4 Ups & 9 Downs From WWE Raw (2 Aug)
8. Hometown Flop
Wrestling in your hometown on a WWE show guarantees that something bad is going to happen to you. Last night, it was Mustafa Ali, who walked out to a super pop in Chicago, played his part well, then got flattened by T-Bar and Mace after the bell.
The action here was solid enough, with T-Bar dusting off some of the athleticism shelved during his RETRIBUTION run. Unfortunately, it was still too insubstantial to overcome the dire booking here. WWE have already 50/50'd the Mansoor and Ali vs. T-Bar and Mace storyline by turning last week's babyface win into a defeat for the good guys, with Mansoor eating the pin after Mace's distraction. Seven days and already this growing tandem is falling to one of WWE's worst tropes.
Mace and T-Bar's double sitout Chokeslam on Ali was a needless post-match addition, too. It won't put heat on the heels outwith Chicago, where Ali hails from, and stands as another example of WWE's complete unwillingness to take advantage of the easiest pop in the business. Hometown stuff should be a piece of cake.