6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (15 Jun - Results & Review)

1. Gaslighting 101

One of the things that worked best about Roman Reigns during his initial run as Tribal Chief was his innate ability to mislead everyone and make them think that what they were witnessing with their very eyes was not true.

Monday night, we saw firsthand how Roman manipulated the situation to bring Jacob Fatu under his spell and draw him closer. Reigns talked up Jimmy and Jey Uso first, asking everyone to acknowledge them before switching tactics and suggesting they had a problem with Fatu.

Jacob grabbed the mic and pointed out that he didn’t swear allegiance to the Usos; he had acknowledged Reigns – and only Reigns. Rather than countering him, Roman leaned in and applauded the decision, saying he didn’t need a “yes” man. He bestowed upon Jacob his own ula fala and talked about how Roman was the only one who understood Fatu, welcoming him to the fold.

And Jacob… fell in line.

Moments later, when everything unfolded with Eric Andre at ringside, Reigns controlled the situation, stopping Jacob initially before not only allowing him to attack the actor, but to continue the assault over the objections of WWE officials.

Seeing all of this in real time was strong stuff, a great example of how Roman used the situation to his advantage, pulled a family member closer into his orbit, then manipulated them into following his every whim.