Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker in a non-title match, Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi Sane vs. Zoey Stark, and Becky Lynch vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Natalya in MITB qualifiers

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

WWE Raw Hits

World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker in a non-title match: A strong television main event with a really good post-match sequence that added some juice to two Saturday Night’s Main Event matches. There was no reason to expect a clean finish given that Breakker is being pushed as a badass heavy so he couldn’t lose, and yet there was also no reason to put him in line for a title shot when his character is playing second fiddle to Seth Rollins. While the finish to this match was perfectly logical, WWE has gone overboard with cheap finishes to their biggest television main events. It would be nice if they would give away clean finishes to big television matches from time to time, so that it feels less obvious that every big television match is going to have an unsatisfying finish. It was interesting to see Paul Heyman trip Jey at one point during the match. We haven’t seen Heyman get physically involved very often, and it will be interesting to see if he will do it more often with his new faction.

Sheamus vs. Grayson Waller: Theory turning his back and laughing while Sheamus roughed up Waller was a fun payback for Waller doing the same when Sheamus roughed up Theory two weeks earlier. It was cool to see the crowd go from being quiet early in the match to being fully invested by the end. Sheamus can always be counted on to have quality matches that get the crowd going.

Logan Paul and Gunther: I don’t know how many fans left this segment thinking that it will be Paul vs. Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship on June 9, but at least they put the work in to make it seem like there’s a chance it could happen.

Finn Balor and JD McDonagh vs. AJ Styles and Penta: A soft Hit. The match delivered until the weak finish. The one-note joke that is El Grande Americano used his loaded mask while headbutting Penta, which led to the heels getting the win. I hope they either get creative with Americano or blow off the gimmick at Worlds Collide. On a side note, I love Balor introducing Roxanne Perez to the rest of the Judgment Day faction while reminding Dominik Mysterio that he wanted to add more members.

WWE Raw Misses

Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi Sane vs. Zoey Stark in a Money in the Bank ladder match qualifier: The miscommunication that led to Stark suffering a major knee injury is the reason for this match landing in the Miss section. But kudos to Ripley and Sane for the way they were able to change plans on the fly and produce a solid singles match after Stark was injured. Here’s wishing Stark all the best in her recovery.

Roxanne Perez vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natalya in a Money in the Bank ladder match qualifier: A minor Miss. It was a questionable call to book two heels against a babyface who has zero momentum because she loses most of her matches. The wrestlers worked hard and had a Hit-worthy outing from a match quality standpoint, but they still struggled to wake up the live crowd. It continues to feel counterproductive for Lynch to come out to her upbeat entrance music now that she’s a heel (a similar statement can be made about her husband’s choice in music). Perez feels like a legitimate candidate to win the MITB contract, as the creative team could try to make up for the inconsistent introduction they gave her on the main roster.