6 Ups & 8 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Aug 29)
Triple H kicks off KO-Mania!
Well, that was certainly interesting.
The closing to Monday Night Raw certainly is a conversation-starter among wrestling fans: Should they rejoice in the new champ, or should they be worried about how the extracurriculars arose and what they might mean long-term?
But as a shocking ending, Raw succeeded 100%. Fans got something they wanted (and didn’t get what they didn’t want, a Roman Reigns title run.) Of course, the devil is in the details, so we’ll have to wait until it’s time to see how things shake out next week and beyond. Still, we got a new champion, so that’s something.
And that really was the rack that WWE hung its hat on Monday night. Other matches did not really advance major angles. Sure, they moved the ball down the field, but no one broke loose in a major direction.
One thing not noted in this article: the Cesaro/Sheamus best of seven feud got a prize – a future championship opportunity. It’s tough to categorize this since we’ve complained about this problem, but it was handled in such an offhand way that it’s hard to say good, bad or indifferent.
With that said, what reached the summit and what got stuck in the valley? Let’s get to it…
Downs...
8. Details Matter
It’s hard to be critical when WWE is actually trying to pay attention to smaller details, but then it makes mistakes like this all the more unfortunate.
Last week, Sami Zayn injured (storyline) his right ankle on a blind springboard leapfrog, and that injury would cost him his match against Seth Rollins. Monday, Zayn had a bout against Jinder Mahal and clearly was limping to ringside, which the announcers played up. Sami then went for that same leapfrog and winced as he came down on the right ankle.
Michael Cole was quick to point out that Zayn is modifying his game plan because he hit that springboard leapfrog from the bottom rope, when he usually uses the middle rope – even though Sami always uses the bottom rope for that move. Seconds later, Mahal pulled Sami outside the ring, grabbing Zayn’s left ankle, and Cole quickly credited Jinder with going after the bad ankle – nevermind that it was the wrong ankle.
It’s nice that they were trying to carry over an injury and be consistent, but then you can’t screw stuff up directly related to the angle you’re selling. If you’re actually paying attention as a fan, you’re first reaction is to stop and ask yourself if what the announcer is saying is correct, which takes you out of the moment.