Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: The Usos vs. Matt Riddle and Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles, Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Cross vs. Alexa Bliss in a Triple Threat qualifier, Asuka vs. Bayley vs. Rhea Ripley in a Triple Threat qualifier, Austin Theory vs. Mustafa Ali for the U.S. Championship

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

WWE Raw Hits

Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso vs. Matt Riddle and Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles: The show peaked with this opening match. With the benefit of hindsight, I’m surprised they didn’t release the footage of Elias being taken out by The Bloodline prior to the show and either advertise Owens as his replacement or to tease a mystery partner for Riddle, as either strike me as being more likely to draw viewers than the team of Riddle and Elias. It turned out to be a really big night for Solo Sikoa, who took out Elias backstage and then destroyed Riddle, who was stretchered out in what appeared to be a potential temporary write-off of the Riddle character.

Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley staredown: It’s not often that a simple staredown earns a spot in the Hit section, but this was a great way to build long term anticipation for an eventual showdown match.

Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley: A good angle to set up next week’s No. 1 contenders match. They also kept Lashley’s issues with Brock Lesnar alive by having Rollins needle Lashley about his obsession with Lesnar. Lashley accidentally spearing producer Pete(y) Williams and then being issued a warning from Adam Pearce was an interesting development.

Bayley vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka in a Triple Threat qualifier: Corey Graves created some hope that Asuka could be in for an overhaul when he said he hoped to see a return to form for Asuka. The broadcast team members typically don’t go there unless something they know something is in the works. This was the better of the two Triple Threats and it was laid out properly in terms of giving Bayley a win without doing any damage to Ripley.

Austin Theory vs. Mustafa Ali for the U.S. Championship: The DQ finish felt necessary given the story that Theory essentially told Ali to put up or shut up. A clean Theory win would have been a big blow to Ali, whereas Dolph Ziggler interfering gives Ali an out for losing while presumably setting up Ziggler as his next opponent.

AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson vs. Chad Gable, Otis, and Baron Corbin: A soft Hit for a well worked time filler match. Styles is probably having a great time now that he’s been reunited with his buddies, but it’s a shame to see the 45 year-old veteran wasted at a time when the goal should be to give him another strong run before it’s too late.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Akira Tozawa: A soft Hit. Dom looked off in a couple of different points during the match. Fortunately, they kept it together and turned this into a nice showcase win for Big Heat Dom.

WWE Raw Misses

JBL’s Invitational Poker Tournament: It’s as if a WWE wrestler watched the bad Swinger’s Palace skits on Impact Wrestling and then uttered the “Hold my beer” line. The idea of Dexter Lumis having a good poker face could be seen coming a mile away, and there was just nothing clever or comical about these backstage skits that really bogged down the show.

Becky Lynch vs. Nikki Cross vs. Alexa Bliss in a Triple Threat qualifier: A rough main event match. The only thing that felt main event about this three-way was Lynch’s involvement. I was excited when Cross ditched the superhero character and started playing her current demented role. Sadly, she’s losing just as often as she did as the superhero. If this were AEW, I’d expect to see Cross pop up on the YouTube shows. Bliss is in a bit of a holding pattern as she waits for the slow burn that is Bray Wyatt’s storyline to play out. Perhaps her win in this match is a sign that a big development is coming soon. One plus about the match is that they seemed to foreshadow Lynch vs. Bayley earlier in the show, yet they went in an unexpected direction by having Bliss going over.