Powell’s WWE Raw Hit List: While the renewed emphasis on the tag team division is encouraging, the current approach won’t work long term, plus thoughts on the Austin Theory makeover

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

WWE Raw Hits

AJ Styles and Dragon Lee vs. Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso for the World Tag Team Titles: WWE rewarded fans who watched their holiday week shows by giving them a U.S. Title change on Smackdown, and the Usos winning the World Tag Team Titles on Raw. They got it right by doing a little something for viewers of the holiday shows without giving away too much that fans who took a break for the holidays won’t feel too far behind. The closing minutes of this match were top-notch, and one can only hope that the Usos’ win means the tag team titles continue to be a priority on Raw. However, the current approach of simply announcing title matches without taking the time to build up challengers isn’t sustainable. They will burn through their tag teams quickly without getting nearly as much out of the title matches as they could if they put in the work to make the challengers look strong.

Becky Lynch: The backhanded compliments she gave Maxxine Dupri during their verbal exchange were hilarious. Perhaps the only thing more comical was Dupri trying to act tough while telling Lynch that she better choose her next words wisely. Dupri has improved, but it’s hard to buy the quick transition she made from being a nervous rookie to acting like a badass after they aired a couple of training videos. The fans have gone along with it so far, but I could see them rejecting Dupri if she continues to lay it on too thick. Fortunately for her, Lynch’s heel antics have carried these segments, just as Lynch has been carrying Dupri during their matches. It can be said enough that while so many veterans talk a good game about wanting to make new stars, Lynch has actually done her best to elevate Dupri and Lyra Valkyria.

CM Punk and Bron Breakker: Most of this show was dedicated to building up next year’s first anniversary on Netflix edition. Punk and Breakker didn’t break any new ground, but they combined to give an effective final push to next week’s World Heavyweight Championship match.

Gunther vs. R-Truth: A soft Hit for a brief showcase win for Gunther. There hasn’t been any rush to move him into his first program after retiring John Cena. Will that change now that AJ Styles is no longer a tag team champion?

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Nikki Bella vs. Raquel Rodriguez in a Triple Threat for the Women’s World Championship: A soft Hit. The match was nothing special, but the finish was interesting. Rodriguez put Bella down with a Tejana Bomb, and then Vaquer cleared Rodriguez from the ring before pinning Bella. They went with a finish that’s normally used for heels stealing pins and flipped it around with the babyface going over. Was Rodriguez protected because she’s getting a push, or was this simply a way to set her up for a singles match loss to Vaquer?

WWE Raw Misses

Rey Mysterio vs. Austin Theory: The last two weeks of television were focused heavily on Theory. First, he revealed himself to be the mystery masked man, and then last week, he auditioned and ultimately landed a spot in The Vision. He has a new look and a new entrance. Everything was looking up for him until he lost this match by disqualification. It’s not that one DQ loss is going to hurt him long term, but it was strange that the creative forces put the work in to rebuild him, only to have him lose the singles match he’s had since he returned as a new man. Is it a sign that Theory is only getting a mid-card push? On a side note, it was good to see Penta back a little over a month after he suffered a shoulder injury during a match against Dominik Mysterio.

(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.)