{"id":169926,"date":"2023-11-30T13:14:07","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T19:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=169926"},"modified":"2023-11-30T13:14:07","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T19:14:07","slug":"wwe-raw-hits-misses-11-27-cm-punks-return-promo-randy-ortons-return-bronson-vs-ivar-gunther-miz-exchange-nia-jax-vs-zoey-stark-cody-nakamura-angle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2023\/11\/30\/wwe-raw-hits-misses-11-27-cm-punks-return-promo-randy-ortons-return-bronson-vs-ivar-gunther-miz-exchange-nia-jax-vs-zoey-stark-cody-nakamura-angle\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE RAW HITS &#038; MISSES (11\/27): CM Punk&#8217;s return promo, Randy Orton&#8217;s return, Bronson vs. Ivar, Gunther-Miz exchange, Nia Jax vs. Zoey Stark, Cody-Nakamura angle"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1051882120\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><b>Opening Segment &#8211; HIT:<\/b> Assuming that his back is fine and he won\u2019t do further long-term damage by returning to the ring, it was good to see Randy Orton return at Survivor Series. It made sense to start off Raw with him and hold CM Punk back for the end of the show. Orton was good here, showing a sincerity with the fans that we haven\u2019t always seen with him. They clearly want to keep him a babyface after his very fun run in that role teaming with Matt Riddle before his injury. I liked how he talked about having unfinished business with The Bloodline (does that include Jey Uso? We got that answer later in the show, but in the moment it was an intriguing thought) but Rhea Ripley\u2019s interruption pivoted him to The Judgment Day for the time being. There is some definite potential with him working against Judgment Day while still wanting revenge on the Bloodline down the line.<\/p>\n<p><b>Tag Team Turmoil &#8211; MISS:<\/b> I am not a fan of gauntlet matches in general. This match took up 27 commercial free minutes of Raw. Some of it was certainly good, especially the final segment. But, there was more negative than good for sure. Having such short segments hurts the wrestlers who lose so quickly. That was the case for Otis &amp; Tozawa losing a 4 minute match to start off. Indus Sher just returned and they are jobbing out in 2 minutes? They have potential, but they were defined down as total losers here. The Creed Brothers vs. DIY was good and at least DIY had been wrestling for 7 or 8 minutes already, so they don\u2019t look bad for losing at that point. There was certainly good wrestling action with the Creeds going up against DIY, New Day and Imperium. And I get that they want to continue to tell the story of Imperium upsetting Gunther. But again, they look bad for losing to the Creeds who had already had two matches. That\u2019s the problem with these types of matches. This doesn\u2019t make the Raw tag division look strong.<\/p>\n<p><b>Cody &#8211; Shinsuke &#8211; HIT:<\/b> We\u2019ve been wondering who Shinsuke Nakamura has been referencing in his strong promos lately, and we got the answer here that he\u2019s going after Cody Rhodes. This is a good feud for Rhodes to be in to bridge the gap between now and The Royal Rumble. Having him declare himself for the Rumble this early made sense. He was good in his role as was Nakamura. I\u2019m not sure about having Nakamura use the mist. WWE doesn\u2019t need two wrestlers doing the mist gimmick at the same time. Otherwise, I liked what they did here to kick off this program.<\/p>\n<p><b>Reed vs. Ivar &#8211; MISS:<\/b> The action in this match was perfectly fine, but the presentation is lacking. I am not interested in a heel vs. heel fight. If you are going to do it, at least give the fans a reason to pick one. I think WWE expects the fans to just cheer for Bronson Reed over Ivar in this case, but they seemed quiet to me. I get not wanting to have a winner, so the double count out made some sense, but it is still lame. They clearly want the fans to want to see more of it in a rematch down the line, but you have to do more to invest them in the feud.<\/p>\n<p><b>Stark vs. Jax &#8211; MISS:<\/b> I don\u2019t understand jobbing out Zoey Stark right after she lost to Rhea Ripley at the PLE. Having a good, strong showing against a dominant World Champion like Ripley can help boost Stark. She needs a character reset to clearly paint her as a babyface which I think WWE wants her to be. But, Ripley is a popular heel so she wasn\u2019t going to get a strong reaction against her. Clearly Nia Jax is a heel, so the matchup made sense. But, Stark lost. So any momentum that she might have picked up at Survivor Series is gone.<\/p>\n<p><b>Gunther &#8211; Miz &#8211; MISS:<\/b> I was not enthused about The Miz going after Gunther and the Intercontinental Championship at Survivor Series. The match was ok, but not particularly good, and far below what we are used to seeing from Gunther\u2019s Title defenses. I was hoping we would see Gunther pivot immediately to a new challenger, so I was disappointed when they had their backstage encounter. Now, Miz doesn\u2019t have a rematch yet, but clearly WWE was planting the seeds for it. It is ok to have a one and done Title feud.