3 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE Raw (31 Oct)

6. Nothing We Didn't Already Know

Roman Reigns The Miz
WWE

The Roman Reigns Vs. Logan Paul programme has been highlighted by precisely one good segment, and that it didn't take place on WWE television - rather a staged press conference - says rather a lot about WWE's approach to telling stories.

This angle was hardly the sort of thing that fires up the fanbase into begging for the weekend to come 'round quickly. The Miz offered his help to Roman; having introduced Logan Paul to WWE, he knows what the man is capable of more intimately than anyone. In a great individual performance, Roman grew progressively more agitated at the nonsense that is Paul's bionic hand. He wondered aloud why nobody was talking about his stopping power, which he demonstrated by unloading a Superman punch in Miz's face.

A neat enough way of working around Paul not being available, it was fine enough, but Reigns got over as the megastar he is by pumping himself up with an aggressive, confident to-camera spiel as he walked up the ramp. In that moment, he felt like the biggest wrestling act on earth - even if he was hardly appearing on the best wrestling show on earth.

But then, everybody knows how great Roman is already. This, to reiterate, was the go-home angle for the main event of a big stadium show. There's a level of expectation for this sort of thing, and WWE came nowhere near it.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!