WWE RAW - Best & Worst - New champion crowned, The Judgment Day getting another member?

WWE RAW tonight was a solid show, if a bit uneventful. It carried on nicely from last week's newsworthy episode as we move toward Payback 2023. While several stories continued well, the show wasn't perfect.

Let's look at the main positives and negatives of tonight's episode of the red brand, featuring The Judgment Day, Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus, and many others.

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#3. Best: Alpha Academy and Imperium have fun on WWE RAW

Maxxine says no.

Alpha Academy had a great night on WWE RAW, as they and Imperium shared the ring for a while. Chad Gable made quite the statement as he looked to unsettle Gunther ahead of their Intercontinental Championship match next week.

The Olympian defeated Giovanni Vinci, while Maxxine Dupri slapped Ludwig Kaiser after a pretty great promo from the German. Gunther may have defeated Otis, but Gable got the last laugh as he suplexed The Ring General after the match.

The two look set to light up WWE RAW next week with a classic for the IC Title. The result may not be in doubt, but Chad Gable could possibly give Gunther his best main roster match yet.

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#2. Worst: Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus finally happens, but...

It did not have a winner. Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus fought to a double countout on WWE RAW. It was unfortunate, as we are still yet to have a clean finish between the two legends despite this feud lasting around four months.

The Man could have gained a sneaky win on WWE RAW tonight, setting up a rubber match inside a steel cage. While that is still set to happen, Lynch remains without a win against Stratus so far.

This feud needed something bigger than a no contest so, hopefully, the Steel Cage Match will deliver. Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus need to have that one defining match.

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#2. Best: The winner of Chelsea's Got Talent is...

Piper Niven!

The returning star instantly made an impact on WWE RAW as she attacked Kayden Carter and Katana Chance backstage. Niven forcefully took one of the Women's Tag Team belts held by Chelsea Green, making herself a champion.

While it's unfortunate we didn't get to see any auditions to become Chelsea's partner on WWE RAW, Piper Niven is a great choice to replace Sonya Deville. The two could have a fun dynamic, with Green as the "mouthpiece" and Piper as the "powerhouse."

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#1. Worst: Edin-Bros?

RK-Bro lite?

It looks like Matt Riddle wants to re-capture the magic of RK-Bro, with Drew McIntyre as his tag team partner. The two of them defeated The Viking Raiders and are seemingly known as Edin-Bros, named after the capital of Scotland.

This sounds baffling, as does the fact that Riddle and McIntyre are looking for a shot at the Tag Team Titles. They will face The New Day next week on WWE RAW to go one step closer to Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.

The makeshift team absolutely shouldn't win, especially since it's seemingly designed to lead to a heel turn for Drew McIntyre.

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#1. Best: JD McDonagh to join The Judgment Day?

Finn's friend could be in.

As expected, WWE RAW started and ended with The Judgment Day. But what was interesting about tonight was how only three members opened the show. Finn Balor remained backstage and instead sent JD McDonagh to deliver a message to them.

This led to some tension, but it was squashed ahead of Balor's main event match against Cody Rhodes. Despite losing once again due to Priest-related shenanigans, the Irishman got his way. The Judgment Day assaulted Rhodes until Sami Zayn made the save.

That's when JD McDonagh resurfaced, helping Finn Balor and co. gain the advantage. The Judgment Day stood tall in the ring to end the show, with McDonagh on the outside looking eagerly. If this was an audition, he seems to have passed.

Expect Finn Balor's friend to join the group by next week. It will be interesting to see where things go from there.