WWE Raw Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for September 18

Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Icon vs. Icon

Once again, WWE hits it out of the park with a video package. It’s not exactly a surprise that the Reigns/Cena feud has plenty of material to work with. For the past several weeks, both men have taken shot after shot after shot at the other. Blurring the lines of reality and fiction, the two biggest names in WWE have done everything in their power to make people want to watch their fight.

By highlighting the parallels between their careers, it shows that Cena and Reigns aren’t as different as one would believe. (Of course, the parallels are creatively drawn, since liberties were taken with the timelines here.) Any time the hero and villain – or opposing forces, as the case may be – are more alike than different, it leads to a more compelling story.

Interestingly, I feel like Cena was presented as more of the “bad guy” in this one. It may be just how I’m reading into it, but it seems like this feud is the one designed to finally get the fans on Roman’s side. Personally, I don’t think it’s going to work.

But the match at No Mercy is going to have a lot of hype to live up to. It’s most likely going to deliver, but sometimes I worry if the build will prove to be the best part of this encounter.