6 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (4 Sept - Results & Review)

5. Proving His Worth

JD McDonagh
WWE.com

JD McDonagh finally took a major step forward in his relationship with the Judgment Day Monday night, and it wasn’t due to the purple Money in the Bank briefcase – though that definitely had to score him brownie points.

Finn Balor’s buddy picked up a win over Sami Zayn Monday night, with some help from Dominik Mysterio, and then he saved Dom from a beating afterwards, further cementing his status after helping the group win tag team gold at Payback.

McDonagh still wasn’t officially welcomed into the group Monday night, but at least his standing had improved and the story advanced. It’s not entirely clear whether he will be inducted into the stable, be a junior member, or just continue to languish on the outside, but Balor really wants him in the group, and Mysterio seemed to warm up to him.

It’s not exactly compelling TV, but it’s an interesting beat with the most prominent faction on Raw, and that works just fine for now.

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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.