-What a reaction for Jey Uso. WWE could not have dreamed up a better first appearance for a guy that they took a bit of a chance on when they gave him a Royal Rumble victory and title match at WrestleMania. If there was any doubt as to whether or not Jey was worthy of that chance, this crowd reaction should squash it definitively. That audience ate it up big time.
Conveying the gravity
-As for Jey, he milked the moment perfectly. He gave it enough attention to keep the reaction going, but wasn’t annoying or overbearing with it either. Jey looking into the camera with a tear in his eye was an all-time great facial expression. Real or not, it conveyed the gravity of everything that was going on.
-So, Jey was the star of the segment, but Gunther put in an absolutely epic performance that helped make Jey shine the way he did. Gunther flipped Jey’s WrestleMania choice on it’s head and changed the dynamic of getting picked by Jey or not. Having the heel ask Jey not to pick him because he’s too beneath him pivots the psychology of that choice and takes a match that maybe people were iffy on and turns it into a match they’ll pine for. It worked because of how Gunther delivered everything. He was dismissive and demeaning. He created the perfect mountain for Jey to overcome.
-Another good week for Penta. He continues to look like a star out there and they gave him a jolt this week by getting some heat on him. You didn’t want Penta being a superhero out there, so the beatdown by Kaiser after the match was smart. They had to find a little sympathy for Penta and this achieved that goal.
-The Judgment Day is on track to self-implode any second now. Balor puffed his chest with anger about how Judgment Day fared while he was away and it was quickly squashed by Liv Morgan. For as great as this faction has been for Raw throughout the last two years, it’s time for something new. Everyone — including Liv — would feel fresher not trying to hold a cold faction together.
A smart pivot
-Ok, so Charlotte Flair. Wow. Not a single person in the building last night wanted to buy what she was selling on the microphone. She barely spoke two words about her journey back from injury and the crowd started booing. Not a great sign for her, but one that everyone that has watched her to this point saw coming. The good part of this segment was the pivot Charlotte made. Instead of trying to turn the boos into cheers — a fools errand — she leaned into them. And so yeah, she’s a heel now, but of course she is. Flair as a heel against Tiffany Stratton or Rhea Ripley works for WrestleMania.
-Hey! New Day got a victory! It’s about damn time. The match existed to get them a win, sure, but also to build up Logan Paul vs. Rey Mysterio for next week. I think we all know how that one is playing out.
-The Sami Zayn and CM Punk interviews ahead of their main event Elimination Chamber Qualifier Match were impactful to drive home the stakes of the bout. Nothing too special there, but “A” for effort. A lot of times that type of elbow grease doesn’t mean anything in the moment, but collectively over a year, the show is better off for it.
Bad finish
-The finish to Liv Morgan vs. Iyo Sky was really, really bad. Rhea Ripley looked awful and now what? Ripley gives Sky a title shot perhaps? It gave Morgan a heelish win, but that came at the expense of Ripley looking really dumb as a babyface, which is something you never want.
-Chad Gable on a quest to learn the dark arts of lucha libre would have been an absolute embarrassment with Vince McMahon at the helm of WWE creative. With Triple H in charge, I’d like to see a month worth of vignettes where we seem him attempt that quest. I’m not saying it would be good, but I’d like to see what creative twist Triple H would put on it.
-The Seth Rollins promo very much doubled down on the idea that he’s in for some kind of encounter with some combination of CM Punk and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. I’m just not sure why Rollins talks about them the way that he did if that’s not on the horizon at some point. Seth being a “ra ra” guy for Sami was a little odd too. Is he going to be disappointed in Zayn now that he lost to Punk AND shook his hand? Interesting little nugget to frame Rollins as Zayn’s coach and it certainly wasn’t done on accident.
Punk’s best
-Punk vs. Zayn was an excellent match. Punk’s best true match since returning to WWE and a top 3 match overall since he returned to wrestling back in 2021. Punk winning was pretty much a certainty. Not only is Punk’s story an obvious spot for Elimination Chamber, but Zayn’s progresses along by not winning.
-Kevin Owens attacking Sami Zayn was a bit of a surprise if you ask me. Owens is Owens and he can make anything make sense after the fact, but I didn’t see an Owens vs. Zayn feud as a prime direction post-Royal Rumble — especially with a Randy Orton return looming.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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