8 Ups & 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Nov 5)

5. A Solid Idea

Legitimate concerns towards the standard of work Kurt Angle is able to produce in 2018, his clash with Drew McIntyre was well-conceived, and told a smart, simple story of the grizzled old veteran going toe-to-toe with one of the current era's deadliest forces, before succumbing to the inevitable.

Angle's physical game isn't capable of keeping up with his mental side anymore. This is true both in real life and kayfabe, and it reflected in this bout, as McIntyre absorbed the Olympian's increasingly ineffective offense, eventually realising that he had the 49-year-old at his mercy. Towards the end, Drew was like a lion toying with his prey. He stalked Angle, talked sh*t, and even gave him a leg to seize, and while McIntyre almost paid the price for his arrogance, he fought through the Ankle Lock, eventually synching one of his own to make the former General Manager tap out.

This is an excellent story, and would've finished much higher if not for the aforementioned flaws. Still, McIntyre gains boatloads from these. It felt very much like an Old Yeller moment, with the imposing Scot putting a beloved, past-his-best 'Olympic Hero' down for his own good, and Kurt at least deserves respect for working as hard as his restrictions will allow.