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WWE RAW saw the fallout from this week's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view as a new match was set for the WWE Championship. The show also saw the new United States Champion battle against a former contender of the title successfully. While there were certain aspects of the show that could have been done better, it was one of the better recent episodes of the Red Brand.
RAW was eventful as old feuds were continued and new feuds were started. Heading away from Elimination Chamber and towards WWE Fastlane and WrestleMania, quite a lot of things happened to add to the hype.
With several questions answered, there were still a few weak spots. With that being said, this is the Best and Worst from this week's episode of WWE RAW.
#1 Best: Shane McMahon backing up decision to keep Braun Strowman out of the WWE RAW Elimination Chamber
When the decision was made to compose an entire Elimination Chamber out of Superstars who had formerly held the WWE Championship, it was made quite clear to the WWE Universe.
Far too often, the logic behind WWE's booking is not clear and there is no assurance behind why they are making the decisions that they are. So when Braun Strowman demanded to know why he was not in the Elimination Chamber at week, all Adam Pearce had to say was that he was not a former WWE Champion.
Strowman has never been booked as the cleverest WWE Superstar and that was backed up by his complaints against not being in the Elimination Chamber. When Shane McMahon made his way out, he did not say anything else but provided the logic behind WWE's booking.
Shane McMahon pointed out that for the RAW Elimination Chamber, Braun Strowman needed to hold the WWE Championship previously to be included. The RAW Superstar was the WWE Universal Champion previously but never held the WWE Championship.
The company deciding to keep backing up the decision with logic is something that fans are not familiar with. Thus, it feels fresh, and hopefully, it is a path that the company will continue to go down.
#1 Worst: The WWE RAW commentators' reaction to watching Randy Orton cough up a black tar-like substance
When a long-time WWE RAW Superstar starts coughing during a promo and spits up a black tar-like substance, the least you can expect from the commentary team is somewhat of a reaction.
Long gone are the days where the commentary team evoked extreme emotions during their commentary. Nowadays, more often than not, whenever something big happens during the shows, something that may be perplexing, the commentators are stunned silent.
Randy Orton's feud with Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss on RAW has been full of moments where the unnatural and the supernatural have attracted attention. Usually, in such circumstances, the shocked expressions and reactions of a crowd would sell the moment.
However, in the absence of a crowd, WWE has to depend on those who are in the broadcast booth to react, and it can be safely said that they have not lived up to their work. Being shocked silent might be something that works once or twice, but as it has happened so often, after which they have hastily moved on to the next segment, it's something that might need to be addressed.
Reactions can make or break moments, and this week when Randy Orton coughed up the unidentified goo, the RAW commentators let the moment down by underselling it.
#2 Best: Bobby Lashley moving out of the mid-card on RAW
Bobby Lashley may have started in the mid-card when he returned to WWE, but after his recent performances on RAW, it's safe to say he has moved on to another level.
Over the past few weeks, Bobby Lashley's aggression has seemingly picked up more and more until he has been decimating anyone who dares to step in front of him. At Elimination Chamber, despite losing his United States Championship, Bobby Lashley only added to his reputation by attacking and brutalizing Drew McIntyre.
It's quite clear that he's ready to be a main event level star in WWE at the moment, and the fact that Drew McIntyre didn't appear on WWE RAW to sell the attack only helps the cause further.
On this week's episode of WWE RAW, Bobby Lashley manhandled Braun Strowman, survived a Running Powerslam, and put away the former Universal Champion with a Spear. Lashley has made his way to the top of the roster and challenging The Miz for the WWE Championship next week, he has never looked more natural where he is than now.
#2 Worst: Mandy Rose losing within seconds on RAW
Ever since coming to WWE RAW, Mandy Rose has looked like a shadow of her former self.
When WWE split Mandy Rose up from Sonya Deville, the rumor was that both Superstars were about to receive huge pushes as stars. However, Mandy Rose then got entangled in an entertaining storyline with Otis that continued for some time. Finally, when she was sent over to RAW, the WWE Universe thought they would see that promised push as a singles star on WWE RAW.
Instead, Mandy Rose was immediately teamed up with Dana Brooke, a pairing that has continued up to this point. At first, it appeared that WWE was about to put the Women's Tag Team titles on the two stars, but that did not happen. The partnership has helped to improve the stock of Dana Brooke with the WWE audience but has done very little for Mandy Rose.
The two have battled for the tag team titles multiple times, but have come up short. However, on this week's episode of WWE RAW, Mandy Rose was pinned after only a few seconds in the ring. Lana and Naomi battled Dana and Mandy, and it took only seconds of teamwork between the title contenders to hit Mandy Rose with a facebuster. That appeared to be all it took to pin Mandy Rose.
It's safe to say that anything resembling a push has disappeared for Mandy Rose.
#2 Best/Worst: Charlotte's team with RAW Women's Champion Asuka potentially ending; turning heel
For a while now, on both RAW and SmackDown, WWE has been putting together women to form tag teams. While in some cases that makes sense with the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships being heavily featured, in other cases, some of the alliances have not really made sense.
Charlotte Flair is known for her singles career, and while she won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with Asuka, she has continued her partnership with the current RAW Women's Champion.
Charlotte has always been Championship minded and a long-term partnership with Asuka never made sense. On top of that, with the questionable segments of Ric Flair and Lacey Evans, she has a singles feud waiting for her. Despite that, she teamed up with Asuka on this week's episode of WWE RAW.
Due to a miscommunication between the two women, they failed to get the win. After the match, Charlotte Flair left Asuka standing in the ring, although it was she who hit Asuka to take her out. Given that Lacey Evans might be out for a long time thanks to her real-life pregnancy, WWE RAW desperately needs another heel in the women's division.
Charlotte is a natural heel. Turning her back on Asuka at this point might be the best move for Charlotte from a character point of view. It also makes for a new angle on future RAW shows in the women's division, something that is desperately needed.
On the other hand, the heart-to-heart that Charlotte shared with her father backstage made her out to be more of a face than ever before. Asuka turning heel at this point would come as a huge shock, but would also make storyline sense due to her frustration with Charlotte.
