5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (24 Aug - Results & Review)

1. Royce Returns… With Backup

Conventional wisdom would have suggested that LA Knight and Solo Sikoa would need help at some point, and a returning Royce Keys would be the ideal person to bail them out as he seeks revenge for Jacob Fatu sidelining him.

WWE threw a huge curveball at everyone Monday night when Keys returned to attack the Bloodline… and Solo and Knight. And he wasn’t alone.

Keys joined forces with OTM, who made their main roster debuts in taking out the Usos, Knight, and Sikoa in aggressive fashion. Keys bashed people with steel steps and then forced Jey to watch as OTM put Jimmy through the announce desk to close the show. It was about as convincing a beatdown as you could have in this situation, with three men wiping out four wrestlers.

Here’s why this works: had Royce simply returned to provide backup for LA and Solo, he would’ve just been the third wheel in a group that is opposing the Bloodline, a predictable and mediocre move. The floor was decent because this is a main-event-level program, but the ceiling wasn’t terribly high.

Instead, Keys has struck out on his own with a couple heavies at his side, attacking everyone. It has a lower floor because it’s somewhat risky, but there’s a greater reward and higher ceiling because he’s the undeniable leader of this group. If it succeeds, he can ride that wave.

Additionally, it inserts a different dynamic into this Bloodline saga. Having two different factions going after them simultaneously is a different tact, and that could yield some new and interesting wrinkles to the story rather than just running back angles from three years ago.

For the first week, this was incredibly effective at establishing the trio as a force and putting the Bloodline and LA/Solo on their heels. What happens next week and going forward will determine whether this is a success.