Jey Uso To Gunther: ‘Me & You At WrestleMania’

The show started with Jey Uso delivering his version of the RAW halftime show featuring one song on repeat—the crowd loved it. The scene is getting too familiar as Jey makes his way through a crowd of Yeets covered in Yeet merch. But on the actual mic, and when it comes to developing a story, his promos have been void of substance. Sure, there is a narrative based on a much bigger arch for Jey—and that’s the reason (other than merch and fan reaction) that he is in the position of reigning Royal Rumble winner.

It isn’t until Gunther comes out (for a guy that claims Jey isn’t ‘big enough’ a name for him, he sure lives rent-free in the champ’s head) that storyline and direction are introduced—that also happened tonight. After Jey’s 2^nd or 3^rd encore, Gunther came out and eventually beat Jey down before exiting the ring.

That is when Jey Uso pulled himself up to officially name Gunther as his choice of champion to face at WrestleMania. He stalled it out for dramatics, and it worked, but ultimately, this feels like Gunther’s choice. That could be a difficult narrative to get ahead of as we approach Mania, especially if Jey is getting his moment. After winning the IC title and the love he received from the fans, WWE was probably anxious to deliver on that same tenet, only this time on the grandest stage of them all and with a major title on the line.

The problem is that Jey Uso got his shot against Gunther already and missed his shot, and it is way too fresh in fans’ minds for them to totally buy into this as a MAJOR WrestleMania match/attraction. There is plenty of time to develop this match, but that could also work against them.

CM Punk & Logan Paul’s Story is Beginning To Cook

It took CM Punk less than 30 seconds to say the words ‘Road to WrestleMania’ and then address the mini-controversy from last week’s wrestling social media headlines. Punk made comments about his Rumble disappointments and then was slightly out of context when remarking on a theoretical Rumble booking that would see John Cena as the winner. Fans rushed to dissect his words and rebrand this a storyline of Punk complaining about the Rumble booking—a narrative that meant high click rates and views when it was pushed by content creators after the 2014 Rumble.

Punk said he was not mad at Jey, and his words felt authentic. If this doesn’t squash online speculation, it is likely something that Jey and the ‘boys’ appreciated.

Continuing the trend of potential feuds we didn’t know we wanted, Logan Paul came out to push back on Punk. He got words off, I guess, but his boos were nearly as defining as any that night (New Day’s was louder). Punk told Logan to stay focused on Rey Mysterio—Paul’s opponent in tonight’s Elimination Qualifier.

Most Love vs. Most Hated: AJ Styles Returns And Sets To Feud With Dom Mysterio?!

Phenomenal AJ Styles returned to RAW and touched on the injury that has kept him out of action since October. The injury has been a career-ender for many, but AJ worked his way back on the short side of the timeline.

Dominik Mysterio eventually made his way out with Carlito by his side, rocking purple skinnies like a true older millennial should, and the boos in the building were defining. Unfortunately, we are in an era where it is widely known WWE ‘pipe in’ cheers and boos to get moments over in the way they prefer—usually with how it lines up storyline-wise. So, it is impossible to know for sure how authentic these overly audible boos are, but ‘Smashville’ is a wrestling town and typically has a terrific audience.

They sparred verbally back and forth before AJ referred to Dom as Rey’s idiot son (or something like that), which was enough for Dom to take the cheap shot. The physicality was short, but the indications may provide a sense of a longer booking altogether.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match (Men’s)

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Logan Paul

The match started with a one-sided promo battle between Logan and Rey—more accurately, it was a battle between the crowd and Logan with Mysterio in the ring. Logan reminded everyone that he took the U.S. title from Mysterio, a match that launched a crucial title run.

The qualifier began after an odd break between the promo (that ended abruptly) and the match, and that was problematic if the intention of Punk’s promo placement was meant to lead into a big main event. Still, the crowd’s energy was high even at the end of the show, and Logan’s heat, combined with the fan’s enthusiasm for Rey, offered up a special main event.

