3 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE Raw (31 Oct)
2. Seth Rollins As Top Babyface: Third Time Lucky?
If his match against Austin Theory was a backdoor pilot for a babyface turn, on this evidence, Seth Rollins could emerge as a credible Royal Rumble winner. Any plans for a fourth Cody Rhodes match may have to be scrapped.
The post-Hell In A Cell beat-down write-off makes that hard, since standards are higher for continuity without Vince McMahon, but Rollins has drawn tremendous responses for a while now, and here, fans were loving the encouragement to go all in as he played situational babyface. He played it terrifically well too. In one of a handful of blistering sequences in a really good match, Rollins narrowly evaded an Austin Theory strike, and after a springboard from the top rope kneed him in the face and rolled through in one seamless motion.
He performed as the wily veteran still in his athletic prime so well that, when Theory finally wrested the advantage, it scanned as all the more impressive. This was elegantly crafted, so much so that it was Theory's best week in a long while.
Atypical of a Raw match, this was hot throughout - more grounds to execute the turn, since fans are often happy to sit on their hands until the finish.
They want to get up for Rollins.