5 Ups And 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Oct 23)

1. Gang Warfare

Oh, come on.

When WWE used to have the Bragging Rights PPV, we got this forced brand allegiance, as wrestlers of all stripes banded together because they happened to be on Raw or SmackDown. Now that Survivor Series has become “the only time of year when Raw and SmackDown superstars face each other” (or something like that), we saw that logic breakdown on full display Monday night.

Just as Raw GM Kurt Angle was about to announce his selections for the men’s five-on-five match, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon marched down to ringside with the bulk of his roster. He then instructed them to go to the back, where they attacked everyone they encountered.

What made it ridiculous was the same cognitive dissonance that has plagued previous such brand loyalty alliances. Babyfaces and heels, sometimes bitter rivals stood alongside each other (Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler, for example), and all of them beat up everyone just because they were on the Raw brand.

It’s a nonsensical concept, that Raw and SmackDown wrestlers suddenly hate each other because they’re on different shows. New Day, for example, was on Raw six months ago, but they led the charge through the backstage area.

That entire display doesn’t make this writer want to see Survivor Series more. It just simply provided a head-scratcher and eyeroll-worthy segment.