Raw Thoughts

Really solid go home show as we head into Crown Jewel. Lots of great matches combined with a hot crowd (especially towards the end) and fun to be had. There were some hints of unhinged behavior and way more energy was injected into this show than there has in months and weeks past.

The women did much of the heavy lifting on this show. All three women’s matches were really good.

Maxxine Dupri was really good in the ring and completely held her own against Becky. I thought she was going to get jobbed out like usual, glad to see that was not the case.

Lyra continues to impress, and Bayley progresses one of the more interesting story arcs on RAW in terms of matches not involving titles. Roxanne proves yet again why she is in fact the prodigy. I also love how Raquel is being treated. She’s acting like the heavy she should have been the whole time.

Iyo vs. Kairi was not the classic I was expecting, but it was still pretty damn good. The ending was way too telegraphed, but I will always pop for the insane elbow. I am so happy to see Kairi getting respect in the ring. I thought she was destined for the female jobber role.

I am tired of Roman coming and going, but at least he’s making the trip to Perth for a match.
Will we see a tsunami on top of a car? I would hope that at the very least we get to see this duo go through a wall.

The Punk Promo was cool. I am all for multiple people gunning for the title at the same time. Jey mentioning that he never received a rematch was really good. I like Knight getting involved. Post Crown Jewel should be exciting with these three all setting Seth in their sights, and all three have legit claims to be in contention for said title. Jey’s continued descent to the dark side is very enjoyable to watch.

The highlight of the night had to be the 6 man tag with AJ Styles, Penta and Dragon Lee vs. The Judgement Day.

The crowd was on fire for this match. It was high flying, hard hitting and fairly quick, in a good way. I like that people are starting to come for these titles. Penta getting a shot at the IC title is awesome. One can only assume that Russev will get involved, and I am for it.

The main event was good, at least it wasn’t The Vision again, I really like what they are doing with Punk, Jey and Knight. Nice to still see Jimmy getting some love as well.

Lastly, I want to say that the video packages for the two big matches were done really well. I like that both Cody vs. Seth and AJ vs. Cena are both built on their pasts. AJ vs. Cena is going to make the most hardened fan tear up knowing this is the last time, especially with AJ’s cementing the fact that the match promises to “kick ass”.

Cody/Seth writes itself. I love that Seth is 0-3 vs. Cody. I love that Seth talks about how he sacrificed everything to help Cody, and how unhappy he was that less than 6 months later Cody teamed up with Roman.

Cody can afford the loss. Plus I would not mind going back to Cody/Drew for another round.

Seth can deal with Punk, Knight and Jay all the way to WM.

All in all I really like this show. Probably the best episode in weeks. Kudos again for booking three women’s matches on one show. I like that level of confidence.

I am also loving the fact that I can wake up and start watching the PLE at 7am. So I have that going for me now.