-Did Paul Heyman REALLY think the dude he was looking at on the ramp was Seth Rollins? Not much of an oracle. That minor detail aside, just like at Elimination Chamber, Seth Rollins got a very nice pop from the crowd. It looks as if he’s going to be ready for WrestleMania. The question is, who does he work with? Probably a waiting game at this point. If Bron Breakker is available, that’s the match you do with him. If not, I’d probably tuck him away in a six-man tag or something like that. That’s a better option than another WrestleMania match with Logan Paul at this point.
Paul Heyman, the worker
-Real quick. How great was the Paul Heyman sell job on that Rollins chair shot and Stomp? The blood very much helped, but Heyman was tremendous.
-Wow. Gunther just can’t have bad matches at this point. The bout with Dragon Lee on Raw this week had some brutal bumps in it and felt like a real fight between hated rivals. Just excellent stuff. The best part about Gunther matches is that he’s able to tap into his state of mind with how he wrestles. This one was about destruction and he delivered.
-What happens with Gunther at WrestleMania? It inexcusable for him to be the odd man out at this point given the year he’s had. Retiring John Cena? C’mon. They have to have something for him and it needs to be top-level stuff. If he’s not figured in at the highest level, they waste some of the equity in everything done with the career killer character up to this point.
-Honestly, I had low expectations for the AJ Lee “I won the IC championship” promo this week and she significantly over delivered. Lee can sometimes come across as smug in her promos, but on this one she conveyed gratitude in an authentic way. Lee as a fighting champion is a fun hook in the lead up to WrestleMania, but the rematch with Becky Lynch looms. On that note … a little surprised we didn’t get a wild Lynch complaining segment. Mark it down for next week. You heard it here first.
From The Takedown on SI
-An interesting Liv Morgan vignette. The words she spoke and her delivery was fine, it was the artistry around her that felt off. The chain link fence and lighting looked cool, but it didn’t fit the Morgan gimmick much at all. We’ll see where they go with this, but it felt like they said “hey, we’re doing a Liv Morgan vignette, how cool would it be if?” and then just went with it.
-Mannnnnnnnnn, when those El Grande’s square off at WrestleMania, it’s going to be a thing. I know I shouldn’t, but I like the slow burn on this.
Pivot on Rusev
-Oba Femi vs. Rusev is a cool match to do next week, but the hype for it on this week’s show didn’t seem to get the hot response WWE was looking for. The in-ring segment between both guys simmered until they started exchanging punches, but the audience really didn’t react much to the simmer. It happened, but it severely lacked energy. If the thought here was to make Rusev some kind of credible threat to Femi, this segment would have me searching for a pivot.
-So, it’s The Usos vs. Logan Paul and Austin Theory at WrestleMania? Maybe toss LA Knight in there somehow? The Vision is crippled. When the big bad faction of the show is made up of Paul and Austin freaking Theory, there’s an issue. It’s not a great feud for either side, but injuries crushed all storylines around The Vision. This is is what happens and there isn’t much else you can do.
That’s how you do it-hausen
-THAT’S how Danhausen is supposed to be used. The crazy, dancing thing from Elimination Chamber happened, but it’s the Danhausen cursing people backstage and random interactions that is going to endear him to the audience. Yes, he cursed Dominik Mysterio and Mysterio lost. WWE needs to let that breathe. Let it be something the crowd figures out and runs with, instead of the typical mallet over the head approach. The Danhausen act is about comedy nuance. That needs space, especially early on.
-Well, if you weren’t going to watch SmackDown already to see the big Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre WWE Championship match, you should plan on it now for the Rhea Ripley and Jade Cargill face-off. The social media war between both is a fine meta storyline, but Ripley did a strong job hyping the significance of it from inside the WWE ecosystem during her promo this week. Ripley was serious and set the table for a personal war of words with her WrestleMania opponent on Friday night.
-Penta is the new WWE Men’s Intercontinental Champion. He’ll likely work out fine as champ, but the bigger story was the beginning of a Dominik Mysterio and Finn Balor feud. Balor tried to do right by Dom and let him win the match alone, but Dom is obviously not going to be happy with the result of that tactic. The seeds are set for a Judgment Day implosion and a match between the two at WrestleMania. And remember … the curse worked. Curse - 1. Everything else - 0.
Too deep, too quick for CM Punk and Roman Reigns
-Roman Reigns and CM Punk had their war of words in the main event segment this week. It was good, not great. Not nearly as good as their first promo together. A lot of how Punk framed himself is well known as not true facts about his personality. That didn’t resonate. And then the line at the end? Like, huh? That was a scud missile out of nowhere that landed a little too hard. Reigns is going to come back with something about Larry now and both will then look pretty bad to their adoring fans. This was too deep of a cut by Punk and way too fast in terms of where they are with the build. Still, Reigns and Punk have chemistry and a main event aura to them. WrestleMania needs this match to be stellar.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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"WWE needs to let that breathe."
I don't think they'll be able to help themselves haha