Main Event Jey Uso Shines, The Next Seth Rollins Challenger and More WWE Raw Takes

Monday Night Raw has become the Jey Uso show, and the WWE Universe has gladly accepted him. The September 18 edition opened with Cody Rhodes putting over Jey Uso and ended with Jey in the main event against Drew McIntyre.

While The Scottish Warrior walked away with the victory, the show continued to highlight Jey's potential as a main event act, especially working with The American Nightmare against The Judgment Day.

Ricochet challenged Shinsuke Nakamura and almost had The Artist. However, Nakamura goaded The One and Only into a disqualification. Ricochet has set himself up as a worthy challenger to Seth "Freakin" Rollins.

Bronson Reed and Chad Gable fought over the right to challenge Gunther next. While Mr. Nice Guy emerged victorious, Tommaso Ciampa made his own claim via promo package, setting up a crowded Intercontinental Championship scene.

Raw was chaotic this week, never settling enough on the key angles to stand out despite Becky Lynch, Kevin Owens and more on the show.

Jey Uso Is a Top Star Even Without The Bloodline

WWE's ability to create stars has often fallen under scrutiny over the years. However, the company has landed on gold recently with multiple rising acts. While LA Knight is stealing headlines, Jey Uso may be the hottest babyface in WWE.

Even on nights that Raw cannot live up to expectations, crowds still go wild for The Main Event. His work with The Bloodline was underrated for a while but has grown to be appreciated since he broke away from Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso.

It is wild to hear the reactions for Jey, who is competing at the highest level right now. Only his closest allies, Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn, are close to his popularity on Raw.

While he will eventually collide with his brother Jimmy and possibly challenge The Tribal Chief again, Jey seems better off on his own. He can stand as a top act, competing in singles main events against the best talent in WWE.

Ricochet Should Be the Next Challenger to Seth "Freakin" Rollins

While Seth "Freakin" Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura have unfinished business, The Artist has clearly stated that he will choose the time and place for his next match with The Messiah.

While it would be easy to book Rollins vs. Nakamura at the next big show, Ricochet is in the picture as well and could be a perfect stop-gap challenger.

He proved his value in his battle with Logan Paul at SummerSlam 2023. He can put on a great match with anyone, and he would push The Messiah to wrestle at his absolute best.

Fastlane 2023 is a secondary show on the road to Crown Jewel and Survivor Series, making it a perfect opportunity to highlight a rising star like The One and Only.

Ricochet will not defeat Rollins, especially with a bigger title match on the horizon. However, The One and Only can continue to raise his status while setting up a potential rematch when Paul returns to WWE.

50-50 Booking Holding Back Promising New Stars

Chad Gable has been one of the distinct highlights on Raw in recent weeks. His story with Gunther remains one of the best on the red brand, assuming WWE is not moving on from it.

Unfortunately, it could be over before the cathartic payoff. Gable lost on Raw to "Big" Bronson Reed, who had lost his past two matches to Tommaso Ciampa and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Mr. Nice Guy may be a talented big man, but he hardly has the credibility necessary to defeat one of Raw's top acts.

Meanwhile, The Blackheart continues to lay claim to his own Intercontinental Championship match against Gunther. He is declaring his shot after winning just his last two matches against Reed and Imperium.

None of these men will look credible if they simply trade wins with one another. The goal should be to build stars with serious credibility, especially given the dominant champion.

50-50 booking serves no one but lazy bookers, who cannot decide which star is next to truly step up. Gable especially deserves a better focus, but Reed and Ciampa could shine as well as long as they pick up wins against other talent.

WWE Raw Feels Like It's in Offseason Mode Amid MNF Return

It was not long ago that Raw was WWE's hottest show, but the brand is slipping in recent weeks. Matches lack stakes, and storytelling particularly involving The Judgment Day has looped for weeks on end.

Cody Rhodes should feel like a fresh challenger to the dominant stable, but he has grown already too familiar, particularly when squashing "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio.

Jey Uso is doing his best to add a fresh element to the story, but he is mostly an extension of the feud of Rhodes, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens against Finn Bálor, Damian Priest and Dirty Dom.

Other than the consistent use of Nia Jax in the past two weeks, the women's division has struggled to get off the ground, and Jax is not the most exciting challenger for Rhea Ripley or Chelsea Green and Piper Niven.

Gunther's best challenger is falling into the background. Seth "Freakin" Rollins, the fighting world champion, has not wrestled on six straight episodes of Raw.

The wrestling cards have been lackluster for Raw recently, and next week does not look to improve on that. Perhaps WWE is just taking it easy while the NFL steals the spotlight, but that is hardly a consolation to the WWE Universe waiting for exciting moments.