Welcome to Wrestling Inc.’s weekly review of “WWE Raw,” the show that very, very occasionally features Roman Reigns! The WINC staff has an abundance of opinion to supply this week, with Reigns getting involved within the important event cage match just being the tip of the iceberg — there is a recent challenger for the ladies’s Intercontinental title (and in addition the boys’s, though we’re not stepping into that regardless that Finn Balor gave Dominik Mysterio the sweetest hug), Logan Paul seemingly set his WrestleMania direction in stone via a segment with AJ Styles, and Chad Gable returned wearing a luchador mask … or did he?
Admittedly, we didn’t give much focus to Cody Rhodes’ promo on Monday night, mainly because the whole “John Cena turned heel” thing seems like it got placed on hold until this upcoming European tour, which features Cena. If there’s the rest we missed, you may doubtless find it on our “Raw” results page, which is for ensuring we have now detailed record of all the pieces that went down. This column, nonetheless, is for the WINC staff to specific our opinions about those self same events. From GUNTHER choking out Jey Uso (again) to Bianca Belair bringing the drama back to the red brand, listed here are three things we hated and three things we loved concerning the 3/10/25 episode of “WWE Raw.”
Hated: GUNTHER vs. Jey Uso Already Getting Stale
I didn’t think I’d ever get to the purpose where I’d tire of Jey Uso being the Royal Rumble winner and GUNTHER holding the World Heavyweight Championship going into the largest night in wrestling, but now, I’m beginning to get frightened since I’m already getting uninterested in these two ahead of WrestleMania 41. For the past few weeks, we have seen brawls between the pair and GUNTHER already pulled out the Uso big entrance fake-out, so I’m unsure what else there’s for these two to perform with five more weeks until WrestleMania to go. In addition they at all times appear to open up the show, which is admittedly not giving this feud any variety.
I feel even a closing angle brawl could do that feud lots of good, even when it’s just like what they’re doing to kick off the show. But as an alternative, filter out the locker room to separate these two, don’t just get security involved or backstage officials. Let things get so heated that a locker room clearing brawl happens on the last two or three shows leading as much as ‘Mania. Anything to spice this up and make it different. GUNTHER not appearing within the important event segments and opening the show on a regular basis, or simply appearing in Uso’s show-opening segments is getting old fast for a person who holds the World Heavyweight Championship.
Tonight, I noticed it type of seems like WWE has given up a bit on this already. I noticed that by the point the past few episodes of “Raw” have ended, I have not been fascinated about GUNTHER versus Uso in any respect. There are greater matches on the red brand yet to be made for WrestleMania, and I’m much more concerned about those than the highest championship of the show.
I’m also curious as to why WWE thought to herald the Alpha Academy of all people to play backup to Uso. I assume it’s because they’re all loveable underdogs? Regardless of how much I like Otis, it’s probably not working for me and it’s coming across a bit silly. When you want Uso to play the underdog, let him do all of it by himself. Overall, with the likelihood that we’re getting a triple threat match involving Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins on top of Cody Rhodes versus heel John Cena, there’s lots of work to be done to get me excited for Uso versus GUNTHER, and sadly, I’m unsure I see any of that work happening.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Hated: Take the simple road sometimes
There may be a time and place in skilled wrestling for an organization to intentionally mislead their fanbase when a storyline or segment originally advertised for a show calls for a serious, unexpected swerve (see: Mark Henry’s fake retirement speech from the early 2010s). When an organization misleads their fanbase for the sake of doing so without a superb swerve in a storyline or segment, then it becomes a special conversation.
Considering that Logan Paul spent most of his segment tonight talking about being on the identical levels as John Cena and The Rock when it was originally AJ Styles that was advertised to look and call out Paul, there was absolutely no good reason to change around who was set to chop the initial promo. Paul and Styles were each going to be a part of the identical segment regardless, but when WWE had stuck to what they’d been promoting since last week and had Styles call out Paul, then it could’ve been rather more useful in keeping the main target of all the pieces on their storyline. The top goal of either segment would’ve been the identical in demonstrating Paul’s character as a cowardly heel who talks a giant game, but as an alternative of selecting the route that might’ve helped to construct something up between him and Styles, the concentrate on all the pieces became about John Cena, The Rock and a moderately random appearance from actor Andrew Schulz (which felt much more baseless with just what number of celebrities have been appearing on WWE programming and were in the group alone tonight).
