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RAW can be a chore to sit through on most weeks, in my opinion. SmackDown Live is an easier episode to sit through because it's faster-paced and also, an hour short.
Writing a three-hour weekly show is certainly no easy feat and WWE gets it wrong on most weeks, I feel. I personally thought that this week's show was a welcome change of pace with more good than bad.
Which is not to say that RAW was as good as an episode of NXT or even Impact Wrestling, which is a much easier show to enjoy than RAW on most weeks, but it was better than most weeks. I had no trouble at all coming up with a list of 'worsts' from the show.
So, without wasting your valuable time, I present the Best and Worst of RAW this week, for your reading pleasure.
#1 Best: The legends help pick up the pace
What do I mean by this ambiguous and unclear title? I thought that the first hour of RAW was really good but the second hour was a very weak portion of the show.
But then a whole bunch of legends would show up in the third hour and help pick the pace up quite significantly indeed. The Undertaker issued a challenge to Goldberg and the undertone of his message implied that he believed that Goldberg, the mythical warrior was a family man now who had gone soft.
Triple H and Randy Orton had this whole segment where they discussed each other's nether regions, and as corny as the lines were, the crowd was into the whole program. Both men are really good promos and they made the segment work.
I love how the crowd turned Orton babyface during the segment.
#1 Worst: Not cashing in the contract
Wasn't this the most baffling decision through the course of WWE RAW? Why would Brock Lesnar, who has a chance to become the WWE Universal Champion with the utmost ease, pass up the opportunity on this week's show?
Remember how Dean Ambrose revealed on the Talk is Jericho podcasts that certain creative decisions from Vince McMahon and his staff of WWE Writers could make him seem like he was stupid? This was one of those decisions because Lesnar had a clear pathway to the Universal Championship and yet, he refused to take it.
Whatever happens from here on in, even if Lesnar were to cash in his Money in the Bank contract on someone like Kofi Kingston, it wouldn't explain this baffling decision. This was just weak booking and writing, all around.
Why do you guys think that Lesnar did not cash in his contract against the Universal Champion this week?
#2 Best: The Firefly Fun House starring Vince McMahon
I've written an entire article about the Firefly Fun House and its hidden symbolism, so I will not delve into that at all. But it's the most unique and innovative thing in today's pro wrestling landscape and I really think that it stands out from the clutter quite significantly indeed.
So, Bray Wyatt told us that this episode of the Firefly Fun House would be a very special one. And it was special because a certain guest showed up to dance and jive along with Wyatt. This man was none other than Vince McMahon himself.
The very fact that Bray Wyatt got to include Vince McMahon in this skit is pretty much an indication of how much McMahon believes in Wyatt. Which also leads me to believe that in due course of time, Wyatt's debut will be a very big thing.
#2 Worst: The laziest segment ever
You try to give WWE the benefit of the doubt at times, but then they book segments like these and just test our patience. I get that Rey Mysterio had to relinquish his Championship owing to a real-life injury that he's sustained. But what I really don't get is why the segment played out in the way that it did.
Mind you, this is one of the most prestigious titles on RAW, and yet the title just goes over to the previous Champion without a match or even a segment with others vying for it? Maybe someone like Robert Roode could have come out and just announced that he wanted to toss his hat into the ring. Maybe there could have been a match between the two men to determine the champion.
None of this happened. Samoa Joe was pretty much just awarded the Championship.
#3 Best: R-Truth hides under the ring
Cesaro and Ricochet put on a great match like they always do. They would have made it to this list, but Cesaro pulling R-Truth out from under the ring was a lot funnier.
There was a title change this past weekend, as R-Truth got pinned at a golf course by Jinder Mahal who won the title back in a matter of minutes. This week on RAW everyone was searching for him, but R-Truth was really nowhere to be found.
And then when Cesaro went to search for a table, little did he know that R-Truth would emerge from the bottom of the ring causing a whole bunch of Superstars to show up for the coveted title. With a little bit of help from Carmella, he managed to escape once again.
I wonder what happens when R-Truth goes to Saudi Arabia with the Championship.
#3 Worst: The Women's Division
Remember when the women's division was the best thing about WWE? Ever since Ronda Rousey departed, it just seems like the whole hype around women's wrestling has also gone with her.
So, you have Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross compete with The IIconics in a whole feud about coffee. It is cute and Alexa Bliss is awesome at everything she does, but it does not feel like it's the same women's division that main evented WrestleMania.
Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair are back together on the same brand again thanks to the wild card rule and now Lacey Evans has been inserted into the mix as well. It just feels like the whole thing is a mess and the very women who made us proud wrestling fans are the low point of the show these days.
It's not the performers but WWE Creative that's responsible!
#4 Best/worst: The start of the show
So, I actually quite liked the fact that WWE began the show with a match. Who would have wanted yet another long, pointless, meandering talking segment. Each of the men involved in the segment pulled their weight and put on a good show on this week's RAW.
But then again, The Revival and The Usos should be mixing it up for the Tag Team Championship. Neither team holds the Championship right now and it just seems like there are no plans for the Tag Team Champions at the moment. The Viking Raiders haven't even shown up on TV for a really long time now.
WWE is a mixture of both good and bad at the moment, in my opinion. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, really.
As is tradition in Sportskeeda Wrestling, we will end this article with an unrelated image of Little Miss Bliss.
Bayley gives us a HUGE update on a top Superstar's upcoming return RIGHT HERE.
