4 Ups & 9 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Aug 30)

5. Baszler Jobs Again

Shayna Baszler Rhea Ripley
WWE.com

At this point, why are we even surprised?

Shayna Baszler still has enough credibility left that if she started wrecking opponents, there’s a good chance fans would rally behind her as a bada**. And yet, she got to job to a rollup reversal to Rhea Ripley.

That’s not on its own a bad thing, but a match between Ripley and Baszler about a year-and-a-half ago was a main event program in NXT. It was a throwaway match with no buildup and no stakes – and no heat. Shayna sleepwalked through her offense, leading to the inevitable rollup that has been her kryptonite for the past several months.

Worse yet, her less-talented (but better connected) tag partner Nia Jax got to look strong taking everyone else out afterward, while Baszler sat on the apron dejected.

It’s worth noting that if you deflate everyone else in the division, there will be no one left to help heat up other stars. But hey, what do we know?

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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 fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.