je’Von Evans get injured during his first hyped Raw match. The guy’s main roster debut has been snake bit so far. Here’s hoping he’s ok.
-So, who do you guys think is the person on the other end of the phone call that Adam Pearce got? First things first, it could be nobody. It could have been a storyline point that existed just this week and won’t point at anything else or any other chapters moving forward. It could mean something, though. Triple H? The WWE Board? Lots of directions they can go. Is Adam Pearce on the hot seat? A promoted Breakker and Pearce segment for next week is suitable or a new chapter.
Finn Balor delivers on home turf
-A fantastic main event this week. I don’t think anyone really thought Finn Balor was going to win the world title from Punk, but the match made it feel like he could. Balor is an incredible worker. He always knows his role out there and executes whatever that role calls for. Punk kept up with Balor and had yet another strong television match. The more he works, the better he gets. The Punk title reign is going about as well as could be expected right now.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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Excellent breakdown of how Balor elevates these big matches. That point about him making a foregon conclusion feel genuinely suspenseful through sheer ring psychology is spot-on. I dunno why more workers dont study his pacing techniques because credible losses build stars as much as wins. Saw him live against Reigns couple years back and even knowing the outcome beforehand the near-falls had the crowd fully invested.