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It was the go-home episode of RAW to WrestleMania Backlash, and it was by far the best edition of the red brand since WrestleMania 37. There have been a lot of complaints about the build to the PPV on Monday nights, with the booking getting heavily criticized.
Thankfully, that wasn't fully the case this week, although there were ups and downs. Here are the best and worst parts of an eventful episode of RAW.
#3 Best: Randy Orton's character consistency on RAW
Randy Orton's character has been stuck in limbo for the past few months. While he was a clear-cut heel against Drew McIntyre in their WWE Title feud, after that, his character seemed to be in neutral territory.
Feuding against 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss made him a bit of a babyface, but there wasn't much to indicate that he was one, in the months leading up to WrestleMania 37.
Post-WrestleMania, Randy Orton has been aligned with [Matt] Riddle on RAW and they formed a tag team known as R-K-Bro. On this week's show, they went 3-0 after teaming up with The New Day to defeat Jaxson Ryker, Elias, and the Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Omos.
Post-match, Randy Orton hit RKOs on Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston - showing a good bit of character consistency.
Even Randy Orton's promo before the match on RAW was great. While Riddle simply looked at him and smiled at the end, it's an indication that The Viper hasn't fully turned babyface just yet.
It could be similar to the case of Sheamus, where he becomes a babyface while retaining all his heel characteristics. If not, then a proper babyface turn has been slightly delayed and will take place over the course of the next few months.
#3 Worst: The main event of RAW
The main event of RAW was far more underwhelming than it had any right to be. A WrestleMania rematch between Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre was advertised, and that's what we got.
Only this time around, the match wasn't good at all. It seemed like a typical RAW main event with a controversial finish inevitable. After MVP proposed a business deal to Braun Strowman to take out Drew McIntyre, The Monster Among Men interfered, but not in the capacity that the WWE veteran expected.
It was an extremely underwhelming match compared to their bout at WrestleMania, and RAW ended with Braun Strowman taking out both men - but not before teasing an alliance with WWE Champion Bobby Lashley.
WWE could have done better with the build to the main event, which is supposed to be the central feud on RAW.
It all seemed a bit thrown together tonight. Hopefully, after the PPV, WWE moves forward with a good Title feud for Bobby Lashley or whoever the World Champion is at the time.
#2 Best: Jinder Mahal's return to RAW
Jinder Mahal made his return to RAW after nearly a year away. It's been a rough past couple of years for the former WWE champion, as injuries have kept him out of action for an extensive period.
This time, things could be different. Last year on RAW, he claimed that his journey to the top would be a hero's one, and not that of a villain. An injury stopped him from potentially being a WWE title challenger.
But things could still change. With WWE always looking for top heels, Jinder Mahal looked renewed with Veer and Shanky by his side. They look a lot more legitimate than The Bollywood Boys and could get him a lot of heat.
The decision to beat Jeff Hardy clean on RAW was a good one, as it re-establishes some of the old dominance that Jinder Mahal had.
While it was unfortunately at the expense of a legend like Jeff Hardy, Jinder Mahal might be the next superstar to get pushed. We're excited to see where he goes on RAW, barring any injury.
#2 Worst: The Humberto Carrillo-Sheamus finish on RAW
Humberto Carrillo faced Sheamus on RAW in an attempt to secure a United States Championship match. This didn't go according to plan. While it was a good bout, it ended with a seemingly botched finish outside the ring.
Humberto Carrillo was down on the mat and the referee threw up the "X" sign, indicating that a real-life injury stopped the match. It's unfortunate for Humberto Carrillo and we wish him a speedy recovery.
What makes the injury more untimely is the fact that he may have won the non-Title match to set up a title shot at WrestleMania Backlash. All of Sheamus' weight seemed to go down on Carrillo at ringside when the injury happened, and it was a freak accident.
#1 Best: Alexa Bliss and Lilly
Alexa Bliss was with Lilly in the opening match of RAW, with the latter supposedly having her eyes on one of the female superstars. It was creepy and achieved everything that it needed to do - broadening Alexa Bliss' overall storyline.
It will be interesting to see if this eventually results in her in a RAW Women's Title feud, or whether another superstar will eventually align with her. Her character has been excellent and one of the best parts of RAW in the last few months.
#1 Worst: The Damian Priest-Miz storyline on RAW
Damian Priest's first involvement as a RAW superstar was post-Royal Rumble, where he aligned with Puerto Rican celebrity singer Bad Bunny to have a feud with The Miz and John Morrison.
The match at WrestleMania between the two teams was all about Bad Bunny - who proved to be the best celebrity wrestler in WWE history.
Now that the Grammy Award winner is gone, Damian Priest is on his own and still feuding with The Miz and John Morrison.
So far, the storyline on RAW has been nothing short of underwhelming. Damian Priest hasn't gotten ahead, though we expect to see that at WrestleMania Backlash.
This week on RAW, Priest defeated John Morrison to decide the stipulation of the match when he faces The Miz this Sunday.
Priest won and chose a lumberjack match. It was a bit deflating since there are a few stipulation matches that can prevent interference without lumberjacks.
The lumberjacks often make it worse, and it leads to an unnecessarily chaotic match. The whole feud on RAW hasn't been good and hopefully, it ends at WrestleMania Backlash.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
