6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (31 July - Review)

2. Let It Play Out, They Said

This column has been consistently opposed to the decision to have Cody Rhodes leave WrestleMania 39 without the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, then immediately get punked out by Brock Lesnar, now leading to a four-month diversion from his quest to win the title Dusty Rhodes never captured.

But dammit, the video package they played Monday night made you feel like this entire story had actually been scripted out well in advance to play like a movie in instalments over a four-month period. Cody looked like the sympathetic, never-say-die hero who will find a way to slay the Beast, while Lesnar just looks like a menacing supervillain attacking for the sport of it.

Of course, reality is somewhere in between these two views. It’s not as bad as many felt in the immediate aftermath of Mania and the shock of that still questionable booking decision. But it’s also not the cinematic, Rocky-esque journey WWE would want you to buy.

However, Cody has proven that he can sell just about anything. His promo snippets throughout the past four months were perfectly inserted into this video, and there likely was more gold left on the cutting room floor.

If only they had stopped there rather than going for one more face-to-face encounter.