Best & Worst of WWE RAW in Paris: The curious case of AJ Styles, the curious case of AJ Lee & a fire CM Punk/Becky Lynch promo

WWE concluded its European Summer Tour with an extra-long episode of Monday Night Raw live from Paris, France, and it was more of a treat than a drag. And however the show may have felt for fans watching globally on Netflix, for the rabid Paris crowd, "c’était vraiment phénoménal" through and through.

The fans in the building having an incredible time and the show having a hot crowd, however, does not excuse its shortcomings for the viewers watching at home, especially the ardent ones. Much like Becky Lynch having a hot husband does not excuse herself and Seth Rollins acting like absolute you-know-whats.

Therefore, in this article, we shall discuss the best and worst aspects of tonight's Monday Night RAW.

Best: CM Punk and Becky Lynch's war of words on RAW

CM Punk and Becky Lynch engaged in a heated war of words on RAW tonight, despite Punk clearly wanting none of it. The Women's Intercontinental Champion interrupted The Voice of the Voiceless after he demanded that The Visionary, Seth Rollins, face him man-to-man, with The Man, but of course, coming out instead.

The segment got across its point and then some. Despite an earlier indication that it may be Rhea Ripley who has CM Punk's back against Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch, and not AJ Lee, Lynch played to the "AJ Lee" chants. Meanwhile, Ripley did not come out to confront Lynch despite her antics against Punk, and Punk teased something big for SmackDown in Chicago this Friday.

The segment was less about what was said and more about how it was said; the communication was brilliant with engaging body language and demeanor. As such, it is tough to put into words just how great it was. If you haven't watched RAW yet, do yourself a favor and at least check out this segment.

The past two days have made it very likely that AJ Lee returns to the wrestling ring for a massive tag team match at Wrestlepalooza, and her WWE return may happen as soon as this Friday in Chicago. The Rhea Ripley-CM Punk interaction before the in-ring promo, however, raises doubts regarding whether the return is 100% on.

Best/Worst: AJ Styles & Dominik Mysterio's solid match and questionable finish on Monday Night RAW

AJ Styles was received like a God in Paris as he challenged Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship on RAW. An excellent match ended with a surprising result, however, as Mysterio retained the title with help from El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser), leaving the crowd deflated and the internet fuming.

This take may surprise some, but at its root, what happened is simply this: the heel won. The cowardly, pusillanimous, lying, cheating, deadbeat heel won a match and retained his title after cheating and outsmarting his challenger, a pro-wrestling legend and icon. There was shock and silence in an arena with over 25,000 people, and outrage on social media at the veteran babyface not winning the title in a country that treats him like its favorite son. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the very essence of pro wrestling.

So, why is this a best/worst? Because the glacial pace at which the Judgment Day saga continues to run does get overbearing. The Finn Balor-Dominik Mysterio situation needs to move forward, and if developments have been delayed due to Liv Morgan's absence, that is understandable, but still tough to digest after years of witnessing Judgment Day politics.

Nonetheless, Mysterio retaining the Intercontinental Championship does leave hope for a possible match with John Cena at some point in the Farewell Tour, and that is the biggest positive takeaway from this situation. The biggest question coming out is what AJ Styles' short-term future looks like on RAW and what his long-term direction will be in WWE over the next couple of years.

Worst: The lack of follow-up on Clash in Paris and a weird flow to the show on tonight's RAW

Many of the superstars on the PLE last night were either barely or not featured on tonight's RAW. Seth Rollins, still the World Heavyweight Champion following Clash in Paris, was only featured on RAW for a couple of minutes. Granted, it made sense. Instead of another needless and whiny 20-minute promo, Rollins, the supposed centerpiece of RAW, took a backseat to his wife tonight, so WWE could advance that story on a more enticing front.

Meanwhile, Roman Reigns, after almost being massacred by Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker last night, was obviously nowhere to be seen. Nikki Bella was also only involved in a throwaway backstage segment that only served to advance the Asuka/Iyo Sky narrative. With Becky Lynch busy with CM Punk now, that may be excused (indeed, each of these cases individually may be excused), but on the whole, it felt off.

Even Stephanie Vaquer was completely absent, despite Adam Pearce's announcement that she would be facing Iyo Sky for the vacant Women's World Championship at Wrestlepalooza. Sky herself is more occupied dealing with Asuka and the latter's obsession with controlling who Sky speaks with. RAW could have done a much better job following up on Clash in Paris and building up to Wrestlepalooza.

There was also no reason why Sheamus and Rusev had to be absent from tonight's episode of RAW. Rusev was at least featured in a vignette; Sheamus, however, was nowhere to be seen. And after weeks of compelling vignettes featuring Bayley, there was not only nothing new, but not even a recap of the previous vignettes tonight; just a backstage segment featuring Lyra Valkyria discussing the situation with Adam Pearce.

Best: Solid in-ring action throughout this week's episode of WWE RAW

Monday Night RAW featured a phenomenal Intercontinental Championship match between AJ Styles and Dominik Mysterio, but that wasn't all. The show featured top-class bell-to-bell action with The Kabuki Warriors, Asuka and Kairi Sane, defeating Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez in a great tag-team match.

Meanwhile, Dragon Lee also wrestled a solid match with Finn Balor, who got his first singles win in forever. The Parisian crowd also had a blast watching Balor, one of the greatest professional wrestlers of this generation, take on a rising star and top prospect in Dragon Lee.

The six-man tag team match featuring The New Day and Grayson Waller against Penta and The War Raiders, as well as the main event tag team match featuring Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed against the contentious pairing of LA Knight and Jey Uso, also clicked well, ensuring strong in-ring action interspersed throughout the night for the Parisian crowd to enjoy.