8 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (20 Jan - Results & Review)

Ups…

8. Upgrade By Absence

Pat McAfee
WWE

Raw automatically received an upgrade just seconds into the show Monday night when Michael Cole introduced fans to his broadcast colleague… Wade Barrett.

Pat McAfee was absent from Raw because he was in Atlanta for the College Football national championship game. The schedule conflict meant that WWE viewers saved their eardrums a bit and got to enjoy the more learned commentary of Barrett for the evening, with Wade apparently pulling double duty this week.

It’s worth noting that WWE did not tap Corey Graves, who recently was deemed the odd man out on the broadcast team when McAfee returned to the commentary desk.

McAfee is a polarizing figure, as WWE seems to love him as an announcer, but many fans feel that he’s grating, doesn’t know the product as well as he should, and doesn’t add much beyond yelling. However, he’s a “name” talking head, which WWE apparently values above analysis and elevating the product.

But for one week, everyone’s ears were spared.

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Contributor
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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.