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

6. Woof

WWE Raw Nikki Bella Asuka
WWE

Wade Barrett caught some flak for saying that Nikki Bella might have been one of the best of her day, but the competition was stiffer in 2025 WWE than it was a decade ago. That’s a true statement that puts over today’s wrestlers while acknowledging the Hall-of-Famer has to work to reclaim glory.

In that vein, Nikki versus Asuka on Monday night was a great case study. However, the result was a match with Asuka working at half-speed and pulling her strikes and kicks. With a character getting as much focus as Asuka and being poised to be a killer in the women’s division, she should be like a buzzsaw through opponents, not fumbling around into wrestling holds.

The match wasn’t terrible, and Bella gave Asuka plenty before tapping out, but in 2025 with the talent on the roster – particularly the women’s division – this was a subpar effort.

Perhaps Nikki would be best served in a tag team with a “young lioness” so she can continue to ramp up without having to stand out for the entire match.

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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.