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

1. The Continued Geekening Of Johnny Gargano

Johnny Gargano
WWE

Suddenly, an appearance on Dynamite followed by six weeks of Dark squashes doesn't seem so bad, because WWE has handled Johnny Gargano dismally. He probably fantasises, idly, of being interrupted by Smart Mark Sterling or getting recruited by Ari Daivari. Anything is better than this.

The mystery surrounding the Miz/Dexter Lumis connection was finally revealed: in a "tell-all" interview, complete with unfunny crime doc reenactments as part of a '60 Minutes' parody, Gargano theorised (with incriminating audio evidence) that Miz paid off Dexter, struggling for money, in a bid for attention and publicity. Internationally famous wrestler and star of his own reality show, the Miz.

A preposterous plot development, and worse, it has taken months to arrive at it.

And for what?

Any Miz Vs. Lumis match is guaranteed to be almost physically painfully dull, and Gargano playing the comedic lead in WWE's version of Psych or whatever is such a waste. Gargano possesses a dorky charm and good comedic timing, but he's not so good that it justifies this atrocious material. Gargano as NXT funnyman worked because his epic match formula had descended into parody. He needed a character refresh. He needs a character reboot at this point.

This prankster prop comic with the scoop bit is horrendous.

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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!