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With both Saturday Night’s Main Event and the Royal Rumble right around the corner, this week’s Raw helped set the stage for both.
After being called out last week by Seth Rollins and The Miz, Sami Zayn has now thrown his name into the Rumble match. Despite all the success he’s had throughout his career, winning one of the major championships has always eluded him. According to his critics, what seems to be holding him back from that accomplishment is constantly being torn between what’s best for his friends and what’s best for himself. That dilemma would lead to him making an error in judgment at the show’s end.
On top of all that, one of Sami’s closest friends is now using this to guilt trip him into helping him win the WWE Championship. Also, we had another heated segment between Gunther and Jey Uso, the New Day continuing to alienate everyone around them, the answer to who Rhea Ripley’s first challenger will be, and a rematch from last year’s WrestleMania. As the WWE heads into WrestleMania season, this week’s Raw served as a prime example of how much everything heats up during this time of the year.
Gunther vs. Jey Uso
Latest Developments:
Jey Uso has been building a lot of momentum in recent weeks, including a win over Drew McIntyre on Raw two weeks ago. Last week, Jey interrupted the World Heavyweight Champion Gunther during his promo to challenge him for the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event. While Gunther accepted the challenge, he laughed off Jey as a credible threat and said he would expose him for being nothing more than a talented tag team wrestler. As the champion walked away, Jey said he grinds every day to gain the respect of being a singles star. He ended the promo by stating he would earn Gunther’s respect by beating him for the championship.
This week, Jey opened Raw and as he was about to cut a promo, he was interrupted by Gunther. Gunther referred to Jey as a mascot and a “useful idiot” for always running to others when they need his help. Jey responded by agreeing that he is a mascot, but the audience was his team and how that team would be with him when he defeats Gunther on Saturday. He then demanded Gunther put respect on his name as he reminded him that only one of them had actually main evented WrestleMania before. Gunther then attacked Jey, but Jey quickly fought back and super kicked Gunther out of the ring before Gunther took the title and left.
Analysis:
Much like last week, this was another strong segment between these two. Considering how clearly opposite these two men are, their interactions make for good TV. One line from Gunther that really hit hard was when he mentioned there would be no difference in facing Jey or his brother Jimmy Uso. Jey then proved he could hold his own verbally when he said that unlike him, Gunther never main evented WrestleMania. As they’ve proven before they could have good matches together, these last two weeks proved they could have good promos against each other too.
As mentioned last week, this feud feels more like a temporary one just to have a match for Saturday Night’s Main Event. However, they’ve shown in their few interactions that this feud could be a strong part of the show if it were to go on past that. From what we’ve seen so far, this feud feels too new and too interesting for it to just be a short one. As popular as Jey Uso is right now, it just doesn’t feel like the right time to take the title off Gunther this close to WrestleMania. That combined with the fact that Drew’s issues with Jey don’t seem to be over yet, expecting him to win the title here is a huge longshot (although stranger things have happened before).
Grade: B
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Kofi Kingston vs. Rey Mysterio
Latest Developments:
Ever since Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods kicked Big E out of the New Day, they have been rejected by the audience and their peers. On the December 16 Raw, they attempted to go into the locker room before being stopped by Rey Mysterio. Mysterio told both that they were wrong for what they did to Big E and he along with the rest of the locker room didn’t want them in there. The following week, Mysterio apologized for it and when he attempted to get them to apologize for what they did to Big E, they refused as they claimed they did nothing wrong. Before walking away, Mysterio said to them that it’s “New Day sucks” from now on.
This week, Mysterio went one on one with Kofi. Before the match, Kofi & Xavier cut a promo as they were heavily booed and even took back $2 dollars that they gave to JBL earlier after he insulted them. Mysterio and Kofi had a competitive match that saw Xavier get kicked out of ringside after the referee caught him tripping Mysterio. When Kofi attempted to do the Trouble in Paradise, Mysterio reversed it into a roll up to get the win. Xavier attacked Mysterio from behind while he was standing in the aisle and as he and Kofi double teamed him, Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde of the L.W.O came out to chase them away. As the New Day escaped from the crowd, they then snuck up from behind and threw Wilde into the post before sneaking away again.
Analysis:
For it being the first match on TV involving the New Day since they kicked out Big E, it was a little odd that it ended in a loss. However, the match itself turned out to be a good one. While maybe Kofi should’ve won considering the momentum he and Xavier have right now, they at least maintained their heat with the post-match attack. One of the highlights of all of this was the pre-match promo where New Day took back the $2 dollars they gave to JBL earlier. Considering that this was their first real time on Raw since the move to Netflix, you almost forgot how they’ve been one of the better parts of the show for the last three months.
