Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s weekly review of "WWE Raw," the show where sometimes you get to the end and there just isn't a ring anymore! That was the case after this week's massive, monstrous main event, which saw the return of Seth Rollins on top of everything else. Between that, the final confrontation between Drew McIntyre and CM Punk, Sami Zayn finally getting his world title match from GUNTHER, and The Miz turning on R-Truth, there turned out to be several things we had strong feelings about this week even if the overall runtime felt like a bit of a slog.
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As always, you can check out our "Raw" results page for a comprehensive look at the stuff we're not covering here (though we'll see what happens when the show goes down to two hours next week). This column, however, is about what the WINC staff though of Monday's events. Here are three things we hated and three things we loved about the 9/30/24 episode of "WWE Raw."
It's the end of an era, at least for a little while, but that little break is going to feel so good when "Raw" is only two hours next week. Maybe it's the fact we know we're going to have a shorter show next week and moving forward throughout the end of the year, at least, before the red brand goes to Netflix, but this week's episode felt every minute of its three hours outside of the main event. I feel as though I'm always complaining about WWE not putting much effort into its go-home shows before its premium live events, and this week's show was no different from my usual complaint but worse. This episode really showed, in my humble opinion, that "Raw" will benefit from being two hours. It's felt like WWE has been unable to entertain me for the full three hours for months now, and I shouldn't feel like I have to complain or feel like watching wrestling is such a chore every week when it comes to the red brand.
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It will hopefully speed up not only the show, but also the storylines in general, to hopefully make things not seem so elongated. For example, I have to of course bring up CM Punk versus Drew McIntyre, because those guys have been saying the same things over, and over, and over for the last few months, at least. But, at least they're not feuding over a stupid friendship bracelet anymore. Another example I can give is Sami Zayn attempting to challenge World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER. GUNTHER has been telling Zayn "no" for weeks, to the point the entire story was affected by it.
Thankfully, WWE has Bad Blood on Saturday to wrap up a whatever loose ends they chose with some of these storylines, Punk and McIntyre included. But, also WWE could chose to tighten up stories with Women's World Champion Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest and Finn Balor, possibly giving The Judgment Day less to do, as they often dominate the shows as much as the Bloodline does on "WWE SmackDown." I'm hoping the company has a creative plan moving forward into next Monday following the premium live event with losing an entire hour of the show, but even if they don't, it will be interesting. Either in a streamlined way like they run "SmackDown," or, in a train wreck kind of way. Either way, I hated this final edition (for now) of "Raw" at three hours, and I am extremely glad to be getting a little break from it.
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Written by DaisyRuth
The running theme of the reignited feud between Sami Zayn and Gunther in recent weeks has been the classic sporting tale of a champion ducking an opponent that has proven to have their number. Zayn is just one of four men to have succeeded over "The Ring General" in WWE altogether, and the most recent to do so; he defeated Gunther for the Intercontinental title just in April at WrestleMania.
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But there's very little harm he could do to Gunther's title reign if the champion simply declines to put his title on the line. Unless there was a way of making him feel like he needs to prove something. That's the pay-off this segment had delivered to an otherwise jarring situation, where matches are booked for superstars all the time unless the story calls for them to explicitly not to. And it was done in a way that made sense, the personal stakes for Gunther thrown in as he reflected on his previous defeat to Zayn. He recalled the disappointment of his father, and the indignity of admitting he wasn't beaten by the better man but rather he was beaten by someone worse than him. It was hubris that remained true to his character. He wasn't giving the tried and tired "I respect you because you beat me" shtick, he made it clear he loathed the idea that he'd been beaten by someone inferior. But Zayn proved cunning, not your cookie cutter blissfully ignorant babyface but the veteran of the sport he is.
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Zayn pulled on the thread Gunther had left loose, goading that he would now have to admit to his father that he was forced into cowardice by the supposed lesser foe. The segment had been building like a rubber band stretched out and on the brink of snapping, and Gunther had hit his breaking point to lash out at Zayn and make the match official. The now-challenger left battered in the ring while a vexed "Ring General" stormed off, making it clear that while he had won the physical battle on this night, Gunther had lost the psychological edge. This is a feud that makes sense on every level, with Zayn more than a worthy contender for the workhorse title that the World Heavyweight Championship has become, and someone that holds a claim to the throne so long as it is sat by the man he holds a win over. Even down to the small interaction between Gunther and Bron Breakker prior to this segment, there is a growing sense of continuity to the champion and his title with canonically credible challengers.
Written by MaxEverett
I'll be honest and say something that's likely to be unpopular among the WWE fanbase: I'm about ready for the feud between Drew McIntyre and CM Punk to be over. Week after week, it's been the same thing in a slightly different font. Things have become quite stagnant with nothing really changing or involving, and this week was no exception.
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This was WWE's final chance to put one last exclamation point on the months long tensions between McIntyre and Punk. Instead, all they did was have the two come face-to-face in a verbal confrontation like they've done for I don't even know how many weeks at this point inside the Hell In A Cell cage for some unknown reason with security guards blocking the two men from getting into a physical brawl. It was underwhelming and disappointing, especially for a long term storyline that's been built on the deep hatred that the two have for one another. There was so much potential for what the two could've done, whether it was a much more heated verbal confrontation, a huge pull apart brawl, or even one man inside the cage and one on the outside to keep the two men from brawling.
