WWE RAW HITS & MISSES (8/18): The Vision is still not feeling fresh with Seth’s stale act and tired ECW references, Naomi’s big announcement, Penta vs. Xavier, Natalya as Becky’s IC Title challenger, more

Opening Segment – MISS: The Vision should be a chance for Seth Rollins to change his stale character. Instead, WWE is still using his old music which shouldn’t be used by a heel. He still plays the same basic character which isn’t really a character, as much as a man who dresses funny. Now he has a manager and two lackeys. Also, this is maybe the most controversial thing I’ve ever written, but I am over ECW. It went out of business over 24 years ago. Paul Heyman’s references of past ECW stars did nothing for me. Yes, the line about Tommy Dreamer still being alive was amusing. Yes, I am a fan of the Tribal Thief Bronson Reed (honestly, I find him to be by far the most interesting member of The Vision). Yes, this set up the big extreme rules main event which at least meant we couldn’t get a disqualification, but it also meant that there were going to be legal run-ins instead of the typical illegal ones.

Sky vs. Rodriguez – HIT: This was a good match of Iyo Sky vs. Raquel Rodriguez. Sky did a good job of fending off the attempted cheating by Roxanne Perez in Rodriguez’s corner. It was nice to see a clean finish with Sky getting the win. The post-match angle with Rhea Ripley saving Sky from the two-on-one beating worked well.

Sky-Asuka – MISS: The story here was fine, but the acting and the presentation of that story left a lot to be desired. As I mentioned above, Ripley came out to save Sky instead of her friends from the former Damage CTRL. She had told Asuka and Kairi Sane not to help her, because she wanted to do it alone. Asuka was upset afterwards that Sky didn’t want their help, but she was happy to have Ripley’s. This caused a further rift with the four women arguing. The problem was how annoying they all came across, particularly Sky when she sort of went crazy yelling at everyone. It was very cringe worthy.

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Penta vs. Woods – HIT: This was a good match which isn’t surprising. With Kofi Kingston and Big G Grayson Waller at ringside, it was a little surprising that Penta was able to get the win, but that isn’t a complaint. This was similar to the first match with Penta fending off New Day like how Sky fended off Perez. Will New Day ultimately get the better of Penta, leading to him having to find some help?

Lynch vs. Natalya – MISS: This was another Intercontinental Title defense for Becky Lynch against an opponent who hasn’t been presented as a legit Title contender. With all due respect to Natalya, she has barely been featured on WWE tv, and hasn’t been seen as a winning wrestler in a very long time. This also just felt like filler to get to the Nicki Bella (who also isn’t a worthy challenger) save afterwards. Lynch and Natalya were fine in their performances, but they certainly are capable of a much better match.

Naomi – HIT: I hated how Stephanie McMahon was part of this reveal. The bit before the commercial with the start of the clip with Naomi and Jimmy Uso on Stephanie’s podcast totally gave away the fact that she was pregnant. Why not just let her make the announcement herself? I am giving it a Hit for Naomi’s in-ring performance staying heel as she kicked Adam Pearce out of the ring, and taunted the other women in the division. I’m obviously hoping for the best for her pregnancy. It will be interring to see who gets the Title next. Stephanie Vaquer is the clear choice unless they just have to replace one heel with another. On a side note, I am more often annoyed by the wrestling fans in the arenas than not, but I did get a kick out of the reaction and chants from this crowd like “you deserve it” and “baby Uso.” Good stuff.

Jey Uso vs. Breakker – HIT: Jey Uso and Bron Breakker performed well in the structure of a WWE extreme rules match. That bump that Breakker took over the top rope onto the shopping cart full of weapons was sick. That will be remembered for a long time. As mentioned above, you knew that Reed, Rollins, L.A. Knight and C.M. Punk would get involved, but Roman Reigns’ appearance was a nice surprise. I am looking forward to his match at the next PLE against Reed. All of the run ins worked well and fit in with the match style and storyline. Given that Uso is one of the three challengers for Rollins’ World Championship, he had to get the win here. So, this was overall a fun and strong ending to the show.

(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 BlueSky @jonmezzera.bsky.social.)