WWE RAW Nailed The ‘Go-Home’ Show For Saturday Night’s Main Event

It was surprising to learn that after an overcooked ‘Road to WrestleMania’ program, WWE would immediately run back Jey Uso versus Gunther for the heavyweight championship. Gunther lost the title to Jey at Mania, but Gunther took the first win in their rivalry at January’s Saturday Night’s Main Event. For a feud to get three high-profile matches within the first five months of the year is rare, and you would have to assume that the first two matches were bangers—these weren’t.

However, before we can get to the trilogy, Jey will have to defend his title against Logan Paul at this weekend’s Saturday Night’s Main Event in Tampa, Florida. Logan was first out “Gorilla” tonight with a promo prepared for Jey, but it did not take long before Gunther made his way out to the ring.

Surprisingly, Gunther was complimentary of Paul, claiming the crowds that boo him so heavy are likely ‘jealous’ of him. The lovefest did not last, and Gunther made it clear that the trilogy with Jey means everything to him. He was quick to let Logan know that he would take it very ‘personal’ if the chance for ‘get back’ with Jey were taken away from him. The promos were contentious, but neither were willing to engage with one another so long as Jey is champion. Jey eventually came out from the crowd to everyone’s surprise, none more so than Paul, who took a superkick to the jaw of the ‘Yeet Fairy’ himself.

Without gauging the attention factor of a Paul championship, it feels like he is a major underdog headed into this weekend. Yet, will WWE actually go back to the Jey-Gunther well after the backlash from ‘tap gate’—in case you forgot, Jey tapped Gunther with a rear-naked chokehold at Mania. There’s a good chance that Paul is a brief distraction meant to supplement the champ’s notoriety—in other words, he’s here to give the rub.

But if WWE wants to shake things up in a way that capitalizes on its most commercially lucrative I.P., then making Logan the champ and delivering on the teased booking that had fans speculating about a Gunther-Paul Mania match will make the most noise (probably breaks WWE’s sound meter). It will not go over well with the purists and hardcore fans, but WWE has shown that they are willing to ride the occasional IWC social media storm in the wake of strong economics.

SIDE BAR: Finn added Roxanne Perez to The Judgement Day to the surprise of every other member. He made the point that with Liv gone, they needed the extra hand, especially to watch Raquel’s back. She was a big hit after giving Dom a box of chicken nuggets (the key to his heart) and a bag of apples for Carlito.

Seth Rollins’ Mind Games/Sami Zayn’s Loyalty

Later in the evening, we saw Logan trying to leave the building before being confronted by Seth Rollins. Rollins made it clear that he would be waiting on the other side for Logan should he emerge with the title on Saturday. But Rollins made it also clear that if Logan has the title around his waist after Saturday, then ‘he’ll know who to thank,’ leading the audience to believe Seth plans to ‘orchestrate the ending’ of Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Main Event: Jey Uso(c) vs Bron Breakker

Breakker was positioned in this match, but after what we learned earlier, it seemed like this might have been intentionally set up by Seth and Paul to soften up Jey for Logan this weekend. Paul admitted he was impressed by Jey earlier in the night, but informed him that he doesn’t stand a chance against Seth. Breakker got the second entrance of the match and received the loudest reactions in the match. It almost felt like his showcase at times.

The whole thing ended in a schmoz meant to promote the tag match for this weekend’s SNME. Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn all made their way out with CM Punk as they brawled through the crowd. That left Jey in the ring holding the belt, and perfectly placed for a ‘sneak right’ from Paul, who never left the building—but was he convinced by Seth to stay?

How many superstars are in the pocket of Heyman and Seth, so to speak? Seth could be playing 4D chess right now, and if his intention is to rock the WWE, then helping Logan is certainly a way to go.

“Phenomenal Penta”

The name was a throwaway line from Pat on commentary before they cut to the backstage area, but Cole acknowledged the name, so perhaps it is official enough that we get merch. If it was just a cool Pat line off the top, then fine, but if he was made to say the name, then it is difficult to know if WWE plans to unite the Lucha Bros at all.

