-CM Punk and Seth Rollins finally came to blows! It happened and it was very well done. There is a palpable tension between both guys when they are in the ring together and the result is very compelling television. I liked the angle here. Seth a bit obsessed with Punk and Punk totally dismissive of Seth with his focus on the main event of WrestleMania. That’s the story. Look for Seth to somehow ruin that for Punk and for the two men to square off at Mania instead.
Intertwining stories
-What I found most interesting about the Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins interaction this week was how much it was rooted in a different storyline — The Bloodline. The Bloodline and Roman Reigns. As WWE intertwines different stories together — in this case Rollins with Sami via Roman Reigns and The Bloodline — they get more out everything they do. You see Sami not only have to deal with this Bloodline stuff with the Bloodline, but with others around him too. He reacts differently each direction and gives that character quite a bit of depth. They can’t — and shouldn’t — do this with every storyline, but it makes perfect sense for the big ones.
-So, is WWE just trying to get big Rhea Ripley pops each week? That’s what her appearance felt like on the show. Like, we need a Ripley pop, so let’s do the tag match with Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez and slap a finish on it that allows for the big Ripley moment. In a vacuum, I’m fine with this. You want to make Ripley look like a huge star however you can. We see this constantly with her, though, and it comes across as a bad way to hold on the eventual dethroning of Liv rather than a needed chapter in that story.
-Good to see Dakota Kai advance in the Women’s Intercontinental Championship tournament. Shayna Baszler and Katana Chance got some stuff in, but the match was built for Kai to shine and she did. She’s on a short list of potential winners that’s for sure.
Umm…Gunther?
-What was with Gunther this week? Look, the presentation isn’t bad, but it lacks focus. Five months ago, the audience knew exactly who Gunther was and could react to him and his challenging babyfaces accordingly. Now? Not so much. Gunther essentially cheated against top show babyface, Damian Priest, at Survivor Series over the weekend, only to go up against the biggest obnoxious heel on the show in Dominik Mysterio last night, only to now having to face another heel in Finn Balor at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Is this a babyface turn for Gunther? At this point, I hope not. When Gunther turns heel, it has to be a big deal and it just isn’t right now because he’s so all over the place. He really shouldn’t turn heel anyway. The guy has way too many top feuds against other top babyfaces waiting for him to do that.
-Bravo, New Day. Bravo. That was stellar television. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were great out there, but Big E was the star of the segment. Without his devastated reactions and sadness, the heel turn just doesn’t click as much as it did. There was a little bit of swerve for swerve’s sake culture in this, but the performances by all three men overshadowed that issue. WWE saved Big E’s return for something impactful and they ran with it. Woods and Kingston have a much higher ceiling as a heel tag team than either of them do as singles competitors. They’ll get more out of this than they every would have on their own. Fantastic.
-R-Truth vs. Pete Dunne is a match that would have taken place during a different era of WWE Raw. Both Dunne and Truth have value to WWE, but not doing this kind of nonsense. It stands out even worse with a better show around it.
-Solid little main event between Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins. From a story perspective, I’m not sure what to make of it. It could be that it was just two guys out there who puffed their chests a little too much. It could also be that Rollins is heading down a heel path and maybe he was the one who attacked Jey Uso.
Welcome back, Drew
-Nice to see Drew McIntyre back in the fold. He gives Raw a nice heel boost and the brand is now at full strength going into the Netflix premiere on January 6.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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