7 Mistakes WWE Made On Raw This Week

The 2019 Superstar Shake-up got underway on Raw this week, and if you were not hyped up for this event, then WWE was going to make sure that you would be, as so much has happened over the last week in the company it indirectly made this edition of Raw unmissable.

From Sasha Banks' potential exit from the company to a few shocking decisions that could have rocked the foundation of the WWE, the Superstar Shake-up promised to be a thrilling event that lit a fire under Raw once again. So the question is, did that happen?

Well, the answer to that question is solely based on your expectations; if you wanted some landscape changing booking decisions by WWE you would be a bit disappointed, but if you were just expecting some of your favourite superstars on Raw, then there is some good news for you.

However, when you breakdown this episode of Raw to its core, it just was three hours of filler. And while that could be due to the rumour that WWE had to rewrite this episode a few hours before they could go on air due to superstars' travelling issues, some of the dilemmas on Raw are more long term problems rather than recent difficulties created due to this rumour.

So let us go through what mistakes WWE should have avoided on Raw this week.

#7 We Waste Elias

The day fans realised that Elias was someone special growing in a dull landscape and gaining traction at a rapid rate was the day wrestling enthusiasts knew that WWE would most likely never give him a chance to succeed.

As you see, stars like Elias and Kevin Owens are too good for their own good, as their ability to thrive in any situation makes them perfect for the company to use in any programme or situation.

Just look at Elias' booking over the last few months, he has been working an ongoing gag of being interrupted by WWE legends, and when you really count the number of legends the drifter has been destroyed by, you start to really realise an unfortunate pattern.

The Undertaker, John Cena, Jeff Jarrett, Trish Stratus and most recently on Raw this week, it was Rey Mysterio who beat up this man for no reason. Now it is great that Elias gets the chance to gel with these legends of the industry, as he gets more exposure from getting his ass kicked for a few minutes by these former Wolrd Champions, but what is the point here?

When does this gimmick actually pay off for Elias in a manner that will see him ascend the ranks of the company (that's if WWE wants him to)? Imagine The Rock being destroyed on a weekly basis by WWF legends back in the day; would it have made him the powerhouse he is today?

Elias is not The Rock, but at least WWE should have a plan in mind for him, rather than having him job on a weekly basis.

#6 An Unpleasant Experience

Fans are already calling their new name a ride you will see at Disneyland

War Machine, War Raiders or Viking Experience, it doesn't matter what WWE call Hanson and Rowe who are now known as Ivan and Erik. What matters is how the NXT Tag Team Champions are booked on the flagship show, as the pair made their debut on Raw this week.

The newest addition to the Raw tag team division teamed up with The Revival to take on fellow NXT call ups Aleister Black and Ricochet, who teamed with the current Raw Tag Team Champions Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins.

Other from fans having a meltdown over their name change, it feels like WWE are rushing things here. We all know that the Raw tag team division is in a rut, as the creative team's booking of the division has basically destroyed its credibility. But by WWE throwing the best tag teams to patch things up is a mistake.

Too many cooks spoil the broth, and in this case, fans know that WWE can't handle so many teams at once, which will eventually see the new Viking duo fall into obscurity.

#5 The IIconics Are Run Over

The Women's Tag Team Champions are a delight to watch, and while some fans out there in the WWE Universe may still dislike the IIconics for their ultra annoying behaviour, that is what they are meant to do, evoke an emotion of anger out of the crowd.

But Billie Kay and Peyton Royce do their jobs in such a great manner, many have started to buy them as a tag team that is worthy of holding the gold, but on Raw this week WWE threw that all away. Don't you just hate it when WWE sacrifice the credibility of a champion for no particular reason? Well, if you do then you will dislike what went down on this edition of Raw.

As Bayley was hilariously mocked by the Women's Tag Team Champions backstage for Sasha Banks going missing, so Bayley challenged the team to a fight, and she was going find a mystery partner to help her in this battle.

That partner was none other than Naomi, who ended up pinning the champions. Now it's understandable that WWE wants to get Naomi off to a hot start on Raw, as she has been underutilised way too much on Smackdown Live, but this hurt the momentum of the champions too much.

