By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
Penta vs. Chad Gable: A hot first match for Penta’s debut. I’m typically in favor of featuring debuting wrestlers in enhancement matches, but this was certainly an exception. Penta showed off his signature moves and the live crowd was extremely hot for him. Everything from the entrance to Michael Cole’s praise on commentary commentary to Penta’s emotional family at ringside to Jackie Redmond referring to him as one of the company’s biggest free agent signings helped make this an outstanding debut.
Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor in a Street Fight: I went into the show feeling completely over this feud and rather uninterested in the match, but this turned out to be a blast. The Falcon Arrow from the a balcony onto a couple of tables was perfectly executed in terms of how they hit the table. It may seem strange for a babyface to attack someone while they are strapped onto a stretcher, but it worked like a charm here and the live crowd ate it up. Both men worked hard and had a great brawl. This was the perfect way to end the feud, so hopefully this was the blowoff match.
CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and Drew McIntyre: The build to the men’s Royal Rumble match is off to a great start, thanks in part to this segment. There are still a lot of entrants to be named, but it already feels like a loaded Rumble based on the big name early entrants. Punk opening the show in a celebratory mood felt right after his win over Rollins last week. Having his top two rivals since his return to WWE both enter the Rumble on the same night creates some interesting storytelling possibilities within the match.
Lyra Valkyiria vs. Dakota Kai to become the first Women’s Intercontinental Champion: The only thing I didn’t care for was the outcome. I have simply been more invested in Kai’s story than in watching Valkyria struggle to connect as a character. While only time will tell whether the title win will help Valkyria win over the fans, she is very good in the ring and that was on display here. They could have used a bit more time, but Valkyria and Kai put together one of the best matches of the two secondary women’s title tournaments.
Nia Jax, Rhea Ripley, and Bayley: It started as a championship celebration promo from Ripley, but the segment ended up being more about Jax and Bayley. Jax had a ton of heat, and it was fun to see Bayley step up in her hometown to confront her longtime rival. Although Bayley and Ripley got along, Bayley eyed up the WWE Women’s Championship after Jax was cleared from the ring. It’s hard to say whether that’s going somewhere or if Bayley will simply return to Smackdown.
Sami Zayn vs. The Miz: A soft Hit for a brief showcase win with Zayn. On a side note, Rollins tearing into Zayn about helping Roman Reigns and then asking if he would help Reigns or himself going forward was nicely done.
Leonard: Leonard!
WWE Raw Misses
Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser: A minor Miss for a match that left me with mixed feelings. The ring work was not the problem. Rather, it’s that Sheamus beating Kaiser repeatedly has turned this into a lopsided feud. Kaiser really got a credibility boost by being so competitive with Sheamus when their feud started, but these repeated losses have wiped some of that away.
<< I’m typically in favor of featuring debuting wrestlers in enhancement matches, but this was certainly an exception.<<
LOL. I'm shocked you think this is an exception (which means of COURSE you consider this an exception).
Has a heel won a match yet in the Netflix era of Raw?
Generally, WWE is missing a “big bad” – they have heels (some very good ones, like Drew and KO) but right now, what heel is a true threat?
A miss for Dakotavs.Lyra not being the main event.