Ghosts From WWE's Bloodline Past and More Raw Fallout on Finn Bálor, Bayley, More
From the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, the March 9 edition of Raw on Netflix continued to deliver twists and turn building to WrestleMania 42.
CM Punk drew the ire of Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso for his disrespect of their family and got laid out by The Usos.
Finn Bálor faced the wrath of his own group as The Judgment Day sided with Dominik Mysterio and beat down the former original member.
Bayley last defeated Asuka to win a Gauntlet to earn a Women's Intercontinental Championship next week.
Rusev lost in three minutes to Oba Femi, solidifying the dominance of The Ruler.
The big moments and solid wrestling delivered a night that should be remembered for the rest of the road to WrestleMania.
Reverting Back to 2023 Bloodline Stories Won't Save WrestleMania
1 of 5With no Roman Reigns in attendance, CM Punk was the main event angle for Raw alone until The Usos arrived to address his disrespect of the late Sika.
Despite the real-world logic behind this angle, this segment did nothing for the current World tag team champions.
Jey and Jimmy came off as the same guys who defended Reigns three years ago despite knowing he was in the wrong.
None of this played off the stories that developed for The Usos since turning against Reigns. Jey was back to his hot head role despite supposedly growing past his anger years ago.
Jimmy was his brother's keeper again in this moment, joining Jey in his anger rather than pushing the angle himself.
The goal was to play off old Bloodline nostalgia, hoping fans might connect to a story that WWE mostly abandoned in 2025.
This pivot leaves The Usos without any strong angle for 'Mania, playing support characters for the real stars, instead of leading the Raw tag division.
Reigns vs. Punk was already 'Mania's only interesting angle. WWE needs more angles, not further attempts to make that one angle relevant.
Bayley Can't Miss WrestleMania Again
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Bayley showed once again why she has so much more value to WWE than her current usage on Raw.
Her work with Ivy Nile during the Gauntlet was especially illuminating as she made the heel look better than she ever has in their short exchange.
The Role Model also clicked once again with Asuka, delivering easily the best in-ring work of anyone on the night.
One year ago, Bayley missed WrestleMania 41 at the last minute, taken out and replaced with Becky Lynch.
This cannot happen again as The Role Model is too good in a talented women's division itching for opportunities.
Whether it is another opportunity for the Women's Intercontinental Championship (after likely losing next week) or the Women's Tag Team Championships, Bayley deserves a strong 'Mania spotlight unlike last year.
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan Needs More Juice
3 of 5The initial build to Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan showed real promise, but weeks have now passed with no attempts to build any heat.
The two are stuck in backstage and pre-tape segments where they cannot interact with the live crowd through mic work or wrestling.
It makes little sense unless WWE is intentionally cooling off this angle, which makes no sense when WrestleMania 42 is struggling to build excitement.
Instead, the build comes off as pure disinterest when this had a chance to be the biggest story in the women's division.
It could have even main evented Night 1 of 'Mania 42 with a consistent build. Instead, Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton has taken that place following The American Nightmare's WWE Championship victory last week.
At this point, La Primera's issues with Raquel Rodriguez feel more present than the feud with Liv while Finn Bálor's issues with Dominik Mysterio seem more pressing for the Royal Rumble winner.
Something needs to change quickly. Add Rodriguez to the match in some way. Build the intensity in the ring and add a strong stipulation like a Street Fight.
If nothing else, deliver a show-closing angle that focused on Liv and Vaquer instead of always focusing on CM Punk and Roman Reigns.
If nothing is done, this whole road to 'Mania will be a waste of what may be the most talented women's roster WWE has ever assembled.
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Finn Bálor Face Turn Arrives a Year Too Late
4 of 5Finn Bálor may still be able to deliver at a high level in the ring, but he is 44 years old. He is only 4 years younger both John Cena and AJ Styles, who recently retired.
Every year counts for The Prince, yet he has seemingly wasted most of the last two years of his career with a dead-end Judgment Day angle.
The one positive for Judgment Day has been the rise of Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan, and the time was right in 2025 for them to turn on Bálor.
Instead, The Prince has spent the last year consistently losing and struggling for relevant television time.
His recent feud with CM Punk came off as his final opportunity to be a world champion again.
At this stage, he is going to put over Dirty Dom on his way back down the card.
There is no reason for anyone to help him in his feud, so there is no obvious younger babyface candidate to gain any popularity by association.
WWE might still be able to give The Prince something in 2026, but by 2027, he has become irrelevant in a business passing him by after years of misuse.
Rusev Needs to Find His Humor Again
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Nothing about Rusev is working right now in WWE, and he is not even trying to sell that he is invested in his role on Raw lately.
The Lion of Bulgaria is the least important man on the red brand, and there is no real competition.
After this quick loss to Oba Femi, he may not be seen on TV for months again.
Clearly, the monster heel gimmick is not working, especially after The Ruler made him look small on Raw.
This is the time to reshuffle his gimmick and tap into The Lion of Bulgaria's natural charisma again.
His most popular era in WWE was "Rusev Day", and it would not be difficult to recreate that gimmick, especially if he can find a solid tag team partner on the roster.
If he wants to do something new by WWE standards, The Lion of Bulgaria had fun at times in All Elite Wrestling by heavily leaning into "The Redeemer" gimmick by threatening God himself.
While he could never wrestle God, wrestler may worry about fighting a man genuinely ready to throw hands with his own diety.
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