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Written by Olivia Quinlan
It's no secret that I'm a huge Bron Breakker fan. I have been since I started covering "WWE NXT" and saw him move up the ranks there, before getting called up to the main roster. Breakker was a great Intercontinental Champion, and I thought the belt suited him well for where he is in his career right now, but also, I'm a big fan of Jey Uso, and it was about time that man got a singles championship around his waist. When Breakker sauntered out to interrupt Uso during his little celebration after winning the championship last week, I was certain we were going to see one of Breakker's impressive spears and him go on to continue to play the heel and demand a rematch. I was surprised, however, when Breakker told Uso how deserving he was of the title and that he respected him. Breakker admitted Uso was "the better man" and straight up said he wasn't going to spear him. Which, of course, we all thought he was lying. Even Uso was skeptical, but ended up taking Breakker's hand, and as Breakker went to leave, Uso told him there were some "dawgs in Indiana," to which the former NXT Champion just gave him a pleasant smile.
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While that segment was all well and good, and even "wholesome" as we agreed on in our WINC chat, it was a later segment that really got my attention when it came to Breakker. World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER had just dealt with Sami Zayn in the ring and was backstage with Ludwig Kaiser, when he was approached by none other than Breakker. It was a simple, almost blink-and-you-miss-it type of segment, but even that was exciting enough. Breakker versus GUNTHER, assuming Zayn doesn't take the gold off him first, would be an excellent match and something I would be extremely excited to see.
If that's the case, the opening segment where Breakker played a babyface with Uso makes sense, and makes me love it all even more. GUNTHER even commented to Kaiser that Breakker "really is a badass" to which Breakker responded, "that's right, and you'll see sooner than you think." Simple, easy, great storytelling to me. It was simple enough on a night of crazy things happening on "Raw," like the "Last Monster Standing Match," that it stood out for that reason. With all its implications, I love that Breakker seems to be moving on up to different things on the red brand, and I'm excited to see how far he can go.
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Written by DaisyRuth
I don't mind The Miz turning on R-Truth. In fact, in some ways I really appreciate it. The Awesome Truth were basically only a thing in 2024 because Truth's storyline with The Judgment Day took off, and so they could have a feel-good moment at WrestleMania. The need for the throwback nostalgia act basically ceased to exist as soon as Mania was over, so I have no problem with them breaking up. I like having Karrion Kross be involved in that, just like he was involved in The New Day's recent troubles, and it's about damn time Miz was a heel again forcing that man to play a babyface for almost a full year should come with prison time.
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So yeah, I didn't hate the turn itself. What I'm dreading is the Miz/Truth feud it necessitates. Like, obviously they have to feud now, it would be weird if they didn't, but is anyone really excited about 43-year-old Michael Mizanin and 52-year-old Ron Killings getting in the ring together? Nobody benefits from that especially if it follows what has become the Paul Levesque pattern of extending feuds and storylines far longer than they need to be.
The timing feels particularly egregious, as we're about to lose an hour from "Raw" for the rest of the year. While I think that's a spectacular idea, there are a lot of wrestlers working on the red brand and a lot of ongoing stories, and it's going to really suck when some of those wrestlers don't get to wrestle and some of those stories don't get advanced because WWE needs to make time for a Truth/Miz feud.
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Written by Miles Schneiderman
Following up on the previously indecisive battle of the Kaijus, Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman locked up on Monday night for their "Last Monster Standing" match. That would prove to be an apt billing title too, with both of the giants risking life and limb to complete a bingo card of WWE 2K "OMG Moments."
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Within minutes, Strowman had put Reed through the announcer's table to set the stone; a tone that would be matched by Reed, climbing back to his feet and boasting that it would take much more than that. So once they'd Nerf'd the table spot, as you might guess everything else in the venue became fair game almost immediately. Strowman was soon after that thrust from the apron through a stack of steel chairs, and then they went through the barricade not once but twice, prompting officials to emerge officials that would later be thrown around by an incensed Reed, given he had the match effectively won in the ring.
That proved to be one of a series of logical undoings for Reed, omens that this was not going to be his night, as the ensuing melee saw Strowman take advantage. Side note on that front: seeing a flying Strowman was neither expected nor necessary, but nonetheless simply awesome. As if all of the ridiculous bumps that had led into the closing stretch weren't enough, WWE dipped into its box of titan tropes as Reed and Strowman went through the ring breaking super-plex spot. And yet that still wasn't the end of the match, with both appearing to rise from the rubble. Until the second of Reed's undoings reared its head: Seth Rollins returning with a timely curbstomp to the steel steps. As a result, Strowman was the winner. But this is an evergreen bumpfest that can be revisited in the future for great TV viewing, and giving Strowman the advantage with an asterisk in their series provides a logical pick-up point. Reed will now have a potentially star-making feud picking up with Rollins after previously writing him off, and he has been kept remarkably strong even with a paper loss.
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Strowman getting the win after such an enthralling demolition derby provides him with momentum to move forward, in whichever direction that may be, and this is all a result of the logical creative approach to this entire angle. Sometimes it's just fun to switch off and watch two behemoths lock horns and do what comes natural to the wrecking balls they are.
Written by Max Everett
