By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman: They did a terrific job of making the Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes match about more than the giant title belt and ring that fans don’t care about. Rollins has shown that he is obsessed with beating Cody Rhodes, and not just because Cody has won their last three matches. The exchange between Rollins and Heyman told the story of everything Rollins stands to lose if he fails to beat Cody. Heyman’s statement that Rollins would become “nothing more than a de facto wannabe, secondary champion” points strongly to Rollins going over, as it’s hard to imagine that WWE wants to frame their World Heavyweight Champion in such a way, even if fans already see the title as secondary to the WWE Championship.
Roman Reigns and Bronson Reed: Reigns, Reed, and Paul Heyman did a fine job of setting the table for the Australian Street Fight at Crown Jewel. A babyface getting the better of a brawl on the go-home show often leads to the heel winning the match that follows, but the usual rules don’t always apply to a top draw like Reigns. There’s no way Reed will go over clean. It’s not a prediction, and it’s certainly not a spoiler, but even a cheap win with help from Bron Breakker would give Reed a nice boost while also creating the need for a blowoff match.
CM Punk and LA Knight vs. Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso: The story of Knight stealing the pin from Punk made for a clever finish. It seemed like Knight’s character would have plausible deniability because Punk was weary and leaning against the ropes when Knight tagged himself in and immediately covered Jey for the win. But the shit-eating grin that Knight directed at Punk told the story that it was more about stealing the pin than doing right by their team. The latest drama involving the Usos and Roman Reigns is compelling. Despite being arguably the most popular babyface in the company, Reigns comes off like the devil on Jey’s shoulder to Jimmy’s angel.
Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch vs. Maxxine Dupri in a non-title match: I can’t think of anyone in pro wrestling who is doing more than Lynch when it comes to attempting to elevate younger wrestlers. Lynch did her best with Lyra Valkyria, and now she carried Dupri to her best match. Dupri still had some rough moments, but the way they pulled the fans in and made them believe that Dupri might win by pinfall was impressive. The match went a bit longer than necessary, but I liked the finish of a cocky Lynch getting herself counted out after arguing with the referee. It’s only Tuesday, but this feels like a slam dunk to be the most pleasantly surprising match of the week.
Iyo Sky vs. Kairi Sane: Sane performing an Alabama Slam that resulted in Sky’s head hitting the edge of the apron was frightening. Putting that aside, they told a good story with Asuka strong-arming Sane into fighting Sky, and then helping her win the match. Asuka is great in her heel role, and Sane is doing her best character work expressing the conflict of not wanting to fight Sky, yet ultimately doing what she must to please Asuka.
Roxanne Perez vs. Lyra Valkyria: A soft Hit for a match that was solid, yet not as good as their previous outing last month. The new Bayley character continues to be fun.
WWE Raw Misses
AJ Styles, Penta, and Dragon Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor, and JD McDonagh: A minor Miss for a match. It wasn’t a bad match, but it felt like a trivial time filler intended to get several wrestlers on the show. Crazy thought. How about actually having Balor and McDonagh defend the World Tag Team Titles for the first time since July? Whenever they defend the titles next, it will be just the second time since they won the belts in June. Meanwhile, I suppose having Styles say that his match with John Cena doesn’t require a story is what you have him say when you couldn’t build the match properly due to not having enough dates with Cena. Finally, Penta accidentally superkicking Rusev screams that Rusev will get involved in Penta’s Intercontinental Title match next week.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
What I like about Roman’s character work is that EVEN THOUGH he’s a babyface, he’s still got that manipulative egotist in there. It’s not as turned up as it is when he’s a heel, but I really like that it didn’t suddenly disappear because he’s a Face (or, rather, that at least now we can see it’s still there).
For some, I understand that touch of gray might “confuse” what makes him a face, and I respect that. For me, I like a little bit of depth to the character, and I also like it when they try, if at all possible, to show those characters as they are, heel or face, with some kind of consistency. (ie: it drives me nuts when a character goes from scowling to smiley-face… or vice-versa: Cena… who we are doesn’t change overnight).
In Roman’s case, I see him internalizing it as “I’m just trying to do right by my family”… trying to use that manipulative part of him for what he currently perceives as good (whether or not he realizes that’s what he’s doing). I really like that. It’s true to being human, I think.
Anyway… that’s just the storyteller in me having fun with it. Carry on.