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

4. Segment Simply Exists Because Raw Is Three Hours Long

Karl Anderson Damian Priest
WWE

In a meaningless segment of television - almost literally so - Karl Anderson defeated Damian Priest in another solid, unremarkable match. There was nothing overtly wrong with it - they worked mechanically fine sequences in the correct order - but it was drab. There was no emotion, spectacle, excitement or creativity to it. It was a solid, uninspiring match.

It was also a match booked as if it didn't matter. Anderson scored the win with a backslide pin, and the segment descended into a stable brawl the very second the referee's hand struck three. It wasn't even sold as a fluke because it wasn't sold at all; it was just pretext to shoot the go-home angle for Crown Jewel, which was decent enough. The very notion that Dominik Mysterio even approaches Eddie Guerrero's legend is a good meta heel bit. When he eats sh*t, it gets the biggest pop on most shows, and he had the final say here.

It was clever enough to save that pop for the PLE, but this was just a narrative obligation masquerading as a heat angle.

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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!