7 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (12 Aug - Results & Review)

4. Disguising Tag Shortcomings

WWE Raw Creed Brothers Akira Tozawa
WWE

Call it pandering to have a Texas Tornado Tag match in Texas, but that decision for the Alpha Academy/Creed Brothers match was extremely clever.

On paper, another battle between these two teams threatened to drag. The Creeds had already beaten them two weeks ago, and this version of the Alphas is winless. But throw in the chaotic nature of a tornado match, and the formula instantly changed. Akira Tozawa ran wild a few times – something one wouldn’t typically expect - Otis was his usual house afire, and the Creeds were… well, the Creeds.

As much fun as the match was, it really served as a backdrop for Ivy Nile finally finishing the Diamond Mine heel turn trifecta, attacking Maxxine Dupri at ringside and laying her out with her Dragon Sleeper. Ivy telegraphed the turn backstage when she suggested that Maxxine not come to the ring, an ominous warning that had klaxons sounding in your head.

As a stable, American Made could be something special… if they can get out of this feud with the Wyatt Sick6 without losing credibility. If next week they’re cowering in fear from the smoke and masks, then beating up Alpha Academy is going to prove worthless.

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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.