3 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (29 December - Results & Review)

DOWNS…

4. An Empty Go-Home Segment

WWE Raw The Kabuki Warriors Kairi Sane Asuka
WWE

The Women’s Tag Team Championship match on next week’s Raw has a floor of “very good,” with a ceiling of “show-stealer.” However, the drama between Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky and the Kabuki Warriors has been less than enthralling the entire rivalry. WWE has been laying it on thick when it comes to the relationship between “Rhiyo,” and Monday was no different.

The Kabuki Warriors cut a rare in-ring promo that only excelled when Asuka started yelling in Japanese. Her “Kairi!” routine didn’t quite have the same effect in the arena as it does in the backstage segments. Rhea and Iyo then charged the ring for a brawl that saw Ripley facing a two-on-one assault before Sky recovered and they dispatched the Warriors.

This wasn’t a bad segment, but it was just empty calories. Nothing new was said, and there was no escalation of the rivalry. It simply existed to remind you that the four of them are wrestling next week in a high-profile match. A 90-second video package could have done a better job of hyping the match.

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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.