Since I’m starting to watch these more consistently, I figure I might as well add my thoughts to these shows when I have the chance. In a few cases, Raw has something that occurs where it provokes my noodle (not THAT noodle) and with my motivation starting to increase lately along with the fact that the Elimination Chamber is this Saturday, I wanted to add my $2 to the pile.
Logan Paul and CM Punk Promo
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I can’t stand Logan Paul but he is one of the actual real heels in wrestling right now. The style he’s trying to go for is like a generic 80s playboy heel and it makes me wonder if someone showed him old WCCW tapes with Gino Hernandez. The problem with the way this guy (and frankly most WWE people) talk is that they take a long time and go in circles before making a point these days. He tries to tell a story to make it seem that whatever he does people care about along with how he’s important. Which brings out CM Punk. CM Punk lays some truth bombs to Logan Paul about just being a generic guy trying to provoke a reaction and not being a generational star. Logan Paul makes a weak attempt at being a heel in using the typical material against CM Punk regarding how Punk crumples under pressure or has a fragile body. It makes me think Punk gave Paul some stick notes on major points to talk about. And while I enjoyed Punk blasting Paul, I honestly have no desire to see these guys go at it.
Quite honestly, I didn’t think all of Punk’s material here was good. He called himself Satan which seems awkward in that city. But Punk is one of the few that can get a real babyface reaction from most crowds. The main points that Punk made about Logan Paul were truth bombs though. But the segment did go on and I mostly was interested in hearing Punk talk. I think Paul did something against Punk but I wasn’t paying attention because I was making myself dinner at the time.
Penta vs. Ludwig Kaiser vs. Pete Dunne
Not really my cup of tea but I am scrutinizing Penta a lot more in the WWE. I’m still not convinced of him being THE luchadore right now but again I haven’t been impressed with lucha libre since Rey Mysterio Jr’s 1996-1997 years in WCW. The big points here to me was watching Penta adapt more to the WWE style, which is a little more theatrical and emphasizes connecting to the crowd. More importantly though Penta is selling here but he still doesn’t sell all that great. But he is trying so I will give him points for trying. Kaiser finally picked up a win by tossing Penta out and rolling up Pete Dunne. Kaiser might make it bigger but I think Penta’s limits are going to be shown quickly and his style will hit a ceiling, even though he’s adapting.
Rhea Ripley Interview
I guess Rhea is facing Io Shirai next week for a title match on Raw. I thought this would’ve been on the Elimination Chamber but I’m guessing it would be filler and they probably will make this title match the main event next week. But it’s only to pad Rhea’s win record since she isn’t on the Elimination Chamber before Wrestlemania with the most overrated joshi on the roster. I’m sorry but Io Shirai is like Penta to me. I’ve only seen one decent match out of her in the WWE but all the hype people have made up over her has done nothing to convince me that she’s that good. The match should be okay to decent but it makes no sense because you already have the Elimination Chamber on Saturday which gives the person an opportunity at Wrestlemania. It’s just….stupid.
Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde (LWO) vs. Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston (new new day)
I started liking the new New Day’s gimmick when they turned heel but the wrestling has been the shits. I think at one point they did a really awkward power bomb on Dragon Lee in the post match beat down that lasted too long and felt awkward. But the LWO are filler and I have no idea what the plans are for the new New Day outside of being rebooted as a tag team. Either way, at least the right team got the win.
Gunther vs. Akira Tozawa
I can’t stand Tozawa (and whatever goofball group he’s in) but Gunther is awesome in everything he does. Like CM Punk, Gunther spoke truthbombs about Tozawa, calling him a clown/goof doing worthless TikTok dance routines with more clowns. More or less this was a squash match with a Barry Horowitz type with Gunther. Gunther gave Tozawa a few hope spots but the match didn’t last long (as it shouldn’t have) and Gunther proves why he’s probably the best wrestler in the WWE at the moment in getting anything (mostly a crowd reaction) from Tozawa who probably is the lowest guy on the totem pole. There was a post match beat down and Otis came in to try to help his bud but got beaten too until Jey Uso made the save.
I’m not an Otis fan but I can see the WWE giving him a match with Gunther before Wrestlemania just to keep Gunther’s winning streak going and having receive more heat. I dread seeing any backstage interactions with Jey Uso and that goof group though. It does position Jey Uso as a perennial babyface but that group is god awful.
Lyra Valkyria vs. Dakota Kai for the Intercontinental Women’s Championship
Poor Dakota Kai. I doubt she’s ever going to get pushed. This match was better than their last one but Valkria is super green and Kai isn’t good and awkward. I don’t hate Dakota Kai but every time I watch her matches I think she’s going to break like a twig because of her past injuries. Valkyria won and they shook with Kai leaving then getting assaulted by Ivy Nyle who later says that she’s going to keep beating on Valkyria until she gets a title. That said Ivy Nyle gave Valkyria a move where I thought Valkyria was the one who face planted Ivy. Ivy reminds me of a less talented and tinier version of Luna Vachon. She’s not intimidating and seems like someone took an ugly board and smashed her in the face.
