6 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (11 Sept)

4. Not How Babyfaces Act

If WWE is indeed booking Drew McIntyre to turn heel, maybe having Xavier Woods mock him for being the Pandemic Era champion isn’t the best idea.

The tension between McIntyre and the New Day has been building the past couple weeks, and it looks more and more like it’s designed to show a darker side of the Scottish Warrior as he grows frustrated, eventually turning on the person he’s reluctantly tagging with, Matt Riddle (provided he didn’t self-destruct again).

But in trying to escalate the friction Monday, Xavier Woods took umbrage at Drew not readily forgiving Kofi Kingston for interfering in their match against the Viking Raider last week. McIntyre said Kofi should grow a set and confront him man-to-man if he had a problem rather than having Xavier be his stand-in.

And that’s when Woods brought up WrestleMania 36, suggesting Drew is jealous of Kingston because KofiMania took place in a packed stadium at Mania 35 and McIntyre’s big title win came in an empty Performance Center.

OUCH. Even if that’s true, that’s not how babyfaces act. Why is Woods there taking that swipe with little to no evidence? It’s so far out of the blue that if you weren’t following the product, you would need a second to make the connection. When Wade Barrett as a heel commentator can make a very valid defense, you’ve failed miserably at your goal.

Unless WWE is subverting expectations and it’s Woods who’s turning heel, this was a fail.