6 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (3 Aug - Results & Review)

DOWNS…

6. Just A Match

WWE made a smart move in getting the Women’s Intercontinental Championship off of Sol Ruca last month, ending that experiment (for now, at least) and hopefully removing some pressure from her.

Ruca was back at it Monday night against Roxanne Perez in a match that was mostly decent, in the sense that it wasn’t horribly botched and had a couple of nice spots. But wrestling a match on the flagship show of the market leader should mean that you’re delivering a quality performance, not an “eh, it was ok I guess” performance.

The match was notable for a flurry that involved Sol trying to land an X-Factor, only for Perez to use a handstand to block, but then they somehow botched a PK spot, with Roxanne clearly whiffing on her kick, but Ruca selling as if it landed.

Let’s say it this way: professional wrestling works because fans are willing to suspend disbelief about these choreographed fights and accept that pulled punches and kicks actually hurt, but there’s the expectation that these professionals are adept at making it look like they’re really beating the tar out of each other. If they miss each other by a kilometer, then that suspension of disbelief becomes too much to bear.

Sol Ruca’s problem is that there is at least one spot in nearly every one of her matches where it’s impossible to suspend disbelief, breaking the immersion and greatly reducing the enjoyment of the match. Until she can string together a few matches without these moments, it’s going to be difficult to give her the benefit of the doubt.