WWE Raw: Jan. 25 Hit/Miss – Let’s discuss that last hour

The Jan. 25 episode of WWE Raw was actually fairly adequate if you adjust your expectations. However, that last hour epitomized a lot of what’s good and bad with WWE.

The last hour was both a Hit/Miss for the Jan. 25 WWE Raw, and the one consistent thing about WWE is that there’s generally a lack of consistency.

To recap, the final hour included the “Alexa’s Playground” segment, Riddle vs. The Hurt Business gauntlet match, Edge’s announcement of entering the Rumble match, and Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women’s Championship.

Let’s first look at the Hit, which is generally where WWE is more lackluster. I’ll end by looking at the Miss, which is basically a microcosm of WWE being too smart for themselves.

HIT: An attention to detail in the macro sense

Each segment of the last hour had one consistent (good) strain: a nod to long-term storytelling (and yes, even two or three weeks constitutes long-term in WWE).

This Bliss/The Fiend/Randy Orton saga has been a months-long story. It’s felt both tired and fresh: tired because of who’s involved, but fresh because of the rotation in focus among the characters; tired because The Fiend is present while absent, but fresh because Bliss’ unique take on reminding viewers The Fiend is omnipresent.

RIddle’s had issues with The Hurt Business for months going back to his failed pitches to M.V.P. regarding his ridiculously dumb product ideas. He went from losing matches to The Hurt Business to gaining the upper hand and now with a shot at the United States Championship. With the ongoing angle of Cedric Alexander being too arrogant for his own good (and to the detriment of the stable), Riddle winning how he won makes sense.

Edge’s announcement harkened to the past year from his return from a triceps injury, even thanking fans who’ve been with him since his days in The Brood. His stated desire to win the Rumble match hit that macro, long-term spot as he wants to win back what an injury-induced retirement forced him to relinquish: the world title.

Say what you want about the main event, but there were a LOT of long-term hints in the match. Bliss at different points transformed into her “Goddess” character, complete with requisite gear, then to the impervious, gothic-looking, all-black wearing Bliss that appeared last week to defeat Asuka. She no-sold all of Asuka’s offense (whose offense, by the way, has never been described as anything other than vicious), much like last week, and looked poised to win the Women’s Championship (which I argued last week was the only call left).

Even Orton’s interference is part of the longer (and larger) story between Orton, Bliss, and The Fiend. It makes sense that Orton, whose face is reddened from burns suffered at the hand (literally) of Bliss, would seek some type of vengeance. He’s also given women wrestlers RKOs before and his character is a sadistic man, so it tracks that he would hit Bliss with an RKO and prevent her from winning.

However…

MISS: The micro was lost in the macro

Bliss is virtually invincible to Asuka, yet one RKO from Orton knocks her unconscious? Ah, right, of course a woman, especially the size of Bliss, can’t stand up to an attack from a man the size of Orton! (I hope you can tell I’m being facetious.)

Asuka’s reactions and demeanor last week and this week are maddening. She’s never been portrayed as fearful or scared of anything; why would she suddenly be scared of Bliss, whom Asuka has defeated before?

This isn’t Kana, but even Asuka was billed as a legit fighter that instilled fear in others…until last week. That was further exacerbated by her reaction to Bliss suddenly sitting on a rocking horse in the ring and changing into “Goddess” Bliss in the corner. Far from being legit, Asuka looked both unintelligent and irrationally scared.

Maybe that’s the point, for her to be irrationally scared? It just doesn’t seem to be coming off that way.

Moving to The Hurt Business, while they’ve been working the angle of breaking up The Hurt Business through Alexander, it is far too early for this to happen. WWE’s only move with stables and tag teams is to implode them unless there’s a draft of injury and it’s not just tiring, but will do more harm than good in the long run. Just let them be and dominate.

While they gave Riddle a reason to defeat M.V.P. with his earlier attack using the Final Flash during “The V.I.P. Lounge,” he didn’t even attack the jaw/head as he tapped M.V.P. with a heel hook about ten seconds into their match (the second of the gauntlet). What was the point of the earlier attack if it wasn’t even going to play a part in the match?

It would have made more sense if Riddle hit that on Shelton Benjamin or Alexander as he defeated them by pinfall. At least John Morrison sold his jaw injury from being hit a Claymore earlier in the night during his match with Sheamus.

The most curious thing about this Hit/Miss is that usually, WWE is criticized for the opposite: their lack of detail for the macro and sole attention on the micro. Now they’ve gone completely the other way to have good context on the overarching stories, but lacking in details on the week-to-week stories.

The good news is that coming out of Royal Rumble, WWE tends to have a good idea of their booking paths for both the long and short-terms. It might be complicated this year not only due to COVID and trying to reintegrate live fans, but also because there are two pay-per-views scheduled between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. In any case, hopefully, WWE can find that middle ground and have more consistency and coherence starting next week.