Best and Worst of RAW: Recently-debuted stars to get big title push, Top Champion being underutilized for Clash at the Castle

We're not going to lie, finding "worsts" for RAW has been quite difficult recently. And that isn't a bad thing as the new creative regime and direction has been far more satisfying to fans than the monotonous tone the show seemed to possess for a long time.

RAW has been solid in 2022, but things seem to keep improving as there is a lot that is happening.

This week saw yet another big return and more exciting storylines come into fruition. We are officially less than two weeks away from Clash at the Castle, so until then, take a look at the ups and downs of another highly entertaining episode of RAW.

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#3. Best: The right team advanced to the finals on RAW

It seems clear that Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky are destined to become the next Women's Tag Team Champions. While Toxic Attraction stood a chance, Gigi Dolin's injury meant that they had to be pulled from the tournament.

Instead, the eliminated teams will get a second chance to qualify for the semi-finals. Kai and Sky defeated Asuka and Alexa Bliss to qualify for the finals in what was a good match.

This was the right decision and we hope that they go on to win the titles.

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#2. Worst: The utilization of RAW Women's Champion Bianca Belair heading into CATC

While we like the fact that the likes of Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky are in the central women's storyline in WWE right now, what we aren't happy with is how Bianca Belair is being utilized.

The RAW Women's Champion isn't even defending her title at Clash at the Castle, and this week, all she did was serve as a hype woman for Trish Stratus, who did nothing else but talk.

She hasn't been that well-handled recently, although we don't doubt that this too, will change.

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#2. Best: The Dexter Lumis story on RAW

The Dexter Lumis storyline is undoubtedly one that has caused great intrigue. He has been consistently spotted when AJ Styles, Bobby Lashley, The Miz, and Ciampa were present, which led to a lot of questions as to who he would target.

We got our answer this week when Lumis used a decoy to distract security while he unmasked and grabbed The Miz by the neck and put on a sleeper hold.

AJ Styles looked perplexed, as did the rest of the WWE Universe when Lumis dragged The Miz through the crowd in a sleeper hold position.

We are excited to see where this story goes and how it plays out.

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#1. Worst: Bayley's return match after over a year

Aliyah was on RAW because it was in her hometown of Toronto. She challenged Bayley to her first match in over a year (and first match on RAW since August 24th, 2020).

Unfortunately, the match didn't deliver. It was underwhelming, although we will say that the result of Bayley winning was the right decision to make. However, one couldn't help but be disappointed in how Bayley's return match played out.

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#1. Best: Johnny Gargano's return

Johnny Gargano's music hit right after the commercial break and we, like everybody else, took a second to process the fact that it was actually him. It was a surreal moment and the WWE Universe exploded on Twitter with love for the Triple Crown NXT Champion.

We like the fact that neither WWE nor Johnny Gargano assumed that everyone knew who he was (although Toronto certainly recognized him). We like the fact that he will be feuding with Theory so fans can be filled in about their somewhat brief history together in The Way faction.

Overall, Gargano's return summed up what a good episode this truly was.