4 Biggest hits and 2 missed opportunities from this week's RAW (April 29, 2019)

WWE presented RAW from Lexington, Kentucky on April 29, 2019. The show had the task to hype up the next pay-per-view, Money In The Bank. Since TV ratings for RAW have been down recently, WWE is under pressure to deliver stabler shows. Fans expect the company to come up with high-quality content consistently, and it's a task to please the WWE Universe.

This week's episode of RAW had possibilities for strong segments and opportunities for new stars. Mostly, the show was solid. AJ Styles and Seth Rollins faced-off, and Alexa Bliss announced the particpants for the Money In The Bank ladder matches. Most notably, Bray Wyatt presented the second installment of Firefly Funhouse.

In this article, we'll look at what were the 4 biggest hits and 2 missed opportunities from WWE RAW this week.

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#4 Hit - Sami Zayn's promo

It was a different city, a different arena, and different people in the audience. What wasn't different was Sami Zayn and his heartfelt vent against the WWE Universe. He appeared on RAW and continued on his trainwreck, ripping WWE Universe apart for "Psychological Entitlement."

It was the same stuff he has done recently, but he added new twists and stories to make his rant work again. Sami Zayn is currently doing some of the best work of his career, so it's unsurprising that he nailed his promo yet again. He established himself as the "Critic of Critics." It's nice that Zayn consistently holding the WWE Universe accountable every week has paid off in some form.

Thankfully, WWE hasn't looked to rush Zayn's story, letting him build some real heat. He's got us looking forward to his next promo, especially since whatever he says feels ironically true. Now, it's tricky how WWE takes this forward. The company should translate his amazing work into something big in the future. They should also add interesting elements to his story. Otherwise, this will get old too soon. For now, this segment was a big hit.

#3 Hit - Styles vs. Rollins become official

WWE doesn't have much time to build up to AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank. Hence, this week's RAW had an important role to play in setting up this dream match. We expected Styles and Rollins to trade verbal and physical shots during the 'Contract Signing" on RAW.

The duo didn't disappoint. Rollins reminded Styles that the latter wasn't on SmackDown LIVE (The house that AJ Styles built, we need to say it every time), but this was Monday Night Rollins. Styles mocked Rollins that he'd never be AJ Styles, even though everyone has seen him as the next 'phenomenal one.' Finally, Styles exploded with an elbow. In the end, it was Styles who got Rollins' number, dropping him through the table with a Phenomenal Forearm.

This was a solid segment. It accomplished the fact that these two stars would go any length to win. Especially, Styles looks to be moving forward towards possible a heel turn.

#2 Missed opportunity - The MITB participants announcement

Alexa Bliss hasn't wrestled much in the last 6 months. Most of her in-ring hiatus had been due to a concussion, which WWE has become very serious about in recent times. When Bliss returned in the Royal Rumble match, it looked like "Little Miss Bliss" would again consistently wrestle on the red brand.

WWE has kept her involvement limited to a "Moment of Bliss." It hasn't been a bad thing since she has been a prominent part of television. However, it wasn't such a good thing this week on RAW. Bliss announced RAW's participants for the men's and women's MITB Ladder matches during two separate "Moment of Bliss" segments. And, it'd not be too hard to say that both segments were quite dull and WWE's way to announce the participants came off as lazy and nonchalant.

WWE could have easily had matches for earning these spots. It'd have given stars like Cesaro, Ricochet and many others a chance to shine. If it wasn't bad enough already, Bliss made her in-ring return in an anti-dramatic and sloppy match against Naomi. Bliss' in-ring return should have meant more as well.

#2 Hit - The Lady brawls with The Man

The Man Becky Lynch, wherever she goes or whatever she does, will always be a hit. She is having a blast as the dual Women's Champion. This week she entered to share her views about her two championship matches at the Money In The Bank PPV, before calling out The Sassy Southern Belle for a fight.

Evans responded, losing her manners and letting go of her class for a while. The two emerged in a short, crisp brawl before officials caused separation after repeated attempts.

Now, brawls can often be a quick miss in WWE. Especially, WWE has the knack of overdoing these fights. Often, these brawls don't engage people because of lack of heat. But, this segment worked perfectly fine. It made sense for Lynch to call Evans out after her nasty rights, week after week.

Surprisingly, Lacey Evans looked like a star here. And, if she continues to impress, she might very well be on the path to bigger things ahead.

#1 Hit - The Firefly Funhouse

Bray Wyatt and his Firefly Funhouse has set the WWE Universe alive and talking. The gimmick, which fans already declare as one of the weirdest in WWE history, has gotten mixed responses from most fans. Some say this would be the best gimmick in WWE history, others predict it to be a total bust. We don't know what's in store for Wyatt, but we do know that he nailed his 'Sociopath' segment.

We got paintings possibly referencing to his burnt house, a small piece of advice from Abby the witch and Rambling Rabbit. It's weird to think how Wyatt's now character will translate inside the squared circle, but for now, this was another unique segment from the former 'Eater of Worlds.'

Wyatt could actually turn out to be the evilest, scariest and coldest character in WWE history. The only roadblock WWE has its PG style television. Still, Wyatt is a great worker, and it shows, as this has truly become the most compelling part of WWE TV. He's certainly glad to have us as friends.

#1 Missed Opportunity - Robert Roode and Cesaro

Should he have been in the MITB Ladder match?

WWE RAW is a 3-hour weekly show. Considering the length of the show, we would think that it'd have plenty of space for plenty of stars on the rosters. But, that's never the case as some stars always fail to get any relevant TV time for long periods. WWE needs to change some things about its programming, like overly long talk segments. It's still a wrestling show, after all.

The Superstar Shake-up saw some very underrated 'important' developments. Bobby Roode turned to Robert Roode, entering the heel territory where he's most comfortable. We also had Cesaro split with Sheamus, making a move to the red brand as a singles competitor. He defeated Alexender in his first match post-draft, hinting at signs for a possible upper mid-card push.

However, neither of the stars could find a spot on the card on RAW. It's disappointing since both stars deserve the opportunity to shine rather than warm the bench. It's rather odd that Cesaro couldn't find a place in the MITB Ladder match. Either Braun Strowman or Baron Corbin could have been in other stories. Surely, this was a missed opportunity.

We hope WWE has big plans for these two stars, and we'll see them feature prominently on RAW, along with the likes of EC3 and Cedric Alexender.