8 Ups And 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Dec 5)

1. Renewed Rivalry?

Fair warning, you’re going to see this twice, once as an up also…

Back in July, Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens in a big one-on-one match at Battleground to settle their feud once and for all. It was supposed to mark the end of their rivalry just as the brand split came up. But instead of going to separate brands and charting their own courses, both ended up on Raw. KO would quickly become Universal Champion, while Zayn has been mostly listless ever since.

Monday, the two battled for the second time since that July match (they also had a throwaway September Raw match that Owens won) in another throwaway match that GM Mick Foley made to “punish” Owens.

It’s fairly obvious that the rivalry between Owens and Zayn is a special one, real-life best friends who worked the independent scene together for years before making it to WWE, now storyline bitter rivals who bring out the best in each other.

When Zayn won the match at Battleground, it should have spelled the end of their feud, save for a new rivalry over the title. These one-off matches made by an authority figure is just a waste and cheapens the impact that rekindling the rivalry for real would have.