8 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (19 Aug - Results & Review)

4. A Realistic Development

The never-ending feud between New Day and the Final Testament only recently started to bear some fruit with the debut of Odyssey Jones hinting at some division between Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. But you had to squint and suspend your disbelief, accepting that Kofi and Xavier wouldn’t talk to each other.

Thankfully, they dispensed with that plot hole Monday, with Woods gently confronting Kofi about bringing Odyssey into the fold and how he felt like Kingston was trying to replace Big E in the group. Kofi flatly denied that, pointing to their history together and how they’d always had each other’s back, and how he wanted to pay it forward to Jones as a newcomer the way veterans should have with them a decade earlier.

While that seemingly got everyone back on the same page, there was a believable moment of frustration during the six-man tag when a banged-up Kofi dove and tagged Odyssey rather than Woods, leaving Xavier perturbed on the apron. In reality, Jones was closer for the tag, so it made sense, but it also was understandable that Woods would be upset.

By having New Day address the elephant in the room, it allows slights like the hot tag to take place in plain sight and be considered on their face rather than shouting at the TV for two best friends to talk to each other.

But Final Testament loses yet again, and they’re somehow supposed to be taken seriously as the catalyst for this possible dissension.