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

3. Rules? What Are Rules?

Just to be clear, a match was sanctioned between Chad Gable and Gunther, where Gable needed to last five minutes to win. That was the objective here, right?

Gable upheld his end, outlasting Gunther and thus winning the match. But the Intercontinental Champion threw a hissy fit and demanded more time be added to the clock. Rather than Gable agreeing to the terms, a crew member walked over and told Gunther and the referee that the match would be restarted.

What ensued as a really great TV match (well, just look at the participants), but this is just piss-poor scripting. Why bother having a five-minute challenge if it was going to get brushed aside? Just so Gable could get a pyrrhic victory that ultimately doesn’t count?

There are a host of things they could have done differently. First and foremost, don’t book the match that way. Just do a straight one-fall bout that would have ruled. Or have it that if Gable lasts five minutes, he gets an IC title match right then and there. It’s not a match, but an exhibition or qualifier – whatever you want to call it.

Or even have Gable agree to the extension – if Gunther puts the title on the line. But to change the rules like that on the fly, with some stagehand relaying the decision randomly, looked stupid in the moment. It’s really a minor quibble in the grand scheme of things, but it still needs to be noted.