7 Ups & 2 Downs From WWE Raw (4 November - Results & Review)

5. A More Reserved Ring General

Losing a high-profile PLE main event could result in a heel becoming delusional, claiming he never lost, that he was cheated or his opponent was lucky. It’s a common wrestling trope fans see all the time.

But Gunther didn’t take that tact on Monday night. He actually rebuffed Ludwig Kaiser’s attempt to paint Cody Rhodes’ Crown Jewel victory in that light, stating that Cody wasn’t lucky and not undeserving – he simply was the better man that night. Gunther then went a step further, observing that the loss was on him, that he – and Kaiser – needed to do better.

A calm, rational heel champion is almost unheard of in WWE these days, so it might have come across as shocking. But there certainly is a lane there for Gunther, regrouping and working to avoid a repeat of Saturday’s loss. That can almost be more frustrating to fans – a villain who actually gets better and learns from his mistakes. The Ring General becomes a more difficult mountain to climb, and that presents a tougher challenge for whomever eventually dethrones him.

This certainly was better than Gunther just shooting Kaiser a death stare, blaming him for the loss, and saying Cody lucked out. We’ve seen that one before and there are diminishing returns on that version. Calm, rational Gunther is way scarier.

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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 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.