By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, and Paul Heyman turn on Seth Rollins: While it’s unfortunate that Rollins suffered a shoulder injury during his match with Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel Perth, this is an exciting development that we all knew was coming sooner or later. Barring an unexpected twist, Breakker is now a leader, not a follower. So, rather than be told that Breakker will eventually become a main event player, we can now watch it play out sooner than expected. And while a long term injury would suck for Seth, the silver lining is that he should have a hot babyface return with obvious foes once he’s healthy.
CM Punk vs. Jey Uso vs. LA Knight to become No. 1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship: It was an odd call to wait until just minutes into the show to announce this match rather than promote it ahead of time, but perhaps that’s the result of changes that needed to be made due to the Rollins’ injury. If Seth’s injury is severe enough that he has relinquish the title, does Punk becoming No. 1 contender mean he has a spot in the match that will determine the new champion?
Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi Sane: Ripley went over in her home country, but Sane looked good in defeat by getting more offense than expected. Ripley is a made woman who won’t be hurt by giving the smaller Sane a good portion of the match. This was a start, but Sane still needs a significant in-ring credibility boost to avoid feeling like the weak link in her and Asuka’s feud with Ripley and Iyo Sky.
Dominik Mysterio vs. Penta for the Intercontinental Title: Dom’s popularity continues to grow despite his heel status. The fans booed when Penta avoided the 619, but the fans didn’t turn on Penta while supporting the heel. The fans still liked Penta, they just liked Dom more. While I’m not a fan of finishes that require referees to look like morons, the fans love seeing Dom find clever ways to cheat without getting caught.
Bronson Reed vs. Jimmy Uso: The match was laid out in a way that played into Reed’s monster heel status, while also giving Jimmy an out for nursing a rib injury. The drama between Jimmy, Jey Uso, and Roman Reigns continues to be entertaining. Will these characters be able to coexist if the rumors are true that they will be on the same side in a WarGames match at Survivor Series?
Bayley and Lyra Valkyria vs. Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez: A soft Hit. Bayley’s personality disorder storyline continues to be compelling. The match was solid, but it seems odd to have Perez take a loss before she faces Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer in a non-title match.
WWE Raw Misses
None: A quality show without filler from start to finish. It wasn’t a red-hot episode, but there wasn’t much to dislike. Raw capped off a good weekend of WWE shows. The Australian fans were great. The Aussies were lively and fun without being obnoxious. Selfishly, the bright and early start times may not have been easy for this night owl, but it sure was nice to have a few evenings free.
(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.)
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