After the way this match ended, this feud is clearly going to continue. Within the next few weeks, New Day will get their win back as it would make no sense for them to lose this feud with the heat they have right now. While it is a longshot, I would expect a Big E return as soon as the Royal Rumble to get payback for the way he was kicked out. Considering how that segment went down and the line Xavier said about Big E never being cleared, it seemed as if it planted the seed perfectly for an eventual Big E return. Now that we’re about to go into WrestleMania season, it feels as if the best with this New Day story is still yet to come.
Grade: B
Rhea Ripley vs. Nia Jax
Latest Developments:
Two weeks ago, Rhea Ripley defeated Liv Morgan to regain the Women’s World Championship that she never lost. Last week as she was cutting a promo in the ring, she was interrupted by Smackdown’s Nia Jax. Declaring her entry into the women’s Royal Rumble, Nia warned Rhea that it could be her title that she comes for if she wins it. Nia then pointed her attention to Bayley, who was sitting in the front row. After shoving down Bayley when she got in her face, Rhea came to her aid and the two of them fought Nia off.
This week, Rhea was attacked backstage by Nia as she was arriving at the arena. Later that night, Nia went one on one with Bayley, who is now officially a part of Raw. Despite a strong effort from Bayley, Nia hit her with the Annihilator to get the win. After the match, Rhea came out and she brawled with Nia all over the ringside area as officials tried to separate them. At one point, Rhea dove off the announce table onto Nia and the other officials. Rhea then stood up on the announce table again and declared that she would face Nia at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Analysis:
With a card to load up for Saturday Night’s Main Event, it feels like this feud was randomly thrown together. Although a match between Rhea and Nia does have appeal, having to borrow someone from Smackdown to give Rhea an opponent doesn’t speak highly of Raw’s women’s roster. Being in that dilemma, it seems as if having her face Nia was the only way to have her face someone with credibility. Despite her popularity and dominance, having a lack of credible challengers was also an issue with Rhea’s previous title reign. Considering it was Tiffany Stratton that cashed in the Money in The Bank on her a few weeks ago and the fact that they’re on the same show, it’s strange that Nia is focusing her attention on Rhea as opposed to Tiffany.
While it did make sense for Nia to win here with a big match with Rhea on the horizon, she should’ve had a different opponent besides Bayley. With it being Bayley’s first night on Raw and the fact that Nia and Bayley faced each other countless times on Smackdown, it didn’t make sense to do this match again. Having Nia defeat someone like Natalyia or Iyo Sky would’ve still accomplished the same thing without sacrificing Bayley on her first night on Raw. While this Rhea and Nia match does feel rushed, it still has the potential to be good considering the match they had at last year’s Elimination Chamber. With Rhea only having the title back for two weeks, it’s clear that one thing we won’t be seeing in this upcoming match is a title change.
Grade: C
Penta vs. Pete Dunne
Latest Developments:
Last week, Chad Gable waited in the ring for a match against a luchador of Adam Pearce’s choosing. That luchador turned out to be the debuting Penta, who came out to a huge reaction and grand entrance. Unlike most stars in their debut, Penta was pushed to the limit by Gable in a match that went close to 15 minutes. Despite Gable’s best efforts, Penta finished him off with a Penta Driver to win his WWE debut. After the match, Penta cut a promo and said that this was now not only the Netflix new era, but this was also now the Penta new era.
This week, Penta had another tough battle as he went one on one with Pete Dunne. Dunne took the advantage as he caught Penta with a right hand as he attempted a dive through the ropes and then suplexed him on the apron. Eventually, Penta fought back with a Mexican Destroyer and a dive onto Dunne over the top rope. Penta attempted another Mexican Destroyer, but Dunne countered it by dropping him on his head for a failed pin attempt. After nailing Dunne with the Sacrifice, Penta hit him with a Penta Driver to finish him off and continue his winning ways.
Analysis:
While this week’s match wasn’t surrounded with as much hype, it still delivered in quality and in establishing Penta as a star. So far, this strategy of giving him competitive matches every week is working as his wins only make him look that much stronger. In many cases, someone new will usually establish themselves by winning a bunch of squash matches. In Penta’s case, he’s having good matches every week against credible opponents to establish himself. After week two, it’s clear that WWE has huge plans for him, and that the investment is paying off so far.
After the promo Ludwig Kaiser cut on him, it feels as if that will be his next opponent. With Kaiser most likely moving to Smackdown soon, a great match with Penta to help further establish him is the perfect use of him before that move happens. As great as these first two matches were, a match with Kaiser could potentially be even better. With the entrance, presentation, and the matches, Penta is quickly becoming one of the best parts of Raw every week. Although it’s still very early in his run, the way things are going with him so far look very promising.
