9 Ups And 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (May 18)

7. Baszler Rolls

Shayna Baszler Natalya Raw
WWE.com

The outcome of the submission match between Shayna Baszler and Natalya was never really in doubt, but the brief match at least was intense and vicious-looking.

Nattie and Shayna traded submission holds, with Niedhart locking in a Sharpshooter after Baszler told her that the “Hart Family crap doesn’t work on me.” But Shayna reversed out of a kneebar, locked in the Kirafuda Clutch, and got the tap-out win. It was exactly what Baszler needed – a straightforward win in a no-nonsense match. It keeps her strong and reinforces that she can make experienced wrestlers tap.

Now, Nattie’s temper-tantrum afterward is something else. That wasn’t exactly entertaining, mainly because it’s Natalya – it’s hard to really get invested in her in the same way you might with another wrestler. But your mileage might vary.

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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.