The two men put on a show, and the legend Mysterio gave a lot of money to Logan. Rey did not go out there with the intent of smashing Logan by maintaining a fast-paced Lucha style for the entire match. Sure, Rey used his best assets, and that includes his Lucha abilities, but he kept a tone in the match that Logan could follow.

Rey hit the 619 after being thwarted a few times, but it was not enough as Logan used his size, strength, and youth to defeat Rey. In the final moments of the match, Rey hit Logan with a powerbomb before landing his 619, but when he went to the top rope for the splash, Logan was able to raise his knees.

Logan used the counter to set up a high right hand followed by what is being called the “Paul-Verizer” on commentary. It was enough to keep Rey down and Logan qualifies for the men’s chamber that already includes John Cena, CM Punk, and Drew McIntyre with two other spots left.

In the closing moments of the show, New Day was seen sneak attacking Rey Mysterio in the ring. Just as Cole was commenting on what we were seeing, the show faded to black. It has previously been hypothesized on FightsATW that a match between New Day and Rey Mysterio with Penta could be the direction, and with Penta involved in his ‘initial feud’ with Pete Dunne potentially ending next week, he could certainly be added without disturbing other plans.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match (Women’s)

Bayley vs. Lya Valkari

Roxxanne Perez was featured heavily before the start of the match, promoting the triple threat match between her, Bayley, and NXT women’s champ Giulia. Bayley has feuded with Perez for weeks now, and with Valkari’s momentum from winning the IC title, it felt like Bayley was too up against it.

However, Bayley was able to go over on Perez, pinning her in front of George Kittle—Tight End for Bayley’s hometown team, the San Francisco 49ers. Kittle was seen celebrating after Bayley’s win, and now she is poised to walk into EC with a major title in hand. However, if she wants to be Bayley two-belts, and aside from her triple threat match at NXT Vengeance this Saturday, she will have to get past Liv Morgan, Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, and two others TBD.

The New Day or The New Hosts of RAW?

Much time has passed since The New Day broke Big E’s heart (collectively, all of ours), but they are still getting booed out of the building tonight. They took control of the mic tonight, and they were barely audible as Kofi reminded everyone that he ‘brought back the violence’ to the Elimination Chamber match in 2019.

They called out Rey Mysterio Jr. in a vague way meant to keep fans reminded of their current program. Yet, the heat that they have on them is just begging for an authentic feud. It is starting to feel like there was never a ‘plan’ for New Day other than a full-on turn they knew would stick. But with the TV time they’re getting and the excellent segments they’re delivering, like last week’s Mama Woods moment, you would expect them to have something to do at WrestleMania. Hopefully, it isn’t as hosts again.

War Raiders(c) vs. American Made— Tag Team Titles

Erik and Ivar defended their titles against The Creed Brothers in a very entertaining match. Upon Gable exiting TV a few shows back, he demanded that Nile and Creed bros bring home the women’s IC title and tag titles, respectively. So, the pressure was on when they got those chances tonight, especially after Nile reiterated those goals earlier in the night.

Ivar was the MVP in this one—in the position to receive the hot tag at the match’s high point while also landing several spots not normally reserved for the big boys. Julius did his thing tonight, but they never had the team momentum to win and once they realized that they resorted to DQ tactics. The War Raiders won, but the DQ decision was certainly not how they drew it up in the locker room.

Other Tidbits

Superstar Sundays starts this Sunday on A&E at 8 ET with the tagline, Legends meet future greats (LFG). WWE has been showing snippets from the show, including The Undertaker, amongst others. Tonight, the clip they showed was heavyweight champion Gunther, keeping it real with some of the upstarts. It has ‘Tough Enough’ vibes, that’s for sure, but that is a good thing for anyone that watched that series—at least at that point in the ‘reality TV’ timeline. They also showed a clip of Punk on the show, but it was previously released footage.