Grade: B+
Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
Latest Developments:
At last April’s WrestleMania XL, Drew McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins to win the World Heavyweight Championship. In the months since then, both men have been involved in separate feuds with CM Punk. Last week, Rollins interrupted a Punk promo and announced that he would be entering the men’s Royal Rumble to avenge his loss to Punk the week before. Drew then came out to interrupt and while Punk thought he was out there to confront him; Drew came out to call out Rollins for being no better than Punk is. After pretending to walk to the ring to fight them both only to back off, Drew announced that he would also be entering the Royal Rumble. Later that night, it was revealed that Rollins and Drew would face each other on Raw this week.
In this week’s main event, Drew and Rollins had a match that was even better than the one they had at WrestleMania. As Drew was in control after knocking down Rollins with several clotheslines, Rollins reversed the next attempt into a Jackknife pin for the win. Drew hit Rollins with a Claymore Kick after the match and as he then attempted to hit him with another one with his head against the post, Sami Zayn came out to make the save. Drew quickly laid out Sami with a Glasgow Kiss and as he had Rollins in the ring to do further damage, he moved out of the way as Sami hit Rollins with a Helluva Kick by mistake. As Sami constantly apologized, Rollins gave him a dirty look as the show went off the air.
Analysis:
For the third week in a row, we were treated with another great main event. With their match at WrestleMania being more of a sprint than a marathon due to Rollins having an injured knee, it was great to see them be able to go all out and not be limited here. As great as this match was, the real story coming out of it was everything that happened after. As they’ve been teasing tension between Rollins and Sami Zayn over the last week or so, Sami accidentally kicking him only adds more fuel to that fire. If Rollins turning heel wasn’t inevitable before, it definitely is now after this happened.
Especially seeing the expression on his face as the show went off the air, you can tell that the issues between them are only going to get more chaotic by the time we get to the Royal Rumble. After being involved in multiple segments this week, Sami’s becoming one of the ex-factors heading into the Rumble match. From the segment he had with Kevin Owens earlier in the show to everything that happened here, these storylines surrounding him are clearly taking center stage. Him attempting to help Rollins only for it to backfire plays perfectly into him always needing to help his friends and to see the fallout from this will be a major part of next week’s Raw. While the chances of him winning the Rumble are slim, all of this is succeeding in making the audience think that he at least has a chance to.
Grade: A
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens Segment
Sami Zayn came to the ring in the middle of the show to announce that he would be entering the Royal Rumble and said while he doesn’t need the World Championship to complete him, he still wants it. He was then interrupted by his best friend Kevin Owens, whom Sami expected to attack him for teaming with Roman Reigns at Survivor Series. Owens said he wasn’t out there for that as he understood the same reason he teamed with Roman was the same reason he always forgave Owens for the horrible things he did to him in the past. Before Owens left, he said he knows Sami will win the Royal Rumble because he will have his back just like he knows Sami will have his back in his title match with Cody Rhodes.
Analysis:
This segment succeeded in adding more interest to both the Royal Rumble match and the WWE Championship match. With the recent storyline of Sami Zayn always helping his friends more than himself, there was no one better to further point that out than Kevin Owens. After Owens mentioned a few weeks ago on Smackdown that he would deal with Sami eventually for teaming with Roman, doing it here and like this worked perfectly. While all of this planted a seed for a feud between the two going into WrestleMania, it is going to be interesting to see how they both play into the outcomes of their matches at the Rumble.
C.M. Punk Promo
C.M. Punk came out to do an interview with Jackie Redmond but instead of having the interview in the ring, it happened in the audience. As Jackie asked Punk what made this Royal Rumble different for him, Punk said making history. Punk then mentioned everyone he would go through to win the Royal Rumble including John Cena, Roman Reigns, and even said he’d throw Hulk Hogan’s “dusty ass” over the top rope if he happened to be in it too. He ended the promo by saying he’s cashing in debts, calling in a favor if he needs to, and that one man will get his hand raised at the Royal Rumble and that will be him.
Analysis:
While it was short, this promo from Punk was effective and entertaining. Having him do it in the audience instead of the ring was a nice way of switching things up. The two things that stood out most from this promo is when he mentioned throwing Hulk Hogan over the top rope and when he mentioned calling in a favor or two. Considering that the favor aspect was a part of the storyline with Punk and Heyman in War Games, it’s very possible that it could play a factor in the Rumble match. With the momentum he’s on right now and the energy from this promo, it’s hard not to pick Punk as the man who wins the Royal Rumble.
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