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RAW 25 was one of the highest rated shows in recent memory. The WWE RAW that followed in the aftermath of the Royal Rumble also had a pretty strong rating. We're sorry to say that RAW could not keep up the momentum this week. The show felt much weaker than RAW usually is.
Which brings us to this article. Longtime readers know that we at Sportskeeda Wrestling examine the 'Best and Worst' of every WWE show, immediately after it finishes airing. If it's your first time reading our post-show recap, we'd like to welcome you with a 'hello'.
As always we invite you to leave your comments in the section below. Let us know if you thought the show was good or bad, even if your views do not echo our own.
Let's begin with what we liked, before moving on to what we didn't quite enjoy.
#1 Best: The Sasha-Bayley face off
Sasha Banks is still one of the more strongly booked women on the roster right now, but she's not in the same position she once was, when she was feuding with Charlotte Flair. Bayley is not even at the same level right now...she's currently quite a few steps behind The Boss.
It is quite obvious from the face-off that the two women had in the backstage area, that one of them may be going heel. We have a feeling it will be Sasha Banks. Anyone who's watched NXT knows that Banks can be an incredible heel, and that can get Bayley over as a babyface.
Of course, both women also had great matches together in NXT. Maybe they can recreate the magic on the main roster?
This was certainly the most notable talking point from this week's show.
#1 Worst: Making Asuka's decision for her
The last time we checked, Asuka hadn't made up her mind about whether she wanted to face the RAW champion or the SmackDown Live champion. However, Kurt Angle pretty much made it clear this week that Asuka was in the RAW Women's title picture only.
This was when he made the match between Asuka and Nia Jax for Elimination Chamber. There's a logical flaw here, because we never heard Asuka make her decision. Do all these plans go out of the window, if Asuka subsequently chooses to face Charlotte Flair from SmackDown Live at WrestleMania?
Don't believe us? Check out the video and see for yourself.
Looks like both Royal Rumble winners will be sticking to their own brands!
#2 Best: Booking an injured Jason Jordan
For those who are unaware, Jordan is injured right now. And we don't mean a storyline injury. He's really hurt bad, at the moment. Some rumours even indicate that he's so badly hurt that he can't even grip his hands.
WWE has done a great job of making him a part of storylines, without having him actually compete in matches. It's not known how long he'll be out of action, so they're keeping him on TV, so that his story plays out. This is not unlike what WCW did with Sting when he was injured...they made him into 'The Crow', who wouldn't wrestle but would still be on TV.
It is clear that Jordan is headed for a heel turn. It's just a question of when he'll tap into his dark side.
#2 Worst: Predictable outcomes
Bray Wyatt is a great performer, but he's not been booked strongly thus far. It was clear as day that Roman Reigns would mow him over and head on to the Elimination Chamber. The same could be said of The Miz vs. Apollo Crews. Taking nothing away from Crews, he's not at the same level as the A-Lister.
Therefore, we already knew who was going over, going into the Elimination Chamber Qualifiers. It made the matches a little less exciting than they should have been. It took away from the drama that should have been a part of the matches.
WWE needs to book its characters in a stronger manner to have them seem like legitimate threats. Look back at the fall of Bray Wyatt from grace, to know what we really mean.
#3 Best: A fresh start?
The Enzo Amore era is officially over. With Drake Maverick at the helm, and the tournament to crown a new champion underway, 205 Live feels like a different show. Could this be a brand new beginning for the division? We hope so!
We like the fact that WWE announcers acknowledged the Rockstar Spud name as well. The show is for smart marks, and it was great to see that the company wasn't insulting their intelligence.
#3 Worst: Nothing for Seth Rollins?
WWE announced that there will be a Second Chance Fatal 4-Way qualifier match next week, to determine who goes on to fill the sixth spot. That should be a fun match. The question remains- why is Rollins not in the match? What's next for the man who 'burns it down'?
With Jason Jordan legitimately injured and all the top stars in the Chamber, we wonder if he'll be left out of the card. This is, of course, unless he can find a partner and go up against The Bar yet again. There's nobody we can think of, however, who'd be ideal for that spot.
#4 Best/worst: Silly match/surprise victory
Isn't the Elimination Chamber all about the element of surprise? By having a match to determine who would be Number 6, WWE was taking this element away from fans. Moreover, isn't it unfair that the only men who got to compete for this opportunity were the ones who qualified last week? What about the rest of the field?
However, we did like the fact that Elias won. Nobody saw this coming, and this makes him a legitimate threat in the actual match. Elias is slowly ascending the ranks, without us even realizing it.
And that brings us to the end of our review. This wasn't the best episode of RAW, but boy, we still had a lot to say.
We will see you again, in just a few hours, for the 'Best and Worst' of SmackDown Live.
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