Written by Olivia Quinlan
Hated: A champion is the Number One contender for an additional title
Just three weeks ago, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez defeated Bianca Belair and Naomi to develop into the tag team champions. You’d think they’d be looking forward to defending the titles. Not Rodriguez. Apparently one title is not enough. She has her eyes on the ladies’s IC title. With the help from her tag team partner, she defeated Bayley to advance to develop into the Number one contender against Lyra Valkyria.
There’s already discourse around how the IC title has been presented. Following Valkyria becoming the inaugural champion, she wasn’t seen on TV the next week. She defeated Dakota Kai to develop into champion and has continued to feud along with her. Her only other challenger has been Ivy Nile. Nobody else really has expressed an interest in a brand recent title that is only a pair months old.
It doesn’t make sense for her next challenger to be a lady who currently holds one other title. Even moreso when there are women within the division reportedly upset with creative and the way in which things are being booked on the road to WrestleMania. Why not have a few of the less featured women contend for the title? It is a midcard title that needs other women vying for a shot at it. Why aren’t other women who were within the tournament to crown a champion attempting to get their shot now?
The ladies’s tag titles have struggled to have significance since they’re creation. As a substitute of getting one half of the present champions difficult for an additional title, concentrate on build up your title. Take it to other brands and defend it. Let other women without titles who’re less featured get shots on the IC title to construct it up too. By featuring more women and build up two titles, you may begin to attempt to correct a few of the issues and perhaps start to enhance the morale in the ladies’s locker room.
Written by Samantha Schipman
Loved: Chad Gable’s luchador mystery!
Chad Gable has returned from learning the dark arts of lucha libre, or whatever he claimed to be doing while giving $500 to a mysterious man for a mysterious box, and he’s brought an interesting special approach back to WWE with him. Tonight, we were all convinced that it was Gable behind a red, white, and blue luchador mask that even had “American Made” embroidered across the brow. The masked man took out Dragon Lee throughout the tornado tag team match pitting The Latest Day against Rey Mysterio and Lee tonight, and it appeared like something strange, but super interesting, was occurring after the actual fact.
The mystery man we assumed was Gable took out Lee with a hurricanrana, but hit Mysterio with a suplex, then hit Gable’s signature “THANK YOU!” pose before running through the group from security. I assumed that was a bit goofy for Gable’s current character, but thought perhaps he had lightened up during his lucha training. I also thought to myself he seemed REALLY fast, but on the other hand, I figured I’d never seen Gable actually sprint before and just type of shrugged it off. A brand new, goofier Gable definitely wasn’t the case backstage when Cathy Kelley caught up with him, and regardless that he was wearing the identical dark clothes that the mystery man had been wearing to interfere within the match, someone wearing the American Made luchador mask appeared behind Gable and Kelley, which got an audible pop from me.
I like this because I’d assume it’s leading as much as the WWE debut of Fenix. Even when it isn’t, it’s got me fascinated about that and intrigued, which is a pleasant thing for a mid-card storyline not involving a championship. Rumors and reports were swirling at the top of last week that Fenix was set to get checked up by WWE doctors, a normal procedure when signing, and that he could possibly be debuting soon. Hearing that, then checking out it wasn’t actually Gable (or, not less than, he could possibly be working with someone who then placed on the mask backstage) was an exciting little aspect of “Raw” tonight. WWE is unquestionably hyping up the debut of Fenix, whether or not they’re attempting to or not, which is sensible business. Gable can also be a terrific actor, so I even have faith that this angle and story goes to be good in future weeks, and I’m excited to see where it leads. American Made may not have championship gold like Gable demanded before he left, but now, they have a mysterious luchador to cope with, and that is a wonderful story.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Loved: More messy feelings in the ladies’s division
Disclaimer: I loved the Bianca Belair/Naomi/Jade Cargill segment on “WWE SmackDown,” so for those who didn’t, you may not agree with me here, either. I just really enjoy Belair, each as a wrestler and a personality, and he or she suddenly has a lot to work with now because the common link between two major WrestleMania builds. She’s over here on “Raw” attempting to ignore all of the interpersonal drama over on Friday nights, but not only is Rhea Ripley prepared to not let her do this, but Rhea has her own beef with Belair, blaming Belair for Ripley’s Women’s World Championship loss last week.
