3 Things That WORKED And 2 Things That SUCKED

The go-home episode of WWE RAW before Crown Jewel was a mixed bag of good and bad booking.

The show kicked off with OTC Roman Reigns as he addressed the crowd and then moved on to Bronson Reed. The latter then came out to confront Reigns with an Australian Street Fight being scheduled between the men for the PLE. Reigns was joined by Jey and Jimmy Uso backstage and confronted Jimmy over his previous comments about not accepting advice from The OTC.

CM Punk was also present on the show, with tensions between Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman rising. Becky Lynch suffered a shock defeat while LA Knight tricked Punk, who was also attacked by The Usos.

Here are all the things that worked and sucked on WWE RAW.

#3. Worked: Roman Reigns Gaslighting Jey Uso On WWE RAW

It feels like the Tribal Chief era all over again, with Roman Reigns continuing to gaslight and manipulate both The Usos. This time, he’s doing it so that Jey can fully realize his potential, and like last time, Jimmy is not on board. Instead of being the Tribal Chief, it feels like Reigns is preparing Jey as The Tribal Chief while he quietly assumes the role of The Wiseman.

“I’m not like you. Jey is NOTHING like you.”

Jimmy Uso kept it real with Roman Reigns. 😲@WWEUsos@WWERomanReignspic.twitter.com/6YVc86R4oM

— WWE (@WWE) October 7, 2025

This is an interesting development and one that can eventually culminate in a singles match between Jey and Roman Reigns.

#2. Sucked: CM Punk Needs A Fresh Feud

CM Punk returned after weeks away from WWE RAW and addressed the crowd. He made his intentions clear about wanting a shot at the World Heavyweight Title, but was interrupted first by LA Knight, and then by The Usos.

.@RealLAKnight pulled a fast one on @CMPunk, and Punk can’t believe it! 😅 pic.twitter.com/TUTl3HOulW

— WWE (@WWE) October 7, 2025

While Punk winning the world title is something all of us want to see, it may not be the right time to push him into this scenario again. The star could have gotten a new feud on the show, such as against Rusev. This would have been fresher and more appropriate than simply having him fight against LA Knight and The Usos. This feels repetitive and simply uninteresting.

#2. Worked: Maxxine Dupri Winning Against Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch may be a dastardly heel on our screens, but she is one of the only veterans who is willing to give everybody and anybody a chance. The Man carried Dupri through a great match on the show and even gave the youngster the win, albeit via countout. She played the role of the heel perfectly, so much so that the crowd desperately wanted to get behind Dupri and make her a champion babyface.

This was Dupri’s first singles match win on WWE RAW in 800 days and one that she will remember for a long time, especially against someone like Becky Lynch.

#1. Sucked: The Tag Team Division Is Still Being Neglected

AJ Styles and Dragon Lee may be a new tag team on WWE RAW, but the division itself wasn’t to be seen anywhere on the show. There was no New Day, no War Raiders, and certainly no defense of the World Tag Title.

At this point, half of the WWE Universe has forgotten the tag titles exist on RAW, and instead of giving a fresh title match, we got a six-man tag match between The Judgment Day and Styles, Lee & Penta.

It was a great match, but it does nothing for the title and does not take us closer to a great tag team feud.

#1. Worked: Paul Heyman And Seth Rollins’ Tension Is Palpable

Things are not right within The Vision. Bronson Reed has been acting more or less on his own, Bron Breakker was nowhere to be seen on the show, and Seth Rollins outright ignored his wife, Becky Lynch.

But if there’s really a breakdown happening, it is between Paul Heyman and Seth Rollins. The Visionary asked Heyman what would happen if he lost to Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel, and The Oracle promptly replied that he would have to reconsider his decision of leaving Roman Reigns for The Vision.

It seems that the dynamics between both parties are haywire at the moment, and Heyman has not shied away from letting his displeasure be known about Rollins ignoring his instructions on SmackDown.

“If you lose…I have to ask myself why I picked you over Roman Reigns.”@HeymanHustle let @WWERollins know that EVERYTHING is on the line at Crown Jewel… 👀 pic.twitter.com/TjGTxnYrTC

— WWE (@WWE) October 7, 2025

This was arguably one of the most interesting segments on WWE RAW and is shaping up to be another classic.

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