By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
Jaida Parker joins The 946: The show built nicely to the final angle involving the Bloodline and the 946. It started with Jacob Fatu and the Usos rushing backstage when the arrival of an SUV was shown on the big screen, only to find out that Parker was inside rather than Royce Keys, Bronco Nima, and Lucien Price. It seemed like it could have simply been a quick swerve and didn’t give away the big show-closing angle of Parker hitting Jacob Fatu with a car. You definitely have to turn your brain off to believe that a group of wrestlers can set a car on fire, abduct another wrestler, and attempt vehicular homicide without facing any punishment from the company, let alone criminal charges. But when a big stunt is entertaining enough, most wrestling fans will go along for the ride. In this case, Parker running down Fatu with a car and revealing herself to be a part of the 946 faction was well received. For some fans, it reminded them of the big stunts in the Attitude Era. For older fans, it brought back memories of Eddie Gilbert running down Jerry Lawler in Memphis. I enjoyed the angle, but it does seem a bit odd to have Parker drive the car because it’s not like she can have a blood feud with Fatu. But through the ups and downs of this story, the thing I appreciate is that they appear to be telling a story to set up the men’s WarGames match rather than just throwing a couple of teams together a few weeks before the show.
Lola Vice vs. Roxanne Perez: A good match that was surprisingly devoid of any outside interference despite involving a Judgment Day wrestler. Rather, Raquel Rodriguez’s attack on Vice was saved until after the match, which brought out Sol Ruca and ultimately set up a tag team match for next week’s Raw.
Dragon Lee vs. Big Cass: Everything seemed to point to WWE building up Cass as a monster heel to eventually feed to Oba Femi. Rather, he’s taken clean losses to Lee and Je’Von Evans in recent weeks. This was a good match and a nice win for Lee. It seems like the creative forces are more invested in Lee lately, but there needs to be more to his character than being friends with Rey Mysterio and AJ Styles.
Oba Femi and Bronson Reed: A soft Hit for a laid-back contract signing with both men playing it cool rather than yelling and fighting. It seemed like the live crowd would have preferred the yelling and fighting, as they went from being red hot during Oba’s entrance to showing less enthusiasm when he exited. The fans picked up on Oba’s line about advice he received from “a wise man.” Interestingly, Cody Rhodes has been working in his own Paul Heyman references on SmackDown lately. It will be interesting to see how the Oba vs. Reed match at MITB is booked. Reed hasn’t had a televised match since he returned from an injury layoff, but he looks new and improved thanks to his significant weight loss. Oba won’t lose clean, and I don’t think Reed should be fed to Oba right away, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of Vision interference.
Iyo Sky vs. Lyra Valkyria: A soft Hit. This was well on its way to being a full Hit and possibly the match of the night, but the distraction finish with Bayley standing on the broadcast table made for a disappointing ending. It’s a shame because Sky and Valkyria worked really well together, and it was nice to see them get fourteen minutes. The Valkyria and Bayley feud has been cold enough so far that I’m surprised the company is sticking with it.
WWE Raw Misses
Penta and Je’Von Evans vs. Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh: A hot tag team match until the latest dreadful Joe Hendry and McDonagh Funko Pop head distraction finish. I really enjoyed Hendry’s rise to the top of TNA, but I now dread seeing him pop up on WWE television because of the way he is booked. Worse yet, they keep telling the same joke with the McDonagh Funko Pop bit even though it wasn’t funny to begin with. It’s a shame that two good, long matches had poor finishes, as there was a lot to like about this show otherwise.
(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 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.)
