7 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (Oct 17)

1. Ali Stands Tall To Close Raw

How could you not love the 180-degree turn for Mustafa Ali in one episode?

The long-overlooked superstar looked like he was just going to be punked out by Seth Rollins and left for dead, but if you hung with him for the entire show, you were rewarded. Ali confronted Rollins about wanting a United States Championship match, promising to be a huge freaking problem for Seth.

Rollins responded by attacking him and leaving Mustafa laying. Later, we saw Ali backstage still sore, chatting with Matt Riddle, who promised him a title match if he won the US title later that night. It was a simple interaction, but then it paid off later.

At the close of Raw, Riddle was facing a potential Rollins stomp on the title belt, but Ali ran down and attacked Seth, pummeling him around ringside and chasing him off into the crowd, standing tall on the barricade as Raw ended off the air.

That is one hell of a turnaround, and a simple show-long arc that showed Mustafa standing up to the heel champ, getting punked, being shown kindness by a babyface, and then helping that face out in chasing off the heel champ later.

Now, let’s see if they book a US title match for Crown Jewel and actually pull the trigger on Ali winning a singles title in Saudi Arabia.