6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (29 Aug)

by Scott Carlson

1. Sami’s Crisis Of Conscience

Sami Zayn Uso
WWE.com

Breadcrumbs, man, breadcrumbs.

If you watched WWE back in 2015-16, you know all about Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens’ long history together, before and during NXT and WWE. The announcers made sure to note their friendship and rivalry when the Bloodline (with Zayn) were interrupted by KO Monday night.

Owens wasted little time in driving a wedge between the Usos and the Honorary Uce, telling Sami that he felt sorry for him putting himself through the wringer trying to impress a clan that treats him like a clown. You could hear the friend giving a dose of “tough love,” and while Zayn rebuffed it, the conflict played out during the ensuing match between Owens and Jey Uso.

The Usos conspired to distract the referee so Sami could smash KO with a steel chair, but when the time came, Zayn flinched and didn’t follow through, which gave Owens the opening to nail a Stunner for the win. Just like that, you’ve got fuel for dissension in the Bloodline and a window for Owens to pull Sami out.

And from there, you can almost see KO and Zayn teaming up to break the Usos’ vice grip on the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

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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.