12 Things You May Have Missed From Last Night's WWE Raw (Jun 4)

9. #NotMyHarden

Curt Hawkins James Harden
WWE.com

Raw was in Houston, Texas last night, and with Curt Hawkins going for his 200th consecutive loss, WWE tried to play to the local crowd by having him face a local talent named "James Harden."

This was, of course, a direct reference to the Houston Rockets shooting guard of the same name. A leading candidate for the NBA's 2018 MVP award, the real Harden is coming off a career-best season during which his team were only eliminated by the league's reigning champions (Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors) last week. It was clearly designed to get a pop, but it didn't work: Houston barely murmured as the jobber read his name.

In reality, WWE's Harden was a student at Booker T's wrestling academy who typically competes as Will Allday. Booker revealed this himself after the show, and Will seized his moment in the sun with a DQ victory, profiting from Baron Corbin's assault on the 200-loss Hawkins.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.