6 Ups & 6 Downs from WWE Raw (23 June - Results & Review)

1. We Feel Them

If anyone was going to pull a decent match out of Jey Uso, it probably had to be the quarterback.

Cody Rhodes defeated Jey in the King of the Ring semifinal to punch his ticket for Night of Champions against Randy Orton. Their match was far from a classic, but it was a really good TV match, establishing parity early on as both babyfaces felt each other out. After a stalemate period, Jey and Cody started tearing into each other, with Uso hitting an enziguri, Samoan Drop, and hip attack in rapid succession before Rhodes blocked a splash with his knees and locked in a Kimura, which Jey countered with a sleeper.

Rhodes couldn’t hit his finisher, but he was able to nail all three Cody Cutter attempts, while Jey connected on a spear as the American Nightmare went for a Disaster Kick… for a long two count. Finally, Cody connected with a top-rope Cody Cutter and a Cross-Rhodes for the win. The former tag champs reconciled afterward, because that’s what good guys do.

Jey’s run at the top has been something of a storybook, and if it’s truly over and he’s slowly going to slide down the card a bit, this (on the back of the better-than-expected World Heavyweight Championship match against Gunther) was a solid way to go out – on his shield. Uso fought the good fight against WWE’s best and just came up short. It happens. There’s no shame in losing in that situation.

Given his popularity, it’s safe to assume that we’re not going to see Jey wrestling Grayson Waller on Main Event next week. For Cody though, it’s off to a much-anticipated encounter with his former mentor, which raises all kinds of fun questions.