Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: The Wyatt Sicks, Seth Rollins and Damian Priest, Drew McIntyre quits, Bron Breakker vs. Sheamus, Money in the Bank qualifying matches

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

WWE Raw Hits

Seth Rollins and Damian Priest: The show opening with the surprise return of Rollins got things off to a hot start. Priest was in total babyface mode while telling Rollins that he was sincerely happy to see him back and even offering him a title match as opposed to making Rollins jump through the hoop that is the Money in the Bank ladder match.

The Wyatt Sicks debut: The horror movie scene that closed the show was a major spectacle. While this was certainly an attention grabber, the jury is still out when it comes to whether this faction will fit in modern day WWE. The product has become more sports-like and realistic under the creative direction of Paul Levesque. Will they avoid taking the hocus pocus route and keep this grounded in reality? Will logic be put on hold while this group is allowed to play by separate rules that contrast with the rest of the company’s storyline universe? Can they keep things interesting once it’s time for the faction members to actually wrestle?

Drew McIntyre quits WWE: An unexpected storyline development. McIntyre’s character followed in the footsteps of his nemesis CM Punk by walking out of the company. I assume that’s by design and will be part of the story once McIntyre returns to television. It will be interesting to see how far they take this. Will McIntyre pop up in TNA or other promotions to sell this storyline?

Bron Breakker vs. Sheamus: An entertaining match despite the botch of the huracanrana from the ropes. You had to expect a cheap finish given that they didn’t bother to advertise this match in advance. Ludwig Kaiser attacking Sheamus extends their feud, and the spot where Breakker speared a running Kaiser at ringside afterward was excellent. Was all of this meant to set up a four-way or two separate feuds? At this point, I’ll be surprised if Breakker is not the next Intercontinental Champion.

Jey Uso vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Finn Balor in a Triple Threat qualifier for the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: The worst part of the match was the interference by JD McDonagh and Carlito followed by the usual excuse that there are no disqualifications in a Triple Threat match. This lazy crutch is used far too often in pro wrestling and it’s ridiculous to think that the authority figures wouldn’t ban everyone from ringside given how often interference occurs in these matches. That said, the match was well worked and Jey going over was the right call.

Iyo Sky vs. Kiana James vs. Zelina Vega in a Triple Threat qualifying match for the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Normally, ladder match qualifiers would be one of the major talking points coming out of Raw. In this case, there was so much going on that the qualifiers were actually low on the list of post show talkers. Sky winning the match was the expected outcome and the right call. That said, James is off to a slow start on the main roster.

Braun Strowman vs. Chad Gable: The Hit is more about the Alpha Academy storyline progression than the actual match, which was pretty much par for the course for a Strowman match. Otis, Maxxine Dupri, and Akira Tozawa finally walked out on Gable. Will it stick? Gable was one of the people that was laid out by The Wyatt Sicks at the end of the show. Will he use that to guilt his pledges into sticking with him? That would explain why Otis didn’t completely unload on Gable when he simply shoved him to the mat.

Dragon Lee vs. Carlito: A soft Hit. The match was fairly forgettable and concluded with Judgment Day interference. It would have ended up in the Miss section had it not been for the final moments. Interference finishes are often examples of lazy booking, but someone clearly put some thought into this one given how many people were involved in the sequence that led to JD McDonagh costing Lee the match.

Overall show: Although there are times when the Hit to Miss count can be misleading when it comes to the overall quality of the show, that’s not the case with this episode. This was a loaded Raw with the surprise return of Seth Rollins, the announcement of his match with Damian Priest, Drew McIntyre quitting, the breakup of Alpha Academy, Money in the Bank qualifying matches, and the debut of the Wyatt Sicks. I’m surprised that WWE chose to go all in on a night when they went head-to-head with the deciding game of the NBA Finals. Nevertheless, this was a hot show with major storyline developments.

WWE Raw Misses

Dakota Kai and Kairi Sane vs. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance: A throwaway women’s tag team match that was brief and forgettable. One can only assume that the involvement of Lyra Valkyria will set up a six-woman tag match. If nothing else, it’s encouraging to see Iyo Sky’s character venting about the current state of the Damage CTRL faction.