By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
The Bloodline, Solo Sikoa, and LA Knight: A strong segment with everyone involved playing their parts really well. Roman Reigns was the narcissistic leader, while the Usos were obnoxiously giddy about being able to deliver Solo to their Tribal Chief. Jacob Fatu did a great job of showing his anger over Reigns presenting the Usos with black ula falas (Fatu’s issues seem to be primarily with Jey Uso, as he was cordial to Jimmy Uso when the three of them met up backstage). LA Knight looked good for trying to save his new friend despite the numbers being stacked against them. It was interesting that Fatu stood in the corner and watched as Solo and Knight beat up Reigns and the Usos. I’m sure the explanation will be that Reigns ordered him to stay in the corner and not get physical, but the lack of concern or frustration on Fatu’s face told the story. Seeing is believing, but here’s hoping that this segment cements Reigns and the Usos as true heels rather than the tweener characters they have been playing.
Oba Femi, Bron Breakker, and Paul Heyman: It was quite the surprise when the first Oba vs. Breakker match was officially announced for Sunday Night’s Main Event, joining the Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton rematch from WrestleMania 42. Saturday Night’s Main Event has felt like a B-show ever since it became exclusive to Peacock. The question now is whether Sunday Night’s Main Event’s A-show matches will have B-show finishes. I’m not expecting a clean finish to Oba vs. Breakker, but hopefully it will still generate more excitement heading into future rematches. It was interesting that Heyman shut down the idea of Breakker and Oba having an impromptu match. The logic that it made more business sense to hold off and promote the match properly was perfect. But the fact that it was preceded by Oba’s entrance music saving Heyman from having to tell Breakker who he sees as the future of WWE shows that they want fans to at least consider the possibility that Oba and Heyman are in cahoots. I can’t imagine that being the plan, as it would be insane to turn Oba when he’s the hottest babyface on the planet, and there’s no guarantee that Breakker would be anywhere near as over if he became the babyface in this feud. Regardless of the direction or the match finish, the first Oba vs. Breakker match makes Sunday Night’s Main Event feel like a must-see show.
Chad Gable vs. Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental Title: A great television match with suspenseful near falls. They really managed to sell the live crowd on the possibility of Rey winning. What’s even more impressive is that as hot as the fans were for Rey, they never turned on Gable. It’s crazy that Rey can work at such a high level at age 51, especially after undergoing so many knee surgeries. He’s truly one of the all-time greats, and I hope that he gets a sendoff worthy of someone of his legendary status when the time comes. On a side note, I loved the camera shot of Buffalo Bills’ offensive tackle Dion Dawkins getting caught up in the emotion of Rey seemingly being on the verge of winning. Forget about Dawkins’ status as an NFL player. It’s just fun to see any fan be so invested in a match, particularly when we’ve seen so many phony reactions from fans who want to get on camera, ever since Undertaker Guy was legitimately shocked by the end of Undertaker’s unbeaten streak at WrestleMania.
Sol Ruca vs. Lyra Valkyria: That’s back-to-back quality television matches for Ruca, who also looked good in a tag team match last week. Working with the smooth Valkyria helps, but hopefully Ruca is starting to settle in while regaining the confidence she had in NXT. Valkyria is all in on her new gimmick, but the creative forces don’t seem very excited about it since this was the first Raw match she’s had since June.
Dragon Lee vs. El Hijo de Dr. Wagner in a first-round tournament match for a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship: The better of the two tournament matches. The brief videos that precede the matches are better than nothing, but they left a lot to be desired in terms of introducing the luchadores to the Raw audience. The opening round of the tournament was nothing special, but things will get a lot more interesting now that we’re down to the final four.
The Judgment Day, Stephanie Vaquer, and Becky Lynch: A solid segment that continued the build to a likely Triple Threat match with Liv Morgan defending the Women’s World Championship against Vaquer and Lynch. I’m still disappointed that Lynch hasn’t explained her abrupt shift from working as a heel to playing The Man babyface character.
Rey Fenix vs. El Fiscal in a first-round tournament match for a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship: A soft Hit for a solid match. There was no doubt regarding who would win since the vast majority of WWE fans were unfamiliar with El Fiscal. Plus, it seems like there’s a strong chance that Fenix will face his brother Penta in the tournament final. While I’m anxious to see the Lucha Bros work another match against one another, I actually won’t complain if they have Dragon Lee beat Fenix next week. Lee is great and would surely have a great match with Penta. Also, the company hasn’t done much to establish the relationship between Penta and Fenix. It’s been acknowledged that they are brothers, but that’s it, so perhaps they would be better off waiting until creative puts that work in.
Je’Von Evans vs. JD McDonagh: A soft Hit for a quality match with no mystery regarding the outcome. McDonagh is so good in the ring that it’s a shame he’s not booked to win more often. It’s not that I expect him to get an aggressive push, but it would make his matches more interesting if he felt like a bigger threat to win. The post-match angle with Big Cass attacking Evans was more of the same, although Evans showed heart by asking Cass if the initial beatdown was all he had.
WWE Raw Misses
None: A no-nonsense show with some interesting storyline developments, quality in-ring action, clean finishes in every match, and no campy comedy segments. The tournament gave stakes to two matches that needed them. There was a lot to like about this episode and some of the matches it set up. More of this, please.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time since 1997. He hosts the 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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