6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (Results & Review - 9 Oct)
No rest for new tag champs, Nox's big night, chaos in women's division, 'Viking rules' rules.
The first Raw after a PLE can go one of a few ways: WWE can reflect back on the weekend supershow, they can build off of it, they can linger without clear direction, or they can turn the page and move on to next month’s PLE.
WWE clearly moved forward Monday night, not just toward Crown Jewel, but even more strongly toward next week’s “season premiere” episode of Raw, making Monday’s show more of a table-setting program than anything else, despite having two title matches throughout the night.
There is a pretty strong effort in recent weeks to build storylines for multiple wrestlers, giving many more superstars something to do or a motivation on the program. It’s a far cry from years past where only a select few would factor into plans, while others would just randomly show up. Some of these stories are clicking, while others missed the mark. But better to swing and miss than to not take a swing at all.
For example, Tegan Nox’s big moment finally came Monday night, and it underwhelmed. But while that was a disappointment, it shouldn’t discourage WWE from trying again with her and with other wrestlers.
On the flip side, the new Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions will have interesting days ahead, particularly Cody Rhodes as he navigates how these titles impact his ultimate quest to win the title. Drew McIntyre’s entire story arc is absolutely fascinating, and the Ivar/New Day saga continues to defy the odds and succeeded yet again Monday night.
Let’s get to it…