By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
The Judgment Day: It was a big night for the heel faction. Liv Morgan had a great Raw return following her long injury layoff. Morgan’s uneasy relationship with Finn Balor and Roxanne Perez made for good television, and her character’s ongoing romance with Dominik Mysterio continues to be highly entertaining. Morgan made her interest in the Women’s World Championship known, and she seemingly endorsed the idea of Perez and Raquel Rodriguez going after the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. It looked like the Judgment Day characters were all on the same page, but their history suggests that it won’t stay that way for long.
Gunther vs. Solo Sikoa in a The Last Time Is Now tournament semifinal match: This was a pleasant surprise. Gunther went over as expected, but the match was booked to be much more competitive than I anticipated. Solo took the loss, but the way he went back and forth with Gunther made him come off like the badass character he played during his early days with The Bloodline. It would be nice to see more of this from Solo as opposed to him being the guy who loses as much as he wins, and typically needs help from his MFT sidekicks when he does win.
Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky vs. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss: This was a strong enough main event that the match landed in the Hit section despite the lousy no-contest finish. The WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles were made to feel important by having these teams have such a competitive match while trying to earn a title shot, and the post-match angle showcased most of the teams that are chasing the titles. I’m actually surprised we didn’t see Nia Jax and Lash Legend make an appearance, especially given that Asuka accidentally sprayed mist in Legend’s eyes during the women’s WarGames match.
Jey Uso vs. LA Knight in a The Last Time Is Now tournament semifinal match: This struck me as the most surprising outcome of the tournament thus far. It looked like they were building to another Jey vs. Gunther match in the finals, so I was legitimately surprised when Knight went over. No complaints, as it’s a big win for Knight, and losing the match caused Jey to have a post-match meltdown that left his character in an interesting place.
AJ Styles and Dragon Lee vs. “New Day” Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods for the World Tag Team Titles: The match wasn’t as competitive as I anticipated. Rather, it was more of a showcase for Styles and Lee, who looked great, especially when hitting that impressive spot at the end where Lee’s double stomp caused Kingston to bounce off the top rope into the Styles Clash. It’s refreshing to see the tag titles defended more often. I’ll never understand why the talented duo of Finn Balor and JD McDonagh won the titles twice and went months without defending them both times.
Bron Breakker promo: A soft Hit for the longest promo that Breakker has delivered since joining the main roster. Breakker showed something on NXT television when he was featured as a more down-to-earth character during segments filmed on a fishing boat. I liked those promos more than most people, as they showed that Breakker has range and can do more than put his own spin on his uncle’s promo style. It’s not the time for him to be a babyface, but I hope we see Breakker evolve from playing a rage-filled hothead into being a more calculated heel.
WWE Raw Misses
Flat follow-up on the mystery attacker at Survivor Series WarGames: This was the only mild disappointment of the show. The mystery man didn’t appear, nor were there much in the way of storyline developments or hints regarding his identity. It did lead to the absolute worst segment of the night, as Adam Pearce asked referee Eddie Orengo to be discreet while surveying the locker room in an attempt to learn whether Seth Rollins was the mystery man. Viewers were asked to turn their brains off to avoid asking the obvious question of why Pearce would make this request while he and Orengo were on camera. The lack of storyline progression regarding the mystery man left me wondering if this is something they intend to stretch into the new year. While it’s no secret that Austin Theory played the role at Survivor Series, it could be a swerve that plays on the reports that Theory was going to join The Vision before Rollins got hurt. Although my best guess remains that Theory will eventually be revealed as the attacker, it’s worth mentioning that stretching things out until the new year would open the door the for the attacker to be revealed as Chris Jericho, whose AEW contract reportedly expires at the end of the month. And if this does go into the new year, my guard will be up for the reveal to occur during the CM Punk vs. Bron Breakker match for the World Heavyweight Championship on the January 5 Raw.
(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.)
Jericho would still be climbing that cage. =)
Just have Jericho come back as a “surprise” entrant at the Rumble and then do his list bit.What would the feud be between him and Punk be who’s the bigger star to leave AEW?
Gunther beats Cena and gets the rub on SNME. Then Brock comes out to bust Cena’s tomato one final time, and Gunther saves Cena, becoming a face with the catchphrase “You can’t G me.” That’s a wrap.