-Another solid babyface promo from CM Punk to start the show this week. He’s still playing a white meat babyface version of the Punk character, which is awkward at times, but he also is still able to pull the audience fully onto his side for big pops and even bigger investment. LA Knight crossing Punk felt like a big happening and both were likable opposite one another.
Heyman strings it all together
-Paul Heyman looping in the fact that making deals with Punk cost him everything was a smart nod to a long storyline running with Heyman, Roman Reigns, and Punk. Good stuff.
-Nothing wrong with the Dominik Mysterio/El Grande Americano vs. AJ Styles/Dragon Lee match itself, but a lot damn wrong with the narrative. At the end of the match, Michael Cole said that Dom outsmarted Styles again? What the hell are we doing here? He didn’t outsmart anyone. He cheated. Cheated by having an illegal metal plate in his mask. The heat is in that narrative and Cole poured freezing cold water all over it. This kind of thing has to be buttoned up for wrestling to work. Cole was awful at the end of this match. Totally brutal.
-Ok, just like AEW needed to when they started talking all about New Japan Pro Wrestling during Dynamite a few years ago, WWE has to setup what AAA is. Why does Dom want their championship? Why does it all matter? The company has put zero context behind the AAA acquisition within the cadence of their own shows.
-It’s always a blast to watch Sami Zayn wrestle in Canada. Zayn vs. Rusev was good while it lasted, but got chopped off due to involvement from Solo Sikoa. Sikoa is now not compelling on both WWE brands. Congrats to him.
Yes, please
-Looks like we’re due for another Rusev vs. Sheamus match with some kind of stipulation on it. I’m in on this. Their feud has been a quietly good part of Raw for the last month. It’s straight up pro wrestling storytelling and that formula can work believe it or not.
-A really good match between Roxanne Perez and Iyo Sky this week. Certainly a suitable fill-in match once Naomi vs. Sky was called off due to a medical issue with Naomi. Perez and Sky had good chemistry and the action was exciting. With The Kabuki Warriors getting involved when Sky asked them not to, my guess is a feud is likely brewing there and what we saw was likely the exact finish set for the original Sky vs. Naomi match.
-Why does WWE insist on putting Maxxine Dupri in positions to fail. She’s not a wrestler. She tried to play the part this week against Lynch, but even Lynch couldn’t carry her to a serviceable match. Lynch is the obvious priority and other than a meta pat on the back for trying to get other talent over, she doesn’t gain much at all from whatever this was.
Dark Bayley?
-How about that Bayley vignette? Pretty compelling stuff. It’s the right narrative for her given what has been presented on TV and she’s needed a character refresh for a long time. The crazy laugh at the end of the video suggests a darker turn, but WWE always has the Bayley hugger gimmick card to play again when they want to.
-Another Raw main event and another non-finish. Shocking I tell ya! Yes, you want to get heat on this new Vision faction, so guess what? Put them over instead of protecting them with a non-finish like a Seth Rollins interference. If the finish is done right, you have your heat. Instead, we have just another week where fans roll their eyes at an obvious interference that even people who don’t watch wrestling surely knew was coming.
Fatal four-way full of logic
-As for Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk vs. Jey Uso vs. LA Knight for the world title at Clash in Paris, I mean it’s not great, but it makes sense. All three opponents deserve title shots and Raw GM Adam Pearce wants to stick it to Rollins for all the interference — which would land better if certain announcers (Michael Cole) wouldn’t neutralize cheating as “outsmarting." Seemingly Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre will be on the Clash card, so this as a secondary title match is a fine road to travel down.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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