6 Ups & 6 Downs from WWE Raw (23 June - Results & Review)
Ups…
6. Penta, Breakker Find Their Gear
Sometimes, when watching a match, it’s extremely easy to get a vibe off the opening minutes and determine whether it’s going to be a good experience or if you’re going to be begging for it to end.
The first few minutes of Penta versus Bron Breakker looked as though both men were on different pages and not really clicking. Thankfully, they got in sync coming out of a commercial break and put together a solid closing sequence that still had some rough moments, but overall worked fine.
Breakker’s athleticism and Penta’s signature offense meshed well, with Penta repeatedly being thwarted by Bron’s strength as he went for a Mexican Destroyer several times, only to finally get it after countering a press slam with a DDT. The finish saw Penta going to the well once too often with a blind springboard crossbody attempt, only to get speared into oblivion.
The other nice touch to this came afterward, with Seth Rollins issuing a warning to Penta to stay out of his (and his group’s) way, a callback to last week when the luchador interfered in the main event to attack Breakker. LA Knight got taken out on SmackDown, and Penta is headed for a similar fate.
What’s great about this (and a saving grace from the opening segment) is that this suggests wrestlers exist in a shared universe. Penta and Knight aren’t prime targets of Rollins’ stable, but they’re de facto good guys standing up for what’s right, and that means opposing Seth’s goons. And Rollins rightly knows he needs to get these obstacles out of his way before he can resume his pursuit of the World Heavyweight Championship.