3 Ups & 8 Downs From WWE Raw (27 Jul - Results & Review)
1. A Bloody Good Title Match
Even if she didn’t crack her nose and start bleeding all over the place, Raquel Rodriguez winning the Women’s Intercontinental Championship Monday night would merit positive marks here. The blood just added something extra to her accomplishment.
Rodriguez defeated Sol Ruca to capture her first singles title on the main roster. While the victory came after interference from her Judgment Day teammates, Raquel wrestled a pretty good match against Ruca, with Sol using her array of aerial attacks to try to stay one step ahead of La Ruda’s power game.
However, Raquel was too much for Ruca, repeatedly overpowering her. Once she was busted open after a Sol moonsault to the floor, Rodriguez became incensed, attacking while gritting her teeth and bleeding from the nose for quite the visual. Ruca mounted a late comeback with a flurry that included a Sliced Bread #2 and a vicious-looking running knee (and a botched cartwheel DDT), but Big Mami Cool capitalized on her stablemates’ interference to drill Sol with a Tejana Bomb for the win.
Honestly, this was probably the right call. Sol has potential, but she clearly isn’t ready for such a high-profile role. She has had significant botches in nearly every match, so much so that WWE built her mistakes into her character as a “risk-taker.”
Conversely, Rodriguez had lost several singles title matches and contender’s matches during the past year, and losing again would just further bury her and label Raquel as someone who can’t win the big one. Winning the IC title gives her some credibility and rewards her for the work she’s put in during the past year to carry herself like a legit threat.
Good move all around… and a little blood didn’t hurt one bit.