By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw Hits
Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu: More good than bad. I wasn’t a fan of Reigns being so narcissistic that his biggest concern was Fatu acknowledging him. There’s a fine line between showing athletic arrogance that fans can embrace and just being hopelessly egomaniacal. And then there were the Usos having a conversation they didn’t want Reigns to hear as they chatted on live television. On the bright side, Fatu looked like a badass while plowing through the Usos and then leaving Roman lying, which added to the need for a rematch. I’m not crazy about the idea of Reigns and the Usos reliving the glory days of the Bloodline, but perhaps Fatu will end up with some allies to even the odds. More than anything, I hope Fatu will be pushed as a strong heel. Drop the crowd-pleasing catchphrases and go all out for heat. The current dynamic between Fatu and Reigns makes it too easy for fans to side with Fatu. Sure, some fans will cheer heels, but the creative team shouldn’t just throw their hands up and let the fans decide. If they eliminate Fatu’s redeeming qualities, I think they’d be pleasantly surprised by how many fans would go along with the direction.
Iyo Sky vs. Sol Ruca: A Hit for being a fun first-time match, but I’m still not sure why it took place. It was one thing to have Ruca lose to a cheating Liv Morgan recently, but I don’t understand why the creative team felt the need to have her lose to a fellow babyface. I’m not saying that Ruca should have beaten Sky. I’m simply questioning what was accomplished by having her take this clean loss. So while the match was fun in the moment, it seems to me that Ruca would have benefited more from beating an undercard wrestler while establishing her Sol Snatcher finisher. On the bright side, the match was enjoyable, and Sky referring to Ruca as “the future” was a nice endorsement. The backstage segment with Asuka saying goodbye to Sky felt temporary. It better be, because Asuka deserves a better sendoff.
“The Vision” Bron Breakker, Logan Paul, and Austin Theory vs. Joe Hendry and “The Street Profits” Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins: The opening match featured good in-ring action, and an angle involving Seth Rollins, who took care of Breakker, which allowed Dawkins to pin Theory. The post-match angle with Rollins avoiding Breakker’s spear, only to put Dawkins in the line of fire, was a nice way to add to the friction between Rollins and the Street Profits. I like Ford and Dawkins, but it’s time to shake up the act. Switching to black gear and dropping the Solo cup entrance wasn’t enough. Forget the cosmetic changes. It’s time to get beyond the surface level with these characters. Ford’s mic work hasn’t evolved since the NXT days (I can’t believe he’s still using the tired “we want the smoke” catchphrase), and Dawkins comes off like he’s just along for the ride. Who are these guys, and what makes them tick?
Je’Von Evans vs. Rusev: A minor Hit for a decent match and a decent win for Evans. Beating Rusev should mean more than it does. He’s only had back-to-back wins on Raw twice since he returned to the company just over a year ago. While I’ve given up hope for the company rebuilding Rusev to the level he was at when he had the awesome tank entrance at WrestleMania (things actually started going downhill when he lost to John Cena that day), I don’t understand why he’s not kept strong enough so that beating him actually matters. Meanwhile, I liked the youthful exuberance that Evans showed in NXT. I hoped the character would mature once he arrived on the main roster, but he’s quickly becoming the new “he just loves to have fun” guy. He’s too special to be wasted in that role. Je’Von’s natural enthusiasm is contagious. It’s best just to let it happen rather than put him in situations where he has to fake it.
WWE Raw Misses
Oba Femi vs. Angel and Berto in a handicap match: The idea of having Adam Pearce announce that no one took Femi up on his open challenge made most of the locker room look bad. Worse yet, Oba looked like a meathead when he stormed backstage and beat up Angel and Berto for no reason, and then dragged them to the ring and forced them to take part in a lopsided handicap match. I suspect the internal belief is that fans just want to watch Oba destroy people, so it doesn’t matter how they get there. Sure, that is the mentality of some fans, but it would have been easy to make this palatable for fans who desire some semblance of logic. Angel and Berto politely approached Adam Pearce about getting an opportunity. Had they said or done something heelish, it could have helped justify Oba’s attack and made it feel like the heels got their comeuppance.
Dominik Mysterio vs. Original El Grade Americano for the AAA Mega Championship: A minor Miss for the first AAA Mega Championship match on Raw. It was a good touch to run the video package on the history of the championship, and to give the champion and the challenger some promo time. But any chance they had of making the AAA Mega Championship feel prestigious was thrown out in favor of having the same distractions and outside interference that too many WWE title matches include. It’s great that Ludwig Kaiser is over in Mexico, but this mask vs. mask match can’t come soon enough. The repetitive gag isn’t worth tying up six wrestlers in one program.
(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.)
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