6 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (5 June - Review)

1. KO’s Temper Sinks Him, But First, An Awesome Match

Unless Cagematch is lying, Kevin Owens and Gunther never had a one-on-one match in their careers… until an impromptu bout was made Monday night. And really, a first-time ever match between these two being thrown together in 30 seconds should be a “down,” but holy hell. How can you do that after watching this match?

Firstly, the basis for the impromptu match – as much as we despise this trope because it assumes there was a 20-minute gap in the show that was just there to be filled – actually made sense: Gunther called out Owens’ temper and lack of discipline, so KO went full hothead and demanded they march to the ring right then and there to settle it. It’s still not a full pass, but KO sold it really well. (The instant nature of this also excused Matt Riddle being pissed later about the interference but not being out there to back up his friends).

Then, the match itself was magnificent. Seriously, this is one to catch if you don’t watch Raw all the way through. It’s impossible to do Gunther and Owens justice, as the Intercontinental Champion battered KO all over the ring, but he couldn’t keep the Prizefighter down. Owens came back and finally had Gunther on the ropes, only for Imperium to get involved with Sami Zayn, triggering a brawl that allowed the Ring General to do something he hasn’t in many of his matches: grab a rollup from behind for the pin.

The fact that Gunther – who has decimated opponents with brute force and pinned them with ease – needed to rely on a schoolboy after a distraction to escape with a win says a lot about Owens, but it’s still a win for the IC champ, and that was the right call.