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This week on Raw WWE continued the build towards their various pay-per-views and events, as Survivor Series, the Super Show Down event in Australia, the Crown Jewel event in the middle east, and the first women’s pay-per-view WWE Evolution are all on the creative team’s plate to book and build.
But somehow, even with all those events and pay-per-views to work with, this week’s episode of Raw managed to feel uneventful and repetitive. This is really disappointing as WWE are still struggling to book an episode of Raw that feels exciting and important, as other from a few things of importance that were happening you could just skip this episode of the Raw as you would not have missed much.
#1 Nothing eventful regarding the women's division
With WWE Evolution almost around the corner, WWE has done nothing to build up the superstars of the Raw women’s division for the event, as other from announcing what matches are on the show, WWE hasn’t given fans a specific storyline to invest in. As this week on Raw, the two women’s division matches were basically repeats of matches you have seen in the past, The Riott Squad took on Natalya and The Bella’s, while Nia Jax took on Alica Fox. Other than that, there was no huge angle explored or reveal that got fans pumped for the matches in the future, which only highlights how the Smackdown Live writers have more interest in giving their women’s division depth and character development than Raw's.
#2 Finn Balor continues to wander
Finn Balor has not had the best time on the main roster ever since he returned from injury back in 2017, as Balor’s string of unimportant matches continued on Raw this week when he took on Jinder Mahal. Mahal has gone a long way down the card ever since he lost his WWE Title and US Title earlier this year, as on Raw he is nothing more than the jobber he once was back in his 3MB days. But for Balor, WWE should give the man something else to be engaged in, as a victory over Mahal is not going to direct any attention to the former Universal Champion.
#3 KO and Lashley have no narrative progression
Kevin Owens and Bobby Lashley’s rivalry is probably the most random thing on Raw every week, as the reason for KO coming back to the company for the sake of avenging his best friend Sami Zayn, felt like WWE wanted fans to suspend their disbelief to actually buy that lame reason.
But with the hopes that these two powerhouses tear each other apart, fans were willing to give this programme a chance, but now that it was all just a subplot for John Cena’s return at Super Show Down, this feud has lost all momentum.
As at the WWE Australian event, Cena will team with Bobby Lashley to take on Elias and Owens in a tag team match, and it's clear that the heels probably won't go over. Moreover, at least WWE could make this rivalry feel a bit more personal, a bit edgier than the bland boring mess than it is right now.
#4 Gable and Roode's angle has reached another low
Bobby Roode and Chad Gable were an odd team that no one really expected to succeed, but with the potential rumour of WWE using this narrative to turn Roode heel and make Gable a bigger babyface on the brand, many were open to the idea. But for the umpteenth time Gable and Roode were involved in a match against The Ascension, the fact that Konnor beat Gable in his one on one match is surprising, but it still doesn’t excuse the creative for being so lazy with regards to this programme that is not going anywhere.
#5 The midcard continues to suffer without its champion
The Raw midcard is a mess, and that is putting things lightly, as WWE has no idea how to use the stars they put on Raw in a way that makes the show more interesting, and Raw is a three hour show which makes things worse, as there is no reason why fans should stick around to watch Finn Balor take on a jobber or Elias reprise his feud with Bobby Lashley.
And the reason for that problem is the fact that WWE has stuck the IC Title in the main event scene. Now the story WWE is trying to tell with the IC Title in the main event scene is a great subplot for the programme involving The Shield, but it comes at a cost, as stars like Kevin Owens, Finn Balor and Bobby Lashley are stuck in meaningless feuds that hold no value. If WWE wants their show to pick up in quality, they need Seth Rollins in his show-stealing role.
