{"id":196157,"date":"2025-04-15T22:23:23","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T03:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=196157"},"modified":"2025-04-15T22:23:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T03:23:23","slug":"wwe-raw-hits-misses-4-14-heyman-reigns-rollins-punk-gunther-liv-morgan-vs-bayley-rhea-ripleys-as-whiny-child-logan-paul-a-j-styles-penta-balor-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/04\/15\/wwe-raw-hits-misses-4-14-heyman-reigns-rollins-punk-gunther-liv-morgan-vs-bayley-rhea-ripleys-as-whiny-child-logan-paul-a-j-styles-penta-balor-more\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE RAW HITS &#038; MISSES (4\/14): Heyman-Reigns-Rollins-Punk, Gunther, Liv Morgan vs. Bayley, Rhea Ripley&#8217;s as whiny child, Logan Paul-A.J. Styles, Penta-Balor, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1478237470\" 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>Gunther &#8211; HIT:<\/b> The build towards Gunther vs. Jey Uso for the World Championship at WrestleMania peaked last week, but it was good to see Gunther get a chance to reply to the strong promo from Uso last week. His performance was good. I loved how he ultimately kicked Michael Cole out of the ring, to turn the segment from an interview into a promo. He was angry at what Uso said last week. He showed it well. He got the heat back after looking a little shaken last week. Jey would later claim that Gunther is now scared of him, but I didn\u2019t read it that way.<\/p>\n<p><b>Bel Air Video &#8211; HIT:<\/b> This was the first of three pre-taped vignettes of the women in the triple threat Women\u2019s Title match at WM. It was good. Bianca Bel Air came across better here than she has in the last several weeks. She was able to position herself more as a babyface without the heel tendencies which she has shown lately. That might be a sign that WWE realized that she was looking too much like a heel and they wanted to correct course, either because they want her to continue to be a babyface, or because they don\u2019t want the heel turn to be so obvious. Either way, it was a good video.<\/p>\n<p><b>Morgan vs. Bayley &#8211; HIT:<\/b> This was a good match between Liv Morgan and Bayley to continue to give Bayley &amp; Lyra Valkyria momentum going into their Tag Team Title shot at WM. WWE\u2019s usual booking would suggest that they will lose at WM since Bayley won here, but I would have predicted that anyway. In addition to good work from Bayley and Morgan, the story with Raquel Rodriguez and Valkyria getting involved worked well too.<\/p>\n<p><b>Rhea Ripley Video &#8211; MISS:<\/b> I didn\u2019t like this vignette from Rhea Ripley as much as the Bianca Bel Air one. She continued to look like a whinny child which isn\u2019t good. If WWE realized some of their issues with Bel Air\u2019s presentation and corrected course in her video, they unfortunately did not do the same with Ripley.<\/p>\n<p><em>ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Raw: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/wwe-raw-post-show-4-14-keller-maitland-discuss-roman-confronting-heyman-about-favor-rhea-and-bianca-try-to-justify-behavior-more--65575933\">CLICK HERE<\/a> to stream (or search \u201cwade Keller\u201d on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=65575933&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>Mysterio vs. Reed &#8211; HIT:<\/b> This was a good match between Rey Mysterio and Julius Creed to continue the build towards Mysterio\u2019s match against El Grande Americano at WM. I still strongly believe that the Creeds have been wasted on the main roster. They are a great tag team, but Julius Creed has the opportunity to break out as a singles star in a big way. His talents were on full display here. The story worked well to get the rest of American Made and the LWO ejected from ringside early on to allow Americano to get involved later. Mysterio still got the win, but Americano got to stand tall in the end after using his loaded mask as a weapon.<\/p>\n<p><b>Paul &#8211; Styles &#8211; HIT:<\/b> AJ Styles vs. Karrion Kross was a solid match. It was the first time we\u2019ve seen Kross in the ring in a long time. His ultimate end game remains a mystery. He likes to stir up crap in the back and manipulate people, but why? To what end? If we\u2019re supposed to take those mind games seriously, he shouldn\u2019t lose the only time he actually wrestles. So, his role in this whole thing is murky. But, I enjoyed the encounter between Logan Paul and AJ Styles after the match. Paul knows how to get under the skin of the live fans. The physicality worked to continue putting over his new finisher even without wrestling. It should be a good match.