6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (Results & Review - 9 Oct)

1. Where Are The War Wounds?

Given the constant PLE cycle WWE finds itself in, it’s understandable why the first post-PLE show can often immediately turn the page and look toward the next premium live event rather than basking in the previous show.

But for Seth Rollins, that meant giving a brief acknowledgement to his Last Man Standing match 48 hours earlier before cackling and saying he was ready for a fight, then moving on to his next challenger in Drew McIntyre. Shinsuke Nakamura would do the same thing with Ricochet, for what it’s worth.

However, Rollins spent the past couple of months in a perpetual battle to just stay healthy, with the entire story centering on a broken back that was “hanging by a thread” as Michael Cole described it before Fastlane. Then at the PLE, Seth was battered and barely survived. Fast-forward two days and he’s dancing around ready for a fight.

If you’re going to sell the viciousness of a match like Last Man Standing, then maybe have Rollins home for a week licking his wounds, or dumb down the appearance a bit. Nia Jax “injured” half the women’s roster with just a few moves, keeping them off TV for a couple of weeks, but Seth’s bad back absorbed constant punishment and he no-sells it.

You can’t invest two months into a story, tell fans the hero is all-but crippled, and then move on two days later. They’ve done the whole “the champ is home convalescing, but he’ll be back next week, tune in!” gimmick before, and that probably would have worked here.