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From Randy Orton's vicious attack against an injured Matt Hardy to AJ Styles hinting at a WrestleMania match against a WWE legend, this week's edition of Monday Night RAW featured several contrasting moments.
The episode felt repetitive and dull throughout various points of the night. RAW had been consistently delivering entertaining episodes in recent memory, but that streak came to an end with a filler episode from the Red brand this week.
There were some good bits to talk about after it was over, but in your opinion, what would you have done to improve the quality of this week's RAW?
Here are the 5 biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE RAW (February 17, 2020).
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#5: Becky Lynch will be rooting for Shayna Baszler to win the Elimination Chamber Match
Last night, a Women's Elimination Chamber match was announced for this year's Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View to determine the number one contender against Becky Lynch for the RAW Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36.
Natalya, Liv Morgan, Asuka, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan and Shayna Baszler were scheduled as the participants, and with that in mind, Becky Lynch marched out to the arena with a bag of money to make a statement against Baszler after last week's vicious series of events.
The RAW Women's Champion made it clear that the money was a payment for the fines she would have to pay for inflicting pain on Baszler next time.
Shayna Baszler appeared on the TitanTron to state that she is destined to win the Women's Elimination Chamber match this year. That alone almost confirms that Baszler is the clear favorite to win at Elimination Chamber.
This feud also seems to be the most convenient direction for Becky Lynch's title reign, which explains why everything seems to point towards this ultimate showdown at WrestleMania 36 eventually.
#4: Drew McIntyre defeated MVP on the Road to WrestleMania 36
After MVP tried to recruit Drew McIntyre during "The VIP Lounge" segment from last week's episode, McIntyre faced MVP in singles competition this week.
Before that, The Scottish Supernova assured that he will defeat Brock Lesnar at WWE WrestleMania 36. But Paul Heyman came out to contradict McIntyre, as usual.
Heyman even introduced MVP at the end of his bit. But MVP was mismatched to take on Drew McIntyre at this stage of his career.
As McIntyre defeated MVP in a quick victory, one can't help but think that the 2020 Royal Rumble match winner needs to face a serious threat before stepping in the ring with The Beast Incarnate.
Otherwise, Drew McIntyre could easily lose steam before April, and his babyface run won't even move to the next stage this way.
A Brock Lesnar feud always portrays the Beast Incarnate's opponents as underdogs, and even though McIntyre is technically an underdog, in this case, WWE has to put him against huge obstacles instead of booking squash victories every week.
#3: Seth Rollins delivered a sermon and failed to initiate the next phase of his "big plan"
The Monday Night Messiah delivered a sermon this week.
Seth Rollins promised to lead the fans into his vision of the future by reaching out to the weak and squashing the ones who oppose his plan.
The entire fiasco resulted in a six-man tag team main event which ended in a disqualification thanks to Rollins. But with the help of The Street Profits, Kevin Owens and The Viking Raiders succeeded in preventing The Monday Night Messiah and his goons from causing further damage to the roster.
There is something about Seth Rollins and his new gimmick that just doesn't click with viewers as much as it should.
"The Monday Night Messiah" seems to be an interesting concept to explore, but everything about Rollins and his "vision of the future" has been vague in comparison to some of the better-defined gimmicks in WWE.
If the plan is as simple as Rollins and the members of his faction securing titles on Monday Night RAW, then the entire concept of a "Monday Night Messiah" doesn't have a lot to offer as of now.
The sermon itself wasn't anything special, because WWE and Rollins can play this idea out in several interesting ways, but instead, they choose to rely on the same old multi-man feud tropes every week.
#2: AJ Styles hinted at a possible WrestleMania showdown against The Undertaker
After suffering a recent injury, AJ Styles returned to Monday Night RAW this week.
Styles reunited with The O.C. and dubbed himself as the new "Mr. WrestleMania" of this generation. Of course, Shawn Michaels has held that mantle for the amazing quality of his WrestleMania matches in the past.
AJ Styles also put himself over several legends like Sting and The Undertaker, while also claiming to face the next WWE Champion sooner than later.
This is a lot to take in as a WWE fan since The Phenomenal One's return could lead into several unexpected directions as of this moment.
Styles has been listed as a potential opponent for The Undertaker at this year's WrestleMania event by several sources, and the fact that The Phenomenal One casually named one of the biggest sports entertainment icons in his promo could be a hint for what's about to come.
After the promo, Ricochet came out and defeated Karl Anderson of The O.C. in a singles match. While Ricochet's chances against Brock Lesnar at WWE Super ShowDown seem to be minimal, AJ Styles has to be a wildcard during this year's Road to WrestleMania.
#1: Randy Orton viciously assaulted Matt Hardy once again
The best segment of the night featured Randy Orton and Matt Hardy, as both kicked off the show in an impressive way.
Hardy tried to get himself cleared to face Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred match after last week's attack, but Randy assured the fans that the match wasn't happening anytime soon.
Regardless, Matt Hardy came out wearing a neck brace and still wanted to fight Orton in the end.
The Viper apologized and walked away, only to return and brutalize Matt Hardy in an even worse way than the previous attack.
This put down Hardy for good, and as the cameras panned over to crying faces, it would be safe to assume that Matt Hardy was just written off WWE television before his contract expires on March 1.
This attack also portrayed Randy Orton at his most sinister phase. Orton is completely aware of the mechanics of what makes his character so compelling to watch, and he has used it to his advantage over several years right up to this week.
