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RAW was in London this week, and the results were out on the internet long before the show aired. I chose to ignore the spoilers and catch the show when it aired. The crowd wasn't as hot as a London crowd usually is. I wonder if the levels were tampered with.
How was this week's episode of RAW? As always, WWE put together some good moments and some not-so-good ones. As always, it becomes my job to separate one from the other.
I did like certain aspects of the show. Therefore, unlike the show from the week before, it wasn't a total dud.
Let's just hope things pick up big time before Money in the Bank comes around!
#1 Best: The Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge
Owens and Rollins kick-started the show into high gear. Sure, there was the Reigns-Mahal-Angle segment at the beginning, but this was the match that really stole the show. Rollins has been on fire ever since he won the Intercontinental Championship. Owens hung in there with Rollins and put on a great contest.
The crowd always reacts to Rollins and his matches. He connects with the audience at a level that Roman Reigns simply hasn't been able to. This tweet sums up my thoughts as well!
The Open Challenge is also a great idea. If Rollins can perform at this level on a weekly basis, the sky is the limit for the man!
#1 Worst: Continuing the Lashley sisters storyline
It isn't really rocket science. Lashley is a big, strong guy with a background in MMA. He needs to be booked as an unstoppable monster and nothing more. The storyline about his sisters isn't doing him any favours at all.
I have a feeling that next week's show, when Lashley's sisters are revealed, will take away any iota of momentum that he currently has. There's very little chance that WWE will actually create an interesting storyline out of this particular angle.
#2 Best: The B Team
The Miztourage without The Miz was doomed to fail, it seemed at first. However, Axel and Dallas have a brand new gimmick and it's really quite funny. I thought that the B Team was just the right amount of 'goofy' to get over.
WWE has to really book Axel and Dallas quite carefully. While their gimmick was funny and entertaining this week, it can get old very quickly. Look at what happened to Rhyno and Heath Slater.
That being said, the B Team was one of the highlights from this week's show. Plus, they're undefeated as well and not even Asuka can boast that!
#2 Worst: A very lackluster challenge
Somehow, I was a little disappointed by Nia Jax making the challenge to Ronda Rousey at the NBC Upfronts. The fact that the two women are babyfaces just took all the oomph out of this match. We should have seen the two women come face to face in a UFC style showdown instead. This was just very tepid, as compared to what it should have been.
It was also strange to see Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey as the best of friends. Weren't the two groups of the Four Horsewomen at odds, not so long ago? I just hope that WWE does not put the title on Rousey already, because the crowd is bound to turn on her if they put the title on her when she's one match old!
#3 Best: A much needed win
Bobby Roode needed a big win on RAW and he needed it badly. After all, he was being booked to death in a meaningless feud with Elias of late. True, his victory came against two competitors who're faring even worse than he is - No Way Jose and Corbin. But still, a win is a win!
Speaking of Elias, he needs a full-fledged program too. While he is always booked in a spotlight role, shouldn't he be feuding with another superstar instead of just appearing in singing segments?
#3 Worst: No reaction for Sasha Banks
Remember when Sasha Banks was the hottest thing on RAW? WWE cooled her off by putting her in a passive-aggressive feud with Bayley that went nowhere. These days, the two of them almost seem to be quite friendly. The audience is confused and now they've stopped reacting altogether.
The same holds true for Bayley as well. The main roster is where many NXT superstars go to have all their momentum taken from them!
#4 Best/worst: The Reigns-Mahal feud
The Reigns vs. Mahal feud is clearly an attempt to get Roman Reigns cheered. After all, Jinder Mahal is perhaps the only guy in wrestling that gets more heat then he does. Somehow, it's not been working for WWE. Mahal has been the one getting cheered in this particular program.
I like how personal it seems though. I loved the two backstage attacks from Roman Reigns. Reigns seems unhinged and that's never really bad.
In my opinion, when the two men do compete, their match should never go on last. If it does, the crowd will boo them out of the building.
Isn't that right, Little Miss Bliss?
