-WrestleMania is on the horizon and with this being the final episode of WWE Raw before the biggest show of the year, the question is, did get the Mania matches from Raw in a good enough spot from a build perspective? If I’m grading, I collectively give them a C. The last three weeks of hype for Jey Uso vs. Gunther clicked nicely and that feud is peaking at the right time. It’s the other big matches on the show that are a tad concerning. The Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins storyline — while intriguing — doesn’t have much to invest in when taking into account outcomes of the match. It’s got big stars and the story is interesting, but does what happens matter? The WWE Women’s World Championship feud between Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, and Iyo Sky is a disaster and didn’t get any better this week on the show. Add in the other mid-card match builds from Raw, which all were totally fine and it’s an average build all together.
A go-home heel promo
-Have you ever heard of a go-home heel promo? I’m not sure I have, but we got one this week from Gunther. I loved his show opening mic work. He teetered on the edge of losing his mind thanks to Jey Uso’s defiance last week, but never crossed it and stayed fully in control. It was menacing. I talk a lot about heels needing to build mountains for their babyfaces to climb during their matches and this was a wonderful example of what I mean. Tremendous work from an absolute pro that has found his swagger again.
-Boy, Liv Morgan and Bayley seemed to wrestle with a chip on their shoulder this week. Their match was very good and it featured some big bumps and lots of physicality. Great stuff and a tone setter for the tag team showdown at WrestleMania. I hope that match gets the time it needs to be great.
-Rey Mysterio vs. Julius Creed was a fine match to give Rey some momentum before he faces Chad Gab — I mean, El Grande Americano — at WrestleMania. They kind of botched the big spot on the slide into a vertical suplex, but Creed saved it thanks to some insane strength.
-Glad to see The New Day get some promo time before they challenge for the tag team titles at WrestleMania. Facts are facts. They’ve lost gobs of heat since turning on Big E and winning the titles may be something to inject more energy into their act. That said, it was smart to at least try to give New Day and War Raiders time to speak on the match. This feud can be more than it is for WWE right now and this is the least you can do for a match on the biggest card of the year. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, though. If tag title matches continue to get this low level focus, they’ll continue to deliver at a low level.
New coat of paint
-AJ Styles vs. Karrion Kross was fun for what it was. Kross looked better out there than he has in a while. Good for him. The music and entrance from his NXT days helps.
-Logan Paul vs. Styles at WrestleMania got some heat this week heading into the match with Paul attacking Styles. Nothing special that you need to go out of your way to see.
-Ok, I don’t think Jey Uso needed to cut that promo out in front of the live audience this week. It didn’t hurt him, but there was no way to top the promo from last week that out a button on the entire storyline with Gunther perfectly.
-We can’t get an actual finish for Finn Balor vs. Penta? Really? This was what it was. Total shenanigan match that lasted way too long for being only that. Hopefully Bron Breakker isn’t hurt too severely. He was holding his knee at the end of the segment — not a great sign.
Likable or unlikable
-Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins. Your night one main event of WrestleMania. Who are we supposed to like here? Seth? I mean he spits the most truth. Reigns? He was pretty much betrayed by his friend. Punk? He’s never wrestled in a main event of WrestleMania before. Decent reasons there to like everyone. Same thing on the other side. Punk is working hard to come between Reigns and his buddy, Paul Heyman. He doesn’t come across likable. Reigns yelling at Heyman doesn’t either. Rollins running down the other two guys — whom the audience does like — is unbecoming for him. Decent reasons there not to like everyone. This is the issue with the match and this week’s go-home segment to main event Raw didn’t clear any of it up.
-Rollins tried hard to put some stakes on this match — calling it a match that will allow the winner to define the future of the company. Ok, I like that. Good stuff. There just isn’t enough investment in a winner. The entire thing exists as a story only, rather than a story with an outcome that people are behind one way or another.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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