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

4. The Perfect Foil To Turn Heel

Drew McIntyre Sami Zayn
WWE

Drew McIntyre’s slow-burn heel turn has been one of the better things on Raw the past couple months, but he needed something to finally, fully turn the corner, and that came Monday night in the form of Sami Zayn.

In recent weeks, Zayn has been trying to keep Drew level and tried to play peacemaker regarding Jey Uso and McIntyre’s hatred of him. Sami’s been tough but fair, but to Drew, he’s been a nuisance, another person trying to invalidate McIntyre’s feelings and reactions to everything.

At the same time, Sami is universally beloved by fans, so the crowd will take his side no matter what. That leaves Drew to be the villain as he opposes Sami. Then McIntyre went out and massacred Zayn, which sealed the deal for this heel turn. That might not have worked with Seth Rollins or Uso, but against Sami… *chef’s kiss.* The backstage assault afterward just added even more heat on Drew.

Sami’s ability to garner sympathy while not looking like a helpless victim is incredible. Sure, he got ransacked by Drew, but nothing was going to save him or anyone else in McIntyre’s way. The important thing was how fans reacted to everything in the promo, during the match and in the backstage assault.

Advertisement
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.