5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (7 Nov)

1. Double-Turn Punctuates Main Event

In recent weeks, Seth Rollins had been showing more babyface tendencies, though he still was pretty clearly a heel champion. Similarly, Bobby Lashley showed a heelish side at Crown Jewel, though it seemed it could have just been a situational deal.

Monday night left nothing to chance, as both men completed a double-turn that worked amazingly well. We left Raw with Rollins as the biggest babyface who ever babyfaced, and Lashley as the monstrous heel we’ve seen him be before, though now with an even bigger chip on his shoulder.

Rollins played to the crowd as usual, but he was more genial than normal earlier. The big change came when Lashley destroyed Mustafa Ali to prevent him from accepting Seth’s United States Championship open challenge.

Lashley would go to ringside and demolish Rollins before the bell rang, putting him through the table and leaving. Then Austin Theory came down to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, and it was all on Rollins to kick out, escape A-Town Down and make a huge babyface comeback that had fans on their feet.

Then Lashley returned to lay out Theory, which allowed Rollins to retain the US title. All of this served to make the All Mighty into a mega-heel still seeing red after losing to Brock Lesnar, and Rollins into a crowd favorite once again. Nicely done.