Time for a Major Alexa Bliss Push, Mustafa Ali’s Problem, More WWE Raw Takes

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Credit: WWE.com

WWE Raw was loaded with big matches for its May 9 edition, but Monday’s edition let down the card and surprise moments with some lackluster booking.

Bianca Belair vs. Asuka barely got going before Becky Lynch broke it up. Cody Rhodes competed for the United States Championship, but Seth Rollins got involved to stop him from beating Theory.

Edge made sure Finn Balor could not get a victory over The Judgment Day. The Miz refused to allow Mustafa Ali a fair fight against Ciampa in their first one-on-one battle.

Sonya Deville was stripped of her authority status in WWE and then beaten by the returning Alexa Bliss, yet it all amounted to a sub-minute squash.

All of this is to say that WWE has great foundations, but booking like this will help no one. This was just one takeaway from a show that had quite a few ups and downs throughout the night.

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Alexa Bliss is finally back. A former five-time women’s champion, she is a proven star and one of the biggest acts in the women’s division, yet WWE struggles with her booking.

Her tag team with Nikki Cross fell apart for the sake of a story with Bray Wyatt that then blew up. This was just the second match she has had in seven months, even though she wasn’t injured during that time.

While the Raw women’s division is building serious momentum around Bianca Belair, Asuka, Becky Lynch and others, there is no excuse to not use The Goddess. She is the final piece in making this the best women’s division in wrestling.

She can help elevate wrestlers such as Liv Morgan or Queen Zelina, and she can work big programs with Belair, Lynch and more.

There is no excuse anymore to waste talent at the level of Bliss for months.

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Credit: WWE.com

Sonya Deville has been a WWE authority figure for over a year, waiting for her chance to get back into the ring. She was wrestling at a top level before her hiatus in 2020, but fans have not seen that side of her recently.

The 28-year-old has played her role well to date, but she has lost credibility as a competitor. As good as Alexa Bliss is, she should not be squashing Deville in seconds as she did on Monday’s Raw.

A downward spiral can be the perfect angle to highlight The Pride Fighter’s ability to tell a story, and it can also force her to make a change. She needs to remind everyone she has a mixed martial arts background and is a great in-ring worker.

While she worked Raw this week, it might make more sense for her to rebuild on SmackDown. She could team up with Natalya and Shayna Baszler or build momentum as a singles competitor to maybe face Ronda Rousey in time.

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Raw does not have a lot of good ongoing stories, so Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins has been an easy highlight to select. And after two of the best matches of the year, the two men are still going strong.

The American Nightmare hoped to capture his first title since returning to WWE in a great match with Theory. As he had the champion on the ropes, Rollins got involved to cost him the gold.

It makes sense. Rhodes hoped to move onto capturing the WWE Championship, but The Visionary cannot get over his two pay-per-view losses to him. He needs to lose definitively to finally give up.

The story is clear and makes for great television, and the heat is building with each conflict. The two will likely step into Hell in a Cell on June 5 to end this contest, but it will be a shame to see their rivalry end.

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It is nice to see Mustafa Ali back in the ring again, but there is a problem: WWE is trying to tell too many stories with him, perhaps making up for lost time.

The 36-year-old is after Theory and the United States Championship, but The Miz is getting in his way by stacking the odds against him. Meanwhile, he has Ciampa attacking him from behind every week.

His first match with The Blackheart should have felt special, but instead The A-Lister was involved as a crooked referee focused on guaranteeing victory for Ciampa. It took away from the action.

Theory is supposed to be ducking Ali, but he is apparently willing to wrestle Cody Rhodes with his title on the line. These angles are blending together without a clear path to tell a single interesting story.

Ali will be great with Ciampa when all the distraction are gone, and he can also help deliver the best match of Theory’s title reign so far. He and Miz could also have a great bout together as long as no one else feels the need to get involved.

WWE is trying too hard to set up Ali as the underdog on Raw by having him face an army of heels, though he is struggling to beat any of them because they continue to help each other.