6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (8 Jun - Results & Review)

1. The Redemption Of Chad Gable

There is still a long way to go to trust that WWE won’t somehow fumble the hell out of this, but they seemingly have recognized the universal praise Chad Gable has received for his part in the AAA mask versus mask match and are capitalizing on it in a big way.

Last week, Gable showed up on SmackDown to apologize to Rey Fenix for his mockery of lucha libre as (Original) El Grande Americano. That alone was a good step – WWE was translating the AAA feud (which previously wasn’t catching on when it was on Raw) into something meaningful on the main roster.

Then on Monday, Gable continued his apology tour, making amends with Penta, Dragon Lee, and Rey Mysterio. Rey went so far as to tell him to stop beating himself up and that he needed to look back even further, before he ever donned the mask, to apologize to others he had wronged.

But before that could happen, Gable would save Penta and Rey after Rusev and Ethan Page had beaten both of them (and Dragon Lee) up and unmasked Mysterio. Gable raced to ringside and chased off both villains, then returned Rey’s mask to its rightful owner – all to thunderous applause.

Put plainly, this is a very well-told story, with simple – yet incredibly effective – beats. Gable lost, was humbled, and is beginning to redeem himself, and hopefully become a bigger star in the process.

The only downside is that there’s a very real chance this storyline stays mired in the mid-card, when there’s actually a real opportunity to elevate a five-tool player like Chad – though the window isn’t going to stay open forever.