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At the outset, Sportskeeda Wrestling would like to send our best wishes to all our readers affected by Hurricane Irma. That said, tradition must be maintained and it's time for our post-RAW 'Best and worst' analysis yet again.
This week, RAW came to us from the Honda Center in Anaheim, and featured a very unenthusiastic crowd, for most of the night.
There were some aspects that blew our mind and some others that did not impress us. It's time to list them all down, and bring you the list of Sportskeeda. Link it in, man!
#1 Best: Completely no selling Suplex City
Two hours of action succeeded the brawl between Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman, and so it is easy to forget this segment even took place.
However, not only did Brock Lesnar get into a tussle on TV, he allowed Braun Strowman to no-sell a German Suplex.
This is a very significant development, leading up to the big Universal Championship match at No Mercy, and actually portrays Lesnar as the underdog. If you had any doubts about WWE being high on Strowman, there you have it! In many ways, this was a passing of the torch, from one beast to another.
The question now remains, how will Lesnar persevere in this titanic contest? There's an element of uncertainty in this match, following up on the destruction caused by Strowman at SummerSlam. "The Beast" has been cornered, and his fate hands in the balance!
#1 Worst: Massive logical flaw
John Cena and Braun Strowman is a pay-per-view quality match on free television, and it did deliver on every front. Until the very end, that is. There was an absolute lack of logic from WWE, during the finish of the match.
Strowman hit Cena with the steel steps to the head. That should have been an instant disqualification, but instead, the referee surprisingly allowed the match to continue. After Cena was slammed into the step, within the ring, he was only then disqualified. Fans these days are far more intelligent than before, and they really won't let such logical flaws slide.
Yet another logical discrepancy came from the fact that Anderson & Gallows, Ambrose & Rollins and Sheamus & Cesaro had an all-out brawl on the ramp, towards the beginning of this week's episode. Later on, the two heel teams teamed up, despite the fact that they were bashing each other up, only moments ago for the main event!
#2 Best: Wyatt's storyline actually makes sense
There is usually so much mumbo-jumbo in Bray Wyatt's case, that it's heartening to see him being booked logically. He urged Balor to rid himself of his demon avatar, and face him like a man would.
To enforce his point, he rubbed the face paint of Goldust this week, after defeating him in a match. This may not be the most gripping storyline ever, but at least it makes sense, and that's all one can ask for, really.
After the lack of logic that we outlined, this was almost heartening to see. Let's hope Wyatt and Balor get booked, like they deserve, heading into their No Mercy match.
#2 Worst: Two glaring botches
Booker T is not a good announcer. This week, he seemed got so tongue tied while he was announcing the Sasha Banks-Emma match, that even Corey Graves had to come to his rescue. Graves said that it's okay to get tongue tied in the presence of a Goddess. It was almost comical to see Booker struggling to get the words out.
Yet another botch happened in the main event match. Matt Hardy came into the ring to break up a pinfall, and instead tripped and fell. The referee stopped his count in time. Corey Graves came to the rescue again and attributed the referee's botch to him seeing Hardy move, from the corner of his eye, to break up the pin.
Corey Graves saves the day, on two separate occasions!
#3 Best: A very promising move
Even though Enzo Amore is in the Cruiserweight Division right now, he had an entertaining Miz TV segment (more on that later) and match with The Miz, this week. We wonder if this means that WWE is exploring the possibility of more matches, of a similar nature?
Could we see Cedric Alexander or Jack Gallagher mixing it up with the heavyweights then? Maybe a dream match between Neville and say, Samoa Joe? Or is Enzo Amore the John Cena of the Cruiserweight division... the only free agent on the whole roster?
Let's hope the former is the case and we actually get to witness some entertaining feuds, from the talented division with superstars on RAW. They desperately need to get over!
#3 Worst: No heat for the opening contest
The first blow is half the battle, they say. Unfortunately, in this case, the first blow was weak and rather underwhelming.
While the match between Roman Reigns and Jason Jordan was good, it did not warm up the crowd at all and the first half hour of the program was extremely weak. This was against stiff competition from Monday Night Football.
The crowd did not care for a match between two babyfaces. Jordan needs more character development, before he can hang with the bigger stars. As good as he is in the ring, it's all in vain in a business driven by characters!
#4 Best: Breaking the fourth wall
Be it Cena taking shots at Reigns for failing to pass a drug test, or The Miz bringing up the fact that Enzo Amore has backstage heat on live television, WWE is taking risks and we, as fans, love it. This makes for compelling viewing, and we're glad that WWE is moving away from the 'safe' territory. Welcome to the Reality Era, in all its glory.
We began on a sombre note, by mentioning a Natural Disaster. It's time to end with new life. Congratulations to The Miz and Maryse for their massive announcement. It was heartening to see the WWE Universe break character, and hail the couple with 'yes' chants, following their beautiful announcement.
Bayley gives us a HUGE update on a top Superstar's upcoming return RIGHT HERE.
