6 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (22 August - Results & Review)

1. As The Judgment Day Turns

Last week, Raw revolved around the Judgment Day’s internal strife and drama, with Finn Balor and Damian Priest seemingly unable to get along, and JD McDonagh potentially being a fly in the ointment. The show closed with the stable demolishing the babyfaces and standing tall as a unified unit.

Fast-forward to Monday night, and the Judgment Day was in disarray again. Priest and Balor can’t get along, and McDonagh is causing strife. Why can’t the poor Judgment Day just get along?

The Bloodline saga on SmackDown taught WWE that soap opera drama can sell more than any in-ring action, so the company clearly is leaning into that drama with the purple-clad heels on Raw. The problem is, the group doesn’t have a world title or tag title, and while everyone in the group is popular to a degree, none of them is Roman Reigns.

The whipsaw reversal from the close of last week’s Raw to Monday’s episode might make for good “drama,” but it also underscores that nothing that happens week to week matters – things will be reset to an extent and padded out so the story lasts for weeks (and possibly months) longer than it normally might.

This isn’t terrible stuff by any stretch, but consider this a warning of how it could all go sideways off a cliff in a matter of time. There’s always the risk of overdoing things, and WWE could end up losing their intended impact from this teased tension.