Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: CM Punk promo, Damian Priest vs. Dominik Mysterio, Gunther and Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and JD McDonagh vs. New Day for the World Tag Titles, Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair

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

WWE Raw Hits

CM Punk promo: Punk found the right dark tone heading into his Hell in a Cell match with Drew McIntyre. Punk has been pretty laid back and even happy during a lot of his promos, so it stood out in a big way when he took such a serious approach. In fact, this was my favorite Punk promo since he returned to WWE. Bad booking has cheapened HIAC matches over the years, but it seems like the company is out to restore the meaning of the match. Punk promised blood and it definitely feels like this will be the blowoff match that Hell in a Cell matches should be.

Gunther and Sami Zayn: The slow build to Gunther agreeing to the defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Zayn is building anticipation. This is a much better approach than having Gunther immediately agree to the match followed by the usual back and forth promos. Ludwig Kaiser’s involvement in the build was well done. While Kaiser may still be the setup guy for Gunther, he continues to stand out as a wrestler with big upside potential.

Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair: It was refreshing to see a television match involving two former champions conclude with a clean pin. One can only assume this is step one in setting up Sky and Kairi Sane as the next challengers for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Damian Priest vs. Dominik Mysterio: A good television main event with the popular Priest beating the man that WWE fans love to hate. The post match angle with Judgment Day getting their heat back by attacking Priest and Rhea Ripley was logical, albeit a little repetitive.

Bron Breakker and Jey Uso: WWE has done a nice job of setting up this match by teasing it from the moment that Uso was named one of the entrants in the tournament to determine the No. 1 contender. I’m surprised this match didn’t make the cut for the Bad Blood premium live event. That said, it’s also encouraging to see that WWE isn’t throwing in the towel when they face a pair of Monday Night Football games next week.

Finn Balor and JD McDonagh vs. “New Day” Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods for the World Tag Titles: It’s been surprising to hear wrestlers and broadcast team members mention that Balor and McDonagh had not defended their titles since winning them back on June 24. WWE typically ignores those long gaps between title matches. This match was fine. The more interesting development was Woods throwing a tantrum after losing and being upset with Kingston for not letting him know that he recruited The LWO to watch their backs. My guess remains that Big E eventually shows up and gets his guys back on the same page just in time for the tenth anniversary of New Day in late November.

Joe Tessitore: The new play-by-play voice is settling in nicely. Hopefully Tessitore continues to improve with more reps, but he and Wade Barrett are off to a good start together.

WWE Raw Misses

Sheamus vs. Pete Dunne: An enjoyable match until the weak finish. Is it really asking too much that pro wrestling evolve to the point that the referees develop the ability to walk backwards? Seriously, why do not have to act like incompetent buffoons who turn their back to the wrestlers while clearing any illegal object from the ring? These finishes are beyond lazy and sadly occur in every major pro wrestling company.

Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman: This was a really good brawl until the closing moments when Strowman put Reed through the oddly placed drywall that didn’t even line up with the actual wall. AEW did something similar when Chris Jericho drove Samoa Joe on a forklift through some drywall, and the Raw segment looked every bit as cheesy. Most pro wrestlers work hard to help fans suspend their disbelief. The wrestlers should be able to trust that the company will design sets that don’t ruin their hard work by taking viewers out of the moment.

Natalya vs. Zoey Stark: Natalya returned to join the Pure Fusion Collective random match of the week club. The outcomes rarely feel like they matter because no one gains anything from trading wins and losses.