7 Ups And 8 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Feb 4)

6. Rush Gets Some Time To Shine

finn balor lio rush
WWE.com

Lio Rush got a career upgrade last year when he became Bobby Lashley’s hype man, elevating him from a cruiserweight wrestler on 205 Live to a prominent speaking role on Raw.

But that change has resulted in a drop-off in his in-ring career. Since SummerSlam, Rush has had just nine televised matches. His 10th came Monday, when Bobby Lashley pulled a bait-and-switch on Finn Balor, bailing on his match with the Irishman and substituting Rush instead.

The match worked well in giving Balor the opportunity to get a win and possibly earn an Intercontinental Championship match, while Lashley beefed up his heel resumé by attacking Finn before the bell. And Lio got to have a match on Raw for the second time in his young career.

Everything worked well, with an “injured” Balor building sympathy and the Rush/Lashley duo looking like the villains they should be.

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Contributor
Contributor

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.