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RAW kicked off to a great start with Roman Reigns addressing the Brock Lesnar situation in front of the live crowd. After a breathtaking Hell in a Cell which saw some surprising results and a more surprising return, WWE RAW was bound to be amazing.
With The Undertaker's appearance advertised on last week's episode of RAW as well, standards were already high. What followed were great changes to storylines, great bookings, some poor decisions, but all things considered, a great show.
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So without wasting any more time, lets take a look at what went wrong and what went right on the last episode of RAW - 17 September 2018.
#1 UP: Roman Reigns addressing the Brock Lesnar situation
Roman Reigns came out in the ring only to be joined by Braun Strowman himself to call out The Beast for an answer to what transpired at the Pay-Per-View Hell in a Cell.
This was the right decision mainly because Lesnar at the very start of the episode would have ruined things for the former Universal Champion. But what was sad is the very fact that Lesnar did not make an appearance at all.
#2 Down: Lesnar was a miss
It would have been nice if the WWE Universe was made to realise that Lesnar will be appearing more often. But nothing of that sort transpired as The Beast missed another episode of RAW after interfering the previous night at Hell in a Cell.
The same old drama of sporadic appearances from the UFC star despite being a critical element in the ongoing Universal Championship storyline calls for really poor storytelling.
The WWE Universe will once again find themselves at the mercy of Lesnar, leading to the same old drama of having to watch Roman Reigns call him out every night. Truth be told, the WWE Universe is really happy they have a full-time Champion even if it came in the form of Roman Reigns.
#3 Up: Elias' booking
Elias is slowly climbing the top ladder of WWE. Elias who always has a mid-segment at RAW where the eccentric star carries his guitar, singing whatever he doesn't like about the place in which he is performing at. But in the recent past, Elias' booking has been better than the last time WWE tried to push him where he was pushed to main-event matches upon his immediate arrival.
I think WWE's idea to push Elias is great, and doing it really slowly asks for some appreciation. The last episode of RAW and the recent episode of RAW both saw Elias in an unconvincing loss and victory respectively.
#4 Down: The Intercontinental Title
The very idea that The Dogs of War and The Shield are pitted against each other calls for great concern regarding The Intercontinental Championship, and the Tag-Team Championship in the hands of each stable respectively.
In the recent episode of RAW, Seth Rollins defended his Intercontinental Title against Dolph Ziggler, a match that has happened a million times already. As long as the Intercontinental title lies in the hands of The Shield or The Dogs of War, the prospect of Seth Rollins defending the title, or having a match with any other superstar seems like a far-fetched idea.
#5 Up: Heavy booking of Drew McIntyre
Fans have argued McIntyre's booking for since he made his first appearance on the main roster. McIntyre's immediate booking as Dolph Ziggler's saviour friend who carries him around did not look like a great idea then. But it makes so much sense now that both wrestlers are in a newly formed stable.
The Hell in a Cell match saw Drew McIntyre almost single-handedly taking the last few seconds in their favour to successfully defend the tag team title. Drew McIntyre's recent victory against Dean Ambrose on the last episode of RAW shows just how strong he is being booked right now.
#6: Down: No potential storyline for Kevin Owens
After much hassle, amid controversies surrounding Kevin Owens' booking, things don't look so different as it stands today compared to where it stood a month back.
Kevin Owens has shifted to an interference guy who makes his presence cringey after ruining every match that could have been great. If WWE is looking to book Kevin Owens and Bobby Lashley in a feud where one of the superstars is definitely going to suffer, WWE should do it already.
#7 Up: Chad Gable and Bobby Roode
Yes it does look a lot like The B Team version 2.0, but these are superstars who haven't been jobbers for the most part of their career. Chad Gable and Bobby Roode laughing at each other and making up great matches together is seen as a great turn for the gone cases that both these wrestlers once were.
#8 Down: Every Universal Title match involves both the stables
Yes both stables are amazing, but it's very tiring to see that every Universal Title match has to see everybody in the ring. The last episode of RAW where Roman Reigns defended his title belt against the RAW General Manager Baron Corbin saw 5 other wrestlers making an interference.
The Dogs of War and the other two members of The Shield, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose tried to shield The Big Dog from Braun Strowman's alliance. While it calls for huge crowd popping moments, it will die down soon, and the fans will start craving a full, uninterrupted Universal Title match.
