SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Opening Segment – HIT: The second Raw on Netflix was much better than the first, now that we got past all the pageantry and got back to a normal episode of Raw, which have been pretty good lately. It got off to a good start with a parade of wrestlers declaring for the Royal Rumble. In general, I’m not a big fan of those types of segments. But this one worked with the personalities involved and the strong performances from C.M. Punk, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre who have all been tied together for the last year. It makes sense that they would still be tied together heading into the Rumble, but they all need to move on to something new coming out of the Rumble and moving towards WrestleMania.
Gable vs. Penta – HIT: I’m glad that Michael Cole admitted that Penta’s debut on Raw was the worst kept secret in WWE. The fans who know Penta, knew that he was going to be Chad Gable’s secret opponent. So, why pretend that it was a big surprise? Instead, they were able to concentrate on putting Penta over which they did a nice job of on commentary. Penta was a little sloppy in the early moments of the match. I don’t know if that was jitters or a bit of ring rust. Either way, he got it together and the rest of the match was very strong. Gable was great in the ring as usual. These two worked very well together and put on a very good match. I liked how Penta sold the ankle lock throughout the match. The fans seemed excited to see him. It was also good to see him get mic time afterwards. His promo was strong in the way he showed his genuine emotions and excitement to be there. Hopefully, he continues to shine.
Sheamus vs. Kaiser – MISS: This match between Sheamus and Ludwig Kaiser was perfectly fine. It was good enough in a vacuum to get a Hit. The problem is familiarity. They’ve had multiple matches against each other in the past few months, plus their triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker. Speaking of Breakker, part of the reason that this match is getting a Miss is that it turns out to just be a set up for another IC Title match for Sheamus. That doesn’t get me excited for Saturday Night’s Main Event even though I know it will be a good match.
Gunther – Uso – HIT: One of the biggest issues with last week’s Raw was the lack of Gunther live on the big show in front of the big audience. So, it was good to see him back this week. I questioned Jey Uso getting the win over McIntyre last week. Now, I see why WWE did that as they are using it as a way to get Uso a World Title match at SNME. This match makes me more excited for that event than the IC Title match mentioned before. The passion and emotion shown by Uso was very strong. Gunther was great as usual in his dismissive attitude towards Uso, particularly his Main Event moniker. WWE is getting a very late start to the promotion of SNME, as opposed to the first one. But, better late than never. I’m also hopeful that coming out of SNME and the Rumble they have something better planned going into WM for Gunther.
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Raw: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
Kai vs. Valkyria – HIT: The finals for the Women’s IC Title was a good match. It was interesting that they went with a babyface vs. babyface matchup. Neither is a particularly hot babyface, so having Lyra Valkyria in the ring against a strong heel would have made more sense to give her the strong babyface reaction that she didn’t get here instead of facing Dakota Kai. The reaction wasn’t bad, but it could have been better. I see more in Kai than Valkyria, but I don’t care that much about the outcome. I am still giving the match a Hit given their strong work in the ring and the fact that I enjoyed it.
Ripley – Jax – Bayley – MISS: This wasn’t a terrible segment, but it felt like a weak way to follow up on Rhea Ripley finally beating Liv Morgan to get her Women’s Championship back. It was good that they started to pivot to something new, but Nia Jax was a disappointment. I have liked her recent work on Smackdown fine, but she doesn’t get me excited. This segment played into he murkiness of the transfer portal or whatever they call it. Jax was on Raw, because she might switch over from Smackdown. Bayley was in the crowd since she’s from San Jose. But, her presence took away from Ripley’s celebration more than Jax’s interruption.
Priest vs. Balor – HIT: This was a good street fight main event to finally bring an end to the Damian Priest – Finn Balor feud. The feud went on a little too long, so I am glad to see it over now. I am curious to see what the future will hold for Judgment Day given the tension between Balor and Morgan, the new tension between Morgan and Dominik Mysterio, and this big loss by Balor. Also, what is next for Priest? The match itself was hard hitting and intense. I liked how it started with Balor jumping Priest from behind. I appreciate the fact that the interference from the Judgment Day followed by the save from the War Raiders came early enough to not directly effect the finish of the match. Priest got the strong win in the end which was the way to go.
Runtime – HIT: I definitely like that this episode of Raw was closer to the 2:30 mark than the 3 hour one like last week. They now have the advantage of not having a specific time window for Raws which should give them some freedom. Maybe next week goes 2:45. Maybe the next week it ends at 2:20. However, there are rumors that some of the matches got cut a little short after the Gable vs. Penta match ran long. If that’s the case, it makes no sense. While I was happy with a shorter runtime, 4 more total minutes to give two matches 2 more minutes each wouldn’t be a big deal.
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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