WWE RAW HITS & MISSES (8/14): Drew and Riddle as a team, Becky vs. Trish, Nakamura whispers in Seth’s ear, Sami vs. McDonagh, Cody vs. Balor

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Sami Zayn vs. J.D. McDonagh – MISS: After a solid opening segment (not good enough to get a Hit, but not a Miss either), Raw followed up with the match of Sami Zayn vs. J.D. McDonagh which had Hit-worthy wrestling. The problem is that it was a chance to put over McDonagh who needed the win much more than Zayn. Zayn had the elbow injury from last week, which he did a great job of selling throughout the match. So, he had an out. McDonagh hasn’t been presented as a real threat in the ring. WWE is doing a nice job with his current storyline as Finn Balor’s old friend and how that relates to the Judgment Day. So why not give him a win here? It defines him down when he can’t beat an injured opponent even with Balor coming out to distract Zayn too.

Alpha Academy-Imperium – HIT: Gunther did a nice job on the mic at the start of this segment. Then we got a fun interruption by Chad Gable. His following match against Giovani Vinci was good, but short. Gunther vs. Otis was solid, with the very impressive ending as Gunther was able to lift Otis to hit the power bomb. This was overall a good way to build to the Intercontinental Championship match between Gunther and Gable next week as Gunther comes even closer to breaking the Honkey Tonk Man’s record for longest IC Title reign ever.

Matt Riddle and Drew McIntyre as a Team – MISS: It seems that WWE is trying to recreate the magic that they had last year with RKBro. They want this odd couple team with Drew McIntyre taking Randy Orton’s place as Matt Riddle’s new partner. I wonder if this team will end the way that everyone assumed RKBro would, only with a Claymore Kick instead of an RKO. I’m not feeling the team. This is a waste of McIntyre. If it does turn into a heel turn and something more serious and meaningful for McIntyre down the line, then I can revisit this Miss. But, for now this new team does nothing for me.

Nakamura Whispers in Rollins’ Ear – HIT: The segment was okay overall. There wasn’t anything particularly interesting about Michael Cole’s attempt to interview Shinsuke Nakamura after his turn on Seth Rollins last week. Rollins was fine in his interruption to set up a World Title match between these two. It was all basic and perfectly fine, but not particularly good in any way. Then, Nakamura whispered something in Rollins’ ear and everything changed. Rollins was clearly thrown by whatever Nakamura said. It got in his head and allowed Nakamura to kick Rollins from behind again. What did Nakamura say?

Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus – HIT: I had mixed feelings about this match. Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus brought the intensity and physicality that this match needed. There were a few sloppy spots, but overall they covered for them well. The way they used Trish’s face guard was well done. It was a good match leading up to the disappointing double count out finish. We had to wait a few extra weeks for this match instead of having it on SummerSlam. So, the non-finish was even more of a disappointment. The brawl through the crowd was well done over all, although a bit cheesy once it got to the souvenir stand. Having Zoey Stark eventually come to Stratus’ aid made sense, but the fact that she was in a disguise made no sense in that context (or are we supposed to think she was planning on coming to the ring so she had to be disguised just in case?). We will be getting a steel cage match now between them, which has potential. So, I am giving this a Hit, despite some reservations.

Cody Rhodes vs. Finn Balor – HIT: Finn Balor had more chemistry in the ring with Cody Rhodes than he’s had with Seth Rollins in their two somewhat underwhelming recent PLE matches. This was a good main event from a wrestling action stand point. It fit in well with the Judgment Day storyline. Balor and Damian Priest seemed to be finally on the same page earlier in the show. But, Priest accidentally cost Balor here when he slid the Money in the Bank briefcase past Balor to Rhodes who took advantage of the mistake to get the win.

End of the Show – HIT: The post-main event brawl was quite effective. It gave Zayn a chance to shine some when he made the save with a steel chair as Judgment Day was beating up Rhodes. McDonagh then helped turn the tide to ingratiate himself some with the rest of the group. That story was well told throughout the show. Having Judgment Day stand tall without McDonagh in the ring was the right way to go to give them momentum, but not have them totally accepting of Balor’s buddy just yet.

(Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com’s WWE Raw Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw each week. Email him at jmezz_torch@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @JonMezzera.)

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