There’s such a robust dynamic here, and it’s actually the rationale Belair vs. Ripley vs. IYO SKY works higher as a WrestleMania 41 match than simply Belair vs. Ripley. The night after WrestleMania 39, when each Belair and Ripley were singles champions, they teased a standoff within the ring. They have not interacted in any respect within the two years since, and it hasn’t been the simplest two years, either. Ripley has managed to construct herself right into a top-tier wrestler who almost never loses, but she’s needed to battle through injury and lost all that is still of her former family (even Damian Priest is on “SmackDown” now). Belair continues to carry the record for longest women’s title reign in modern WWE history, but she’s been stuck within the tag team division for a 12 months now and has seemingly handled wave after wave of intrigue and betrayal that is left her heartsick and slow to trust. In other words, each characters try to address the insecurity of perhaps not being the unstoppable forces they were a pair years ago — neither currently holds a title — while coping with all styles of messy interpersonal feelings which are also tied up of their championship ambitions. They’re drained, stressed, paranoid, and high-strung, which is why they’re a number of seconds away from stepping into a fistfight — not because one is a face and one is a heel, but because they’re characters that make sense.
Meanwhile, IYO SKY is over here holding the actual title, being the actual champion, because she beat Ripley last week and is about to enter her second consecutive WrestleMania as a singles champion. She’s 4-0 against Ripley all-time and 3-0 in her last three singles matches with Belair, and each those stretches include instances of SKY taking their titles. Rhea and Bianca can get messy about their feelings all they need — SKY is the wrestler here; she doesn’t care who she faces at Mania, but you do not disrespect her unless you may keep her down for 3 within the ring (after all she also used moves honoring the opposite members of Damage CTRL in her title win last week because she can also be not-so-secretly an emotional sap who definitely still desires to be friends with everyone).
So many emotions. I adore it. Inject it into my veins. That is wrestling.
Written by Miles Schneiderman
Loved: Wreck everyone & leave, part two
“WWE Raw” this week felt like a gradual construct to match fans were actually looking forward to between CM Punk and Seth Rollins, with their vitriolic feud getting an installment bespoke for WrestleMania on the close of a TV show – so there was at all times the query of how and whether this may be prolonged to WrestleMania. That query in itself was answered after a bout of bumps, finishers, and kick outs aplenty, with Roman Reigns emerging to show the bout the wrong way up and remind his Shield-brother that there’s at all times a receipt once you come on the “Tribal Chief.” Much had been said concerning the purported favor owed to Punk by Reigns’ “Sensible Man” Paul Heyman after their WarGames team up, but that again seemed to be turned the wrong way up throughout the Royal Rumble as Punk took the chance to eliminate each Reigns and Rollins – allowing Rollins to then stomp Reigns’ head into the bottom and the ring steps.
So it was somewhat cathartic for Reigns to return tonight, plucking Rollins from the cage and screwing Punk out of the win simply to return the favor and land a pair of stomps to the bottom. He would have closed the circle completely and driven Rollins into the steps, but per the “Raw” custom Adam Pearce and his band of merry officials prevented that from happening. But that was when his attention was turned to the continuing within the ring, as Heyman appeared to console Punk in his defeat by technicality. We all know Reigns to be immensely protective of his “Sensible Man” especially within the face of torn loyalties to his former Heyman Guys, so it was cool to see that sustained as he caught onto Heyman and Punk’s interaction within the ring. Equally, Heyman has at all times maintained his sense of duty to Reigns and The Bloodline so again it made sense that he would stand by and watch powerless to stop Reigns from taking out his dear friend; though he was visibly horrified by the ultimate dissolution of their marriage of convenience. All in all, “Raw” was very much a show trying to advertise the subsequent spate of shows, but this closing period between the actual in-ring motion of Rollins and Punk and the Reigns return was greater than well worth the wait.
Written by Max Everett
