5 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw: Day 1 (Results & Review)

3. Rollins Gets Another Notch In His Belt

Seth Rollins Drew McIntyre
WWE.com

Say what you will about Seth Rollins or the world title he holds that should’ve never been created, but he’s done a solid job as Raw’s top champion trying to make the World Heavyweight Championship feel important.

He and Drew McIntyre had another really good TV main event for the title Monday night, countering and kicking out of each other’s best shots. They also gave fans the biggest heart-stopping moment for a title switch in a minute when McIntyre nailed the Claymore and pulled a deep cover… for two, as Drew had yanked Rollins’ foot onto the ropes inadvertently. That one had fans gasping.

Rollins would make the comeback and pick up the win – with a bit of inadvertent help from the Judgment Day – starting 2024 off right and giving him another big match victory.

For McIntyre, it will be interesting to see what WWE does with someone who has been one of the most well-rounded characters in recent memory. Losing his first title match to Rollins sent him down this dark path, but losing again like this has got to sting even more.

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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.