SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
This week’s episode of WWE Raw has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.
-Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns, and The Usos selfie attacks on the Raw roster was a unique and fresh way to start the show this week. Props to Paul Levesque for trying something new. This set a hook for the entire show and successfully added heat to the eventual Reigns vs. Kevin Owens match.
-Look, I know it was a shenanigan finish thanks to Akira Tozawa tossing water into Dominik Mysterio’s face, but I just wouldn’t be having The Judgement Day doing jobs like the one they did for The Street Profits at this time. Did The Street Profits really get anything out of the win given how it went down? No. So, why do it and why slow momentum even a little bit for Judgement Day?
-Rhea Ripley vs. Tozawa was pretty awful to put things bluntly. They were very disconnected on multiple spots and the sloppiness led to Ripley’s dominance over Tozawa to come across weaker than it should have. That said, Ripley still stand out as a talent clicking on all cylinders and really finding herself as a character on the show week to week.
-MVP looking for Bobby Lashley, eh? Hurt Business 2.0? Sign me up.
-Stop the presses! The interview segment backstage with Bianca Belair and Alexa Bliss did a nice job of checking boxes on backstory. Bliss believably explained her situation with Bray Wyatt in logical terms and in a way that made her likable. I thought Belair’s response to that explanation was well done and made her likable, too. We’ll have to see whether or not the attack with the glass jar was a heel turn for Bliss or something else, but there is intrigue here for sure.
-Woooooo boy. The ladder match between Dexter Lumis and The Miz was exactly what you would have expected in a ladder match between Dexter Lumis and The Miz. Nothing good. The match was slow, plodding, and had low energy. They did some table spots that popped the crowd at various points, but this may have been the worst ladder match in WWE history.
EXCLUSIVE: @mikethemiz gives his thanks to returning Superstar #BronsonReed for helping him defeat @DexterWWE in the high-stakes Ladder Match as Reed takes his cut for his involvement.#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/r5qsrbgrSs
— WWE (@WWE) December 20, 2022
-Bronson Reed returning to Raw injects the middle of the card with added depth and that’s a positive. The question is whether or not Miz can use the microphone well enough to his partnership with Reed make sense. It can work, but they feel a little foreign to one another at this point.
-Sami Zayn vs. A.J. Styles = good match, but that’s about it. Nothing wrong with that either.
Austin Theory a high point of this week’s episode of WWE Raw
-Austin Theory was great this week. He’s got a swagger now that really resonates. He’s a genuine heel and that helps all the babyfaces he’ll work with moving forward. Smart of Paul Levesque to reframe him in this way as it’s significantly enhanced his character. One of the best moves of he Levesque era and Theory vs. Rollins in a couple weeks is a big-time match. It’s notable how much chemistry Rollins and Theory have together as well. You can feel it.
-Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens were really fun to watch this week. Not only did they make overtures to their past, but they were just a blast and off the cuff in a way that others aren’t. Really well done and a good tone setter for the impromptu tag match between them and The Usos.
-Bayley isn’t getting televised entrances? Something is up with her, folks.
-Becky Lynch vs. Bayley was a good match and it’s nice to see a second women’s feud occupy some space on Raw. Lynch losing was an interesting call and kind of looks like a bit of a desperate attempt to ignite Bayley. Lynch seems too important for WWE to be doing jobs like this one — especially since Bayley is so cold right now.
-Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins beating The Usos clean?!?!?! I want to put more stock in a win like this because The Usos just don’t lose much anymore. This feels like a means to get Owens hotter for Roman Reigns, though. Nothing more, but nothing less either.
CATCH-UP: Mandy Rose reportedly could be a millionaire by Christmas
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