6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (28 August - Results & Review)

3. Hot Tag Match, Clichéd Aftermath

For years, fans have criticized WWE’s lack of focus on the tag division, de-emphasizing it numerous times to the point where there barely are enough viable tandems to even field challengers for upcoming PPVs.

That’s why credit must be given to the company for trying to create a rivalry between New Day, Viking Raiders and the makeshift duo of Matt Riddle & Drew McIntyre. New Day and the Vikings had a slow-burn tag match that started out plain and dull but ramped up after a commercial break, sucking fans in and reaching a fever pitch before things went down a clichéd path.

Ivar threw Kofi Kingston into Riddle & McIntyre, who were seated ringside, leading to a predictable melee that allowed the Raiders to pick up the win, with Xavier Woods nailed by a chair Drew hurled in the fracas.

The “third team is ringside and gets sucked into the action” trope is a well-worn WWE deal, but it worked decently here, and fans were very into it. And they threw a wrinkle by having Kofi accepting Drew’s apology, which almost never happens.