Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill vs. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles, Gunther and Damian Priest, Kofi Kingston vs. Pete Dunne

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

WWE Raw Hits

The Usos and Sami Zayn search for a WarGames partner: This is a great hook for upcoming WWE television shows, as it’s always fun for fans to speculate over mystery partners. Could it come down to Paul Heyman’s connections with CM Punk or Brock Lesnar? Could Kevin Owens team with Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline due to his anger over Cody Rhodes previously and Sami Zayn now teaming with Roman Reigns? Will Hikuleo make his debut on Solo’s team? Although I think a strong case can be made for taking a four-on-four approach this year and sticking with the core members, the mystery of the final partners makes for some intriguing television.

Gunther and Damian Priest: It’s a clever move to have Gunther questioning himself coming off his loss to Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel. There was no real reason to think that Priest would beat Gunther when the match was made. But Gunther’s insecurities combined with Priest acting more confident than ever makes for an interesting dynamic that should cause some fans to believe that Priest has a chance to win.

Damian Priest vs. Ludwig Kaiser: A soft Hit. It was logical for Priest to go over strong given the dynamic listed above. I just wish it didn’t come at the expense of Kaiser. It seemed like Kaiser was on the verge of a singles push, but now he’s reverted to playing the role of set-up man for Gunther. Hopefully it won’t last long, as it seems like there’s been a little more friction between the two characters.

Kofi Kingston vs. Pete Dunne: Another week of bickering for Kingston and Xavier Woods leading up to the New Day’s ten-year anniversary at the end of the month. In this case, Woods took a cheap shot clothesline at Dunne, which upset Kingston and ultimately led to him taking the loss. This is the most interesting thing that Kingston and Woods have done in years. Winning in this fashion won’t do much for Dunne, but I suppose it beats the alternative. I’m happy that Dunne is out of Butch mode, but perhaps it would be nice to see him shake things up cosmetically after all these years.

“Damage CTRL” Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane, and Dakota Kai vs. “Pure Fusion Collective” Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler, and Zoey Stark: A soft Hit for Kai’s return and Sky getting the pin heading into her Women’s World Championship match. The crowd was nearly silent during the PFC entrance, but they work up for the actual match.

Final Testament, The Miz, and Wyatt Sicks: An in the middle rather than a Hit or a Miss. WWE dedicated a lot of time to establishing the Wyatt Sicks, but it has amounted to one mid-card feud with American Made and now another mid-card feud with Miz and Final Testament. I’m not sure what to make of Miz aligning with Final Testament, but it’s interesting to see Miz involved in something outside his usual comfort zone.

WWE Raw Misses

Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill vs. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles: The match was fine, though I could have done without all of the outside interference. The Miss goes to the half-hearted hype the company gave the match. WWE typically does a much better job of making their television main events feel important. This match received the now obligatory shot of the teams during the opening moments of the show and one forgettable promo video from the champions. Here’s hoping that Belair pinning Morgan will somehow lead to Belair returning to the singles division. On a side note, I hope they are building to a Survivor Series elimination match rather than a women’s Hell in a Cell match. The story just isn’t there this year to justify the need for a women’s WarGames match.