SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Opening Segment – HIT: Raw got off to a good start with Gunther and Damian Priest talking about their upcoming World Title match at SurvivorSeries. WWE is going a different direction with this feud which makes sense. They can’t just repeat what happened when they faced the first time. Now that Gunther has lost to Cody Rhodes, they are taking advantage of that by having him show vulnerability and doubt for the first time in his WWE career. Priest really took the reigns in this segment and came across very well. Gunther played his role very well too. I wasn’t particularly interested in this rematch, but this made me more interested for sure. How will this ultimately lead to a renewed sense of strength for Gunther? Ludwig Kaiser’s role was strong also, leading to a match between him and Priest later which was solid, but nothing special.
Six Woman Tag – HIT: This is a Marginal Hit. It is good to see Dakota Kai return, and considering that this was her first match back, and that she’s partners with the #1 contender for the Women’s Title, Iyo Sky, obviously Damage CTRN had to win. But, it is a shame that Pure Fusion Collection means absolutely nothing. Terrible name aside, they are a talented trio who should mean more than they do. The other day, I was ruminating on the female talent in WWE across all three brands. I was making a mental list of the talent, and didn’t even think about Sonya Deville, Zoey Stark or Shayna Baszler. The match was good. It was certainly Hit worthy. But, it doesn’t really mean anything.
Bloodline Angle – HIT: WWE continues to do a nice job on both Raw and Smackdown of building to the eventual Original Bloodline vs. New Bloodline War Games match. On this Raw, we were introduced to the idea that both teams need to recruit a 5th member. We saw Sami Zayn and The Usos discussing it, and eventually a good scene with Zayn trying to recruit Seth Rollins who obviously turned him down. Later, we saw Solo Sikoa trying to do the same, but he wasn’t successful either. Who will they get? Some are speculating Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens. CM Punk’s name has been out there as well. I am leaning towards Rhodes and Owens, but am curious to watch the process over the next few weeks.
Kingston vs. Dunne – HIT: This was a good match which fit in nicely with the continuing saga between Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. That story is going to start to drag soon, so hopefully they are coming to a culmination. But, it was good to see Pete Dunne getting a needed win which worked well given the New Day story.
Rollins – Reed – MISS: WWE has done the brawl between Rollins and Bronson Reed too many times now. They have lost their power. This wasn’t a great way to follow up on Reed attacking Rollins during the main event last week. I understand why they did it, but there was no impact. Been there, done that. They will have their rematch next week, which I expect to be good. But, will it be the culmination of the feud or will it continue with more brawls?
Final Testament – Wyatt Sicks – MISS: I continue to not care about The Miz, The Final Testament nor the Wyatt Sicks. Put them all together, and I really don’t care. Who didn’t see the twist of Miz actually working with Karrion Kross coming? If you are going to do this story, having the Final Testament stand tall and finally get the better of the Wyatts makes some sense. But, they are all just a bunch of losers.
Bel Air & Cargill vs. Morgan & Rodriguez – MISS: The second half of Raw was certainly worse than the first. The match itself was fine, but it was just a set up for what felt like a random brawl to set up a women’s War Games match. Is there no brand split anymore? Why was Naomi there? Just in case Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton showed up? That was too convenient. They booked a match, put it in the main event, with no intention of actually having a legit finish to it. And while there was a finish, it was a crap finish. I also question having Liv Morgan taking the loss here. WWE has already set up Iyo Sky as the #1 contender for Morgan’s Championship. Why have Morgan lose to Bel Air now, which would make Bel Air have a claim to the title shot too? Keep the champion strong and have Raquel Rodriguez take the pin. It is also weird to see Sky working with a bunch of women who aren’t in her faction.
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.
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