8 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (19 June - Review)

Ups…

8. Alphas Angle Connecting

Large Otis
WWE.com

The Alpha Academy angle involving Chad Gable training Maxxine Dupri is far from the most compelling story on WWE programming – in fact, it barely has enough time to really register.

But that doesn’t mean that it’s not connecting with fans. Gable, Otis and Maxxine were way over with the Cleveland crowd Monday night, and they didn’t miss the opportunity to make it count. Gable’s in-ring prowess was on full display, while Otis got to tangle with his physical equal in the Viking Raiders’ Ivar. Even Dupri had her moment, putting Gable’s training into practice and suplexing Valhalla on the floor.

The Raiders picked up the win after Otis and Maxxine celebrated her small victory far too soon, which you have to imagine will get followed up on. WWE typically isn’t great at continuing those little story beats, but so far, this fun little angle has been clicking, so we’ll give it some runway.

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Contributor
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.