5 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (10 Aug - Results & Review)
5. Just A Match
One would think that if you were booking a tournament to crown a challenger for Roman Reigns in a match designed to promote AAA ahead of its biggest show of the year, you would pull out all the stops and try to really wow fans.
But Penta versus Laredo Kid was just another match, a perfectly acceptable – and ultimately forgettable – contest with a series of moves we’ve seen week in and week out on WWE television. The action was brisk, and the match was well-worked, so it feels a bit unfair to criticize it.
However, the first match in a world title number one contender’s tournament should feel like it’s a lot more than just any other Raw match. Laredo nailed a 450 splash and went for a corkscrew moonsault, but everything else was something we see weekly on WWE TV.
Perhaps the wrestlers are keeping their powder dry until the semifinals and/or finals when they can really impress fans, but that’s not exactly a WWE hallmark these days. We will have to see if they step things up with the remaining three first-round matches.