-First and foremost, I didn’t mind the blurred out blood during the opening angle on Raw this week. Blood and guts doesn’t bother me, but Netflix is going to be supremely careful when it comes to that kind of thing. As someone with kids who watch, I can appreciate it. Plus, it didn’t hinder the impact of the angle whatsoever.
Fresh and impactful
-The opening angle itself was excellent. WWE can’t start Raw every single week with something like this, but when they choose certain spots it freshens up the show and generates a big impact. Royce Keys and OTM came across as dangerous. They looked the part and it’s a nice follow-up for Keys who reached another gear with this re-debut last week. Here’s the thing, The Usos looked pretty darn sympathetic getting trounced the way they did. Between this reality and the material later in the show with Roman Reigns, this storyline is still suffering from a severe lack of definition. Who is the audience supposed to like?
-The opening contest between Sol Ruca and Raquel Rodriguez for the WWE Intercontinental Championship was too short to be anything noteworthy or memorable. Ruca got her offense in, but the Lyra Valkyria interference cut everything short. Kind of a lame way to end a title match, but it’s Triple H booking 101. Ruca against Valkyria is a fine little feud for Raw television.
-High fives to Chad Gable, Dragon Lee, and Ethan Page. The promo segment between the three men and the following match between Lee and Page was extremely well-executed. Just straight-up pro wrestling. Clear babyfaces and clear heels, which led to a match where fans wanted to see the babyface get the victory. Boom. That’s all you need. Page was wonderful in getting some real heat out there and it set the table for Lee and Gable. The upcoming Gable vs. Lee match for the WWE Men’s Intercontinental Championship is going to be something special in the Mexico City environment.
Be better Roman Reigns
-Remember last week when I wrote about expectations for Roman Reigns now that he’s essentially lined up as a top heel act on Raw? You know, when I said that in the coming weeks we’ll see a lot about Reigns and just how much of a GOAT he truly is? This week was an awful start for him. If I was LA Knight, I’d be livid. Reigns does not work to get heat. He plays into and fans the big reaction to him. By the time the babyface — in this case Knight — comes out to confront him, Reigns already has the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. It’s a selfish approach and it puts a ceiling on how entertaining his storylines can be.
-I get that Je’Von Evans didn’t get pinned in his tag match with Judgment Day, but this week dropped another loss on his record. Look, the bottom line is that the Evans and Hendry vs. Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh match was a filler segment on a taped show. Don’t read too much into it, but it reinforces that Evans is a middle of the card guy and not even a secondary focus.
-Ya know, I thought we were seeing a true turning of the corner this week in the Becky Lynch and Stephanie Vaquer feud — if you can even call it that. Vaquer approached Lynch backstage about the situation last week and tried to ask about why Lynch helped her out. Instead of a snide comment, Lynch just answered and said she wanted to help, she was a nice person at heart, and that she preferred to win the world title off a wrestler like Vaquer instead of Liv Morgan. Wonderful. Two babyfaces getting along — not. Vaquer could’ve been appreciative of Lynch, but no, she had to act stubborn, mean, and out of touch. Vaquer told Lynch she didn’t need her help, but obviously she did. More bickering and it continues to be unbecoming for both women.
A missing go-home promo
-It was a total surprise not to see Bron Breakker or Oba Femi at all this week ahead of their showdown at Sunday Night’s Main Event this weekend. The Paul Heyman backstage interview held down the fort for that storyline and while he did a nice job, a final encounter between Femi and Breakker was necessary. Heyman did well putting the match over, while not giving out a spoiler of any kind. He framed up the main point of intrigue in the match, which is the fact that neither guy can really take a loss right now. I still smell a Heyman pivot on Femi and a reuniting with Breakker that ushers in a Breakker win on Sunday. Nothing he said in the promo this week took that off the table.
-As expected, Penta vs. Rey Fenix was wonderful. An action-packed WWE style main event that was a fitting end to a pretty good tournament. Penta and Fenix have amazing chemistry and that was instantly on display. The Penta Driver through the announce table was wicked and a highlight of the night.
Penta vs. Reigns
-Penta needed this victory as a match between him and Roman Reigns is a much bigger draw for Raw in Mexico City than Fenix vs. Reigns would’ve been. Penta isn’t going to win the world title, but there are plenty of avenues out there for the match to travel on in order to generate some real drama. Good to see Reigns and Penta get time to face-off in the ring this week. The Penta “zero fear” pose opposite the Reigns “Bloodline put the one up” pose was a strong visual to not only close the show, but promote their upcoming title match.
What letter grade do you give Penta vs. Rey Fenix from WWE Raw this week? Let us know in the comments!
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The Bloodline can't have their cake and eat it. It's impossible. The moral ambiguity is a headache and it's dragging Roman down because he refuses to find a lane in a business which is morally monochrome. If Roman pulls this shit on Oba; it'll be fatal.
Rey Fenix has been on such a tear these last 3 months. He and Penta lit up the place.