8 Ups And 6 Downs From WWE Raw (Aug 10)

4. Proving Grounds?

Riddick Moss
WWE.com

As disorganized and haphazard as Raw Underground seems, it is possible that something good could come of it.

While the first week was a mess, Monday night’s offerings actually did something Raw hasn’t done in a while: showcase young, under-utilized talent. Dabba-Kato (formerly Babatunde), Cal Bloom, Riddick Moss and Arturo Ruas all got spotlights Monday night, as did Shayna Baszler, who wiped out three women simultaneously.

Seeing several wrestlers from NXT (or in Moss’ case a Raw wrestler) get some screentime and show some tough guy creds in the ropeless ring could be a good thing for them. It’s a reminder that they’re still around, and it slips the thought into viewers’ heads that these wrestlers are tough guys.

Of course, this only works if Raw then capitalizes on this and uses it to their advantage. If they have Moss come out and slip on a banana peel for R-Truth to roll up for his 47th 24/7 Championship title win, then it really is meaningless. But we’ll give this a chance for at least another week.

Advertisement
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.