-It’s fun watching Randy Orton have fun. Isn’t it? This is the most consistently over Orton has been as a babyface. Gunther standing opposite him plays a big role in that reality, but Orton as a legacy star that carries himself as such plays a role too. He’s likable and that’s creating an environment where fans can truly yearn for him as world champion. The opening promo with Orton and Gunther built on the personal foundation they started building last week. This is a hot match going into the PLE in a couple weeks.
Banger
-Boy, Sheamus has figured out to have really good television matches. This week’s bout against Pete Dunne was a bruising affair and a blast to watch. The definitive finish makes me think this feud is over — at least at this point.
-Dunne is in a strange spot. He’s pushed in NXT, but constantly losing on the main roster. It’s time to pick a spot for him and leave him there.
-Bron Breakker was presented as a star this week. A big time face of the company star. He may not be that in the end, but it’s clear WWE has put him on that path. The vignette about his career was wonderfully done and his promo later in the show about the Intercontinental Championship tournament was his best mic work to date. He’s straddling the line of babyface and heel, which is something WWE should work to define clearer as they go.
-Ivy Nile vs. Maxxine Dupri was what it was — an avenue to get the Wyatt Sicks in front of the audience. That was fun to see, but Dupri is just too new and frankly, too unskilled to make anything of note work in the ring.
Get there quicker
-So, we’re getting to the point where it’s time to start getting somewhere specific with the Wyatt Sicks. Uncle Howdy is going to wrestle Chad Gable next week on Raw, but to what point and purpose? After weeks of defining the group a certain way, that priority has seemingly vanished. The Bray Wyatt material always lacked a conclusive end point. The Wyatt Sicks need one.
-CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre in a Strap Match is official for Bash in Berlin and it’s the right match to do as chapter two in their story. Punk connected some dots that were distant from one another, but the attempt to explain the reasoning was there and logical. Punk flubbed his final go-home line this week, which you almost never see and it made for a fizzle at the end of the segment.
The Best in the World?
-Is this CM Punk the best CM Punk for WWE? Honestly, I don’t know yet. The CM Punk character is edgy and controversial, but would the audience believe that now? He’s got to find a way to effectively be that buy in 2024 as a top paid talent in the company. That’s his challenge. He’s done ok, so far, but nothing he does is controversial in nature. You don’t want to see nostalgia CM Punk, but there is something to be said for finding his old voice.
-Well, The New Day and Odyssey Jones beating Final Testament outright should end all speculation that Xavier Woods would potentially join that faction with a heel turn. Woods is still upset with the Kofi Kingston and Jones friendship and a heel turn is likely, but after this week there is nothing to connect between him and the Karrion Kross gang of mid-card misfits.
-Bronson Reed has been one of the best things about Raw for the past three weeks. He’s a character that’s on a journey and he holds a finisher that is supremely over. Feed that, WWE. Braun Strowman is a good opponent for Reed to beat as the new monster of the show.
Pop of the night
-Another week of Raw and another tremendous night for The Judgment Day. Damian Priest received a huge pop for his “match” with Dominik Mysterio, Rhea teased destroying Dom again only to get foiled, and Finn Balor, Liv Morgan, Carlito, and JD McDonagh got some much needed heat on their Bash in Berlin opponents. Not a huge night for story progression, but an effective reinforcement of what the story is and why fans should care about the characters involved.
-Oh you know, just like most women’s tag division stuff, the triple threat this week between Damage CNTRL, Pure Fusion Collective, and Fyre & Dawn was fine. Short and nothing special, but fine in that gave Fyre & Dawn a successful title defense.
-Hey, Pat McAfee is taking a break from announcing WWE Raw. Thank goodness. He needs it. The audience needs. The WWE as a company needs it. Sounds like McAfee will be back once WWE Raw is on Netflix and hopefully he’s more on his game for that run than he was for the run he just finished up.
-Randy Orton vs. Ludwig Kaiser delivered in the main event. Orton beating Kaiser was the obvious right move, but they had an entertaining enough match before reaching that end.
Smart production
-The Gunther and Orton brawl to take the show off the air effectively built up that rivalry, but also continued to cement an environment on WWE television where anything can happen. Realistically, nobody in WWE should know when the action is going to end. Shooting these brawls help facilitate that. Eventually, something big will happen in the final minutes of a Raw or Smackdown shot in this way and it’ll surprise the heck out of everyone.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE Raw? Let us know in the comments!
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