6 Ups & 4 Downs For WWE Raw (22 Sept - Results & Review)

3. Needed More Viking Ship

Article lead image
WWE

It has to simultaneously be a blessing and a curse that the War Raiders excel in chaotic brawls that don’t actually involve tagging, because it seems that those matches are the only ones that consistently rally fans fully behind them.

Erik and Ivar turned Viking Rules matches into a fun, must-see trope for a while, and they brought back the spirit of those bouts Monday alongside Penta against the New Day and Grayson Waller. All six men hit the gas pedal and didn’t let up, walloping each other with kendo sticks, driving opponents through tables, and spiking one another on the apron.

One particularly nifty moment came when Ivar hit his running crossbody on Waller against the ring LED board, while Penta dove to the floor over him and took out the New Day. There were a couple of other crowd-pleasing spots in this efficient 10-minute battle, which ended with Penta dropping Grayson with an avalanche Mexican Destroyer.

That’s another nice touch: finding different ways for Penta to hit that finisher, ala Diamond Dallas Page’s Diamond Cutter.

The only thing missing here was a Viking ship attached to the ring. That would have made the match 50% better.

Advertisement
In this post: 
WWE Raw
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

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.