4 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (Jan 24)

Ups…

4. Short But Packed Bout

Bianca Belair
WWE.com

Oftentimes when you talk about a match that is short but crammed with a lot of action, you think of either a lucha-style, high-flying affair, or a heavyweight clash full of power moves.

But Monday’s match between Bianca Belair and Queen Zelina was neither. It was a bout chock-full of Zelina countering Belair’s power moves and getting the upper hand several times. Bianca started off by showing off her strength, but when she went for a delayed vertical suplex, the Queen turned it into a stunner and took control.

Then Belair went for a press slam, but Zelina wriggled free and dropped into a sleeper. Finally, she blocked a handspring moonsault with her knees. In the end though, it was Bianca blocking a Code Red and nailing a KOD for the win.

WWE has actually done a credible job turning Zelina into a believable wrestler and not a glorified jobber, so losing an energetic and competitive little match like this doesn’t hurt her terribly, especially to someone like Bianca.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.