8 Ups & 10 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Apr 22)

5. Awful First Impressions

Cesaro Cedric Alexander
WWE.com

Cesaro vs. Cedric Alexander was a crash course in how not to debut two new wrestlers for several reasons:-

1. It pitted two wrestlers who couldn't afford to lose against each other.

2. 'The Swiss Superman' gained little from beating a guy crossing over from WWE's least-watched brand.

3. It was a dull-as-hell "good" wrestling match, with no colour, flavour, or character to raise it above anything you'd see on a PWG midcard, though the workrate-first crowd likely had their pickles suitably tickled by this teaser of what these two talented guys can do between the ropes.

Like Roode vs. Ricochet, this bout wasn't worth booking for the problems it created. Homogenising wrestlers on their first in-ring appearance on a new brand should be punishable by flaying.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. 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.