5 Ups And 9 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (June 8th)
3. The Old College Try
Whether you like Ryback or think hes just a big, muscular guy who is sometimes unsafe in the ring (according to CM Punk), you have to appreciate that WWE appears to be going all-in on the Big Guy as Intercontinental Champion. They could have just let him float around as a guy on the roster, but theyve seemingly tried to rekindle his popularity and are running with it. Having Rybacks first challenger(s) for the IC title be Big Show and the Miz is a great way to continue to build the Big Guy up. Show is well past his prime, but hes someone who Ryback picking up (as seen Monday) can wow the crowd. Seeing how Show played up his history with the Miz and their time as tag champs ShoMiz, its a shame Show didnt point out that hes beaten Ryback every time theyve wrestled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6A3-u-3b2Y At the other end of the spectrum, you have Miz, who fans just love to hate. Pitting him against Ryback simply encourages fans to chant Feed me more! and hope that Miz gets his moneymaker rearranged. He probably will never rise above the IC title level, but its nice to see WWE actually try with someone.
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.
