7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (Aug 15)

by Scott Carlson

1. Putting Prestige Back Into US Title

Bobby Lashley AJ Styles
WWE.com

It’s going to take some time, but it’s pretty clear that WWE is trying to make its secondary titles mean something once again.

Last week, Bobby Lashley defended his United States Championship against Ciampa, who was trying to win the title in honor of his late trainer (and the first US Champ, Harley Race). Monday, Lashley fought AJ Styles in a first-time-ever match that saw both veterans use a healthy dose of caution as they tried to wear the other down.

Unlike the Drew McIntyre/Kevin Owens match where they just lobbed bombs, Lashley and Styles mixed in plenty of wrestling and went to submission holds before the All Mighty ducked a Phenomenal Forearm and nailed a spear for the win.

Give this one a few more minutes and a better build and this could be really fun to run back on PLE.

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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.