This will be quick because the main event segment didn’t raise my eyebrows until the very end. But walk with me for a bit.
I didn’t like CM Punk’s “I know I’m old” routine. I understood the logic behind it but it’s never a good look for the champion to repeatedly remind the audience that they’re old. I mean, yeah he is, but there’s no need to keep repeating it. I get that Punk fashions himself the modern day Terry Funk but it’s just a weird note to on which to hang the first part of your main event segment. Thankfully, business picked up when Jey Uso came out.
As noted later in the recap, Jey lost his cool during the Usos tag match against what’s left of The Vision. Apparently knocking out your opponents with brass knuckles and getting DQ’d is grounds for putting your titles on the line against those same opponents in a street fight. They established early that Jey is on the warpath now because he grows tired of his family getting disrespected.
There’s something elemental about this that works for me. It’s a bit of a mess story wise since Jey first wanted a world title shot at Mania and now suddenly cares less about that because it’s not an option, nor does he really care about defending the tag titles—which he said—so now he cares about defending his family’s honor, but I at least understand that emotion. I also get why Jimmy Uso is trying to keep his younger brother focused. Punk knows Jey is a hothead and it’s easier getting to him than Roman Reigns, so he did that this week.
The segment came alive for me once they got physical. Specifically when Jey ordered Roman to get physical. That’s a new dynamic for them. Was it a one off thing? Is it the sign of something greater? I hope it’s the latter because there’s a lot of potential there. Although that doesn’t seem like the mystery seed the territory is sowing. Punk seemed way too pleased for a man who got his head bashed into a ring post twice and then Powerbombed into an announce table. What’s his game? He laughed maniacally (maniacal laugh) while clearly in pain. He keeps saying Roman needs help to defeat him but Roman looked like he did a pretty good job working solo. Maybe I’m missing something here. Either way, if the vagueness is intentional, I hope it’s worth the wait because I’m riveted by that portion of the plot.
A hot way to end the show even though the segment started a tad cold.
A very solid Raw. Not as satisfying as last week but not a steep drop either. We booked a Mania match, created some matches for next week’s Raw in New York City, and Oba is still a beast.
What say you, Cagesiders? What do you think CM Punk is up to?