Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: Thoughts on Austin Theory as the mystery man, Gunther’s gloating, CM Punk’s fiery promo, The Usos vs. New Day

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

WWE Raw Hits

Gunther’s promo: Gunther had massive heat from the moment the first note of his entrance music played. Gunther boasting that he made John Cena tap out “like a little bitch” was tremendous. This is one of those rare television segments that most fans will remember a year from now. I found it interesting that AJ Styles waited for Gunther in the parking lot. Sure, Styles has an on-air friendship with Cena, but it left me wondering if this was meant to foreshadow Gunther being AJ’s final opponent when he retires in 2026.

CM Punk’s promo: This was one of the best promos Punk has delivered since returning to WWE. He came off as angry, edgy, and most importantly, believable. Bron Breakker mocked Punk last week for questioning whether he could deliver a promo good enough to hang with the big boys, and Punk responded by tearing into the intelligence of Breakker, his father, and his uncle. They’ve made it feel just personal enough for fans to question whether Punk and Breakker genuinely dislike each other, which adds a good layer of tension to their promo exchanges and upcoming match.

Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso vs. “New Day” Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods: It’s a shame the rivalry was renewed at a time when Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods haven’t been getting much creative love. Even so, these teams had the best match on the show. That’s not saying much when you look at the other matches on this show, but they had a quality match nonetheless.

Logan Paul vs. Rey Mysterio: A soft Hit for a television main event that was mostly about setting up the reveal of the masked mystery man. In fact, you had to know the moment Rey spotted the brass knuckles on the mat that the masked man was about to hit him with a Stomp. It’s worth mentioning that the dynamic between Logan Paul and the other Vision members changed. It came off like Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed were tolerating Logan as a useful idiot last week. This week, it seemed like Breakker and Reed were more genuine with during their dressing room exchanges with Logan.

Maxxine Dupri vs. Ivy Nile for the Women’s Intercontinental Title: Another soft Hit. While Dupri is far from polished in the ring, she has come a long way. It’s hard to buy her sudden submission prowess after they aired just a couple of training videos, but it’s obvious that all of the talk from the announcers about how hard she has worked isn’t all storyline-based. That said, Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett were a little over the top with their praise of Dupri. They can’t lay it on so thick every week because there’s a risk that fans will sour on Dupri if they feel like she’s being forced on them.

WWE Raw Misses

Austin Theory is the masked mystery man: It was an underwhelming reveal, both for fans who expected it to be Theory, and perhaps even more so for casual fans who had no idea he was under the hood. This was a flop as a big reveal. Theory played a goofy heel when Vince McMahon’s on-air character took a liking to him, and that continued when he teamed with Grayson Waller. That’s the Theory that fans know, so there’s no reason for them to be excited in the moment. But that doesn’t mean this reboot of the Theory character will be a bust. I’m intrigued by the idea of Theory playing a more serious character and potentially being aligned with Paul Heyman, who can carry him on the mic if necessary. And I’m curious to see whether the story will be that Heyman knew Theory was the masked man all along, or perhaps it was Logan Paul who brought Theory into the fold unbeknownst to the other Vision members.

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the Women’s World Championship: A minor Miss for the weak finish of Nikki Bella showing up and attacking both wrestlers. That said, it was logical for Nikki to have issues with both wrestlers. Nikki turned on Vaquer recently, and Rodriguez recently blindsided her and ran her into the ring post. This all seems to be leading to an eventual Triple Threat, perhaps on the January 5 Raw. On a side note, Rodriguez telling the other members of Judgment Day that she wanted to face Vaquer without their help left me wondering if a babyface turn is coming. I hope that’s not the case, because she has struggled during her past babyface stints on the main roster, and she has a good thing going with Judgment Day.

(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.)