6 Ups And 8 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Jan 14)

by Scott Carlson

1. Balor Overcomes The Odds

finn balor raw
WWE.com

Way back in 2016, Finn Balor became the first-ever WWE Universal Champion. You might have heard this mentioned once or twice on WWE television.

After a one-day reign, he relinquished the title due to injury and hasn’t held it since. Balor acknowledged in a promo Monday night that Vince McMahon didn’t believe in him, a point the chairman reinforced himself. Balor then was challenged by Jinder Mahal for his spot in a #1 contender’s match.

So Balor overcame Mahal, and then battled John Cena, Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin for a Universal Championship match at Royal Rumble. And tying things up neatly with a bow, Balor delivered a Coup de Grace to Cena to earn a title match against Brock Lesnar.

It was a great story arc for the night, with Balor even receiving an endorsement from Cena afterward, giving him some serious momentum heading into Royal Rumble. It also raised the question of whether WWE could be serious about a new era/fresh start meaning that someone fans actually care about could end Lesnar’s reign.

Regardless, for one night, this was a perfect story to tell.

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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 fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.