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

3. Baron Corbin's Push Continues To Be Not Good

Baron Corbin R-Truth
WWE

There's a very good performer lurking within Baron Corbin. Fans have briefly glimpsed it over the years, through the shock value heel work at Stomping Grounds and, more consistently, his excellent grasp of detestable facial expressions. This push is not the vehicle that will drive his career forward.

JBL cut a baby's first heel promo on the shindies by droning on about "woke" "snowflakes" and yes, it was bad when Dan Lambert did it in AEW too!

Baron Corbin followed up with yet more punishingly generic material about how he sold the tickets to the house, and everybody came from the factories and the farms to see him. When they jeered - very mildly, which says it all - he reasoned that they were only doing so to impress their friends. This out-of-date drivel summoned R-Truth, whose retort wasn't even R-Truth funny (i.e. not remotely). His response was too wordy, didn't generate a reaction, and after initially getting one over on Corbin, JBL's distraction allowed him to hit the End of Days.

Another waste of time and resources on what was the defining theme of the evening.

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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!