4 Ups & 4 Downs For WWE Raw (27 Oct - Results & Review)

2. When Roxanne Can’t Get A Good Match From You…

This bears repeating at the outset of this criticism: Nikki Bella deserves credit for returning to the ring and grinding on Raw rather than being a “special guest star.” As a Hall of Famer, she could have insisted on being treated as more of a special attraction than a rank-and-file member of the roster.

But Bella clearly is still a step or two behind the other women on the roster, and that was evidenced by her match Monday night against Roxanne Perez, who has had good matches with nearly every woman she has faced since her call-up.

Their match had a few nice moments, but Perez seemingly was wrestling at 60% speed as Nikki mildly flubbed several spots. On at least two or three occasions, the transitions between moves came to a brief – but screeching – halt while they adjusted (Roxanne spinning into the Russian legsweep, the trip to get Nikki into position for the attempted 619, and the Pop Rox finish).

Nikki would be much better served being in a tag team to challenge for the tag titles rather than having to be a focal point of an entire match. Bella was last a full-time wrestler more than eight years ago, and even then, she was not known for being a ring general. Roxanne was probably the best person to pull something rising above “passable” out of Nikki, but this was not it.

None of this is to call Nikki Bella’s return a disaster by any means, but WWE should recognize this reality and book her more smartly: shorter matches, tags, and multi-woman contests. Hide her shortcomings and let her status as a WWE Hall of Famer carry more weight instead of watching her flail against rising stars.