-Another phenomenal show-opening entrance for Jey Uso. Energetic, well-produced, and a blast to watch visually. Two things. First, enough with the Pat McAfee and Michael Cole yeet dancing. It makes everything less cool. It’s like parents like me using the phrase “bet.” Second, WWE should pull back on Jey doing multiple entrances per show. It was fun last week and the double down this week was fine, but now leave it. Let it breathe and keep the fans wanting it more.
It’s set
-Gunther vs. Jey for the world championship is official for WrestleMania. Good. This is the match that they need right now. The trick is keeping the feud hot until April 19. Taking Jey off of television due to a vicious attack from Gunther isn’t a bad way to go. It keeps Jey fresh and sympathetic, but also allows Gunther to truly make life a living hell for Jey — something that he said he’d do.
-Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Damage CNTRL is one of the better women’s tag matches in the last few years. This was hard-hitting and featured some unique spots. Both Iyo Sky and Morgan took stiff shots, but it made for high drama. Thumbs way up.
-Just enough follow-up on the Sami Zayn injury angle from last week. Just enough. Is just enough, enough? That’s a different question. Zayn is a signature figure on the show, so in my mind this angle needed more. Either a promo from Kevin Owens or others on the show talking about it would have sufficed.
Not relevant enough
-Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria was fine, but too long. It also gave the fans nobody to root for since both characters are very similar types of babyfaces. Bayley winning is fine, but Valkyria losing is even better. She needs to be defending the Women’s Intercontinental Championship, as it’s the only thing keeping her relevant right now.
-Ivy Nile is up next for Valkyria and likely won’t win the title, but she’s been better the last few months. She has more of an over personality than Valkyria at this point, which is why I’d consider switching the title when they do the match.
-Sometimes pro wrestling can be really simple. Put an over babyface in the ring with a heel that the fans hate, let the babyface beat up the heel, and move on. That exact formula was the AJ Styles and Judgment Day segment. Incredibly simple, but it got a good reaction, so incredibly effective.
-As for Styles, what’s left for him at this point? If I was him, I’d want to work only legends or up and comers. Thanks to that encounter with Bron Breakker, it’s likely going to end up being the latter for him. Styles vs. Breakker is a WrestleMania match.
Elbow grease
-Good to see WWE put some elbow grease into the Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor Elimination Chamber qualifying match next week. It wasn’t much, but it was an added layer to a match that already had strong stakes.
-I liked the War Raiders vs. American Made match, but the finish was horrendous. Like I said last week, just don’t do the matches if this type of finish has to be the finish. It isn’t worth the audience disdain that comes along with it.
-Another week and another solid promo from CM Punk. He’s out there building stories with just about everyone at this point. The guy has matches on the table against Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, John Cena, and Logan Paul for WrestleMania. All of them are logical and make sense to do.
Paul’s best
-Logan Paul vs. Rey Mysterio this week in the main event was Paul’s best match yet in WWE. Paul didn’t rely on crazy bumps or social media stunts to make things memorable. He just worked. It was a pro wrestling match and Rey was a great dance partner. Not a surprise to see Paul go over. The heat for him during the Elimination Chamber match will be off the charts due in part to the meta world in which fans truly don’t want to see him wrestle for a world title at WrestleMania.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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