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I thought that everything on this week's show built to next week's episode in such a manner that this edition did not feel important enough. Sure, there were some fun moments interspersed throughout, but overall it felt a little underwhelming.
The second half of the show was certainly better than the first and this is something that we were discussing among the writers too. Last week's show pretty much set the bar on how good an episode of RAW could potentially be, and this week failed to make the cut.
So all said and done, I present my analysis of the show in the form of 'Best' and 'Worst' sections for your reading pleasure. Be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you agree or disagree with my picks, ladies, and gentlemen.
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#1 Best: King of the Ring rematch
Even though the Game of Thrones jokes got tiresome after a while, I love what WWE is doing with King Corbin. His look is great and his bullying mannerisms are awesome as well. He seems like a character who's allowed the gimmick to get to his head and this could translate into many months of great action.
I loved the contest between Gable and Corbin as well and the huge pop that Gable got when he got his momentum back during the big rematch. Gable is slowly getting elevated as a result of working with Corbin and these two men have magic when they clash against one another. This may be the most threatening that Chad Gable has looked since the dissolution of American Alpha.
King Corbin is great. All hail the king of WWE!
See WWE RAW Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE RAW Results page
#1 Worst: Matches we've seen before
I review Impact Wrestling every week, and they have a significantly smaller roster than WWE does, but yet their matches feel fresh. And WWE somehow, even with the roster that they have, make their matches feel like we've seen them several times already.
Not only was this the case with Strowman and Rollins, but also with Baron Corbin and Chad Gable, which thankfully delivered. And because neither match had a clean finish per se, I'm certain that we haven't seen the last of either of these clashes, ladies, and gentlemen.
Thankfully, we see a Rollins vs. Mysterio match next week which feels fresh and while I get the fact that WWE wants to save the big matches, I wonder why we haven't seen it before. Why repeat the same match for months on end when you have such a great roster of talent?
It defies all reasonable explanation.
#2 Best: Everything about Bray Wyatt and The Fiend
Did you notice that RAW's opening credits had a moment where it seemed like they would morph into the Firefly Fun House? As for the Firefly Fun House itself, I loved the fact that it was riddled with meaning and symbolism galore. Wyatt said that he doesn't like to share and hence took Strowman down because he was competing against Seth Rollins.
I also loved the fact that Wyatt indicated that he would save Seth Rollins and not hurt him while conversing with Ramblin' Rabbit and Huskus The Pig at the Funhouse. And this would play out in the main event segment, with The Fiend attacking Braun Strowman. Obviously, a lot of thought is going into everything that Wyatt does, every single week.
I do hope that Bray Wyatt stays with RAW and does not move to SmackDown, because Heyman is a creative genius, much like Wyatt. So is Bischoff, but Heyman's track record just speaks for itself.
#2 Worst: EC3 becomes mere enhancement talent
Anyone who's ever watched EC3 in Impact knows that he's not enhancement talent. You could put him in the main event match, and he would hold his own against the best of the best. He is an extraordinary promo and can fit into any role that is asked of him.
I'm a big fan of not using local performers as enhancement talent and instead, using your stacked roster. This gives him TV time and at least, keeps them in public consciousness. I just think that EC3 is far better than the way in which he's being used right now.
Thank the heavens for small mercies because at least, Robert Roode is being given a push, something that is well-deserved for a man of his talents. Maybe someone like Eric Young would be a much better Superstar to use in this particular position, as compared to Ethan Carter III.
#3 Best: The portrayal of AOP
The AOP seemed like an unbeatable team when they were down in NXT, and they pretty much ran through the whole division in the Black and Gold brand. And then they arrived in the main roster, were paired with Drake Maverick and just became a comedy act.
I personally thought that the vignettes they were shown in did a lot to build their characters and get them over like legitimate mobsters. The fact that they actually got out of their Aleister-Black-like dark room, went and beat up some jobbers was awesome.
The Viking Raiders are definitely getting a push and Akam and Rezar would be great opponents for them in due course of time. As my colleague Soumik Datta recently remarked, the new repackaged duo look like a lot like the Salamancas from Breaking Bad, don't they?
Maybe they were the inspiration for the new gimmicks!
#3 Worst: No tag team opponents for Nikki and Alexa
I thought that Nikki Cross and Sasha Banks had a solid showcase match this week. I also did not mind the fact that Sasha Banks went over because even though Nikki Cross is a Champion, the truth is that she is a Tag Team Champion.
Banks has a big match with Becky Lynch lined up, and the two women are going to clash at Hell in a Cell, inside the dreaded steel structure. And therefore, she needed this win and the loss to Cross does not really hurt her per se.
But then, what's next for Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss and the Women's Tag Team Championships? Is there no legitimate tag team that can potentially take them on?
And if the answer to that question is yes, then what is the point of having Women's Tag Team Championships at all?
#4 Best/Worst: Carmella becomes the 24/7 Champion
I love the idea of Carmella as the 24/7 Champion for sure. It allows a lot of the female roster to be involved in the title picture, and can give them screen time for weeks on end, I think. I'm just a little concerned that this will affect what I thought was a different direction for Carmella, only last week.
We saw the hint of an alliance between Carmella and Charlotte Flair on SmackDown Live, and that would have been a bigger deal than becoming 24/7 Champion. Like it or not, WWE's comedy segments often relegate you to a certain spot. Only a few like The Rock can rise above this condemned spot, I fear.
That said, it's a natural progression of the storyline to have Carmella become Champion. I just wonder why R-Truth isn't trying to win it back again.
Remember Alexa Bliss trying to pin R-Truth at WWE Clash of Champions 2019?
