6 Ups & 4 Downs For WWE Raw (13 Oct - Results & Review)

2. Tormented Kairi Takes It Out In The Ring

WWE Raw Kairi Sane Rhea Ripley
WWE

There is a fine line with Kairi Sane playing the tortured soul, whimpering at Asuka’s side one minute and being her mercenary the next, but she delivered on both fronts incredibly well Monday night.

Backstage, Sane pleaded with Asuka, explaining that she had been injured at Crown Jewel when trying to save the Empress from an attack during their tag match. Asuka’s response was to slap Kairi hard across the face, eliciting huge boos from the crowd.

Then came Kairi’s match against home country star Rhea Ripley. What seemed like it would be little more than an extended squash turned into a battle pitting Rhea’s power against Sane’s speed, evasiveness, and blitzing style of attacks. Kairi kept Ripley off-guard, constantly escaping her big moves and countering the Aussie, landing some impactful offense herself.

The outcome wasn’t really in doubt here, but Rhea certainly felt like she earned the victory, rather than it being a foregone conclusion.

Afterward, the Kabuki Warriors managed to down Iyo Sky and Rhea, with Kairi once again saving Asuka from Ripley. This story continues to bang, and Asuka continues to be one of the more intriguing characters on Raw.

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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.