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

2. A Disgusted Champion

WWE Raw Gunther
WWE

The truth of the matter is that we’ve seen Jey Uso versus Gunther for a championship twice, and those matches have not been WrestleMania main event-caliber.

Gunther knows that and exposed it for some good character development on Monday night, interrupting Jey and telling him that he’s not worthy of lacing his boots, that he refuses to go down this path of fighting him for a title again. Gunther was on fire here, talking about building his legacy and observing how facing Uso does nothing to grow that legacy. In fact, he only stands to lose ground by wrestling the Yeet Man. Just to drive the point home more strongly, Gunther promised to make Jey’s life hell if he chose to face him at WrestleMania for the World Heavyweight Championship, where he’d “put [him] down like a diseased dog".

A 'Mania title match between Gunther and Uso isn’t exactly the dream match most fans were envisionign – they just saw it for free on Saturday Night’s Main Event and it was merely passable. However, match quality might not be the goal here. The moments – an underdog Jey struggling in the build, a tremendous entrance, fans rallying behind him, and finally putting the Ring General down – are likely what WWE is eyeing if they choose to go down this path.

To his credit, Gunther did a fantastic job playing the elitist heel champion who not only believes the challenger is beneath him, but can back it up with results. Fan support of Jey and a dialed-in Gunther could make this an interesting build.

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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.