6 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (Aug 31)

4. That’s More Like It

Asuka and friends
WWE.com

Mickie James’ return a few weeks ago has been horribly botched, as she was immediately thrust into a feud with Natalya & Lana that served as a backdrop for a Seth Rollins promo mid-match and has been a huge disappointment after any sense of optimism wore off.

But Monday, James came out to respectfully challenge Asuka for the Raw Women’s Championship. As a six-time women’s champ herself, Mickie’s pedigree alone dictated that she deserved to be in the conversation for a title shot. She and Asuka have squared off once before, in NXT four years ago, where the Empress won.

Of course, it didn’t go down how Mickie would have liked, as Nattie and Lana interrupted and started a brawl after suggesting that James was delusional for jumping the line. Mickie then took out Lana in short order in a match.

While this rivalry between women’s veterans isn’t doing anything for fans, at least there’s some focus now, with the Raw Women’s Championship serving as a goal for both wrestlers to aspire to.

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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.