5 mistakes WWE made on Raw this week - 16 July 2018

After a slightly controversial Extreme Rules pay-per-view, WWE rushed straight ahead into the build-up to SummerSlam 2018, and for what its worth they tried to do something eventful on the red brand this week, but as always nothing worked out to perfection for the company.

From matches that held no significance to matches that held significance but soon revealed its self to actually having no real significance, yeah it's confusing, but that's what this broadcast of Raw was, confusing at best.

As from a narrative standpoint, almost none of the segments made any sense and from a creative perspective, well it's hard to ask for something creative from a booking team that prides themselves on booking repetitive matches and skits every single damn week.

Anyhow, all that could have been avoided if the people behind the scenes just sat back and thought to themselves - "maybe that's a stupid idea and we shouldn't do that", that could have saved a lot of fans three wasted hours.

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#1 Giving people false hope

What people expected to see

When Kurt Angle said he would strip Brock Lesnar of his Universal Title if he did not do what normal people do and show up for work, everyone in the WWE Universe thought; "it's about damn time". But people as you already know, this is WWE and for them to have the proverbial 'grapefruits' to actually do something as drastic as that is almost impossible.

However, Kurt Angle kicked of the Raw broadcast this week, and within the first few minutes stripped Brock Lesnar of his title because Lesnar didn't respond to his Wrestlemania 19 opponent's threats, and the crowd cheered in excitement thinking; "yay! now Finn Balor can reclaim the belt he never lost", okay maybe that's wishful thinking.

But Paul Heyman out of nowhere sprinted to the ring and tried to bargain with the Raw GM, Heyman excellently said that Lesnar holding the Universal Title and challenging for the UFC Heavyweight Title is good publicity for WWE.

And what do you know, Angle un-stripped Lesnar of his title and announced that he would defend it at SummerSlam to a loud chorus of boos from an angry crowd.

Now listen here, the whole Heyman promo was excellent cause it made sense, Angle booking a match for SummerSlam was predictable, and the possibility of Roman Reigns being the number one contender for that match is pretty certain, but for the love of God - why did WWE give the fans false hope?

After months of watching Raw without a World Champion, Angle's announcement at Extreme Rules got everyone pumped to see what the Universal Title looks like after four freaking months, but WWE's trolling antics were on full display as Lesnar stayed at home and fans stayed frustrated, good job WWE.

#2 Balor losses all credibility as a main event star

After losing so many chances, why should Finn Balor get a chance to retain the title he never lost?

Finn Balor rocked up to Raw last night claiming he has the right to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title, because if fans remember he was the first Universal Champion, thanks to Finn we almost forgot.

But in all seriousness, it seems as if the WWE creative team has forgotten as well, cause in the first of two triple threat number one contender matches for the Universal Title last night, Finn Balor was the man eating the pinfall, and the man that pinned him, who else but Roman 'The Big Dog' Reigns.

Now it's understandable, the match had Balor, Reigns and Drew McIntyre and everyone knows 'The Big Dog' ain't losing two nights in a row and McIntyre needs to be protected, but come on, how and where does WWE take Balor from here?

Almost every number one contenders match that Balor has been involved in, he has been pinned clean, so how can we as an audience who are groomed to believe wrestling real, believe that Balor deserves even to be a World Champion, let alone face Brock Lesnar when he cant win one important match.

WWE could have avoided sacrificing the credibility of their top stars if they had changed the participants in these matches and it could've been, Balor vs Elias vs Mcintyre and Reigns vs Lashley vs Rollins, that could've avoided so many issues.

Issues such as Balor's credibility getting shot down and Reigns and Lashley facing off next week could have been fixed.

Moreover, Rollins and Elias could have taken the 'L' because they can bounce back, but Balor right now needed some validation, and it seems as if WWE doesn't want to give the man the legitimacy he so desperately needs.

#3 The Bayley vs Sasha feud stays stuck in limbo

So they are friends again?

Bayley vs Sasha Banks - WWE wasted weeks of what could've had unforgettable moments, well thought out promos and eventually the last thing that this fued needed to be validated main event worthy - beat the crap out of each other.

