7 Ups & 3 Downs from WWE Raw (26 May - Results & Review)

1. Triple Threat Alliance Makes No Sense

It’s not uncommon in a triple threat for two wrestlers to form a temporary alliance to batter the third opponent, essentially making it a one-on-one match. However, that trope doesn’t hold together in a triple-threat tag team match. Witness New Day versus Creed Brothers versus War Raiders Monday night.

New Day formed an alliance with the Creeds to attack Erik and Ivar before the bell, laying the former tag champs out. However, once the bell rang, New Day and the Creeds took turns tagging in and attacking Erik while a fresh Ivar sat on the apron waiting for a hot tag. Even the announcers were confused by the unusual trust the two heel teams were placing in each other to not try to pin Erik.

The strategy also didn’t make sense. Even if the four men pummeled Erik into a puddle of jelly, Ivar was still right there, fresh as a daisy. And New Day certainly wasn’t going to let the Creeds take an easy pin. Had New Day and the Creeds simply laid out the War Raiders on the outside before the bell, it would have worked a lot better and actually made sense.

But it got worse for the Creeds, who were duped into helping the New Day throughout the match, only to fall victim to the tag champs double-crossing them and pinning Julius after a shotgun dropkick. The Creeds looked like total geeks, helping the tag champs maintain control of the match and then being tricked. Even Chad Gable called it out backstage, flabbergasted by them being so stupid as to let New Day take advantage of them.

The match itself was decent in parts, but the theme of a four-on-two match didn’t make sense in the context, and the Creeds came off as fools. Not exactly a good showing.