By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
Oba Femi, Brock Lesnar, and Paul Heyman: I would not have predicted that Lesnar wouldn’t get the better of Oba during any of their segments in the month-long build to their WrestleMania match. Rather, the company made Oba look dominant at every turn, and this turned out to be the best build of any match on the card. As much as I’m looking forward to the match, I’m equally anxious to see what’s next for Oba post WrestleMania.
CM Punk and Roman Reigns: While it made for interesting television to have Punk and Reigns go from tearing each other down to offering some level of respect, I can’t say that it made me more excited about their match. I suspect this got over more with longtime fans who appreciate seeing such a unique approach in a go-home segment. I wonder how it was perceived by more casual viewers, who seem more likely to buy into a traditional go-home segment that makes it seem like two wrestlers can’t wait to beat the hell out of each other once they finally meet in the ring. All of that said, it’s hard to imagine that anyone who has watched their previous exchanges wasn’t already sold on the match.
Stephanie Vaquer and Liv Morgan: WWE went overboard with the pull-apart brawls in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, but this one was effective. Morgan got a measure of revenge for Vaquer shoving her into Roxanne Perez last week by shoving Vaquer into Cathy Kelley. After seeing the goose egg on Morgan’s forehead from colliding with Perez, I hope Kelley requested hazard pay before agreeing to take part in this angle. There was nothing complicated about this go-home angle, but it still increased my level of interest in their Women’s World Championship match.
Kairi Sane vs. Iyo Sky: The only compelling match on a talk-heavy Raw. They worked in brief appearances by Jade Cargill and Rhea Ripley, and Sane picked up a rare singles win thanks to Asuka interfering. Barring a last-minute change, it’s a shame that the company couldn’t find room for Sky vs. Asuka on the WrestleMania card. Asuka has done it all for WWE for over a decade, and Sky is one of the company’s best and most popular female wrestlers. They deserved to have their showdown match play out on the big stage.
Seth Rollins and Gunther: A soft Hit for doing their best to increase the intensity going into a match that felt thrown together out of nowhere. Both wrestlers deserved better, but injuries derailed the original plans for them at WrestleMania. They are both terrific workers, so hopefully they can pull the live crowd in despite the flimsy storyline foundation of their makeshift feud and put on a hell of a match on Saturday.
WWE Raw Misses
Dominik Mysterio and Finn Balor: There are three years of history between Dom and Balor in the Judgment Day faction, yet the storyline build consisted of a Balor promo video and Dom complaining to his allies and Adam Pearce about the match. Fans love to hate Dom. So why has he been such an afterthought in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania? And while I get that it’s WrestleMania, it feels premature for Balor to bring back The Demon persona for his first match with Dom. Ideally, they would have had a hot feud before Balor capped it off by bringing back his alter ego.
Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, and LA Knight vs. Solo Sikoa, Tonga Loa, and JC Mateo: A minor Miss for a match that focused more on the losing team that doesn’t have a match on the WrestleMania card. The storyline friction between Solo and Tama Tonga is mildly interesting, but it was odd to bring that story to Raw during WrestleMania go-home week. The IShowSpeed training video concluded with the YouTube star looking confident rather than fearful for a change. I hope that ends quickly once one of his opponents punches him or performs a move on him. It would be silly if he were suddenly a confident and competent wrestler who could hold his own with the stars after one training session.
Lyra Valkyria vs. Charlotte Flair: A minor Miss. The match was fine. The Miss is more about the boring build to the four-way match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania. More than anything, I’m anxious for them to get through the match so that most of the wrestlers involved can move on to do something new. Flair is at the top of that list. She could win the tag team titles if the creative team wants to milk her friendship with Alexa Bliss a while longer, but it feels like it’s time to reestablish Flair as a singles wrestler. By the way, you know a build was bad when the company dedicated so much time to it on both shows, yet I couldn’t care less which team wins on Saturday.
J’Von Evans and Dragon Lee vs. Rusev and JD McDonagh: The match was solid. The problem was the apathy that an otherwise hot crowd showed for Rusev destroying everyone, including Rey Mysterio and Penta, afterward. The creative team hasn’t showcased Rusev in a meaningful way since his feud with Shemaus ended. They really should have dedicated more time to rebuilding Rusev rather than hoping that one beatdown segment would be enough to make fans care about him again. In fact, the build to the ladder match has been weak. The four babyface characters have expressed excitement about working together, and no one in the match has shown much interest in actually winning the Intercontinental Title.
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(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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