Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins in a cage match, New Day vs. Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee in a tornado match, Jey Uso vs. Grayson Waller

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

WWE Raw Hits

CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins in a steel cage match: A hell of a match. I enjoyed the way that both men could have escaped through the cage door and instead opted to taunt their opponent by telling them to go ahead and take the easy way out by leaving. I really could have done without both men kicking out of so many finishing moves, but I get the idea that their feud is so intense that both wrestlers are more driven than ever. Roman Reigns pulling Rollins out of the cage to attack him and inadvertently giving him the win in the process served as a creative way to avoid having a clean finish. The post match angle with Reigns throwing a jealous fit over Paul Heyman consoling Punk in the ring sets up the rumored Triple Threat match between Reigns, Punk, and Rollins for WrestleMania.

“New Day” Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee in a tornado match: A fun match with Not Chad Gable Under A Lucha Mask interfering to cost Rey and Lee the match. New Day have cooled off a little since they turned on Big E. Perhaps a title feud with the War Raiders would heat them up again.

Logan Paul, AJ Styles, and Andrew Schulz: Paul generated good heat. Schulz did better than a lot of celebrities who take part in wrestling angles by simply playing it straight rather than acting in an over the top manner or by taking the tongue-in-cheek approach. The Paul and Styles program feels like something that was put together to give them something to do at WrestleMania. Hopefully they can do something to make it feel more personal.

Cody Rhodes promo: A soft Hit for a fairly ordinary Cody promo that served as solid hype for next week’s John Cena appearance. I loved Cody’s promo on Smackdown and it was obviously come right back with another strong promo without having any storyline developments in between the two shows. Nevertheless, I’m anxious to see what they have planned for Cena’s first appearance since his heel turn.

Jey Uso vs. Grayson Waller: More of an in the middle for Jey’s win followed by the latest Gunther attack. The build for the Gunther vs. Jey match felt like it peaked before Elimination Chamber. They’ve pulled back a bit with some brief formulaic segments that keeps the feud fresh in the minds of viewers. The big question now is whether they can heat up the program again before WrestleMania.

WWE Raw Misses

Iyo Sky, Bianca Belair, and Rhea Ripley: The bit with Sky being pie-faced by Belair and Ripley only to slap them both was well received by the live crowd. But I am disappointed by the apparent plan to go with a Triple Threat at WrestleMania. I like Sky and I’m sure it will be a fine match, but WrestleMania is the perfect place for the showdown singles match between Belair and Ripley. Rather, we’re apparently getting a soft champion in Sky, who only won the championship because Ripley was distracted by Belair, defending her title against both women. I thought the idea was that Ripley’s character knew something we didn’t about Belair being involved in the attack on Jade Cargill. No. The story is actually that the typically unflappable Ripley was so triggered by Belair casually rooting for Sky while seated at ringside that it caused Ripley to lose focus and her championship. What?!?

Bayley vs. Raquel Rodriguez: A forgettable match. The MSG crowd was vocal for nearly everything else on the show, so it was telling when they sat on their hands for this match.