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On the heels of a tour across the world, the men and women of RAW came to the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, and put together a decent show, this week. It wasn't the best episode of RAW that we've seen, and neither was it the worst.
It was one of those shows that had plenty of developments that should hopefully, play out in an interesting manner, over the coming weeks. It was a show that had its moments, but also had some aspects that did not deliver.
It's time once again, for the Best and Worst of RAW. Whether you agree or disagree with our assessment, we are definitely all ears.
Feel free to comment with your thoughts about the action, down below.
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#1 Best: Skirting the topic
In light of all that has happened with Rich Swann, let us begin this week's action with the Cruiserweight match. Rich Swann was supposed to face Drew Gulak for a shot at the top prize in the purple brand.
Swann was arrested earlier this week, and therefore suspended for his actions. Instead of the planned match, the following match was booked to determine who would go on to face Enzo Amore for the Cruiserweight Championship.
Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari took each other to the limit, as they always do, during the course of the match, but the man who stole the show was Drew Gulak. Sitting at the commentary desk, he avoided every question about the possibility of facing Enzo Amore for the Cruiserweight Championship.
Perhaps the highlight of Gulak's conversation (or lack thereof) with Michael Cole was justifying his friend Tony Nese's actions. How he's not flying around the ring, but falling instead. Gulak is one to watch out for. A man with some serious long-term potential.
#1 Worst: Near silent crowd
Considering we were present at WWE Live India only days ago, where the audience was absolutely red hot, it was disappointing to hear the lack of enthusiasm from the WWE Universe in Cleveland. There were several good matches on the show that were spoiled by the lack of any real excitement.
Even Stone Cold Steve Austin, the greatest sports entertainer of all time gave his due to the action that ensued between Cesaro and Roman Reigns, this week. Unfortunately, except for some tepid ', this is awesome' chants, the WWE Universe was almost silent.
Cleveland is not known to be a dead crowd, so this was a surprising (hopefully) one-off week. Had the WWE Universe been more into the matches that they witnessed, the show would have been greatly enhanced.
Now let's talk about the matches themselves...
#2 Best: Selling two different body parts
We realize that the title for this section may sound like something out of a Hannibal Lecter or Friday the 13th movie, but the selling of a body part in sports entertainment means convincing the audience that you are really injured. Thereafter, the limb becomes a deterrent for the remainder of the match.
Following the Cloverleaf submission move on Seth Rollins' leg, Rollins would limp and sell his leg beautifully for the remainder of the contest. Reigns did the same for his arm, when Cesaro worked on it. Both men told a fantastic story of changing their offense in light of their kayfabe injuries.
This was old school wrestling 101 and we're glad to see that Rollins and Reigns are practitioners of this art. We hope that good selling becomes a trend in the weeks that follow.
#2 Worst: Nothing for Finn Balor?
Finn Balor took on Curtis Axel, this week on RAW, one week after he took on Bo Dallas. No offence to either man, because they're both solid performers all around. But doesn't someone who was rumoured to face Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, deserve far better?
If nothing else, a performer at Balor's level at least deserves a worthy opponent such as Elias (who wasn't even on the show, this week). We're certain that the Balor Club isn't too pleased with the lack of direction for the Demon King.
#3 Best: Friction between Angle and Jordan
Jason Jordan is no longer the white meat babyface that he once was. He's slowly showing more and more heelish signs, as the weeks pass. We love that WWE is taking their time with this storyline. They're not rushing it, and the results should be spectacular.
We loved how he referred to Angle by his first name. We loved how he sat at ringside for the match between Samoa Joe and Dean Ambrose, later during the program. It's clear that he's turning heel and it's only a question of when.
#3 Worst: A massive botch
Michael Cole was pretty good on commentary for most of the night, but he made a big botch with regard to the Big Dog on this week's episode of RAW. While singing his praises, Cole said that Reigns defended the Intercontinental Championship in India.
Team Sportskeeda was on the ground at the event, and we know that was not the case. Instead, he teamed up with The Shield to take on Samoa Joe, Cesaro, and Sheamus. A small oversight, but one that we caught.
The other botch (of sorts) of the night was Alicia Fox, who'd been injured in the back only moments ago coming out with the rest of the women's locker room, to take on Absolution.
Seems like her injuries heal way faster than everyone else's.
#4 Best: A new member of Titus Worldwide
Ever since she was called up to the main roster, there's been almost no character development for Dana Brooke. This week, we saw her allied with Titus Worldwide. While this isn't an earth-shattering development, at least it gives her something to do.
We did not comment on the Kane-Strowman match this week because it could be leading to something massive. We should find out when the Beast returns next week.
That concludes our 'Best and Worst' list for this week. We'll see you in under twenty-four hours for the 'Best and Worst' of SmackDown Live.
And also next week, when the Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar comes back to RAW!
