By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
Cody Rhodes and John Cena: Cena’s first heel promo packed a punch because it was so out of the norm coming from the longtime babyface hero. The second week was entertaining yet repetitive with Cena sticking with his theme of heeling on the fans again. The key things missing from the first two weeks were Cena having issues with Cody specifically, and some explanation of where The Rock fits in. This week’s installment addressed the need to make things feel personal between Cody and Cena. The references to Vince McMahon and Tony Khan were clever and received some gasps from the live crowd. The segment finally included the first mention of The Rock since these verbal exchanges started, but they simply went with a name drop. Nevertheless, this was a spirited promo exchange that left me more excited about the headline match of WrestleMania 41. Cena was left lying in this segment, so one can only assume that he will return the favor soon.
World Heavyweight Champion Gunther vs. Jimmy Uso in a non-title match: An excellent angle to fire up a feud that felt like it was placed in neutral simply because there was so much time between Jey’s Royal Rumble win and his WrestleMania title match. Gunther’s big heat night was so much better than the crisis of confidence story that had been the focus of the build.
Logan Paul and AJ Styles: A solid segment that set up Styles with a fairly high profile match at WrestleMania while also giving Paul a veteran who should be able to get the best out of him in the ring. Speaking of veterans, on a side note, I hope creative has a quality spot on the card for Rey Mysterio. There’s no telling how many more WrestleMania events he will be work now that he’s 50 and has so much milage on his body.
“New Day” Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. “New Catch Republic” Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate: It was a nice touch to save Bate’s return for the London show. The match was entertaining and obviously the right team went over, as everything points to New Day challenging the War Raiders for the World Tag Team Titles.
WWE Raw Misses
Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship with Bianca Belair as special referee: It’s tough to watch this overbooked mess of a storyline between Sky, Ripley, and Belair when the company could have kept things simple by going with the Ripley vs. Belair dream match. I get that there’s pressure to find spots for people on the WrestleMania card, but it shouldn’t be done at the expense of what makes the best show. Fans rightfully expect WrestleMania to feature singles showdown matches, not overstuffed Triple Threat matches that require a title change close to WrestleMania to justify the need for having three wrestlers involved.
Bron Breakker and Penta vs. Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio: The match was fine, but it’s hard not to feel underwhelmed by the apparent direction for Intercontinental Champion Breakker at WrestleMania. On the bright side, it feels like they are inching closer to a split between Balor and Dom. Judgment Day has been flat since the departures of Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley. Here’s hoping they find a way to either add some juice to the faction or let the players move on from it.
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