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Priest – Uso – HIT: Raw got off to a good start with an opening segment featuring Jey Uso and Damian Priest, but it wasn't great. It was just right, so it was a near hit. Jey Uso was fun and got a great reaction when he first appeared, but he had to bait a few Yate chants during the break. Once he got them going, they were strong (generally this crowd wasn't the hottest crowd). Damian Priest provided solid interference. They kept a good line with each other. I also like the overall respect they showed each other while taking those shots. Priest performed well, but was not strong enough to be world champion. While this definitely feels inferior in terms of a World Championship PLE match, it was still a good segment to build anticipation.
Surprising Truths vs. DIY – Mistakes: This match never clicked. It felt like two young, very talented workers trying to take two older, decent workers to a good match. Everything I did DIY worked. Everything “Awesome Truth” did seemed okay at best. I don't care about Awesome Truth and I'm not a fan of them becoming champions. No one seems interested in DIY. I was shocked when R-Truth first mistook DIY for DX. I don't like how DIY tries to take advantage of it with trunks or try to do some of the DX moves like Tommaso Ciampa doing Pedigree. Afterwards, I appreciated Ciampa's sharpness in refusing to shake Johnny Gargano's hand. Where does it lead?
New Day – Miss: This is the worst, most disgusting thing The New Day has ever encountered, and that's saying something. I wanted them to shut up. The great thing about the feud with the Imperium was that it brought out a serious side. They were funny, but not in the typical New Day silly way. So it was a shame to see them revert to their annoying selves. I don't understand why people respond positively to them. I hated when they made fun of Gunther for not having a title. When was the last time he won the title? He liked Gunther's promo for his appearance on New Day. WWE has been trying hard to portray the King of the Ring's victory as important, and it was smart for Gunther to enter the tournament first. But New Day ruined this segment. The match against Imperium was great. I liked their feud, but they fought enough that I didn't need to watch them wrestle again. I am intrigued by the subsequent destruction of Giovani Vinci by Ludwig Kaiser. A split draft would be a good way to get him out of Gunter's shadow and into his own. That attack after the match deserved a hit, but the New Day made me feel bad.
McIntyre – Sheamus – HIT: Drew McIntyre continues to play his role perfectly. He did a great job at the start of this segment before Sheamus came out and told him to get over it. Given their long history, it makes perfect sense for them to interact like this now that Sheamus is back. Their interaction went well. It wasn't entirely clear where McIntyre stood with Sheamus until the end, which I appreciated. This was a good tease for the next match with everyone wanting to see what McIntyre would do during the match between Sheamus and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Sheamus vs. Nakamura – HIT: As for that match, it was a good match. I especially liked how McIntyre took a slow step towards the ring at one point and had no involvement in the match other than that slightly distracting Nakamura. He didn't play until the end of the game, which was good. Nakamura and Sheamus worked well together and had a good match even in a vacuum. The match got even better considering the story they're starting to tell with McIntyre and the fact that he didn't really factor into the match itself.
Sami – Reid – HIT: I want to see a feud between Sami Zayn and Bronson Reed for the Intercontinental Championship. That would move Sami to something new, but it's clear he still has unfinished business with Chad Gable. Reed also needs to pick up a few strong wins in the ring before he can capture the IC title. So, I don't want to see their faces yet, but this served as a good tease for that matchup. And the verbal encounter and subsequent physical encounter all went well.
Gable – Hit: This was a good heel promo for Gable following this turn last week after losing to Zayn in Raw's IC title main event. He was good at explaining what pushed him over the edge as he tried to be a good person after a defeat. It was a powerful sight to see him thrashing the members of Alpha Academy who were in the ring with him. Fans clearly wanted Otis to be on their side and were disappointed when he wasn't. If done right, Otis will be in for a huge shock when he finally stops abusing Gable.
Ricochet & Andrade vs. McDonagh & Escobar – HIT: If I had to choose between Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar, I would definitely choose Escobar as my partner. Unfortunately, things still didn't go well for JD McDonough in a tag team match with Ricochet & Andrade. This was a good tag match, which is no surprise considering the talent of these four. The audience couldn't get excited about it, which was a shame. WWE hasn't done a good enough job bringing Andrade back. But a feud with Judgment Day might help. Damian Priest's post-match attack was fine in clearly putting him in a leadership role within the group, but it also turned him into an obvious heel, despite having more of a babyface look last week. I continued to keep it.
Women’s Battle Royal – HIT: I wasn't a fan of determining a new women's world champion in a battle royale. The fact that WWE hasn't crowned a new champion in a battle royal for 17 years makes the situation even better. Hopefully I'll have to wait another 17 hours to do it again. It was a good battle royale. Maxine Dupri eliminates both Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance perform some of their signature double team moves, Piper Niven and Nia Jax There were some fun moments sprinkled in, such as the characters facing off against each other. I'm glad they didn't eliminate anyone after Nia Jax was eliminated. I would hate it if that happened. The fight on the outside with her eventually got Becky Lynch through the announce table and worked well to stack the deck against Becky and build Jax as a potential challenger. I also liked how Chelsea Green returned to the ring after being eliminated. The referees were dealing with Lynch so they didn't see her hit the floor. This was another fun moment, and the fans seemed to be rooting for Green, considering the boos later when she was eliminated. The final few moments of the match, which came down to the final three, were very strong, with Lynch ultimately eliminating Liv Morgan for the win. Obviously, Morgan would also be a potential challenger.
Jon Mezzera is PWTorch.com's WWE Raw Hits & Misses Specialist, providing his perspective on Raw each week. Email jmezz_torch@yahoo.com.
We recommend: OVER & UNDERS – WWE RAW (4/22): Damian Priest almost main eventer, Johnny late, Kaiser’s eyebrows, Old Day, Drew cooling off, the weight of history, etc.
Or check this out on Prowrestling.NET: Powell's WWE Raw Hit List: Battle Royal for the Vacant Women's World Championship, R-Truth & The Miz vs. DIY for the World Tag Team Championship, The New Day vs. Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci