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Editor’s Note: Jon Mezzera is back earlier than expected, to check out his Raw Hits & Misses below along with Jason Goodspeed’s Raw Hits & Misses posted earlier here at PWTorch also!
Opening Bit – MISS: I get the idea of introducing Joe Tessitore to the Raw audience, but the way WWE did it with Wade Barrett standing in the ring and introducing him, and then him hyping up the crowd was very awkward. It wasn’t the best first impression. It was paired with a hype video on Bash in Berlin which makes sense, but that was followed by the video of wrestlers arriving at the arena. I like those in general, but it felt like too much at the start of the show before allowing the show to actually start. As an aside, Tessitore did a solid job in his first week. There were a few shaky spots, but overall he was good. I didn’t notice him much, which is a compliment.
Ripley – Dominik & Morgan – HIT: Once the rest of the opening segment got going, things picked up nicely. This was a good way to follow up on the mixed tag match at the PLE with Rhea Ripley teaming with Damian Priest (I’m not using their stupid name which is a Miss) to take on Judgement Day’s Dominik Mysterio & Liv Morgan. It pointed to another Morgan vs. Ripley Women’s Championship match and set up Ripley’s leg injury and the idea of Priest trying to get revenge which would play out for the rest of the show leading to the main event.
American Made vs. Alpha Academy – MISS: I know that Otis is popular, but American Made needs to be presented stronger than they are. The Creeds are so good in the ring, that they should be more important than they are. Alpha Academy are fun, but they are not presented as a serious act. This six-person tag match should have been a squash to set up American Made as a stronger opponent for the Wyatt Sicks which we are getting in a four-person tag next week. Having Ivy Nile get the win over Maxxine Dupree doesn’t do anything to put over the Creeds, and while I like Nile too, the Creeds need to be the physical focus on this group. The match was fine in general. But, it didn’t need to be 10 minutes. It should have been half as long with the heel trio dominating. This is basically my same complaint from a tag match a few weeks ago.
Punk – McIntyre – HIT: I would prefer that C.M. Punk and Drew McIntyre would go their separate ways after their Strap Match at the PLE. But, I’m not surprised that WWE wants it to continue to culminate at a bigger stage. Many fans (including me) are speculating about a Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood which would make a lot of sense. This was a good way to follow up on their match while teasing what might be coming down the line for Punk as he tried to put McIntyre behind him to potentially go after the World Title. Punk’s promo was strong, and the surprise attack and beating from McIntyre was very good. I’m glad he destroyed the bracelet. Now they can move beyond that.
Mysterio vs. Dragunov vs. Lee – HIT: This was a good triple threat match as part of the Intercontinental Championship #1 contender tournament. I’m glad that Judgement Day’s involvement did not play stronger into the end of the match. Once Dominik got chased off by Priest, the final few minutes of the match when it was just down to Ilja Dragunov and Dragon Lee was very good. I would love to see a singles match between those two. But, I’d also love to see Lee getting a push and treated as a bigger deal.
Gunther – Zayn – HIT: I wasn’t sure who Gunther’s first challenger for the World Title would be, and was surprised when it turned out to be Randy Orton. I wasn’t sure who his second challenger would be, and was surprised when it turned out to be Sami Zayn. Both made perfect sense given their histories with Gunther. Orton wasn’t likely to turn into a long feud, and neither is Zayn. But, that’s fine. Not all challengers need to be a series of matches. “One and done” can be good. Zayn will be a great opponent following up on beating Gunther at WrestleMania for the IC Title.
Strowman vs. Sheamus vs. Kaiser – MISS: This match had a the cool moment when Ludwig Kaiser was starting to run around the ring to do his drop-kick into Sheamus on the steps only to get a chair thrown in his face by Braun Strowman. Otherwise, it wasn’t much to talk about. It was 7 minutes, which means we only saw half of the match after the commercial break. It was booked sort of similar to the first triple threat with Pete Dunne taking Sheamus out of the match leading to the end. I wonder what the plan for the match was going to be before Bronson Reed had to be taken out of it due to having Covid. Was he supposed to win? The plan might have been for Strowman to cost him in the finals, and now they will switch that? On another aside, it was ridiculous to have Jackie Redmond call Pete Dunne “Butch” later on. That was an overly scripted moment that painted her as unprofessional just to get an “ooh” from the fans.
Balor & McDonagh vs. Priest & Uso – HIT: WWE did a nice job of having Ripley set up Jey Uso as Priest’s partner for his main event tag match against the Tag Team Champions, Finn Balor & JD McDonagh. It was a good tag match which isn’t surprising given the talent in the ring. The bit with Morgan getting involved followed by Ripley worked well. I liked how Morgan was over confident because Ripley was on the crutch, only to get some comeuppance in the end. I also liked how Ripley wasn’t faking the injury to take advantage. She was limping. She may have exaggerated it, but she clearly was hurt and fighting through the pain to get revenge. WWE has kept the physical interaction between Priest and Balor fairly low to continue to build anticipation for a singles match between them. They have been teasing Zayn & Uso going after the Tag Titles. But, that’s not the plan any more. Will this lead to a Title match? The Champs haven’t been portrayed as a strong team, which does take away from this match some. This was a good chance for the heels to stand tall in the end, but perhaps it will happen in a Title match down the line to continue to build towards Priest vs. Balor.
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.
RECOMMENDED NEXT: GOODSPEED’S WWE RAW HITS & MISSES (9/2): Joe Tessitore, Ripley’s promo, Dragunov vs. Dominik vs. Dragon Lee, Sheamus vs. Kaiser vs. Strowman, more
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: McGuire’s Mondays: Overthink Mondays – WWE Bash In Berlin edition
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