Sami Zayn Interview
Mostly building to his PPV match with Kevin Owens. While I’ve grown to like Sami Zayn over the past 2-3 years, I can’t stand Kevin Owen’s matches. They’re always terrible street fights that do nothing for me. If Kevin Owens had moved to AEW back when AEW was hot, he would be having a bunch of stupid street fights all the time with Jon Moxley.
Dominick Mysterio (w/Carlito & Finn Balor) vs. Bron Breakker
An okay match marred by tons of outside interference. But I’m guessing that they’re going to slowly turn Bron Breakker babyface. Main thing was seeing Bron Breakker face off with Finn Balor. I honestly don’t think much of Finn Balor but I think putting him against Bron is a great idea because it’s a fresh match and gives Finn something to work with and probably will be a good match since Bron is someone I’m keeping my eye on as a future top star.
Cody Rhodes (and Seth Rollins) Promo
I can’t stand Cody Rhodes anymore. I just can’t. He talks forever in a practiced, lethargic, fake delivery that makes me want to drive off a cliff. Once Cody got his title, he felt more boring than ever. Once in a while he would receive a fantastic opponent like AJ Styles, whom I thought delivered Cody’s best match in a long time. The stuff with Kevin Owens felt like garbage (because it was except it did turn Kevin Owens into a crazed heel to justify all of his shitty street fights) but Cody just can’t work as a top babyface because he’s bland and generic. His main strength is his entrance. Once that’s over, it becomes really apparent how generic this guy is.
Seth comes in and tries to talk up how he’s going to win the Elimination Chamber. For whatever reason he talks about how he wants Cody at his best rather than being a soulless champion. WTF. He already is a soulless champion. Just listen to those barren promos for god’s sake! They’re trying to make sense of this mess of a booking thing where everyone interconnects but it’s just draining because they’re attempting to make the Elimination Chamber winner a mystery. As a result, Cody is in limbo until Wrestlemania and it’s turned all the people in the Elimination Chamber into these half hearted characters because there is no focus. This is why multi man matches stink.
Backstage with Jey Uso and Tozawa
Someone must really like Tozawa but he more or less is like a voiceless Funaki at this stage of his career. Must really enjoy living in the US. Jey gets confronted by Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. Austin Theory’s slow move to becoming a babyface is shown with him doing a YEET and Waller receiving a super kick but not Theory. Poor Theory got pushed down so far the rung that he’s buried in comedy now while Jey Uso is the company’s official Dusty Rhodes in being friends with all the babyfaces. Ick…..
Bianca Belair & Naomi vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez Women’s Tag Team Championship Match
This wasn’t half bad because it kept moving. There were some good tag team moves admittedly from Bianca and Naomi that reminded me of the Hardy’s. They actually built the match enough so that the end got hot. A few decent false finishes. Dominick interfered a few times with Bianca getting taken out eventually on the floor while Raquel got pulled by Naomi then face planted Naomi on the top turnbuckle where she tumbled off so that Liv could pin her and become a 3x world tag team title holder.
A few notes here. I avoided writing about the Judgment Day segment earlier because it wasn’t worth it. But the main thing was Liv and Raquel admitting ON CAMERA that they weren’t involved with Jade’s injury. And of course, because it’s backstage and ON CAMERA, that means it’s true right? Also, there’s been a bunch of social media interviews with Bianca and Naomi “teasing” going heel. My bet is on Bianca just because Naomi sucks but the next big match would be Jade vs Bianca and I think if Jade is coming back by or for Wrestlemania, then her opponent could be Bianca. Naomi going heel won’t do a thing because she adds nothing.
I did think that this situation with the tag team would happen but didn’t realize it would happen this quickly. Now, that the tag titles have moved, they can probably resolve the Jade Cargill mystery assailant which most likely will be Bianca. It sucks because Jade and Bianca didn’t really get enough time as a tag team and I don’t want to see Jade be a singles wrestler right now. With Charlotte back though, I could see down the line Charlotte vs Jade because that is money. With the tag team transferred that also allows for more interesting interactions during the women’s Elimination Chamber match between Bianca and Naomi. I’m willing to bet Jade comes out and accuses Bianca of being the assailant which cost Bianca the match. In turn, I’m utterly convinced that Roxanne Perez is going to be the one facing Rhea Ripley at Wrestlemania. If not then Bianca turning will be a big moment in the women’s match to set her up for a heel run as the top dawg to eventually face Jade.
Finally, I have to admit that I much prefer Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan as a tag team than with Liv as a singles competitor. Liv just isn’t great on her own and Raquel makes up for all of Liv’s weaknesses. Plus, Liv can be the heel bump taker (not great but she’s small and can be tossed around).
Final Thoughts
Raw has been brutal to get through which is why I don’t enjoy reviewing it in a blog post. My goal is to get through quickly and note anything that catches my eye. But it’s a real chore to watch this thing. The commentary is awful as Cole is bland and Pat McAfee is brutally bad. This Raw had a few interesting things that happened here and there so it was worth mentioning. The rest of the show though…oh man. There’s just so much filler to wade through. However, when I watch these things, I usually do it over dinner or when I’m getting tired. If I’m getting tired, these shows don’t exactly wake me up (quite the opposite) so I don’t have the chance to review them fresh which makes the following day write up an equal chore.