By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, and Paul Heyman: The new crew passed the eye test with Breakker and Reed looking intimidating while wearing black suits and shades. Heyman did a nice job of introducing the various members, and his line about Breakker being a WrestleMania main eventer starting at WrestleMania 45 was interesting, given that Rollins calls himself the future of the industry. It would be nice if Rollins shook up his act like Heyman does whenever he starts managing someone new. Sure, Rollins has toned things down when it comes to his non-wrestling attire, but his promos haven’t changed all that much since the faction formed.
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. Sami Zayn in a men’s Money in the Bank ladder match qualifier: There wasn’t a lot of mystery regarding the outcome, but it was the best match of the night, and the right person went over. Here’s hoping the MITB ladder match finish isn’t as simple as Seth’s crew helping him win, because there are no disqualifications in a ladder match.
Rusev vs. Akira Tozawa: Okay, so the match was a total squash. The Hit is for the post-match confrontation that set up what should be a fun Rusev vs. Sheamus match.
World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso and Gunther: A soft Hit for a decent promo exchange. Gunther handled the bulk of the talking. Gunther delivered his lines well, but it feels like he’s running out of new things to say while working with Uso. It’s hard to blame him, given that the extra-long build their WrestleMania match required a lot of promo time.
“New Day” Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. “The War Raiders” Erik and Ivar vs. Julius Creed and Brutus Creed in a Triple Threat for the World Tag Team Titles: A soft Hit. As noted in my live review, the presentation of the match was underwhelming. The tag team title matches should get just as much fanfare as other major title matches on television. In this case, the match was thrown out there in the middle of the show and didn’t even get the in-ring introductions. The ring work was pretty good, and the basic story was fine with New Day and the gullible Creeds working together until Woods rolled out Brutus and pinned him.
Lyra Valkyria and Becky Lynch: A soft Hit for the verbal segment that set up their rematch for Money in the Bank. The stipulations they added didn’t make me more excited about the match, but I assume the creative forces have something in mind.
WWE Raw Misses
Chad Gable vs. Dragon Lee vs. Penta in a men’s Money in the Bank ladder match qualifier: Poor Gable was dropped on his face by Penta, and then busted open with a kick from El Hijo del Vikingo. I guess Gable really does have problems with luchadores.
Liv Morgan vs. Kari Sane: A rough match, perhaps due to ring rust, as this was Sane’s second match back from a long injury layoff, and Morgan’s first match back after missing a few weeks while filming a movie. On a positive note, Morgan being upset with Dom over his dealings with Roxanne Perez while Finn Balor grinned from ear to ear was a riot. And I really like the twist of Perez costing Morgan this match, yet blaming Rodriguez because she’s the veteran of the two.
Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura: I love their work as comedians, but their backstage segment with the War Raiders was corny.
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