WWE Raw Review for Sept. 14: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Another episode of Monday Night Raw is in the books, meaning it’s time to look back at the show to identify the highs and lows of an episode that featured Roman Reigns defending his belt against Penta in Mexico City.

The Good

Roman Reigns vs. Penta

There are absolutely some problems that stem from Reigns being the center of the universe on Raw, and those are laid bare when he’s not on the show. That said, it’s hard to look at nights like this one and argue he shouldn’t sit atop the card as the champion. In front of a red-hot, hostile crowd in Mexico City, Reigns delivered an excellent match, taking all of Penta’s signature moves and making the luchador feel like a star who belonged in the same ring. It was a star-making performance from both men, and if WWE builds on it, there’s no reason Penta can’t work at or near the main event going forward. A special shout-out to the fans as well. We’ve seen plenty of international crowds distinguish themselves, but even among that group, the fans in Mexico made everything feel more important. They also got behind Penta and treated Reigns like a heel, which he leaned into to great effect, even grabbing the mic at one point and telling the crowd to acknowledge him. Great stuff. Other highlights:

• Most weeks, the Intercontinental Championship match between Chad Gable and Dragon Lee would have earned top billing in this space. It was excellent. While I think WWE has really squandered Gable’s character work in the El Grande Americano storyline, turning him into a drab, one-note babyface, once the bell rings, he is delivering bangers.
• Anywhere else, Raw’s opening segment tonight might’ve fallen flat. Here, though, it was pitch-perfect with Stephanie Vaquer coming out as the new WWE Women’s World Champion. That brought out Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio, and eventually El Grande Americano came down to a huge reaction. Their impromptu tag-team match was fun, too, setting the stage for the evening. It was just a really entertaining way to start the show.
• While I wasn’t overly impressed with Lola Vice’s debut, at least they didn’t put her in a match just to lose. If you’re going to call Vice up, put her over, and that’s what they did.

The Bad

Big Cass

This was probably the best Raw of the year, so my negatives this week pretty much amount to nitpicks. While the Money in the Bank qualifying match was decent, I’m not sure why Big Cass was booked to take the pin. He’s been built up and has gotten wins over Je’Von Evans on TV, but then with a perfectly good Austin Theory there to take the pin, it was Evans scoring the 1-2-3 on Cass. I’m not a big fan of WWE bringing back these mid-2010s midcarders, but why have him take the pinfall here? And if your counterargument is they’re pushing The Vision and don’t want to beat Theory, then put someone else in the third slot to lose to Evans. This didn’t make sense to me. Other lowlights:

• Those quick, alternating kicks from Lola Vice don’t look good. I get that striking is supposed to be a part of her mixed martial arts background, but she needs to lay those in a little bit more to make them even remotely convincing.
• As a company, WWE has too many clichés. Pointing at the WrestleMania sign is easily the most egregious and overused, but the thing now in a ladder match where everyone must gaze up at the title or briefcase hanging there reverentially is a close second. The wrestlers did it tonight in qualifying matches. Please stop having everyone act the exact same way in these spots.

The Ugly

So Many Commercials

I typically stream Raw late Monday night on the West Coast after it has already aired, allowing me to watch the show without commercial breaks. With the event being in Mexico, and the Reigns title defense, I decided to watch live (with Monday Night Football on a laptop). I was taken aback by how many ads Netflix and WWE shoehorn into these broadcasts. Maybe it was always that way, even going back to Raw on USA, but after not dealing with it for so long this felt excessive. One silver lining was that I got to hear all the profanity on the hot mic as well as the crowd chants that will doubtless be edited out.

Related: WWE SmackDown Review for Sept. 11: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly