4 Ups And 4 Downs From Last Night’s WWE Raw (Oct 27)

1. Rollins Gets The Spotlight

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This is why John Cena is both loved and hated, sometimes by the same people. His perpetual placement atop the roster gets frustrating at times, especially with some of the great talent coming up. A bump down the card might freshen him up. At the same time, when paired with great talent, Cena sometimes can improve their stock just by having a competitive match. Monday’s main event was a good example of that.

Cena battled Seth Rollins for about 20 minutes (maybe longer) in a back-and-forth match that showcased Rollins at every turn. He was the one with the taped ribs (not the typical route of the face showing war wounds) and visible limp. Rollins hit high-impact moves and nearly put Cena away several times. Sure, it was doubtful that Cena was going to lose on free TV right after he says he’s building up to a showdown with Brock Lesnar, but it was a believable battle between the hungry young lion and the older king of the jungle. Rollins very much looked like he belonged in the ring against Cena.

At some point though, Rollins is going to need to win a big match on his own. The best non-chickens**t heels win most of their matches without help. (Look at Randy Orton and Mark Henry at their most successful periods.) If WWE is serious about building up Rollins, then they need to keep that in mind.