10 Things We Learned From WWE Raw (May 22)

3. Ruby Tuesday

Akira Tozawa
WWE

A grand night for the Cruiserweight division, as two stories played out on Raw as a way to further interest on 205 Live.

The flailing Tuesday project has been an unmitigated disaster for the most part, with the show unfortunately falling into the 'island of the misfit toys' role in WWE's television output previously filled by NXT Redemption and ECW on SyFy.

Like those shows, amongst the mediocrity, there are flashes of brilliance. Akira Tozawa and Brian Kendrick's lengthy programme has not been one, but by sheer force of will it appears to be getting Tozawa over.

His Raw encounter with Ariya Daivari saw him at long last generate some reaction from the Raw crowds, especially as he chanted with fans after his brisk victory. Following what will presumably be a conclusive victory over Kendrick, the company may be best served to go all the way with the 'Stamina Monster' and position him against the division's top heel Neville.

Speaking of the 'King of the Cruiserweights', he was in fine form as usual as he prepares for his third consecutive pay-per-view clash with Austin Aries at Extreme Rules.

Committing a cowardly assault Tony Nese after 'The Greatest Man that Ever Lived' had already defeated him with the Last Chancery, Neville was perfect as the insecure champion heading into their Extreme Rules clash.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say. With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.