The whole 'I hit you, you hit me, and we hit each other' scenario is so played out in this day and age, WWE might have thought about going a different unusual route which fans were not expecting, but come on, if someone said that route would include unfunny therapy sessions, playground style bickering and Kurt Angle trying to stop these two from colliding for whatever reason, that person needs to be fired.

As the breaking point of this feud was Bayley beating Sasha black and blue on Raw a few weeks ago and then telling her she ain't worth nothing, but she didn't put it that lightly.

That was the climax, the stage was set, and the match needed to happen, but for some odd reason, WWE is stretching the little amount of material they have with this feud, as their recent history of booking drawn out programmes don't have the greatest record of success.

And on this week's episode of Raw, Bayley teamed up with Banks to take on resident statistician Dana Brooke and the returning Alicia Fox who deserves so much more. Anyway, the match ended in a confusing manner, which was the theme of this episode in case you missed that introduction.

You will not believe how it concluded - Banks got disqualified for laying the SmackDown on Dana and Fox a little bit too much, luckily that referee doesn't officiate every Braun Strowman match.

After the match, Bayley tried to go find out answers from Banks as to why she got so aggressive with her competitors, and people her answer could be interpreted in many ways, but let's all pretend to analyze it the WWE way.

So in a nutshell Banks told Bayley that she 'loves' her as a friend and that she always did, then if that's the case what was last year all about?

The beat-downs, the backstabbing, was that done out of love? It's confusing, but for anyone watching wrestling for years, this is just Banks setting herself up as the perfect friend before she back-stabs Bayley again in a move everyone has already seen coming. WWE has over complicated this storyline, and now a match between the two just feels unnecessary.

#4 The uneventful Raw tag team division

Who booked this crap? But seriously why did this match even take place?

When The B Team won the Raw Tag Team titles, everyone was thrilled, as the underdogs are now the big dogs in the tag team division, and that statement requires you to suspend your disbelief quite a bit.

Moreover, if you cast your memory back to Heath Slater and Ryhno winning the SmackDown Tag Team titles in the same manner back in 2016, you would remember that feel good moment for the well-crafted narrative, but it all went down for the Rhyno-Slater duo from then on as WWE did not know what to do with them.

And the point is, it feels as if it is going to end up happening to Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel, as jobber squad turned Tag Team Champions tuned main event stars, is not the formula normally used in WWE.

This week on Raw, the WWE Universe witnessed that first hand, as Dallas and Axel kicked off their reign as champions to a lackluster start, as beating a team that has no momentum on their side like The Ascension is never captivating.

After beating The Ascension quite easily, The Deleter of Worlds showed up on the titan-tron to challenge Dallas and Axel next week for their titles. And honestly, who is excited to witness that match?

The Raw tag division is in a poor state, and all WWE can do to fix it is to book repetitive matches, make the Authors of Pain squash every other available team in the division, and job out most of the teams as pushovers.

There is nothing that The B Team can do to bring legitimacy to the Raw tag team scene, it's either WWE construct newer teams or wait till the next Superstar Shakeup to pick and choose which talent can legitimize Raw's tag team picture.

#5 Another Roman vs Lashley match

While their match was great, no one wants to witness another one.

Elias said it - Bobby Lashley is quite plain on the mic, and in the ring Lashley doesn't have much to offer either. So how does WWE fix this problem? That's rights they put him in a programme with the single most hated wrestler working today, Roman Reigns.

And while the same complaints about Lashley can be attributed to Roman Reigns, at least the man is trying to improve every week in the ring and on the mic, but another match with Lashley and Reigns going at it to see who challenges Brock Lesnar is just plain idiotic booking.

Why would WWE book this match at Extreme Rules and one week later book it again? It makes no sense and it is predictable. Moreover, everyone knows who is going to win this match, it is probably Reigns, as there's no way he's losing twice to Lashley in a matter of one week.

But as wrestling theories go, if you want to make a mediocre superstar such as Lashley seemed like a white-hot babyface you pair him with the most hated superstar in the company, which is Roman Reigns, it's an annoying trope but it works, as fans fall for it every single time.

Anyhow, whoever comes out with the win next week would possibly beat Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title or WWE might swerve us and Lesnar might retain, but one thing is for sure, Strowman is going to cash in anyway, making this entire Reigns vs Lashley match pointless.