5 Ups & 5 Downs For WWE Raw (6 Oct - Results & Review)

4. Keep It Simple

Kabuki Warriors IYO SKY
WWE

The Kabuki Warriors’ heel turn has been more of a means to an end, with that end being what should be a fantastic tag match at Crown Jewel this weekend against Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley.

The turn itself has been fine from a story perspective, but questionable when viewed through a performance lens. Overly dramatic scenes and poor acting have hampered this story at times.

Monday night, WWE let Asuka dominate a backstage segment where she demanded a match between Kairi Sane and Iyo, further establishing her domineering, villainous side – at one point slapping Kairi to get her in line. Iyo (hopefully) ended any question of whether she would waver during the tag match by declaring in a pre-recorded video that she, Asuka and Kairi weren’t family anymore and that she and Rhea are.

The match between Iyo and Kairi was fine, though Sane still did her “half in, half out” routine as she lamented attacking Sky. She didn’t spend hours debating an Insane Elbow, but her brief delay cost her the win at that moment. Asuka would get involved and assist Kairi with a rollup, giving her the victory over Iyo.

Afterward, the Kabuki Warriors attacked Iyo and laid her out (Rhea was in Australia), which again came without too much protesting from Kairi. This overall was fine as the story churns toward what hopefully is an excellent tag match on Saturday.

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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.