6 Ups & 8 Downs From WWE Raw (13 Jul - Results & Review)

4. Otis Draws The HEAT

WWE Raw Alpha Academy Akira Tozawa Otis
WWE

Dallas fans had a love affair with Otis Monday night, and that relationship somehow turned Maxxine Dupri and Austin Theory into two of the most-hated heels on the Raw roster for at least one night.

The Vision’s in-ring promo was broken up by Alpha Academy, looking to reconcile with Maxxine. Otis tried to reason with her, pointing out that he said Theory was bad news from the jump, then started to confess that he had feelings for Dupri. Austin cut this short, mocking Dozer with some of the same basic b**ch lines you always hear from high school villains (“people like you don’t end up with people like her”).

Still, it worked, as fans booed Theory mercilessly, then cheered wildly as Otis overcame Austin and Bron Breakker. But when Maxxine leaned in to kiss Otis, Austin low-blowed him, allowing Dupri to lay in the badmouth and The Vision to take Alpha Academy out to tremendous heat.

This was white hot with fans in the building, and it sounded nuclear on television. Still, we’re talking about Austin Theory and Maxxine Dupri here, not the birth of the McMahon-Helmsley Era. For one night, however, it sounded like everything clicked into place for The Vision.

We’ll have to see if they can string together a couple of strong weeks for the stable, but no one should be holding their breath.

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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.