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While there have been weak episodes of RAW in the past, I have to say that this week's episode was especially poor. So much so that I actually dozed off in the middle of the broadcast, something I don't usually do, quite honestly.
When I came to, the Viking Raiders were screaming 'are you watching' in an accusatory tone to me. I went back and caught up on all the parts that I missed before I begin this week's review of RAW.
Of course, you may think differently from what I did, and hence, I invite you to leave a comment in the section right below. Also, I'd be really glad if you could rate the matches that happened on RAW on a scale of 1-5 at this particular link.
So, let's dive right into the review of this week's show then.
#1 Best: Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton officially commences
Surprisingly enough, I'd never thought that I'd be so excited at the prospect of a Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre feud, even after the tease that happened on last week's show. But if you look at the two men and how they size up, you can pretty much tell that this will be a dream feud for both men involved.
McIntyre doesn't always get a chance to shine on the microphone, having played the part of Dolph Ziggler's muscle in the past and also portraying the role of Shane McMahon's lackey. This time he did and when he engaged in a war of words with Randy Orton, he proved to the world why he should be the top heel on RAW.
The battle of the Claymore vs. The RKO should be one for the ages, in my opinion. I am certainly sold!
#1 Worst: Jerry Lawler makes a botch
Samoa Joe brings a very dignified air to the commentary booth in my opinion and the way that he calls the action is very modern and very sleek too. Vic Joseph is the voice of the traditional WWE commentator, but he has a role to play and the man does it well.
It just seems like Jerry Lawler does not belong on the same commentary table as the two men. The generation gap between the announcers is pretty evident.
It is especially difficult to be impartial at moments like when Jerry Lawler refers to Aleister Black's finisher The Black Mass, as 'Black Magic', which is a cardinal sin, if you consider how strongly WWE wants to push Black at this moment. And even if you ignore the botch, his commentary was pretty insufferable all through.
Can someone please call Nigel McGuinness up to WWE RAW soon?
#2 Best: Showcasing WWE Superstars who don't get enough screen time
What I liked about this week's show is how a lot of underutilized WWE stars had a chance to shine and showcase just how good they are. Every WWE Superstar is good enough to be on television and not everyone gets the opportunity, every week. So I loved the fact that Tozawa had a chance to shine this week, and so did Eric Young and Tony Nese.
I don't think that doing the job to Andrade is a matter of shame at all, as he's one of the fastest-rising stars in the wrestling world. And the same holds true for Aleister Black who took Tony Nese to the limit this week, in what was a competitive match.
And how good was Tozawa's selling for the Claymore kick, ladies and gentlemen? It looked like Tozawa was turned upside down when the big move connected!
#2 Worst: No Becky Lynch
The Women's Evolution seemed inorganic and contrived until 'The Man' came along and it became more than just a catchphrase. The whole crowd started rooting for her tough-as-nails character and she quickly became the top babyface on WWE RAW. The day when Nia Jax accidentally bloodied her face added a lot to her 'lore', so to speak.
And now, she's been off the show for 2 weeks. How do you keep your hottest babyface off the show, especially if she's fit enough to compete? Is there a lack of competition for her, at this point in time?
If you think that she's being given time to recover and heal, that's not the case at all because Becky Lynch did compete in the dark match! I don't know why someone so valuable to the overall WWE product would be used in such a manner because the company has 3 whole hours to fill!
#3 Best: Kevin Owens
I think that week by week, it is becoming ever clearer that Kevin Owens will be the face of RAW in case Seth Rollins goes over to the dark side and becomes the top heel in WWE. Seth Rollins' intentions are yet unknown but Kevin Owens is a pure babyface for the second time in his career after his short-lived alliance with The New Day.
But this time, there's an edge to him as we saw from his interactions with Lana. Even his war of words with Seth Rollins, where he compared his apology to something that cannot be repeated here, was quite hilarious.
There's only one Kevin Owens in the world. People can always compare him to Stone Cold Steve Austin, but he's his own man.
As long as Vince McMahon allows him to be himself, Kevin Owens can certainly rise to the very top of the food chain and claim his spot.
#3 Worst: The handicap match
When the match had concluded, my colleague Phillipa Marie made a very valid point! What was the point of this match...to prove that 2 women can overcome one?
Asuka and Kairi Sane and Charlotte Flair worked a match that was fine but went on for far too long, in my opinion. And it was perfectly set up for some woman from the back to come out and make the save, but nobody did, and this whole match just seemed like such a massive waste of time!
Honestly, Asuka and Kairi Sane should go to SmackDown and challenge the likes of Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, as well as Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. Lest we forget, The IIconics are a part of RAW and they deserve a shot at the tag team titles too, you know!
Natalya has been absent over the last few weeks. And so Charlotte Flair's army of one seems pretty weird.
#4 Best/Worst: The arrest
Of course, there's an element of cringe in what happened with Lashley and Lana this week on WWE RAW. I mean there were two officers who were brought on to protect Bobby Lashley from Rusev who obviously failed at their job based on what happened (which was essentially a repeat of Starrcade).
And then when Bobby Lashley got into the face of the cops and brushed against them, he was arrested. So was Lana, who made the hilarious mistake of slapping the police officer.
While I'm not necessarily a fan of this whole segment, the crowd seemed to love it and it's actually getting Rusev over as a babyface. I guess people love drama and this was a segment that could have belonged in the Attitude Era.
To conclude this article, I shall post a picture of a SmackDown Superstar known as Alexa Bliss, who made her return to the ring at WWE Starrcade.
