10 Ups And 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Jan 4)

Downs...

7. Killing A Potential Match

There was a time when Big Show versus Ryback was an intriguing feud. That time has largely passed, with Show evoking €œPlease retire€ chants and Ryback being mired in undercard feuds and belching into the mic. Still, the notion of a bruising battle between the two heavyweights could interest fans if done right. But when you throw them out there for a 90-second match that ends in a non-finish (the Wyatt Family materializes and beats both competitors up), you€™re cheapening the matchup and diminishing any potential fan interest. And when Ryback calls for his finisher 30 seconds in and Show actually hits one of his (chokeslam) a few seconds later, then you€™re really going through the motions. It was just a bad move all around. It would€™ve been better if both men were out there cutting promos on each other about the Rumble match and the Wyatts appeared. But alas, we got what we got.
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 fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.