But maybe it is all a distraction?

There have been reports that WWE is unsure when they will do this year’s ‘Brand Draft,’ but they will do it. A busy summer schedule for the company means the yearly shakeup will have to wait, which means that Rey Fenix will have to wait a bit longer before he is paired with his bro Penta again.

Tonight, Penta and AJ Styles took on The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and JD McDonagh (who recently returned from injury) in a match that was booked last week after both Penta and AJ realized that the ‘enemy of my enemy…’ and the such. It is a terrific coupling, creating a tag team out of the two most exciting performers in the company feels like a pairing you only get from video games.

The match was great, better, in fact, than the singles match from last week between Finn and AJ. The former Bullet Club leaders worked flawlessly with their partners, and they put on one of the best tag matches on RAW in some time—still got a long way to go to catch up to SmackDown’s tag division.

Ultimately, El Grande Americano hit Penta with his loaded mask after Penta hit JD with a devastating ‘Mexican Destroyer.’ The interference led to a Judgement Day win, but the story is far from over at this point.

It is tough to see the direction with so many variables at play, but there is a route that is worth exploring more than others. Right now, AJ Styles is a leading man without the band. He has been left factionless after “The Good Brothers” were released—again. Commentary made the interesting comment about Finn and the rest of TJD feeling like Dom has gotten ‘too big for his britches’ after winning the IC title.

So, if Dom finds himself on the outs with TJD, and Penta only needs a tag partner until Rey is drafted over, then running the ‘double turn’ with AJ and Dom could work well for all parties involved.

AJ gets his faction, and pairing Finn with AJ is something everyone has wanted to see for some time—it is the only aspect of ‘The Club’ that was never manifested in WWE. For his efforts, Dom gets paired up with The Lucha Bros as the “loveable nitwit younger brother” role.

Money In The Bank Qualifiers (Women’s)

Becky Lynch vs. Natalia vs. Roxanne Perez

There were some terrific spots in this match, and all three helped to create a solid story out of the triple-threat match. Natalia played the veteran role and provided a pace that benefited the recent NXT callup. Perez, a two-time NXT champion, was signed to RAW after we learned that Guilia was signed to SD and will get her own MITB qualifier this Friday.

Still, the match never felt like anything but Becky’s to lose—it is very difficult to create such a wide favorite in a triple threat match. There was no reason to believe that Natalia or Perez was a viable contender. But after a terrific spot when Natalia put both Becky and Perez in a double ‘Sharpshooter,’ Becky was sent to the outside where Lyra Valkyria was waiting to get her revenge. That opening was enough for Perez to steal the match and become the second qualifier for the women’s MITB alongside Alexa Bliss.

Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi Sane (vs. Zoey Stark)

It was originally a triple-threat match, but it was made into a singles match after Stark was injured in the match following an attempt at a dropkick. Rhea picked up the victory in what ended up being a very solid ‘half’ singles match. Unlike the first MITB qualifier, the favorite won, and Rhea has to be considered the favorite to win the briefcase in LA next month.

Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action

• It was announced on RAW that Tyrese Haliburton will be a playable character in WWE2K25, being added sometime this summer. Haliburton was on video with the commentary team in a pre-recorded interview—he was on McAfee’s show earlier today. What is interesting about Haliburton is that he is gearing up for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Championship against the Knicks—congrats NY FANS, y’all waited long enough. But when we saw Haliburton in WWE last, he was confronted by none other than Jalen Brunson of the Knicks. Now, these teams will meet, and Triple H did not miss his opportunity to take credit for the booking when he tweeted: “It’s almost like we wrote it…” If WWE can capitalize on all of this with a match, it will be great for SummerSlam.
• Sheamus defeated Grayson Waller after a miscommunication with Austin Theory, which led to his loss. They’ve teased a breakup in the past, but it feels like this might be the final straw for the team known as A-Town Down Under. Rumors have circulated that Theory could be getting another single’s push, but whatever direction they go, it’s clear that Theory needs to be separated from Waller. Theory received a chant while on the sidelines, and his online love continues to grow.