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Honestly speaking, this week's episode of WWE RAW was fine. That's the best I can say about it because while it wasn't really boring, it wouldn't make me want to call up all my friends and recommend them to watch the show either.
I think that the absence of the two top male champions on such weeks really affects the quality of the show. Andrade is away thanks to a Wellness Policy violation, while Brock Lesnar is away doing Brock Lesnar things.
The rest of the cast had a chance to showcase their wares this week, and I thought that they did a pretty fine job. But very little of consequence actually happened on the show, so I'm assuming this show was the calm before the storm.
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#1 Best: Shayna Baszler bites Becky Lynch
The best thing to happen on this week's show was the segment that followed the Becky Lynch vs. Asuka match, which was pretty good in its own right too. Shayna Baszler would show up from out of nowhere and not just assault Becky Lynch but also bite into her flesh, drawing blood.
I love this new gimmick from Baszler because while the whole 'Submission Magician' deal was great, she now comes across as someone who's mean, nasty, savage, and eager to cause controversy. Everyone who's stepped up to 'The Man' has failed thus far, but here is a woman who does not play by the rules.
This is a feud that should stretch out all the way to WrestleMania, and I would be glad if it does because I've had my fill of Becky Lynch vs. Asuka, as I'm certain you have as well.
#1 Worst: Matt Hardy confronts The Apex Predator
I do think that it is customary to put someone over on the way out of the company, but the way it happened this week on RAW wasn't to my liking at all. Matt Hardy has been very public about the fact that he's on his way out of WWE and the fact that he was sent out to confront Randy Orton over Edge was very embarrassing, I thought.
Everyone knows the history between Matt and Edge and it would have made sense for just about anyone else to come out through the curtains and take Orton on. Anyone who watches the promo with Matt would notice that through the 'emotional' outburst, he was constantly trying to put over the 'delete' hand signs, reminding us of what could have been.
When Matt came into the company, he was the hottest commodity in the business and over time, he has lost a lot of his previous sheen. If he does join The Dark Order, as the rumors indicate, the future could be very interesting indeed.
#2 Best: Big win for Ricochet
The common narrative that's going around is that Ricochet is just fodder for Brock Lesnar before the big Championship match at WrestleMania. And this is still probably the case, but WWE had the immense task this week of making Ricochet look like a credible challenger. He could have always squashed someone like Eric Young to get some momentum ahead of his upcoming title match, but it would have certainly been rather underwhelming.
This is why I thought that it was great that he had a chance to defeat Bobby Lashley, someone who is very similar in size and physique to The Beast Incarnate. I know that it hurts Lashley, in a sense, but the current narrative is to push Ricochet as an unbeatable soul with a ton of heart. It is to give people the impression that he has a chance against Lesnar at WWE Super ShowDown.
We all know how the match is going to be, but at least WWE did the right thing, from the perspective of creating genuine hype.
#2 Worst: Killing time
It's like the two Royal Rumble winners have nothing to do until WrestleMania 36 comes around. Charlotte Flair has been delaying her response to Rhea Ripley week after week and it has almost become tiresome now. Even Drew McIntyre should be able to tussle with some of the best in the business to build up some steam before WrestleMania, but he's just being booked as a talk show guest in segments where you know the outcome before it even begins.
McIntyre should be feuding with the likes of Seth Rollins' faction, just to give him a semblance of credibility before the WrestleMania match. He has only been a henchman until now and for all of his physical attributes, he's going into the biggest match of his life at WrestleMania 36. Even Flair could be used to elevate some overlooked women on the roster, in my opinion.
The last thing the company will want to do is have these two top Superstars cool down (as they most certainly might) before WrestleMania actually comes around.
#3 Best/Worst: Samoa Joe's return
As has been mentioned already, WWE is missing a very critical component in AJ Styles who is out with an injury (even though he is slated to return soon). And with the suspension of Andrade for a month, things got even more dire for WWE since both of their top male Champions were missing this week.
Therefore the return of Samoa Joe was a welcome sight and I'm glad that he's not out for as long as some had assumed on the internet. However, I was a little confused to see that while he made a triumphant return, it was him that took the pin thanks to Seth Rollins.
Joe has never been portrayed as the kind of monster that he should be because he loses a lot more than the man actually wins. If nothing else, he should have been the winner in his big comeback match, in my personal opinion.
And how cool is it to see that Alexa Bliss retweeted Sportskeeda's own Gary Cassidy? What a lucky chap!
