4 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE Raw (5 January - Results & Review)

3. AJ Steps To Gunther

WWE Raw AJ Styles Gunther
WWE

Gunther has been milking his huge victory over John Cena for a few weeks now, and it finally came time for someone (other than R-Truth) to step up and present a serious challenge to the Ring General.

AJ Styles has been positioned as a foil for Gunther in recent weeks, but he took it a step further Monday night, confronting Gunther during an in-ring promo. Gunther masterfully built the tension by cutting Styles off repeatedly, laughing at him, and talking down to AJ. But like all heels, he went one step too far and got slapped for his troubles.

And what did this Austrian bully do when physically confronted? Nothing, of course. Because even though Gunther can back up his words in the ring, he’s just a bully at heart, and bullies always back down when their bluff is called.

Next week, however, Styles will get the Ring General in a match, and that has the potential to go sideways for him. Still, it’s good to see AJ’s last year in WWE start with him in a feud with a top heel.

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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.