How can a makeshift tag team beat the reigning tag team champions? That's just WWE logic at its finest, but the creative team should have given Kay and Royce a reason to elevate their reign instead of booking them like weaklings.

#4 A Pointless Tirade

From flipping a truck to destroying multiple arenas, how does Braun Strowman putting EC3 through a foam stage make him look any stronger? That is a problem with WWE's booking of Strowman over the last few years, as they can take him to the highest of highs, to a place where fans knew he will thrive as a megastar, only for them to drop him a week later with no direction in mind.

The same can be said about Strowman's victim on Raw this week, EC3, as this is a man that was branded by NXT as the next big thing in the WWE, but so far we have seen nothing from him, and that is WWE's fault.

While this is just might be WWE's way booking Strowman's farewell on Raw, as having him go out in a dominant manner could be the best thing for his career moving forward, what about EC3? This is a man that might never succeed on Raw or Smackdown Live, as WWE has made the mistake of cutting his credibility in half every single week.

#3 What's The Endgame Here?

Lars Sullivan is a monster. Just look at the guy's physique. He looks like he could destroy anyone and everything that stands in his way, but let's be honest here, what is so special about this man?

If you feel you can convince the masses that Lars' booking right now is better than most believe, speak your thoughts in the comments below, but in the meantime, let's just say this is a gimmick that has been overused to the point it's terrible.

Lars has one goal in mind over the last few weeks, and that is to seek and destroy all of WWE's legends, as we have seen The Hardy Boys, Kurt Angle and now Rey Mysterio being struck off the big man's list. So what the point of all this destruction?

The answer is quite simple if you ask anyone - it's to make a name for himself, and if you feel like you have heard that answer before, it is because WWE has done this gimmick before. At least when a star like Randy Orton had his legend killer gimmick all those years ago, we as fans knew why he wanted to destroy WWE's legends, with Lars it's just done so he can get on TV.

WWE is dropping the ball here, as this man's booking right now is just predictable, and if its predictable it gets boring.

#2 Losing Steam

The one fear many fans had with regards to Becky Lynch's new reign as the Undisputed Women's Champion was the possibility of her gimmick becoming a bit monotonous. And to be frank, Becky can't carry a programme on her own, as her wars with Charlotte and Ronda Rousey only worked because those two heels were brilliant in their roles.

Whereas now a potential threat from Lacey Evans (a superstar that no one hardly knows due to WWE not giving her proper development on Raw) just doesn't seem like a feud worth your time. Now, these are fantastic athletes that are great in the ring, but for a World Title feud, it just seems like WWE has no clue on Becky's next step.

Lacey is still green, and some would say she has proven herself in NXT, but on the main roster she is a newbie, and by having her face Lycnh for the titles just seems like it sucks the excitement out of the white-hot run Becky has been having over the last few months. Hopefully, these two prove us wrong, but as of right now, it seems like this is a massive mistake that could derail Lynch.

#1 Not Much Stakes

The Superstar Shake-up last year was a terrible day in Raw history, as we saw the red brand stripped of some of its biggest stars and were left with midcarders that would never be used in a higher capacity by the creative team. But at least the 2018 edition of this event had one thing the 2019 event did not show as yet, and that was stakes.

Drew McIntyre arriving on the scene by destroying multiple superstars, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens fighting a war to get hired on Raw, and Jeff Hardy defeated Jinder Mahal to become the new US Champion, were all huge stake booking decisions that made that day more enjoyable.

However, this year we saw superstars being drafted and that was it, and while that might seem like asking too much considering that rumour we spoke about earlier about Raw being rewritten, at least WWE could have given fans something to buzz about.

While AJ Styles' debut, Andrade beating Finn Balor and Viking Experience fiasco was a bit newsworthy it did nothing to alter the landscape of Raw. Which only adds to the ongoing debate whether WWE should scrap the Superstar Shake-up and bring back the WWE Draft, which was way more interesting than seeing random superstars show up at random times during the show.

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