8 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (15 April - Results & Review)

1. A Disappointing Semi-Main

Dominik Mysterio Jey Uso
WWE

On paper, one would think Jey Uso versus Finn Balor would have serious potential, but Monday night’s match was a far cry from what we could have gotten.

Maybe it was constrained for time, but the match felt abrupt and never really got going. They traded some offence, with Jey doing his Yeet-friendly punches so fans got involved. Balor came back with a flurry, but a shotgun dropkick was countered with a superkick. Uso made the comeback and put Finn away with a spear-splash combo, and that was that.

This led to a staredown between Priest and Uso, and as tough as it is to say this, it did not feel like a world title match. Maybe that’s because everything is still so new, but Jey is the definition of an “and then the bell rang” wrestler right now. His entrance is incredible, and he has a great presence, but the matches don’t match it. He’s still incredibly talented, so this could be dead wrong on the night.

Similarly, Priest has a great presence, but he’s surrounded by the Keystone Cops, as the three bumbling goofs couldn’t even beat up Uso after the match.

If fans were looking for a sign that this could be a big-time match, Monday night wasn’t it.

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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.