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Opening Segment – HIT: Raw got off to a good start with the in ring encounter between Jey Uso and Gunther. They both played their parts well. You never know when someone gets interrupted the way that Uso got interrupted here by Gunther, if they will end up getting a chance to talk in the end. Jey did and he did well. I love how dismissive Gunther is. It was interesting how he brought up Jey’s history of helping out too many people to actually be his own man. Jey answered well. The physicality at the end worked to show that Jey has a chance in the ring against the World Champion. They should have a pretty good match, but the outcome isn’t really in doubt.
Micheal Cole Dancing – MISS: The only part of the opening segment that was bad was the way that Michael Cole was doing the Yeet dance. Jey Uso has some cool factor. Michael Cole does not. He automatically makes Uso look far less cool by dancing that way. Then Uso made it even worse by acknowledging Cole and slapping hands with him. Wade Barrett even said that Jey shouldn’t encourage Cole. He’s never been more right. If I were him, I would not want Cole dancing like that. Gunther called him a dork and he was right. So, Cole needs to cut that crap out.
Mysterio vs. Kingston – HIT: This was a bit sloppy at times, but overall it was just good enough to get a Hit. I am enjoying New Day much more as heels than I have in a long time. The act needed a change and they have found a lane with what they are doing now. Rey Mysterio is playing the locker room veteran leader well. I assumed that Kofi Kingston would get the win here, but their cowardly heel tactics afterwards worked to keep their heat. It was also interesting to hear JBL on guest commentary playing more of a babyface in not liking what New Day had turned into, and defending Big E while still hating Mysterio. Unfortunately, the LWO doesn’t mean anything, and Dragon Lee’s time in WWE has mostly been wasted. He wasn’t even here for this to set him up as Mysterio’s partner against New Day.
Sami – Owens – HIT: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will always be tied together in WWE. Zayn started this segment off well with his promo about entering and winning The Royal Rumble. Owens was great in his interruption. He continues to sound very reasonable as a heel. I loved the distinction he made between Cody Rhodes working with Roman Reigns vs. Sami doing it. Zayn was great in his facial reactions just listening to what Owens had to say. You could imagine Owens getting through to Zayn this way, even if he is manipulating him to get what he wants. What will Zayn do at the Rumble? I’m guessing he won’t help Owens which will set up Owens screwing him in the Rumble. But, time will tell.
Jax vs. Bayley – HIT: I was not expecting to like this match. I don’t think Bayley and Nia Jax work particularly well together. But, this was on the high end of their matches. I was also not expecting there to be a clean finish in this match, with either Roxanne Perez or Rhea Ripley getting involved (or both). So, I was pleasantly surprised that Jax got the clean win over Bayley. They got the Perez interaction out of the way early in the match when she got taken away by security after trying to slap Bayley. And they saved the Ripley appearance for the very strong brawl after the match. The problem is that Bayley has no momentum having lost her last match on Smackdown and now her first match on Raw.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Penta vs. Dunne – HIT: Pete Dunne was a good opponent for Penta in that he is a known name and a talented worker who can afford to take a clean loss to Penta as he continues to be introduced to the Raw audience. This wasn’t as good as his premiere last week against Chad Gable (on a side note, I am intrigued by Gable’s attempt to learn the dark arts of Lucha Libre), but it was still a good match. Penta isn’t as exciting in the ring or as flashy as his brother Ray Fenix (who will show up in WWE at some point), but he has so much charisma and ability to connect with the audience. Hopefully, he will have more of a chance to show that in upcoming weeks. Right now, WWE is leaning too heavily into his exciting style to hype him up.
C. .Punk Interview- HIT: I like how WWE continues to try new things with their TV productions. We saw the new opening of Smackdown last week with the announcers introducing the show while walking through the arena to the announce desk. Here, we saw an interview with C.M. Punk up among the fans instead of in the ring, on the stage, or in the back. I liked that presentation as it kept Punk with the people. His interview talking about why he will win the Royal Rumble specifically naming the other big wrestlers who will be in the match was very good. It was interesting to hear him get booed for putting down John Cena. He must have known that reaction was likely, but didn’t care. He got cheers for the rest of it, even when he said that Sami Zayn isn’t on his level. He isn’t worried about upsetting some fans. And his shot at Hulk Hogan was awesome.
Rollins vs. McIntyre – HIT: This was another match with a clean ending which I didn’t expect. Sure, Seth Rollins beat Drew McIntyre with a leverage pin, and not one of his potential finishers like the Stomp. But, it was still a win in the middle of the ring without any type of interference. It was a very good match as expected between these two talented wrestlers. The aftermath with Zayn getting involved was interesting, although it won’t be believable if Rollins is upset at what happened going forward. There isn’t a world where he could think that Zayn did that on purpose. There are a lot of moving pieces with McIntyre, Rollins, Zayn, Punk, Owens, Reigns, Rhodes and others going into WrestleMania season. I am definitely looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.
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. Follow him on BlueSky @jonmezzera.bsky.social.
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OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre, Bayley vs. Nia Jax, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, Penta vs. Pete Dunne, Kofi Kingston vs. Rey Mysterio
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