4 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE Raw (Results & Review - 23 Oct)

1. Indi Doesn’t Impress

Indi Hartwell Becky Lynch
WWE.com

Sorry to anyone who are fans of Indi Hartwell, but after waiting for the former NXT Women’s Champion to finally get her shot on Raw, she delivered a mediocre match against Becky Lynch Monday night.

Hartwell of course was challenging for the title she never lost due to injury, while Lynch has been the living embodiment of the fighting champion, taking on all comers on both Raw and NXT each week. In fact, she’s facing Lyra Valkyria Tuesday night in a match that will likely put this bout to shame.

Since being called up earlier this year, Indi has languished on Raw, competing in just one other singles match, a three-minute squash by Rhea Ripley in August. Monday’s bout against Becky was plodding at times, as Hartwell seemed to be stumbling from one spot to the next. It’s not that she executes moves poorly, but she looks unnatural at times in the ring, allowing fans to see the strings as the match wears on.

It's always tough to criticize someone who takes bumps for a living, but at the same time, you have to call this what it was: a one-woman carry job by Lynch.

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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.