5 Ups & 8 Downs From WWE Raw (March 1)

2. European Shootout

Drew McIntyre Sheamus
WWE.com

As much grief as fans have given Sheamus through the years for being played out a singles wrestler, you really can’t deny that the guy really can throw down. And when you pit him against someone who wrestles a similar style, you get a really fun, bruising brawl.

That’s exactly what fans got in Raw’s first match on Monday night, when the Celtic Warrior finally got his comeuppance from Drew McIntyre. The 20+ minute match ran the gamut, as they brawled, traded power moves, “borrowed” each other’s signature spots, countered other maneuvers, and finally just had a shootout with the Brogue versus Claymore.

McIntyre, who is the money guy here, got the duke, but he had to go through a war to get his hand raised, and it was a hell of a performance. Solid opener that did its job really nicely.

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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.