-Can you believe that WWE is going with a triple threat match for the WWE Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania this year? I mean, who could see that coming?? Well, everybody. Rhea Ripley, Iyo Sky, and Bianca Belair signed on the dotted line and made it official this week, but all the signs pointed exactly to this. They got here, but it was a disaster and continues to be. Iyo Sky is the only one that is maybe getting more over because of this feud and thanks to Belair and Ripley coming across like petulant children. Like most weeks during this build, they did again last night. Sky is the adult in the room. Good for Sky, but Ripley has been sacrificed in the process. Plus, I don’t think Sky was supposed to be the focus in all of this anyway.
The White Lotus Judgment Day
-Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor, and Liv Morgan together feel like the trio of women on their trip in season three of The White Lotus. These three aren’t on the same page and aren’t friendly, but are friends still? Implosion incoming. To their credit, they are able to capture that disdain and awkwardness really effectively.
-Lyra Valkyria vs. Bayley was excellent. A very strong counter-based match that allowed Valkyria to show off a bit. The thing is, she’s always been a very good wrestler. The character is still missing on almost every level. We don’t know who she is and until she finds a way to detail that, she has a ceiling on how much she can do in WWE.
-I was pretty stunned at how good The LWO vs. El Grande Americano and American Made was this week. Chad Gable is getting the fake lucha gimmick over and it’s resonating with fans. I haven’t seen an audience cheer LWO as much as they did this week in a long, long time. The match had some great action and the crowd investment was deep because of it.
-The Jey Uso promo this week is Jey Uso doing work at the highest level and smack dab in the middle of his comfort zone. He’s cut a promo like this on Roman Reigns before and he oozes likability, sympathy, and credibility when he does. Uso put it all on the line when he told Gunther that Jimmy’s blood was on his own hands. Taking that responsibility, but then wanting to pray for what he may do for retribution is a bad ass line of thinking. It all culminated with a declaration of what will happen at WrestleMania - Jey winning the world title. It’s a babyface go-home promo and a near perfect one at that.
Tony sucks
-Tony Hinchcliffe sucks and his commentary sucked even more than his normal suck does. The fact that he was on commentary during the New Day vs. War Raiders tag team championship match very much hurt it. He was distracting.
-Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio wasn’t all that memorable, but Bron Breakker’s spear on Carlito sure was. Goodness!!
Layers
-WWE continues to add layer after layer after layer to the big Triple Threat Match between Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and CM Punk at WrestleMania. This week, it was a nice touch having Paul Heyman walk out and talk about how he really isn’t choosing a side — despite who he’ll be cornering in Las Vegas. Seth Rollins as the guy to butcher up that thought process was an even better touch. He delivered that message well and Heyman was able to show with great timing and facial expressions that Rollins was right. When will Heyman deliver on the favor that Rollins has in the bank? People will think about that during the WrestleMania match and that is the point. Rollins called the match a fight for the soul of the WWE. Are you buying that? I’m not. The match still is missing real stakes. Stuff like Heyman owing another favor is put in place to keep people thinking and on their toes in regards to a finish.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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