SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Penta & Evans – MISS: I am a fan of both Penta and Je’Von Evans. I enjoy watching them as an occasional tag team. I’m not as big a fan of them as the Tag Team Champions. I’d like to see an actual tag team division built around actual tag teams, not singles stars joining together. I am glad that WWE got the Tag Team Championship off of The Vision, but going to another put together team is a disappointment. Historically, it is bad enough when one singles wrestler can easily beat up an established tag team. It seemed even worse when Bron Breakker attacked and destroyed these new Champs at the end of the opening segment. The celebration that preceded that was fine, but this didn’t do much for the new Champs. Later they each joined opposite teams for the Survivor Series USA vs. Mexico match. They aren’t teasing dissension which is good, but they aren’t going into a Title program for them either which is disappointing.
Femi vs. Breakker – MISS: It was good to see Oba Femi in a longer, competitive match. It is a reminder that he is capable of having good matches beyond squashes, or the fast, short, yet competitive matches like the ones he’s had against Brock Lesnar. Unfortunately, WWE once again gave us a match between Femi and Breakker without a satisfying finish. It is rinse and repeat at this point.
Cass vs. Gable vs. Fenix – HIT: The previous segment which set up this match was fine, but the match itself was pretty good. Rey Fenix got the win over Big Cass and Chad Gable to earn an Intercontinental Title match against Ethan Page. Cass played his part well as the big guy hitting big moves on the two smaller guys, while Fenix and Gable created a lot of movement with their exciting style. WWE played nicely into Gable’s ongoing neck injury. I’m curious where they go with that. Fenix was the right guy to win as he already has a victory over Page, so fans have something to buy into with him as the challenger. It should also be a very good match.
Royce Keys – HIT: After that match, 946 attacked and destroyed all three of wrestlers which points to the danger they bring to Raw. They looked strong and menacing. Royce Keys then sat and cut a short, but strong promo, challenging Roman Reigns to meet him in the ring later in the show, one-on-one. His performance was strong, especially the way he ended it with the challenge for Reigns to acknowledge him. This provided a nice hook for the rest of the show.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Raw: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
Rhodes/Mysterio/Other Mysterio/Punk – MISS: I did get a kick out of the captains of both Team Mexico and Team USA turning Dominik Mysterio down on his offer to join their team. Having both Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes deny Dirty Dom was fun. But, this segment went on far too long just for some jokes at Dom’s expense, and to announce that CM Punk was joining team USA. As a long time fan, I appreciate WWE having a traditional Survivor Series elimination tag match in addition to War Games, but I don’t care about the Team USA vs. Team Mexico concept. So far, both teams are made up of wrestlers who like each other, so there isn’t any tension. We’ll see who else gets added, but for now, it feels like the friendliest of friendlies.
Perez & Rodriguez vs. Sky & Lynch – HIT: This was a pretty good tag match with Becky Lynch working well as Iyo Sky’s surprise partner against the Judgment Day duo of Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez. This worked to continue to build Sky as the top challenger for Rodriguez’s IC Title (the match was later made official for next week’s Raw), and for another Lynch vs. Liv Morgan World Title match (later made official for Survivor Series). But, will the match actually end up happening without the rest of Judgment Day getting involved (or a returning Stephanie Vaquer)? I seriously doubt it.
Bloodline vs. 946 – HIT: I still have reservations about these two factions. Solo Sikoa hasn’t explained why he went from hell bent on never returning to the Bloodline, to rejoining them. It seemed at first that he wasn’t part of the group, but would work with them to fight a common enemy. Now he is part of the group again. What does LA Knight think about that? The two new members of 946 still haven’t had a chance to talk to explain why they joined Keys’s group. I do appreciate that we have one clear babyface faction against one clear heel faction. The return of Jacob Fatu worked well to even the sides. The brawl that happened was strong. The final announcement of War Games was predictable, but got them where they needed to go.
(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.)
