SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Opening Segment – HIT: I’m assuming that Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens will face each other at WrestleMania, so I’m not sure why they are having this unsanctioned match at The Elimination Chamber. Perhaps they aren’t facing at WM? Or the unsanctioned nature of the EC match will lead to some type of angle where they will need to have another match? We’ll see. Either way, the set up for the fight has been very good with top notch performances from Owens and Zayn. Zayn was great here in demanding the match. Adam Pearce played his part well too. The strongest point of the segment was when Zayn reminded Pearce that he won’t be held responsible for what he does to Owens, turning the plot around a little.
Styles vs. Dominik – HIT: This match between A.J. Styles and Dominik Mysterio was exactly what it needed to be. Styles was going to win, and given this is his first match back after his injury, he didn’t need some long drawn-out match. This didn’t need to be 15 minutes. 9 was plenty. The action was good. The post-match angle with Braun Breakker worked well too.
Kai vs. Nile – MISS: This match was ok, but I don’t understand the outcome. WWE has been teasing a match between Ivy Nile and Lyra Valkyria for the Intercontinental Championship. American Made has looked very weak. I guess it can be part of a storyline where Chad Gable returns upset at Nile and The Creeds, but you are doing damage to the group in the meantime by the fact that they always lose. As a babyface, Kai doesn’t make sense as an opponent for Valkyria who is a lukewarm babyface. If you want her to get over, she should be defending against an obnoxious heel like Nile, with the Creeds stacking the deck against her. I would rather cheer for Kai than Valkyria. They haven’t done the Champion any favors since she became the first Champ.
Gunther – Uso – HIT: I enjoyed Gunther mocking Jey Uso’s entrance through he fans. He was great in making fun of Jey while berating the fans for supporting Uso and encouraging him to challenge Gunther for the World Title. The physicality at the end worked as well. But, they have a long way to go before WrestleMania. I wonder how they will fill the next several weeks.
Penta vs. Dunne – HIT: This was another good match between Penta and Pete Dunne. Penta continues to be presented strongly, and the fans are reacting well to him. I don’t understand what they are doing with Ludwig Kaiser also involved in this story. The idea that they both want to beat Penta is fine, but fighting each other over it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I like the slow build for Penta, but I hope they resolve this three-way issue soon and move him on to something more meaningful.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Perez vs. Rodriguez – MISS: The wrestling action here was perfectly fine, but the matchup was the issue. I don’t understand the heel vs. heel matchup here. Roxanne Perez is still pretty new to the Raw audience. If they’ve seen her on NXT, she’s been a clear heel. Here, she was playing a babyface role in the match against Raquel Rodriquez. I’d prefer Perez as a face, but you have to do more to establish her face character. Or something at all to establish it. The appearance by Bianca Bel Air & Naomi made sense, but the story itself with the video of Rodriquez and Liv Morgan isn’t great. Hopefully Jade Cargill returns soon and the mystery attacker angle is solved, as it is starting to drag. I will say that I honestly don’t have a clue who will win the women’s EC match. Mystery is good, but only when there are several possible legit winners who would be strong challengers for Rhea Ripley at WM. But, this is the opposite to me. I don’t see any of them as strong possible winners, and I don’t really want to see any of them against Ripley right now.
New Day – HIT: This is a marginal Hit for the continued good work by New Day in their heel role. I enjoyed the work from both Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. After their attack on Rey Mysterio at the very end of Raw last week, you’d think that the rest of the LWO would have attacked them sooner. Why let them talk so long? The actual attack was fine. One issue is that the LWO has a 4-on-2 advantage over New Day, so even when one of their members is missing like this week, they still have a 3-on-1 advantage over the heels.
Rollins vs. Balor – HIT: Nobody was buying into Finn Balor as a winner of this main even EC qualifier over Seth Rollins. But, that didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the match which was very good. At over 20 minutes, it felt like a big match without overstaying its welcome. It was fun to watch from start to finish. The announcers did a nice job of bringing up the long history between these two rivals. They told a story with Rollins working on Balor’s knee while Balor worked on Rollins’ ribs. There were a lot of big spots around the tables and stairs. It all worked, and built well to the end with Rollins getting the expected win. This (along with Rodriguez’s loss) will continue the story of the rest of Judgment Day trying to add a new member. Rollins will face Reigns at WM (with or without Punk who I still predict wins EC to face Cody Rhodes), so I’m assuming Reigns will get involved at EC. I still think that Rollins needs to be presented more as a heel going into that match. But, maybe WWE will just book it as face vs. face and let the audience decide.
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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