SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
With this week’s Raw being billed as John Cena’s final appearance in Boston, it was no surprise that he opened the show. Introduced by Triple H, Cena came out to a thunderous ovation. However, in the middle of his promo, he was interrupted by Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio. As Dominik talked down to Cena, Cena responded by telling him he was invincible and would lose if he attempted to pick a fight with him. This exchange led to an impromptu match being made between them for Dominik’s Intercontinental Title.
As that is the one title that Cena has never won, winning this match would make him a Grand Slam Champion before he retires next month. In addition to that, we had C.M. Punk looking to get revenge on Logan Paul, Stephanie Vaquer defending her Women’s World Title against Raquel Rodriguez, and Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss defending their Women’s Tag Team Titles against Asuka & Kairi Sane in the show’s main event.
John Cena vs. Dominik Mysterio
Latest developments:
As this week’s Raw was billed as John Cena’s final appearance in his hometown of Boston, he was introduced by Triple H to open the show. During his promo, Cena was interrupted by Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio. After Dominik threatened to put Cena down if he spoke out of turn, Cena told him to choose his words carefully and that he would lose if he chose to pick a fight with him. Dominik said he’s better now than Cena ever was in his prime and would’ve whooped his ass during any time in any era. Triple H then intervened and made a match official between the two of them for the title to take place right then and there.
At one point in the match, Dominik pulled a chair in the ring and tried to throw it in Cena’s hands as he fell down, but Cena fell down at the same time and winked at him. Dominik later brought the title into the ring and attempted to hit Cena with it while the referee was down, but Cena ducked and hit him with an AA. Despite another referee running to the ring to make the count, Dominik kicked out at the last second. Dominik then hit a 619 and a Frog Splash, but Cena rolled out of the pin attempt as he picked up Dominik for another AA to win the match and the Intercontinental Title for the first time.
Analysis:
After being cheered by the audience in recent months despite being a heel, this was the first time in months that Dominik was heavily booed like one. While it seemed like we weren’t getting this match at Survivor Series after Dominik had a confrontation with his father Rey last week, we surprisingly got the match here. In addition to that, we got a title change with Cena winning the IC Title for the first time ever. While some may argue that it’s a title he doesn’t need when he’s so close to retiring, it still made for a good moment. Considering that they were in Boston this week, it was better that they did this match here with the title change as opposed to doing it at Survivor Series.
From the segment before the match, the match itself, and the ending when Cena rolled out of the Frog Splash to hit the AA, everything here delivered and was the best part of the whole show. Cena winning the IC Title and becoming a Grand Slam Champion made for another great highlight for the second half of his retirement run. With only three dates left until he’s officially done, the chances of him retiring with that title are slim. Althing he could end up losing it to whomever wins the tournament to face him in his last match, there’s a strong possibility that he could end up losing right back to Dominik as early as next week when Raw comes to MSG. With Dominik still having the momentum that he does and another feud with his dad on the horizon, that scenario would make the most sense in order to give him his heat back.
Grade: A
C. M. Punk vs. Logan Paul
Latest developments:
Last week, World Heavyweight Champion C.M. Punk had his championship celebration interrupted by Logan Paul. Immediately after, Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed came out to confront them before Paul left Punk to fend for himself. After Paul was shoved down by Breakker as he was about to leave, he came back into the ring to help Punk before he was overpowered and hit with a Tsunami by Reed. Later in the night, Paul came out to stand side by side with Punk against Breakker & Reed. As it looked like they were going to fight together, Paul knocked Punk out with brsss knuckles and he then handed them to Paul Heyman.
Punk came to the ring this week to call out Paul for what he did. Paul came out, but he was joined by Breakker, Reed, & Heyman. Punk called them all to the ring to fight him as Jey Uso suddenly appeared in the ring to back Punk up. Before Breakker, Reed, & Paul entered the ring to attack them, WWE Champion Cody Rhodes came out to fight along with Punk & Jey as a brawl ensued between all six men. Cody hit Breakker with a chair that Punk then used on Reed, and Cody along with Jey then double clotheslined him out of the ring. Later backstage, it was made official by Adam Pearce and William Regal with a brief cameo that both teams will face each other in WarGames at Survivor Series.
