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

5. Kaiser Rolls Over Riddle

Terrible pun aside, Matt Riddle and Ludwig Kaiser have some pretty good chemistry, pass it on.

The two had a really solid match that saw Riddle control large sections of the match, only to fall short and get planted with a DDT for the (fairly) clean loss. Along the way, the two traded chops and strikes, with Riddle getting in nearly everything except his finisher, which missed and opened the door for the Imperium man.

Kaiser defeating Riddle fairly cleanly in a grudge match might seem counterintuitive, considering where they are on the pecking order, but Ludwig had a little extra motivation Monday night, with Gunther plainly telling him he was disappointed in him. Knowing that your unbeatable leader is pissed in your performance is usually enough to light a fire and get you to produce, and that’s what happened here.

The question is whether this is leading to Imperium’s henchmen getting pushed (and not being job men for Gunther’s opponents), or if Riddle – who lost to Gunther a few weeks ago and got laid out last week – is on the hot seat, or if this is a combination of the two. There might be more at work here.