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Writing a three-hour show on a weekly basis, without an offseason is no easy feat. RAW has been doing this for many years now, and while sometimes the results are far from satisfactory, there are weeks where the good overshadows the bad.
There were enough noteworthy things that happened on this week's show to make us give it a positive review. We thought that there was more good than bad, and while WWE RAW was not perfect, it was actually good. In this article, we shall chronicle what we liked and what we didn't.
Bear in mind that these are just opinions. And you know what they say about opinions...everyone does have one.
We invite you to write your own opinions in the comments section below.
#1 Best: All hell broke loose
We all know that Lesnar is the most likely contender to win the Triple Threat Match at the Royal Rumble and go on to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34. The best thing WWE can do, in this regard, is to create a seed of doubt in the minds of the fans.
This week, they succeeded in showing us a vulnerable side of Brock Lesnar and Kane, after Strowman had an interview set come crashing down on them. The most 'real' part of the whole experience was the sight of seeing Brock Lesnar being taken to the hospital. We were absolutely dumbfounded when it happened.
It seemed as if Brock Lesnar was going to be part of just another mundane Paul Heyman segment before this happened. WWE managed to swerve us!
We realise that RAW is only two shows into the New Year, but it may be one of the best segments of 2018 when the year is finally done!
#1 Worst: The Cruiserweight Championship match
Enzo was supposed to defend his prized championship against Cedric Alexander last week, to kick-start the new year. Unfortunately, he suffered from a bout of influEnzo, and the match had to be called off last week.
The match this happen this week, and it was a disaster, quite honestly. At some point during the match, Enzo Amore got busted open. He was gushing blood for the majority of the contest.
The match ended in a countout finish. Alexander won the match but did not win the Championship. Yet he smiled like he had. It was just an overall mess.
Maybe Hideo Itami needs to step up and face Enzo Amore because the rest of the division does not seem cut out for the job at all.
#2 Best: Jason Jordan's character arc
The imitation is never as good as the original, more often than not. If you consider 'The Office', as good as Robert California was, he was no Michael Scott. Adam Lambert is a great singer, but he's not Freddie Mercury, even though he sings all the man's songs in Queen. Ryback was great at what he did, but he was no Goldberg.
Dean Ambrose was an integral member of The Shield. Jason Jordan, in his mind, believes that he has replaced Ambrose, and that's far from the truth. This aspect played beautifully into the main event where Jordan cost The Shield their match against The Club.
We are confident that Jordan is going heel and WWE has done a commendable job in setting the stage for the same to occur. We have a feeling he'll be far better as a heel than a babyface.
#2 Worst: Weak writing
We praised WWE for the realistic, shocking nature of the Braun Strowman-Brock Lesnar- Kane segment. In the same breath, we feel we must criticize the Alexa Bliss-Nia Jax-Asuka banter, we saw on RAW this week.
We wonder if even kids fall for 'you won't believe what Asuka said about you, Nia Jax' line! Yes, we know that Nia Jax did not fall for it. At the same time, couldn't WWE have scripted for Alexa Bliss to get Nia Jax on her side, in a more interesting manner than this?
For what it was worth, we loved Nia Jax flattening Asuka in the middle of the ring. Their upcoming collision should be quite a treat to watch.
#3 Best: Cena vs. Joe
Did you guys know that Joe and Cena started their WWE journeys together? They were together in UPW, which was a former developmental territory for WWE.
Samoa Joe made short work of Rhyno this week. However, it was the promo he cut following the match that caught our attention. Joe announced that he would be entering the Royal Rumble match.
Moreover, when Charly Caruso mentioned John Cena's name, Joe asked her to stop. It seems that Joe has designs on the 16 time World Champion.
Joe vs. Cena is a match that could happen at WrestleMania 34, and in all probability, even steal the show!
#3 Worst: Top Guys gone missing!
We saw The Revival return from injury, a few weeks ago. Since then, they've not been seen at all. It's criminal for Creative to not have anything for these two men, who are supremely talented indeed. How can you not have them feature in a three-hour long show?
Dash and Dawson constantly stole the show during their time in NXT. They've been plagued with injuries in the main roster, and have been suffering as a result of the same. It's a sad state of affairs.
#4 Best: The return of The Miz
The Miz has been gone for a while, to film a movie. When he did return, he was incredibly over. Why wouldn't he be, considering he's probably the best promo in the business? We wonder if there's a face turn in his future.
As for The Miztourage, we believe they've got The Champion's Club in their crosshairs. The coming weeks should be interesting. And the Miz is around to make it awesome!
So, we leave you with this review. We'll join you again in twenty four hours, for our SmackDown Live recap too.
Until then, this is what you need to do!
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