Analysis:
From how the show ended last week, it was clear that this was going to be the direction for WarGames. The one surprise to come out of this though was Cody being added to Punk’s team. Considering that he’s involved in this storyline now, it looks like his feud with Drew McIntyre is on ice for the time being. While the brawl between all six men here was fine, the highlight of all this was William Regal shouting out the words “WarGames” backstage to make the match official. While we now know for sure that the match is happening, both teams still need to add more members.
With Raw set to take place in MSG next week, it’s inevitable that we see some big names appear there that will be added to this match. Those big names are likely to be Brock Lesnar added to Heyman’s team and Roman Reigns added to Punk’s team. Having them involved in addition to who already is involved will make this perhaps the most star-studded WarGames match we’ve ever seen. Although this match won’t be the same without Seth Rollins, the potential confrontations we’ll get to see in this match that we haven’t seen in years will more than make up for his absence. As good of a job as what happened here did in setting up for WarGames, the next two weeks is where we’re likely to see things really heat up.
Grade: B
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Latest developments:
Two weeks ago, Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer came to the rescue of Nikki Bella as she was being attacked by Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez. Vaquer and Raquel had a brief stare down before Nikki stood by Vaquer’s side and Raquel walked away. Last week, Vaquer & Nikki teamed up to face Raquel & Perez in a match where Raquel slammed Vaquer face first on the apron after blocking her Devil’s Kiss attempt. Raquel then hit Nikki with a right hand through the second rope, and Perez capitalized on this with the Pop Rocks for the win. Later in the night, it was announced that Vaquer would defend her title against Raquel this week.
Vaquer went for the Devil’s Kiss in the early stages of the match, but Raquel picked her up on her shoulders and slammed her face into the turnbuckle. Raquel later blocked a double running knee attempt and turned it into a Powerbomb for a near fall. After Raquel missed a second rope Corkscrew Splash, Vaquer trapped her into the Devil’s Kiss and followed that with a Corkscrew Moonsault from the top rope to retain her title. Perez attacked Vaquer after the match before Nikki came to her rescue and Vaquer kicked Perez out of the ring. As Vaquer turned around towards Nikki, Nikki hit her in the face with the title and raised it up as she stood over her.
Analysis:
With how overly friendly Nikki has been with Vaquer combined with her recent losing streak, anyone could’ve seen this turn from her coming from a mile away. Even though it was expected, it didn’t make the way it played out any less effective. This was definitely the best route to go as Nikki has always made a better heel than a babyface. After what happened here, this is likely leading to both women facing each other for the title at Survivor Series. As Nikki literally just turned, it’s likely that this feud is going to extend beyond that.
As the match between Vaquer and Raquel was solid, all of it was an afterthought to what happened with Nikki after. This is all serving as another example of Raquel & Perez being pushed to the side in favor of another angle. It happened when they lost the titles to Charlotte & Alexa Bliss over the summer, it happened a few weeks ago when they were feuding with Bayley & Lyra Valkyria, and it’s now happening again in this scenario. With how much Raquel has improved this year and how great Perez has been in just a short time of being on the main roster, it feels like they both deserve better. With Liv Morgan set to return soon and WrestleMania season on the horizon, hopefully things will start to improve for them by then.
Grade: B
Charlotte & Alexa Bliss vs Asuka & Kairi Sane
Latest developments:
Two weeks ago, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss successfully defended the Women’s Tag Team Championship against Bayley & Lyra Valkyria. Immediately after the match, the champions were attacked by Asuka & Kairi Sane. Last week after Asuka & Kairi defeated Bayley & Lyra, it was announced that they would challenge Charlotte & Alexa for the titles this week. Last Friday on Smackdown during a match between Charlotte and Nia Jax, Lash Legend attacked Alexa outside the ring and that led to Nia picking up the win over Charlotte. Later backstage as Charlotte & Alexa were receiving medical attention, the doctors checking on them turned out to be Asuka & Kairi in disguise as Asuka sprayed the two of them in the face with the mist.
