SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Opening Segment – HIT: Raw got off to a good start with Cody Rhodes coming out to address The Rock’s challenge from last week’s Smackdown. I liked that Rhodes brought up that Rock dodged his original challenge for a singles match, to pivot to the challenge for a tag team match. Rhodes was good on the mic and continues to have that strong connection with the audience. Seth Rollins wasn’t nearly as good once he joined Rhodes, but in the end, they got to where they needed. Rollins showed that he still has Rhodes’ back, they clearly are going to accept the challenge, and will be at Smackdown on Friday to do so. That’s a good hook for SD.
Diarrhea Dwayne – MISS: As I said, Rollins wasn’t nearly as good as Rhodes in that opening segment and it all surrounds his new lame-ass nickname for The Rock, Diarrhea Dwayne. That’s the worst line in WWE since suffering succotash. I mean, just terrible. How can you say that Rock isn’t cool in the same sentence as Diarrhea Dwayne? I can only hope they realize how bad that was and put it to bed right away, but I have to assume that enough idiot fans in the arena chanted it after he said it to keep it alive. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Gunther vs. Dominik – HIT: This was a good match to get Dominik Mysterio out of the way before the gauntlet match next week to determine Gunther’s opponent for WrestleMania. Watching Gunther slap around Dominik was very fun. But, WWE has an issue with two factions on this show where some (Gunther and Balor & Priest) are getting cheered, while others (Dominik and the rest of Imperium) are getting booed.
Women’s Tag Division – MISS: There is certainly talent in the women’s tag division, but it doesn’t mean anything. I enjoy Carter & Chance (when they cut down on the sloppiness). I like Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark, but I haven’t connected with them as a team. It doesn’t sound like others have either. They had a fine match against each other, with Baszler & Stark getting another win. They will get their Tag Title match next week against Asuka & Kairi Sane, but that’s a heel vs. heel match. The rest of the teams were featured in a bad back stage segment later on which points to the possibility of some type of multi-team Title match for WM which isn’t great. They also teased a heel turn for Candace LeRae to the chagrin of her partner Indi Hartwell, and a breakup between Natalya and Tegan Nox, a team nobody cares about. I’m all for getting more time for these women. I want to see the tag division mean more. But, this isn’t working.
Lynch vs. Jax – MISS: Enough of these non-finishes already. I get this is a continuation of the storyline from last week when Becky Lynch interrupted the match of Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax. But, that was a bad story to begin with. Becky came off like a heel her interaction afterwards with Morgan, who seems justified in being upset over what happened in her match last week. I don’t think we’re supposed to be siding against Becky here. This match was perfectly fine before the crap finish. Lynch vs. Morgan next week will be perfectly fine before Jax interrupts to give another crap finish and set up a triple threat for the next week.
Gauntlet Match Announcement – MISS: I am happy that we will bet getting a multi-man match to determine a single challenger for Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship at WM. But, a gauntlet is lame. I’m not a fan of that format. I’d rather see a ladder match. Also, while there are some intriguing possibilities in the match, Sami Zayn seems like the overwhelmingly obvious winner, so there’s not much suspense. Also, JD McDonagh doesn’t seem deserving of being in the match. I love Ricochet, but he’s never on, so his inclusion seems random. I also love Chad Gable, but he’s lost to Gunther a few times already, so I’m not excited about him either.
Priest & Balor vs. Imperium – HIT: This was a good tag match with Damian Priest & Finn Balor taking on Ludwig Kaiser & Giovani Vinci. The fans were definitely behind the Judgment Day duo which isn’t surprising given their success and cool factor, and the fact that Kaiser & Vinci are over as a heel team. These are four talented wrestlers and they had a chance to have a good match. The same problem exists among the men’s tag teams as the women’s. You’ve got some talented teams (plus Awesome Truth), who don’t feel important, and have all lost to Judgement Day. We are possibly getting a multi-team match for both the men and the women at WM which is disappointing.
Sami vs. Ivar – HIT: I got a kick out of the silliness with Michael Cole and Valhalla’s antlers. The match itself was good. Ivar has done really well for himself while Erik has been injured. I wonder if the Viking Raiders can parlay his singles work into a strong push as a team once Erik returns. Ivar has had multiple good matches with smaller wrestlers and this one against Sami was no different. Sami clearly needed the win to continue his momentum going into the gauntlet next week. The attack from Bronson Reed after the match worked well to get some heat on him heading into next week.
Jey vs. McIntyre – MISS: I can’t always give a Hit to a good match with a lame finish. This one was particularly annoying for me, because I couldn’t enjoy the match because I knew for sure that it was going to end after interference from The Bloodline. I knew that Jimmy Uso at the very least, and probably Solo Sikoa would show up before the match ended. And I was right. Yes, the wrestling action before that between Jey Uso and Drew McIntyre was very good and certainly Hit worthy. WWE did a nice job of hyping this main event throughout the show with a video package and giving mic time to both wrestlers. But, they keep booking themselves into a corner where they have these big matches that can’t have a loser. Either don’t have the match, or have McIntyre win clean (he’s facing Rollins for the World Title at WM, it is ok to lose to him) and have the Bloodline attack Jey afterwards. The saves from Rhodes and Rollins, and the attack by McIntyre to Rollins worked well. I like how Drew is trying to get Rollins to focus on him instead. With a small tweak, this could have been a big Hit, but it takes giving Jey Uso a loss which would be fine.
Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com’s WWE Raw Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw each week. Email him at jmezz_torch@yahoo.com.
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso, Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax, Intercontinental Champion Gunther vs. Dominik Mysterio in a non-title match
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