A Heel Turn That Overshadowed Wrestlepalooza, Seth Rollins Must Win, More Raw Fallout

From the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, the September 22 edition of Raw on Netflix delivered memorable spectacle coming out of Wrestlepalooza.

In particular, few will forget Asuka's night as she and Kairi Sane officially turned their backs on Iyo Sky, attacking her and Rhea Ripley, after Mami stole the win from The Empress of Tomorrow with a small package.

Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins opened the show to discuss their upcoming battle for the men's Crown Jewel Championship, both promising victory.

Jey Uso took some surprise aid from Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed to defeat LA Knight, leading to further tension between him and his brother Jimmy Uso.

Bayley made her return to the ring with a clean win over Roxanne Perez, showing she has not completely lost her mind in her time away, even while further confusing Lyra Valkyria.

Penta picked up the opener win with The Viking Raiders over The New Day and Grayson Waller, hoping to put this rivalry to rest.

This was an important show for Raw that moved WWE right along from Wrestlepalooza to Crown Jewel build-up.

Asuka's Heel Turn Outshines All of Wrestlepalooza

In the build-up to Wrestlepalooza, WWE promises surprises and moments throughout the night.

Beyond an ill-advised Brock Lesnar squash, the only real moment of the night was Stephanie Vaquer's Women's World Championship victory in the match of the show.

The night did not deliver any surprises and hardly assuaged serious concerns that WWE is waiting out the year before delivering any further big moments.

Raw though delivered a massive surprise, going all in on Asuka as the top heel in the women's division. She viciously attacked two of the top babyfaces in the business including her former best friend Iyo Sky.

Especially with how slowly WWE has delivered turns in the Triple H era, this was a breath of fresh air. She began fully teasing a turn to the dark side just over the past month.

Following Naomi's pregnancy announcement, Raw's women's division severely lacked for top heels.

Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez were the most credible but remain more focused on the women's tag division.

Asuka alongside a conflicted Kairi Sane instantly become the biggest threats to the Raw women's division, setting up for huge matches with Sky, Ripley and eventually Stephanie Vaquer.

This turn could also set the stage for the women's WarGames match at Survivor Series, building necessary momentum for a division in need of a focus.

This one story move is the biggest surprise WWE will likely pull off for the rest of the year, even though the company should be swinging for bigger moments with much more frequency on TV and especially PLEs.

Seth Rollins Must Finally Defeat Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel

The first time Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes fought in a WWE ring was December 7, 2010, a dark match for that night's SmackDown. It was the first time Rhodes defeated Rollins.

While they would continue to fight mostly in dark matches and house show in the coming years, the result remained the same: Rhodes always won.

They would not have their first singles match on air until WrestleMania 38. On Night 1, The American Nightmare returned to defeat The Visionary.

He would go on to defeat him two more times in their rivalry, including a victory inside Hell in a Cell with a torn pectoral. They would also fight many more times at house shows and in dark matches. Rollins always lost.

As they prepare for their fourth singles PLE match, Rhodes stands with a 3-0 record, excluding all of their non-televised bouts. It is time for a change.

The Visionary has committed to the biggest angle of his career, hoping to stand as the top heel in WWE for years to come.

The Crown Jewel Championship does not matter beyond the Crown Jewel PLE, but it could serve as a major opportunity for bragging rights.

Rollins can use the spotlight to sell himself as WWE's one true world champion and give Rhodes something to prove if they ever fight again.

Moreover, The Visionary would finally show that The American Nightmare does not have his number.

Penta Deserves a Bigger Spotlight

Only a few wrestlers in 2025 can claim the title of WWE's TV match MVP, but one would certainly be Penta.

Especially in the last few months, no one has been able to match the sheer volume of quality in-ring contests from El Cero Miedo.

He has done so with a variety of underused stars including Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Rusev and Dragon Lee while also elevating the Intercontinental champion "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio.

His consistency in the ring and quality character work should give him a stronger place on the Raw roster.

Feuding with New Day without a tag team partner to help him is nothing but a distraction that will not get him back on a PLE.

He should be a rival to names like Gunther, AJ Styles, even Seth Rollins at the right moment.

Fans have fallen in love with the luchador's unique style and will pay to see him fight the top names in WWE. It is time to give him more of those chances, especially come the next WrestleMania season.

WWE is Dropping the Ball with Roxanne Perez

As the Raw commentary team noted this week, Roxanne Perez and LA Knight have the most televised matches in WWE in 2025.

In a short amount of time, The Prodigy has established herself as a workhorse that is ready to work every single week.

She is the freshest and most interesting heel in the Raw women's division, and WWE could have easily utilized her already in the main event scene.

On the August 11 edition of Raw, when Naomi had to pull out of a scheduled match with Iyo Sky ahead of her pregnancy announcement, Roxanne Perez stepped in and delivered an impressive match on short notice.

She showed that she could hang with the best in the business today and win in believable fashion over a former world champion.

Since that time, Perez cannot buy a win, even losing to Lola Vice and Mr. Iguana at Worlds Collide while teaming with Finn Bálor.

There is no reason The Prodigy should be losing this often without direction. It feels like she is simply spinning her wheels until Liv Morgan returns.

It should not feel that way with a star as talented as Perez, who should be a front-runner to challenge Stephanie Vaquer for the Women's World Championship.

The answer should be to turn her win-loss record around as quickly as possible so that she is ready to step up to La Primera post-Crown Jewel.

Too Soon to Split Up The Usos Again

The return of Jimmy Uso to Jey Uso's side should have been a major turning point for both men.

The Usos are one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history and can elevate each other, even while remaining singles stars.

However, every week since Jimmy headed to Raw, Jey has distanced himself more from Jimmy, teasing a more heel mindset.

If the teases continue to grow, Jey will likely soon split with his brother, possibly even turning on him.

That should be a massive shame as The Usos still remain better together no matter what. It would also serve as a waste of Main Event's popularity.

Jimmy has struggled in the past without Jey and will do so again if this split happens.

It is also simply too soon as The Usos together is a fresh angle at this time that can work with anyone on the Raw roster.

Why ruin a good thing, especially when it just started?