5 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (10 Aug - Results & Review)
Breakker seeks relevance, Lynch puts down Vaquer, Dominik in doghouse(?), and Bloodline missteps.
If last week’s Raw represented a step forward for WWE after a subpar summer, Monday night’s episode served as a reminder that this company can be quite maddening week to week, and even within the same program.
Raw delivered a solid follow-up to a fledgling rivalry between two wrestlers pegged as future main-eventers for the company. It also set the table for an all-star women’s feud that could inject some much-needed life into the world title picture.
The show started promisingly, but it closed on a confusing note that will be fully realized next week, depending on the follow-through with the Bloodline.
Speaking of the Samoan family dynasty, Raw’s biggest storyline continues to be deeply flawed, and WWE continues to ignore some of the biggest issues surrounding it. At the same time, facets of the story remain captivating, mainly due to the performances of guys like LA Knight and Solo Sikoa.
The wrestling remained a hindrance, with most of the action being substandard, generic, and immediately forgettable. If WWE was killing it with stories, this would be forgivable, but they’re not, which magnifies the in-ring shortcomings from the market leader. Dominik Mysterio, Laredo Kid, and (surprise!) Austin Theory had weak nights on the mat.
At the same time, we need to set aside a hefty amount of praise for Bron Breakker after panning his budding feud with Oba Femi last week. Becky Lynch and Stephanie Vaquer also whetted fans’ appetite with their promo segment. It’s just unfair that we can’t get good promos and good wrestling on the same show.
Let’s get to it…