8 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Monday Night Raw (September 25 - Results & Review)
1. Last Men Standing
Seth Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura's feud has careered off the rails, but mostly because it feels as thought the train arrived safely at the station during the last Premium Live Event. Payback's World Heavyweight Championship match was neither exciting nor inconclusive enough to justify the muddled mess the two have become embroiled in ever since, and none of this is half as smart or intense as it thinks it is as a result.
Rollins' ker-ay-zy act last week was brushed aside for more of an all-business demeanour this week (and thank goodness for that), but at long last giving Nakamura an ultimatum only brought into focus that he could have saved himself a lot of bother doing this weeks ago. 'The King Of Strong Style' was noping the offer following the PLE, but was left with no choice here after bringing Rollins to the boil.
"OR WAS HE?!?!?!" is what WWE wanting to ask, following the man with the bad back offering the belt up in a stipulation that's had more duds than diamonds over the years. Perhaps this'll all be alright on the night, but it wasn't the last time.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
