-Jey Uso got a very nice reaction this week and the match with Grayson Waller was totally fine for a momentum building win. The Gunther attack felt tired, though. With Jey winning the Royal Rumble and declaring to face Gunther so early, they were tasked with coming up with compelling storyline beats in the lead up to WrestleMania. These attacks aren’t that. At least not in the way we saw this week. More drama is needed to make this work. Jey hasn’t cooled off, but he hasn’t gotten any hotter either.
Paul vs. Styles
-Logan Paul did Logan Paul stuff on this week’s show. He cut a fine heel promo and then actually sold quite a bit for the Styles attack. Good on him. The comedian attack was what it was. Styles got to play the hero. It looks like Styles vs. Paul will be a WrestleMania match and should be a good one.
-The New Day got a win this week, which is good. They are ice cold and that isn’t good. This entire match was a backdrop for Chad Gable to return as a luchador. I’m glad they didn’t have commentary genuinely trying to push the notion that nobody really knew who it was under the mask. Vince McMahon totally would have. Rey vs. Gable or Penta vs. Gable at WrestleMania are fine final destinations for this Gable luchador craziness.
-Ok, so when Finn Balor gets massacred by Bron Breakker next week, that likely is going to increase tension within Judgment Day, but also give the group a clear opinion on whether they need another member. It won’t be long, Aleister Black. Don’t worry.
Problems
-The Cody Rhodes promo was fine in theory, but a large chunk of the MSG audience weren’t brought over to Cody’s side because of it. This was the first big warning sign that the John Cena heel turn may not work. Cena got cheered. 50/50 “Let’s go Cena, Cena sucks” chants. Not good. This early in the story and with that heel turn angle still fresh, you want to see Cody get universally cheered. WWE is set to head overseas and that audience is going to cheer Cena too. Cena has big time work ahead of him and needs to get the crowd against him. It sounds dramatic, but the WrestleMania main event hangs in the balance if he doesn’t.
-Bayley vs. Raquel Rodriguez was fine for what it was. Rodriguez will be a nice opponent for Lyra Valkyria to roll.
That isn’t Rhea
-The WWE Women’s World Championship segment with Iyo Sky, Bianca Belair, and Rhea Ripley was a disaster. Whoever wrote that needs a Riptide from Ripley. Ripley came across as unlikable and whiny. Since when is that Ripley’s character? Not only is it not in character for Ripley, but a babyface wouldn’t act the way that she did. Belair was totally in the right and everybody knows it. They had a chance to add a layer to Ripley with this if she came out and beat herself up over losing control and focus last week. Ignoring all of that in favor of whining is a choice. Clearly, a triple threat is looming between these three at WrestleMania. The one saving grace of this segment was seeing Sky stand up to the other two and look like a champion.
-WWE did a nice job hyping the cage match main event between Seth Rollins and CM Punk. The video packages and locker room shots gave the match a big fight feel.
-The match itself was excellent. They each kicked out of a boatload of finishers, but given that both men are intense rivals, you could see how they’d dig for a little extra in order to win. Commentary did a nice job continuing to remind the audience that it wasn’t just about winning the match, but about hurting the other. Given what the finish was, it was important to tell that story clearly and they did. Punk looked good.
Roman returns
-As for the finish, an appearance by Roman Reigns was expected and it was well done. Reigns got a nice pop for destroying Seth Rollins. Reigns did get him the win all at the same time. The real story was the interaction between Punk and Paul Heyman. The heavily rumored triple threat between Reigns, Rollins, and Punk appears to be a “go” and the Heyman dynamic with Punk will be a fun puzzle piece.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
Subscribe to the Brass Ring Media YouTube channel HERE and 1TS YouTube channel HERE.
Become a Brass Ring Media member HERE.