<\/p>\n<p><b>Jey Uso &#8211; MISS:<\/b> Like I said above, Uso peaked last week and nothing he was going to do was going to come close to what he achieved last week. So I knew he wasn\u2019t going to do anything like that, but I was still disappointed in what he did. He mostly just led the crowd in yeeting for several minutes, and then said a few things about how Gunther is now afraid of him which rang a little hollow to me, and then he led the crowd in more yeeting. Michael Cole\u2019s yeeting was particularly annoying as always. This wasn\u2019t the worst thing in the world, but I continue to feel that the extra length between the Royal Rumble and WM has led to problems with stretching out the stories and the build too long leaving moments like this.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-333962417\" 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>Penta vs. Balor &#8211; HIT:<\/b> This match had a Miss finish, but I enjoyed the action between Penta and Finn Balor enough before that DQ finish to give it a marginal Hit. The interference from the rest of Judgment Day was predictable, as was the save from Bron Breakker, who wasn\u2019t really there to save Penta. I like how he wanted to get revenge on Judgment Day for their attack earlier in the show, but still wanted to get the better of Penta as well. But, Penta was able to stand tall this time. I think I\u2019m one of just about every fan who predict that Dominik Mysterio will win the Intercontinental Title match by pinning Balor. I don\u2019t see another possible outcome.<\/p>\n<p><b>Sky Video &#8211; HIT:<\/b> Iyo Sky continues to look the best of these three women and she came across well here in her vignette. I like when WWE lets their foreign wrestlers speak their native language with subtitles. It just works so much better. Sky is coming across like a confidence champion who is tired of being overlooked by her challengers. Overall, these videos were a smart way to do a final hype for the Women\u2019s Triple Threat Championship match.<\/p>\n<p><b>Closing Segment &#8211; MISS:<\/b> I liked the performances in this show-closing segment, but the story leaves something to be desired. Too much of it revolves around Paul Heyman\u2019s potential role. I don\u2019t buy the stakes here from Seth Rollins that the future of WWE is on the line because the winner of this match will lead the company into the future or whatever he was saying. There really aren\u2019t stakes. They could have built an interesting story with Reigns vs. Rollins based on their past including their interaction at last year\u2019s Mania, or Reigns vs. Punk around Heyman (who makes sense in that singles feud) or even Rollins vs. Punk given their feud (they could have drawn out the story to that steel cage match). The triple threat doesn\u2019t work well. They\u2019ve done some good work here and there with the story, but ultimately it is disappointing direction leading to what will be a good, but rather meaningless main event for night 1 of WM.<\/p>\n<p><em>(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. Follow him on BlueSky @jonmezzera.bsky.social.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wade Keller Post-show - WWE Raw w\/cohost Chris Maitland\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4TkIQsy2r1s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2024680287\"><div id=\"pwtor-1908015024\"><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>Gunther &#8211; HIT: The build towards Gunther vs. Jey Uso for the World Championship at WrestleMania peaked last week, but it was good to see Gunther get a chance to reply to the strong promo <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/04\/15\/wwe-raw-hits-misses-4-14-heyman-reigns-rollins-punk-gunther-liv-morgan-vs-bayley-rhea-ripleys-as-whiny-child-logan-paul-a-j-styles-penta-balor-more\/\" title=\"WWE RAW HITS &#038; MISSES (4\/14): Heyman-Reigns-Rollins-Punk, Gunther, Liv Morgan vs. Bayley, Rhea Ripley&#8217;s as whiny child, Logan Paul-A.J. Styles, Penta-Balor, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":196158,"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-196157","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\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-15-at-10.20.35\u202fPM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196157","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=196157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":196159,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196157\/revisions\/196159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}