4 Ups & 8 Downs From WWE Raw (13 Nov - Results & Review)

7. Knocked Loopy

In recent weeks, WWE has tried to establish that Xia Li’s strikes are lethal by having her knock opponents loopy, to the point where they can’t continue in a match.

The idea of giving Li a killshot is a smart one – it’s a great way to put the thought in fans’ heads that if she lands one of her kicks, she can put an opponent’s lights out – but it’s all in the execution whether it works.

Her boot to Candice LeRae a couple a weeks ago wasn’t tremendous, and the match ground to a halt. Last week’s spinning kick to Becky Lynch looked great, and The Man sold it like she was out cold. Then came Monday night against Indi Hartwell. After a few minutes of decent action, Xia planted a spinning heel kick on the side of Indi’s head, which proceeded to knock her loopy and led the referee to call off the match.

The kick itself looked fine, but it looked like every other spinning heel kick that fans see in half the matches each night. Hartwell’s selling – which looked more like she had drunkenly passed out – wasn’t all that convincing, as she might have been as KO’d as any other wrestler mid-match.

If WWE wanted to put Li’s kicks over as lethal, let her hit her finisher and knock a wrestler completely out. The melodramatic selling from Candice and Indi both looked amateurish and silly, and fans booed the finish out of the building. Not exactly the best way to build up Lynch’s next challenger.