4 Ups & 9 Downs From WWE Raw (July 19)

1. Vince’s Vision

Goldberg Bobby Lashley
WWE

After a super-hot Money in the Bank PPV seemed to right all the wrongs (for at least one night) in WWE, the company went and put on a turkey of a show that put on full display the failings of this brand.

Keith Lee returned after five months away and jobbed in less than 6 minutes. Karrion Kross, the reigning NXT Champion, lost his Raw debut in less than 2 minutes. Lilly the spooky doll returned. Cartoon character Nikki A.S.H. won the Raw Women’s Championship. Reginald won the 24/7 Championship. 54-year-old Goldberg, who has won one match in the past two years, returned to challenge Bobby Lashley for the WWE Championship. Elias/Jaxson Ryker’s garbage brawl was the longest match on the card.

This all happened during a three-hour span.

You have to start thinking that Vince McMahon has some sick rivalry in his head with Triple H, where he feels like he has to tear down everything Hunter has built up in NXT. And then on top of that, he’s hellbent on putting what he wants on TV, even if he’s the only person who wants to see it.

This whole thing is just a godawful mess. Raw is a mess. Raw needs a full lobotomy ASAP.

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Contributor
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.