6 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (Results & Review - 15 Jan)

DOWNS…

5. What Are They Going For Here?

R-Truth Finn Bálor Damian Priest
WWE.com

Is WWE trying to use R-Truth to babyface Damian Priest?

If so, it’s an interesting play, but it’s one that isn’t going to work every week. Monday’s effort saw Priest initially siding with Truth after the pseudo-Judgment Day man handed over a wad of cash from his bootleg merch sales. But that would fall apart during a tag match pitting the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions against Awesome Truth… with R-Truth confused about whether he should be fighting his “teammates.”

Comedy matches can absolutely work when executed properly, but having the tag champs involved in such a match that drags on for nearly 10 minutes while one opponent can’t seem to figure out whether he’s in cahoots with or working against the champs is a bit too much.

Priest did look frustrated at having to put Truth down with a South of Heaven for the win, but it just didn’t work how WWE likely thought it would. The cash spot was pretty good though. Maybe next week’s instalment will be better.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.