4 Mistakes WWE made on the RAW before Saturday Night's Main Event
The latest episode of RAW had some great showings from the likes of Sheamus, Roxanne Perez, Becky Lynch, and Natalya. Kairi Sane returned from injury, but lost in her first match back on RAW.
Perez and Rhea Ripley qualified for Money in the Bank, although Ripley's match was changed on the fly after an unfortunate injury to Zoey Stark. Many prominent names are circling World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso. Seth Rollins, Gunther, and Logan Paul put The Yeet Master on notice.
Things are heating up on Judgment Day. Finn Balor tried to get his allies to consider adding Roxanne Perez to watch Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan's backs. Despite some entertaining moments, WWE made the following four mistakes on the RAW before Saturday Night's Main Event.
#4. WWE does its best ESPN impression
With the NBA playoffs entering the Conference Finals this week, Michael Cole and Pat McAfee interviewed Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers. Cole and McAfee are fans of both teams and made a bet over the series' outcome.
They replayed his segment with the Knicks' Jalen Brunson from last year before revealing he'll be a playable character in WWE 2K25. That's great for him, but the entire interview took nearly 10 minutes of screen time.
It could have been uploaded to social media instead, with the time given to someone cutting a promo in the ring or backstage. Where's Ludwig Kaiser and Karrion Kross? Lyra Valkyria could have cut a promo after attacking Becky Lynch.
#3. Penta eats another pin on RAW
By the way he's been booked over the last two months, you'd think Penta is just another member of the roster.
Despite entering WWE with huge fanfare and a great aura for the first half of 2025, officials have booked the Luchador to lose several matches. Usually, when a big name debuts or returns, it takes many matches before they eat a loss.
Penta lost his Fatal Four-Way at WrestleMania but was pinned by Dominik Mysterio on RAW after WrestleMania. Outside interference is an acceptable excuse once. El Grande Americano blindsided Penta, allowing Finn Balor to pin the Luchador.
#2. Making Sheamus and fans wait for 10 minutes after his entrance
Sheamus came out for his match with Grayson Waller, but he had to wait for nearly 10 minutes of promotional material before the bell even rang. Before the two stars locked horns, RAW aired a recap of Michael Cole vs. John Cena from a decade ago.
It then pivoted to a backstage segment with Adam Pearce giving Tozawa a match against Rusev next week. Chad Gable and Ivy Nile had to cross paths with Alpha Academy again before asking for their own Money in the Bank opportunities.
The New Day closed out the promo parade to talk about the Triple Threat tag match on next week's show. Couldn't Sheamus have come out after all of that? The technical pacing and blocking of segments should be planned differently for a better viewing experience.
#1. Logan Paul heavily telegraphs the finish of his match with Jey Uso
Logan Paul kicked off RAW to gloat about how he's left Jey Uso lying on his back three times. When a star does that to their rival even once before their heated showdown, it telegraphs the ending.
Bragging about doing it three times heavily telegraphs that The Maverick will lose at Saturday Night's Main Event. That was the likely outcome anyway since their feud hasn't lit the world on fire. Jey then superkicked Paul to end the opening segment.
Paul returned the favor for a fourth time to close RAW. With Gunther already receiving a shot at the winner at Money in the Bank, the match feels unnecessary in the scope of WWE's roster.
