5 Ups & 7 Downs For WWE Raw (8 Sept - Results & Review)

Downs…

7. Just A Match

WWE Raw Penta Rusev
WWE

On paper, Penta versus Rusev should be one of WWE’s better midcard matchups, a first-time-ever pairing that they could book with a stipulation such as a future title shot on the line.

Instead, WWE threw this match out there just minutes after Raw GM Adam Pearce booked it because the two wrestlers were squabbling backstage. Even though both were arguing about wanting to wrestle for a title, Pearce did not add a stip that the winner would challenge Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship.

The match itself was bang-average, though it went less than nine minutes and featured a run-in from the New Day and Grayson Waller, which provided the distraction necessary to allow Rusev to nail a leaping Penta with a Machka Kick for the win.

This makes little sense for WWE to throw this out there with zero fanfare or planning, and then having no stakes and booking a run-in distraction means that everyone can shrug off the result. It wouldn’t be a surprise at all if they simply booked a rematch next week and added the IC title stipulation while banning New Day from ringside. Because that’s how WWE operates these days.

Advertisement
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.