SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Opening Segment – MISS: There were parts of the opening segment that worked, but overall it was a Miss. A big part of the problem was the performance on the mic from Bobby Lashley. He has always been hit or miss on the mic, but lately he’s been far more hit than miss. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case here. He was bad and he talked a lot which brought the segment down. But, he wasn’t the only problem. These types of segments highlight the overly scripted nature of WWE’s promos. Some of them were good, but watching these guys stand around and talk about each other in this way doesn’t work well. I did get a kick out of Brock Lesnar’s interaction with Austin Theory. But, that wasn’t enough.
Kevin Owens – MISS: I feel that Kevin Owens is far too good for this role. Yes, there is a good possibility that this will result in a WrestleMania moment with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Whether that ends up being a return match (I doubt it), or just some type of fight and a stunner or two remains to be seen. But, in the meantime, I don’t look forward to several weeks of Owens making fun of Texans. That local cheap heat is beneath him and shouldn’t be the basis for an entire feud. I do look forward to seeing an eventual back and forth verbal encounter between him and Austin, but I am one of those rare wrestling fans with zero desire to see old retired wrestlers in matches. I don’t want to see Austin wrestle again.
Styles vs. Priest – MISS: I was disappointed by this United States Championship match between Damian Priest and AJ Styles. I don’t mind the fact that Priest didn’t snap here. His eventual heel turn can be a longer storyline of sometimes controlling his anger like he did in this match, before eventually totally snapping on a top babyface to turn heel. Having a clean win for him was good, but Styles shouldn’t be losing to anyone in 5 minutes, especially going into the Elimination Chamber on Saturday. The wrestling action here was perfectly fine, like the cool way Priest got the leverage pin victory. I wish it had happened in a much longer match under other circumstances.
Lita – Lynch – HIT: Once again, Lita and Becky Lynch gave one of the best moments on Raw. I really got a kick out of Becky’s gimmick pretending to be losing sleep all week over worrying about destroying her childhood hero Lita. Lita was never this good on the mic during her prime run in WWE. It seems like she’s going to be around for more than just this match which is cool and should give some fans hope that she will actually win at the PLE. It won’t happen, but the build to that Women’s Title match has been very good.
Gauntlet – HIT: There are pros and cons to this type of match. One pro here is that Rhea Ripley came across like a big star and a major force to be reckoned with in the women’s EC match on Saturday. Another pro is that we got to see a very good stretch of wrestling in the final segment of the gauntlet with Ripley vs. Bianca Bel Air. That alone went 15 minutes and felt like a good singles match. Overall, the wrestling was good throughout 44 minutes which is another pro. The con here is that Doudrop who has been well positioned lately looked weak for losing to Ripley after Ripley had already been in two matches. Liv Morgan looked weak. Bel Air looked good, but not as good as she would have if she hadn’t defeated someone who had been wrestling for nearly 30 minutes at that point. I also expected the final entrant to be a surprise entrant to beat Bel Air at that point. That would have been a good heel move and Bel Air doesn’t need to be the final entrant in the EC. I am assuming she is going to win, so having her enter last doesn’t do a lot for her. So, I had some issues with the gauntlet, but the pros definitely outweighed the cons.
Mysterios vs. Alpha Academy – HIT: This was a good match between two good teams. The Miz’s obnoxiousness on guest commentary hurt the match. I know he is a heel, but for me he has change the channel heat. The idea that Chad Gable would cheat to win after his long pre-match anti-cheating promo was classic heel booking 101. Alpha Academy had to win to keep the Tag Champs strong going into their eventual Title defense against RK-Bro. This continued the set up for Miz vs. Rey Mysterio. But how will their story continue past EC? What is the plan for the Mysterios at WrestleMania?
Bliss’ Therapy – MISS: I was mostly just left confused in the end by Alexa Bliss’ final session with her therapist. It seemed like he was trying to convince her to leave behind Lilly all along, but in the end he said it was important for her to remember to have Lilly by her side. It didn’t seem to make sense. Maybe we find out that the therapist was some evil agent trying to bring her sadistic side out, but that side seemed to be there in the beginning, so why cure her of it just to plant the seeds of bringing it back? I don’t know what’s going on. I am worried about the character being the same failed character that it was before she took time off. I’m not excited about her being the final entrant in the women’s EC match either.
Orton vs. Rollins – HIT: It is not surprising that Seth Rollins and Randy Orton would have a good match in the main event. These are two very good workers who have nice chemistry together in the ring. Rollins needed the win heading into the EC where he is at least a solid bet to win (I still fear that Lesnar wins, but Lashley is also likely). You would think that Orton would also need a win as he and Riddle are the #1 contenders for the Tag Titles. The shenanigans with Alpha Academy getting involved provided Orton an excuse for the loss. It wasn’t a great match given the outside interference, but it was still a good WWE style main event.
Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com’s WWE Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw and Smackdown each week. Email him at jmezz_torch@yahoo.com.
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