7 Ups & 8 Downs From WWE Raw: In Your Face (Sep 14)

by Andy H Murray

1. Buying In

Cedric Alexander
WWE.com

Weird saviour moment aside, The Hurt Business continued to be the best thing on Raw last night, beginning with the promo that formally welcomed Cedric Alexander into the group.

Put over by MVP, Alexander said this was his job, nobody knows what it feels like to be beaten up by The Hurt Business every week, and said he wasn't even able to play with his family after the shellackings they'd administered to him. He had been indoctrinated. Alexander has now fully bought into MVP's poison, and Apollo Crews and Ricochet emerged to point this out. They weren't looking for an apology or an explanation, though: just to beat The Hurt Business up, baby.

The resulting match between Cedric and Ricochet offered just a glimpse of what they could to together, so short was the runtime, but it was lots of fun. They're two of the most exciting wrestlers in the company. Sometimes, it really is as simple as letting the wrestlers wrestle, and they worked a fast-flowing bout that concluded with a Michinoku Driver and Lumbar Check-assisted win for Alexander.

Good, logical stuff here, and nothing over-complicated either. The rest of the show should have taken this as an example.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.