-WWE ran a fantastic video package to start the show that recapped the John Cena retirement from Saturday Night’s Main Event over the weekend. Not only did this piece give the Cena retirement the proper attention, but it framed Gunther as an absolute menace. Great stuff.
Gunther delivers in must-win moment
-A near-perfect promo from Gunther to start the show this week. Coming off defeating John Cena the way that he did, Gunther needed a home run and he got it. You knew the heat was going to be there, but it was there in abundance. He played off it well and was able to fan it even bigger with what he said and how he said it. That crowd reaction is why you put Gunther over Cena. Just a ton of business out there for him right now.
-Lookout AJ. With AJ Styles recently on the news circuit talking about retirement, Gunther being the man to end his career is a strong follow-up to retiring Cena. Styles, a strong Royal Rumble showing, and then retiring Brock Lesnar next year? Not a bad next six months for Gunther.
From The Takedown on SI
-The Usos vs. The New Day was fine, but not a match that lived up to their historic rivalry. Yes, that’s a high expectation, but WWE set the bar high in how they talked about the match. The Usos got the win and are on the same page … for now.
-A nice heat segment for the Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky vs. Kabuki Warriors match on January 5. They’ve done a nice job building this and the audience is invested.
Not buying it
-WWE is trying hard and so is Maxxine Dupri. No question about it. There is just something that I’m not buying with her in this character of a budding bad ass. Dupri is fine, but the narrative around her doesn’t match what people actually see in the ring. The announce team talks about the fact that she is a different person, but I don’t actually think we’ve really seen one. The match with Ivy Nile was fine and she got the win, but at some point she needs to deliver on this push she’s getting.
-CM Punk cut his best promo since returning to WWE on this show. He was intense, serious, direct, and really did a nice job selling his upcoming title match against Bron Breakker. See what happens when he doesn’t putz around with the “isn’t it great to be alive in” blah blah blah mumbo jumbo? A highlight of the night.
Do a damn finish
-A non-finish in the Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez match was disappointing. I mean, what are we doing here? Vaquer is clearly above Rodriguez in terms of importance and she needs wins when she claims to be a fighting champion. No reason to protect Rodriguez there and even if a triple threat with Nikki Bella looms, that can still exist in a world where the finish this week was legitimate.
-Logan Paul beats Rey Mysterio and the masked man is revealed to be? Austin Theory. This felt like a reveal that WWE had to do or else they’d risk the expectations of it growing out of control. Theory always made sense to be the guy under the mask and now WWE has to sell that to the fans. Why is he different? What changed? Why his interest in The Vision? All of that is important to establish at some point.
Breakker in his element
-Bron Breakker talking to CM Punk off-mic as the show went off the air this week was twisted. You obviously can’t do off-mic promos with Breakker every single week, but this was Breakker in his element. If I’m Paul Heyman, I’m working hard to figure out how to replicate the energy and demeanor that Breakker showed there during a regular in-ring promo.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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