In the show’s main event, Kairi attempted to hit Charlotte with the Insane Elbow as she had Asuka in the Figure Eight, but Alexa caught her and hit her with the Sister Abigail DDT. As the referee was distracted, Nia & Lash suddenly appeared and pulled Charlotte off of Asuka. After Kairi threw Alexa over the announce table, she hit Charlotte with the Insane Elbow as Asuka held her up to win them the titles. After the match, the new champions along with Nia & Lash attacked Charlotte & Alexa until a returning Iyo Sky followed by Rhea Ripley came to their rescue. After she hit Kairi with a Razor’s Edge over the top rope onto Asuka, Nia & Lash, Rhea shouted out the words “WarGames” on the mic as the show went off the air.
Analysis:
With the heat Asuka & Kairi have built up in recent weeks, having them win the titles here was the right move. As great as Charlotte & Alexa have been as the champions, this title change is a hard one to get mad at. In addition to the title change, we got some big returns in Rhea & Iyo as well as the Women’s WarGames match being made official. Funny enough, this is the second year in a row where Rhea is going into it having to wear a mask due to injury. While maybe Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez would’ve also made a good fit for the heel team as opposed to Nia & Lash, it’s understandable why they’ve been included as they’re the new powerhouse team.
For how critical many people were of last year’s Women’s WarGames match, this year’s is already looking like a stronger one. While the lineup seems to be set on paper, there’s a strong chance that one more person will likely be added to each team. With Raw set to take place in MSG next week, we could likely see Becky Lynch added to the heel team and a returning AJ Lee added to the babyface team. As both teams don’t have a set captain and both women still have unfinished business, it would only make sense to add them to this match. Much like the one involving the men, the story for the Women’s WarGames match is only going to heat up more within the next two weeks.
Grade: B+
Rusev vs. Damien Priest
Latest developments:
In the first match of the tournament to decide who will face John Cena in his last match, Cena’s old rival Rusev went one on one with Damien Priest. As Priest went to the top rope for Old School, Rusev pulled him down and hit him with a Fallaway Slam. Rusev maintained the advantage until Priest picked him up and dropped him face first onto the mat. Priest later went for the South of Heaven, but Rusev escaped and poked him in the eyes. Rusev then followed that with the Machka Kick to get the win and advance.
Analysis:
This match was decent, but underwhelming compared to how good it looked on paper. Compared to the position Priest was in about a year and a half ago when he was World Champion, it’s disappointing to see the position he’s in now. From his recent feud with Aleister Black to this loss here, it doesn’t feel like he has much direction right now. On the flip side, this was a win that Rusev needed in order to rebound from his recent losses to Dominik Mysterio. How far he goes in the tournament remains to be seen, but this at least gave him a win to help him start building some momentum again.
Sheamus vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Latest developments:
In another first round match in the tournament to decide who will face John Cena in his last match, Sheamus went one on one with Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura escaped a Ten Beats of Bodhran attempt and hit Sheamus with several kicks to the face followed by a knee from the second rope to the back of the head. Sheamus later succeeded with his second attempt at the Ten Beats of Bodhram, but Nakamura hit him with a Sling Blade as Sheamus went for a Brogue Kick. Sheamus quickly recovered as he hit Nakamura with a hard knee as he jumped from the second rope, but Nakamura put his hand on the rope to interrupt the count. Despite getting hit with a hard kick to the face, Sheamus immediately bounced off the ropes and hit a Brogue Kick onto Nakamura to get the win and advance in the tournament.
Analysis:
This was a fun and very hard-hitting match between these two. Funny enough, this was one of the few times they’ve actually had a singles match against each other, and one that really showed us what we’ve been missing out on. Sheamus getting the win here was the right move as he has more juice right now and the potential to put on more bangers as the tournament progresses. Despite his history with Cena which includes defeating him for the WWE Title twice, Sheamus likely won’t be the one who ends up being Cena’s last opponent. With Gunther set to make his return next week for his match in the tournament and considering he’s never faced Cena before, it feels like all roads are leading to him wining the whole thing.
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