By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor: The show opened with a strong match involving two of the company’s best workers. The thumb to the eye to protect Balor prior to the finish felt unnecessary and didn’t feel like it even accomplished its intended goal. There’s no shame in losing a competitive match to someone as high on the card as Rollins, so Balor should be just fine. I just hope that the creative forces find a meaningful feud for Balor because he’s starting to feel like the odd man out. Why do I have a bad feeling that he will be assigned the task of getting over Veer Mahaan?
Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan contract signing: A mostly good verbal exchange. Morgan mocking Lynch’s emotional promo following her win over Charlotte Flair came off poorly. It just wasn’t a babyface move, especially given that Lynch seemed so genuine during that post Survivor Series interview. Aside from that hiccup, this was a good segment to set the stage for next week’s title match. I continue to hope that next week is more of an angle to set up the real showdown match for the WWE Day 1 pay-per-view. Progress has been made with Morgan’s character, but she’s still not where she needs to be. A few more weeks of build and character development could be just what she needs.
Edge and The Miz: Edge’s reference to Miz’s name being dropped on AEW television was clever and generated some buzz. I wonder if that was approved by the powers that be or just something he slipped in. After all, he previously used the real first names of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood when he told his wife to call the AEW tag team after Seth Rollins broke into their home in a segment on Raw. Speaking of which, it was a real groaner to hear Edge endorse Rollins getting the title shot. I don’t care how much of a roll someone has been on, it’s hard to imagine the idea of endorsing anyone for anything other than prison if they broke into my home. That said, I enjoyed the overall segment. I am hopeful that the plan is to turn Miz into a more serious act after playing the pest heel who was put in his place nearly every week prior to his Dancing with the Stars hiatus. A lot of damage has been done to Miz, so both men have their work cut out for them. I hope they can pull it off.
WWE Champion Big E vs. Kevin Owens in a non-title match: A soft Hit. I wasn’t a fan of the way they teased early that Owens was going to goad Rollins into attacking him so that he could get a DQ win, only to have Rollins actually fall for the same trick later in the match. It came off like they had no faith in the audience to understand the point of the DQ finish without walking them through the scenario first. Still, I enjoyed the body of the match and I’m all for the Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship that was made official.
Randy Orton and Riddle vs. Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler for the Raw Tag Titles: Orton getting the Goldberg wig treatment in the backstage segment prior to the match was awful. The actual match was highly predictable, but the fans continue to enjoy the RKBro act even though the thrill is gone for this viewer. It’s not a bad act, it just feels like it’s reached its peak.
WWE Raw Misses
Vince McMahon and Austin Theory: Vince McMahon appearances should be saved for key moments when the company has a huge announcement or if they have a hot angle in mind for him. The golden egg letdown angle was followed by Vince toying with Theory before slapping him across the face at the end of the night. I’m sure that the creative forces would argue that Theory gained something just by sharing the screen with Vince. And they really could have given Theory a boost. Instead, the slap he took made Theory look like just another pushover character.
Damian Priest vs. Apollo Crews for the U.S. Championship: The match was fine. The Miss is more about Priest plowing through Crews in their first title match together. This felt like it could have been a good title program. And while there’s nothing stopping them from going back to it just as they did with Crews challenging Big E countless times for the U.S. Title, this felt like a one and done.
Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Dana Brooke, and Nikki ASH vs. Becky Lynch, Queen Zelina, Carmella, Tamina, and Doudrop: A Miss for the nearly 20-minute match simply overstaying its welcome. Morgan was showcased nicely by getting the pin for her team and by hitting her finisher on Lynch afterward. It’s just too bad it took them so long to get there.
The Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy: With the Dirty Dawgs losing earlier in the show, it’s as if someone thought it would be a good idea to wipe out all of the heel tag teams in one show. Sure, AJ Styles and Omos are still a team, but they seemed to have some friction after the match, so a breakup could be coming.
Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin: Hey, yet another heel tag team lost. It was hard to be excited about the Mysterios after they were destroyed by Bobby Lashley in a handicap match last week. And it was even harder to be excited about Alexander and Benjamin, who haven’t received any creative love despite rejoining Lashley in The Hurt Business. Speaking of Lashley, what was up with that random babyface video package?
Could not disagree with you more on the woman’s match. The only really big clunker about it, and it is almost always whether it is a male or female match, is the run at opponent and fly over top or between the ropes to the floor. 9/10 the wrestler who goes to the floor looks like an idiot as they had plenty of time to stop.
Otherwise well placed and well worked with making a lot of people look good. VERY enjoyable. Think you are being WAYYYY too picky in this case.