Hits and Misses for RAW and SmackDown Live this Month (September 2018)

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The Shield was the focal point for most of the RAW this month

The things in WWE usually pick up after every "Big-4" pay-per-views, and this time it was no different. WWE headed into September with a brand new Universal Champion, a new Smackdown Women's champion, and a big heel turn from one of the most protected stars in WWE right now.

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There have been some fantastic booking, and also clichéd storylines in WWE this month due to some rare lazy writing. The shows are far from perfect, but it is safe to say that there has been a good improvement from the previous month.

Here is my personal assessment of the events that have transpired this month.


#1 Hit: Signs of Heel Turn from Ambrose

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Could the Lunatic Fringe finally turn heel?

There have been heavy rumors on the Internet of Dean Ambrose turning heel since his return to the WWE, and it was nice to WWE using this to create further drama over this entire Shield and Dogs of War storyline. This act was the much-needed turn that the storyline badly needed to take to make things interesting once again.

It was brilliant by the writers in pointing out the fact that Ambrose is the only Shield-brother not to hold a title currently. This gives a nice impetus to the eventual heel turn that is going to happen in the coming months.

Will the Lunatic Fringe turn heel in the months to follow or will this be a big swerve from WWE? The intrigue is definitely a best by WWE this month.

#1 Miss: All the Championships in one feud

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No storylines for superstars like Finn Balor, Elias

The flagship show does not have the time or any meaningful storylines to accommodate wrestlers like Finn Balor, Elias, and Jinder Mahal even though being three hours long.

With championships in RAW are part of the Shield and Dogs of War story, there is nothing significant for the rest of the roster to do right now.

For the benefit of few, WWE has not been providing meaningful feuds for the Superstars on the RAW roster. This is an area that WWE can look to improve. All one can do is hope things get better in the weeks to come.

#2 Hit: Heel Becky Lynch

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The new Queen

Heel Becky Lynch is probably the best act going on in WWE right now. Experts are already dubbing this heel Becky as the modern day Steve Austin.

She is the most over talent in WWE today, and the fans are not willing to boo the Irish Lass Kicker despite her appreciable efforts.

Becky Lynch finally had her moment when she defeated her former best friend Charlotte Flair in the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

A double turn would have been even more perfect but none the less, it was good to see WWE giving the fans what they really wanted.

#2 Miss: AJ Styles retaining the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell

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Make no mistake, I have nothing against AJ Styles, I even rate him as the best professional wrestler in the world today, but his reign has reached its expiry date.

The company terribly needed a fresh champion to mix things up, and Samoa Joe could have been the perfect guy to dethrone Styles.

But the company decided not to give a shot with Joe as the new champion instead have Styles retain in a rather screwed up finish. WWE needs to have The Phenomenal One main event the major shows and have a clean finish if they need to keep this title prestigious.

#3 Hit: Revival of the tag-team division

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Finally some credible champions

The month of September saw Dolph Ziggler and Drew Mcintyre winning the Raw Tag Team Championship which gave a fresh air to the entire division. All the hard work put in by the Shield and the Bar were squandering due to some lousy booking.

Instantly McIntyre and Ziggler put on a tag team classic with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in their championship match in Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

Their match on RAW with the Revival was also great. It is also nice to see McIntyre finally having gold around his waist. Hope this the first of many championships to come.

#3 Miss: No Challengers for the United States Championship

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Not enough faces to challenge Shinsuke Nakamura

While the heels in Smackdown Live have been doing an incredible job, there are not enough top-tier faces to challenge them.

The United States Championship did not even feature in the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view either. The US Championship is known for the open challenges, but the prestige brought by John Cena, AJ Styles to the championship is taking a step backward.

There have been rumors that Rey Mysterio has signed a two-year deal with the company, and will be challenging Nakamura at the Crown Jewel at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. WWE usually gets it done with underdog story, and this can start of better things with US title.

#4 Best/Worst: Undertaker VS Triple H

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One Last time

It is great to see that Triple H and Undertaker face each other for one last time in the Super Showdown in Melbourne, Australia.

It will be a nice conclusion to a decade-long story as Shawn Michaels will be in Triple H's corner and Kane in The Deadman's corner. The promos and segments this month were top notch by these three icons. It was beautiful to see the chemistry between them.

The storytelling has made WWE Universe speculate HBK's return. Will we see the D-Generation X VS Brothers of Destruction in a major? Only time will tell.

Finn Balor vs Undertaker, Finn Balor vs HHH, Kevin Owens vs Triple H, even an Undertaker and John Cena rematch are the matches that WWE Universe wants to see, as it brings fresh elements to the table, instead, WWE decided to stick with the same old formula. This is something the creatives will need to work upon.