<\/p>\n<p><b>Rollins &#8211; McIntyre &#8211; HIT:<\/b> WWE should not be going right to a Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk feud. It was good how Rollins acknowledged the Punk chants given his viral reaction to Punk\u2019s return on Saturday, without dwelling on him. Drew McIntyre continues to do great work in this role. He still is playing a reasonable character. He was acting more like a babyface in taking blame for his loss to Rollins at Crown Jewel. He had understandable anger at Jey Uso being named as Rollins\u2019 challenger for the World Championship next week. This segment set up that Title match as well as starting the ball rolling on what would happen between McIntyre and Sami Zayn later to set up their match for next week. That\u2019s two pretty good matches to look forward to. Plus, another Rollins vs. McIntyre match is on the horizon.<\/p>\n<p><b>Orton vs. Dominik &#8211; HIT:<\/b> This was pretty much exactly what it needed to be. We want to see Orton doing his greatest hits, giving Michael Cole multiple opportunities to say \u201cVintage Orton\u201d if he wanted to. Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh played their parts perfectly, taking bumps for the Viper. Obviously, Dominik isn\u2019t hurt by a loss to Orton. McDonagh running around with a neck brace won\u2019t be as good as Roddy Strong, but it has potential.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3000308314\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><b>Punk\u2019s Promo &#8211; HIT:<\/b> I have seen a lot of criticism for C.M. Punk\u2019s first promo back in WWE in 10 years. I\u2019m not sure what people were expecting. He has moved on. Why would he, or more importantly WWE want to, bury AEW? He came and made a strong mission statement. He is the Best in the World. He has been gone for 10 years and, during that time, several wrestlers have made a claim to being the best. But now that he\u2019s back, he is going to prove that he was the best all along. I get if you were let down when he didn\u2019t talk about AEW, but I really think that was an unreasonable expectation. I was much more into this Punk than the one who debuted in AEW with an \u201caw, shucks, I\u2019m just happy to be back, I don\u2019t even know if I can still wrestle any more\u201d type attitude. At least he came across as an alpha who will prove himself, as opposed to a beta who was hoping to prove himself. Plus, it is too early to establish his first storyline. So this worked for me, even if it wasn\u2019t the most memorable moment of the year.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><i>Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com&#8217;s WWE Raw Hits &amp; Misses Specialist, providing his point of view for Raw each week. Email him at jmezz_torch@yahoo.com.<\/i><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED NEXT: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2023\/11\/27\/wwe-raw-results-11-27-pomaress-alt-perspective-report-on-return-of-cm-punk-randy-ortons-promo-cody-addressing-wargames-win-more\/\">WWE Raw Results (11\/27): Pomares\u2019s alt-perspective report on return of CM Punk, Randy Orton\u2019s promo, Cody addressing WarGames win, more<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/prowrestling.net\/site\/2023\/11\/28\/powells-wwe-raw-hit-list-cm-punks-return-promo-randy-orton-vs-dominik-mysterio-seth-rollins-and-drew-mcintyre-cody-rhodes-and-shinsuke-nakamura-bronson-reed-vs-ivar\/\">Powell\u2019s WWE Raw Hit List: CM Punk\u2019s return promo, Randy Orton vs. Dominik Mysterio, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes and Shinsuke Nakamura, Bronson Reed vs. Ivar<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2966772488\"><div id=\"pwtor-3888620716\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Opening Segment &#8211; HIT: Assuming that his back is fine and he won\u2019t do further long-term damage by returning to the ring, it was good to see Randy Orton return at Survivor Series. It made <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2023\/11\/30\/wwe-raw-hits-misses-11-27-cm-punks-return-promo-randy-ortons-return-bronson-vs-ivar-gunther-miz-exchange-nia-jax-vs-zoey-stark-cody-nakamura-angle\/\" title=\"WWE RAW HITS &#038; MISSES (11\/27): CM Punk&#8217;s return promo, Randy Orton&#8217;s return, Bronson vs. Ivar, Gunther-Miz exchange, Nia Jax vs. Zoey Stark, Cody-Nakamura angle\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":169927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,28,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists_hitsandmisses","category-specialists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2023\/11\/Screenshot-2023-11-30-at-1.12.42\u202fPM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169926"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169928,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169926\/revisions\/169928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}