4 Ups & 8 Downs From WWE Raw (Aug 23)

3. Nikki & Ripley Show Surprising Cohesion

Rhea Ripley
WWE.com

There's something to be said about WWE's increasing overreliance on odd couple tag teams. Randy Orton and Riddle have the Raw tag belts, while Mustafa Ali and Mansoor are working on the red brand's undercard, which has just shed Eva Marie and Doudrop. Zoey Stark and Io Shirai are the reigning NXT Women's Tag Team Champions. Now, we have Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. to add to that bundle.

But A.S.H. and Ripley at least work well together (as do the others, Stark and Shirai's vaguely racist interactions aside). They immediately had a surprising level of cohesion in the ring with Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, working a fun bout with flashy exchanges, good crowd investment, and enough story development to keep each wrestler moving forward.

Jax summoned Rikishi late on, literally Stink-Facing Nikki in the corner and later attempting a Banzai Drop. A.S.H. escaped, scoring the hot tag to a good pop, before a miscue between Jax and Baszler led to their demise. Their problems continue while Rhea and Nikki move on, potentially as a surprisingly functional tandem.

Advertisement
Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.