5 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (Oct 3)

Ups…

5. A Very Artificial Confrontation, But…

The in-ring confrontation between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle was an extremely manufactured situation, designed to increase tension with no threat of actual violence.

There was a stipulation that neither man could touch the other or their Extreme Rules Fight Pit match was off. Otherwise, logic would dictate that they should have torn into each other in about 30 seconds. Instead, they stood in the ring and hurled insults at each other, with Riddle threatening to kill him, and Rollins using Matt’s family problem against him.

But there was one little thread that saved the segment, and that was Rollins egging Riddle on, begging the Original Bro to hit him. He noted that it would cancel their match and begged him again.

You could interpret that as a heel just being a cocky prick, but it also could easily be seen as Rollins trying to weasel his way out of a match he regretted agreeing to. Seth really tried to get Riddle to hit him, which would have saved him from getting in the fight pit. Everything else was just false bravado.

In that situation, this segment worked decently. The match should rule, but the insults and build was just par for the course in a very artificial confrontation.