10 Ups And 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (July 25)

by Scott Carlson

1. A Tremendous Debut

255_RAW_07252016ej_1670 35e3d6f5fc813a84532f26d60f78a99c

When was the last time a wrestler received such a significant, momentous debut in WWE? Even the Shield didn’t make this kind of impact in their first night on the main roster.

Finn Balor finally debuted on Raw Monday night, and he made his first appearance count. The former NXT Champion was immediately thrust into one of two fatal four-way matches to crown a new #1 contender for the newly created WWE Universal Championship. Balor won his fourway in the opening match, then faced Roman Reigns in the main event, with the winner going on to SummerSlam to challenge Seth Rollins for the new title.

Balor overcame the bigger, more powerful Reigns, countering a spear with a Slingblade, and finishing with a Coup de Grace for the win. In both matches, Finn got to showcase his skills, with both wins being earned, not looking like he lucked into either victory.

It’s unclear if WWE is ready to fully pull the trigger at SummerSlam and make him a world champion right out of the gate, but the company certainly got Balor’s WWE career off to an incredible and memorable start.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.