5 Ups & 8 Downs From WWE Raw (June 27)

Downs…

8. Handshakes Abound

John Cena
WWE.com

The backstage segment that opened Monday Night Raw was so distinctly WWE that it hurt.

John Cena, returning to WWE to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his main roster debut, walked throughout the backstage area as superstars of all stripes, announcers, agents, staff and other personnel clapped incessantly and shook Cena’s hand. This went on for a good while, as heels like Alpha Academy, Dolph Ziggler, Nikki ASH, Shayna Baszler, Doudrop, Ciampa and Miz clapped and cheered, completely out of character.

The contrast was especially stark when you caught Becky Lynch sitting there sulking in character, or Omos standing there stoic with a golf clap.

It was just a bit ridiculous and seemed more like a shoutout to the whole “everyone must shake hands with the veterans” unwritten rule. Regardless though, it felt very forced.

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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.