SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Kabuki Warriors vs. Ripley & Sky – HIT: The first episode of Raw in the New Year got off to a good start with the Tag Team Championship match as Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky defeated the Kabuki Warriors to become the new Tag Team Champions. The match went a good length at 17 minutes and was fun to watch from start to finish. The fans were popping big for all the big spots and the hot tags. They love both Ripley and Sky, which means their team is very popular. Asuka & Kairi Sane have a fun dynamic, and I’m curious to see how that might develop after this loss.
Gunther – Styles – HIT: We’ve seen a match between A.J. Styles and Gunther brewing the last few weeks as Styles has shown visible disgust at the way Gunther has been gloating about making John Cena tap out like a little bitch in his retirement match. It came to a head here as Gunther was complaining about not getting the respect that he deserves only to be interrupted by Styles. I loved how Styles kept trying to talk only to have Gunther interrupt him each time in a bullying manner. Ultimately, Styles had to stand up to that bully with a slap to the face. This all worked well to set up their big match for next week’s Raw. There has been speculation that Gunther would retire Styles who has announced that this will be his final year wrestling, but this is too early for that. So, I’m curious to see what happens and if they try to draw out the feud, or if the match leaves open the door for a rematch down the line for Styles’ final match to help with Gunther’s budding legend retiring gimmick.
Lynch vs. Dupri – MISS: The Intercontinental Championship match was ok, but I’m tired of this matchup. Since I’d rather see Becky Lynch as the IC Champ, I am happy that she won here. But, I am a little fearful that Maxxine Dupri will get a rematch and they’ll have a 17th match (ok, maybe it just feels like that many). Dupri has improved, but I never have bought her as a serious shooter wrestler. Plus, there are far more talented women on the roster and in NXT who should be getting this time despite her improvements.
Stephanie Vaquer – Raquel Rodriguez – HIT: It is good to see Stephanie Vaquer and Raquel Rodriguez continuing their feud over the World Championship without Nicki Bella involved. The way Rodriguez attacked Vaquer multiple times focusing on her already injured ankle was well done, but worries me that she is going to actually be out of action for a long time. Will she have to relinquish the Title? They usually do that, but they don’t seem to be doing so with Dominic Mysterio and the IC Title, so who knows?
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Valkyria vs. Morgan – HIT: This was a pretty good match as Liv Morgan got to return to the ring for the first time since her injury. She looked good. Lyra Valkyria is a good worker, so they were able to put on a nice match. I liked how they got the outside shenanigans out of the way as Roxanne Perez cheated, but was chased off by Bayley. But, that did cause just enough of a distraction for Valkyria so that she didn’t see Morgan coming with the Oblivion for the win.
Punk vs. Breakker – HIT: There was an absolutely scary spot in this main even World Title match when Bron Breakker landed on his head attempting the top rope Frankensteiner. He and CM Punk recovered well, but I didn’t understand why they needed to go back to it a minute later. They should have just cut their losses at that point and moved on. Moving past the botch and the questionable decision to try it again, the rest of the match was very good. I am happy to see Dragon Lee still in a prominent position after losing the Tag Titles last week, as he worked with Rey Mysterio and Penta to neutralize the rest of The Vision who had gotten involved. WWE smartly got all of that out of the way, so that they could get into a clean finishing sequence. Punk using the STF and Breakker expanding his repertoire with the arm bar attempting to get a submission victory was good. Breakker looked very strong despite the loss. I am curious to know where Breakker and The Vision go from here. A big 6 or 8 man tag is clearly set up. Who will challenge Punk next?
(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.)
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