WWE RAW - Best and worst: Mysterious footage of new faction emerges, Superstar slapped live on air

Man, WWE RAW viewership numbers have been sinking to new lows and honestly, the company had to do something drastic to keep viewers engaged. I am glad to report that they did and this week's show had very few weak moments overall.

Sure, not everything that happened on WWE RAW maybe everyone's cup of tea, but there was an aura of freshness as the company tried to shake things up quite dramatically this week. If you have to judge whether or not to watch the show based on this review, I would tell you to do so quite adamantly.

As a fan of the 'sports entertainment' aspect of WWE more than the in-ring action, this is what I've been waiting for, for years now, and I am glad to report that the company is making the right kind of moves creatively.

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#1 Best: Flickering lights and strange developments across WWE RAW

I love it when one segment on WWE RAW bleeds into another because actions cannot happen in a vacuum and everything has a consequence. And this is why the footage of the 'mysterious faction' on WWE RAW throwing Molotov Cocktails and causing a power outage through the length and breadth of the broadcast came as a breath of fresh air, at least to me.

I wonder if this is some sort of an NXT invasion, probably with the intention of getting The Undisputed ERA on WWE RAW or if there is another plan over the long haul. Whatever the case may be, I think MVP and Kevin Owens in particular built up the vandalism aspect of the new faction and the power outages that they caused in a pretty great manner. Even Charly Caruso played her part to perfection and it's hard to deny that she's an integral part of WWE RAW now.

#1 Worst: Kevin Owens and The Giant Ninja cast in new roles on WWE RAW

It is very easy to make the connection between The Giant Ninja that we've briefly seen on WWE RAW and the gigantic man we saw guarding the RAW Underground door this week. I do wish we'd seen a little more of The Giant Ninja before he was re-cast in this role because the company didn't even give the concept any time to breathe before it was pulled for good.

What I did not like is the Kevin Owens that we saw this week, who wanted to get the Riott Squad back together. Remember when he used to be Stone Cold Steve Austin-like when he wanted to only fight for the prize and do things on WWE RAW and SmackDown that only served his best interests?

I just think that the current incarnation of Kevin Owens on WWE RAW, the guidance counselor, is missing that edge and that aggression.

When Kevin Owens got slapped by The IIconics on WWE RAW, that did nothing for the former WWE Universal Champion.

#2 Best: Samoa Joe returns to action (in a sense) on WWE RAW

I realize how the whole segment with Shane McMahon was, in a sense, an attempt to make the WWE RAW product and the presentation seem more 'real'. Well, it doesn't get any more real than Samoa Joe and how he intervened between his broadcast colleague Tom Phillips and his former adversary Seth Rollins. While I do not know whether Samoa Joe has been cleared to compete again, what he did this week on WWE RAW is a clear indication that the fateful day may be fast approaching.

Samoa Joe has a lot to contribute to the WWE landscape beyond his commentary because this is a man who's in the prime of his career and can definitely be a worthy contender for Randy Orton provided the man becomes the next WWE Champion at SummerSlam.

It may be time for him to transition to a WWE RAW ring at last very soon indeed, and become Dominik's ally, especially if Rey Mysterio doesn't re-sign with WWE.

#2 Worst: Nia Jax gets suspended by Pat Back, leading to violence live on WWE RAW

We had the tease of a major feud between Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax last week on WWE RAW and I would have loved to see these two behemoths collide in the middle of the ring. What I do not want to see is Nia Jax vs. Pat Buck and I can't imagine any WWE RAW fan wanting to see the contest unfold either, honestly. Until this week's episode of WWE RAW, I wonder if most people watching at home even knew who Pat Buck was.

I like the idea of getting all the women on the WWE RAW roster on the show but what I cannot stand is lazy writing, because this is just one of those contests nobody wants to see.

I loved the inter-gender aspect of Impact Wrestling when Tessa Blanchard was the Champion but this lopsided contest probably pops nobody but the WWE RAW officials in the back, led by Vince McMahon. Drop this storyline already.

#3 Best/Worst: WWE RAW Underground and the return of Shane McMahon

Anything that shakes up the WWE RAW landscape is good, right? I think so too and I love the idea of a departure from the ring at the WWE Performance Center where we can actually get to see the 'shoot' background of WWE RAW Superstars such as Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Lashley.

However, I just thought that the whole Fight Club presentation was severely impacted by how sleek and how sophisticated the whole thing was, as pointed out by veteran sports entertainment journalist Sean Ross Sapp.

In any case, we should know whether this format is a best or a worst in future episodes of WWE RAW, but I have to say that I was a fan of how different they tried to make everything seem.

What did you think of this week's edition of WWE RAW and how much would you rate it out of 10?

Be sure to catch my colleague Stephanie Chase in this video, as she runs down the hottest rumors from the wrestling world.