-Is it someone’s job in WWE to think up cool Jey Uso entrances? Another home run for him this week that fully capitalizes on what he best brings to the table and that’s his crowd engagement. Why not emphasize that part of his game when you can? This looked good, was fresh, and made Jey look like a star.
The Wyatt Sicks are appointment viewing
-The Wyatt Sicks torturing Chad Gable has become appointment viewing if you ask me. As soon as the piano notes hit, that crowd stood on it’s feet in anticipation of seeing something. If they continue to play their cards right on this, WWE will be able to strongly leverage Wyatt Sicks appearances as a means to boost ratings. People care. As for Gable, he sold well enough to give the Wyatt group credibility, but wasn’t over the top either. Good balance.
-The Bo Dallas and Uncle Howdy videos have been tremendous television the last couple weeks. They are doing a nice job at explaining what exactly is happening with The Wyatt Sicks, but also serve as a means to integrate the group into the WWE ecosystem. The videos are giving a reason for everything existing and that’s important with supernatural stuff like this.
-As for Bo Dallas, man, he is bringing it. Who knew he had performances like these in him? Great work on this part.
-So, Xavier Woods beat Karrion Kross. Isn’t that kind of the end of the story? It was bizarre to see WWE give Woods that win so soon, especially with the assault on Kofi Kingston that we saw after the match. The Kross gimmick needs wins to be believable and the guy never gets them.
The Final Judgement Day
-The Judgement Day were on their game this week. It’s a web of storyline madness in there, but all members played it well. Damian Priest looks strong calling out Dominik and being a voice for Rhea Ripley. He’s playing up the love angle with Dom and Morgan in a way that doesn’t make him look gullible, but rather as a true friend who is trying hard to look out for his friends and family. Finn Balor walked the line of on Priest’s side and not very well. Dominik continues to be Dominik and milk all the attention he’s getting in a very heelish way. All that said, I’ll go out on a limb and say that this was the last night of The Judgement Day as we know it. Based on everything that went down, Balor turns on Priest at Money in the Bank, and it’s Judgement Day Civil War at Summerslam. Why? Balor got a lot of focus and straight up called Priest out this week. Balor getting beat up by Seth Rollins and telling Priest that he’s changed is a strong catalyst for this turn to to happen. I say go now before it’s too late.
-Not a great championship match between Liv Morgan and Zelina Vega. Honestly, it didn’t need to be. There wasn’t any drama in the finish, though Morgan and Vega did enough to secure one believable near fall. This served as a backdrop to all the Judgement Day angles more so than a standalone, must-see title defense.
-A fine little babyface go-home promo this week from Seth Rollins. He needed it and the match with Priest at Money in the Bank needed it too. Rollins put a lot on the line if he’s set to lose the match. Telling?
-A Ludwig Kaiser video package? He was good in it, but it’s wild just how far that guy has come. Nothing about him said “video packages” when he first joined Imperium. The guy got better and now has a long term role to play in the company.
Nothing wrong with that
-Oh, nothing wrong with Zoey Stark joining the women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match field, I guess. I mean, her involvement doesn’t move the needle on the overall intrigue of the match, but she’s athletic enough where it makes sense to put her in ladder matches because she can do cool stuff.
-Dominik Mysterio vs. Rey Mysterio was a blast. Pure madness, but it hooked the crowd. Dominik is going to defeat Rey at some point, but I’m glad it wasn’t here. That moment needs a massive stage.
-The segment of the night goes to Bron Breakker and Sami Zayn. THAT is a PPV go-home promo, folks. The audience’s investment in Zayn makes everything he does work out there. Zayn came across as a bad in his own way when reminding Breakker of all that he’s been through in his career. In a different way, Breakker looked just as bad ass in dismissing everything Zayn said. Breakker was confident and looked comfortable. He hung with Zayn every step of the way. They physicality made sense and the teased just enough to hype the match without giving away every big spot they have in mind.
McIntyre + Intrigue = Money in the Bank
-Ouch! Sheamus, Ilja Dragunov, and Drew McIntyre beat the tar out of one another in the main event. McIntyre’s chest told the entire story. Drew entering Money in the Bank gives the match loads of added intrigue that it didn’t have when the week started. His involvement enhances the stakes of the match, but also simply involves another big star, which is always helpful. Great stuff and fun way to close the show.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments.
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