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Welcome to this week's edition of the best and worst of RAW. It was the third-last episode before Backlash 2023, and WWE did a decent job at building some hype for the show.
Sadly, most of the show was rather forgettable, including Trish Stratus' promo. Don't get us wrong, the in-ring bits were generally fantastic, but overall, there wasn't much to remember. But that's where we come in, and we've highlighted the key parts of RAW this week and what the ups and downs of the show were this week:
#3. Best: An interesting new angle for The Bloodline on RAW
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The Bloodline opened the latest episode of RAW and were confronted by The Judgment Day. While it looked like the faction was going to challenge the elite Samoan trio, Paul Heyman revealed a rather interesting twist.
Roman Reigns had ordered Heyman to form a temporary alliance between The Bloodline and The Judgment Day, resulting in a match between Solo Sikoa and Rey Mysterio, while Damian Priest, Finn Balor, and Dominik Mysterio faced Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Matt Riddle in the main event.
While The Enforcer of the Bloodline won, The Judgment Day didn't. Post-main event (which was average at best), there was a massive brawl that broke out involving The Usos, Solo Sikoa, The Judgment Day, Rey Mysterio and the LWO, as well as the trio of Owens, Zayn, and Riddle.
This episode alone opened up multiple possibilities for The Bloodline, especially a new storyline against The Judgment Day, assuming that the latter will turn face at some point.
#2. Worst: Bad use of Brock Lesnar's limited appearances
Cody Rhodes appeared on RAW this week to call out Brock Lesnar, who was in the arena. He wasn't dressed in a suit, and it was clear that he was ready for any possibility.
It was Adam Pearce who refused to let anything happen, and when The Beast made his way out, he desperately made the Backlash match between them official to prevent things from escalating.
This resulted in 20+ members of the WWE security team coming out to stop Cody, all of whom failed. Lesnar, who had a dark new appearance change with his gear, simply stood at ringside and hardly did anything at all, let alone say a word. There was no action involving him, and there was a completely unnecessary shot of him walking backstage.
As far as we are concerned, it was a huge waste of an appearance for the WWE legend, and it would have been a better decision to simply have him sit out than to do what he did.
#2. Best: Dakota Kai's impressive performance against Bianca Belair
Seeing as how IYO SKY is the #1 contender to RAW Women's Champion Bianca Belair, it made sense that the latter faced Dakota Kai this week. We were a bit surprised by just how dominant Dakota Kai was and how she had an answer to everything that the EST of WWE pulled out.
The storytelling in the brief time they had was fantastic, and although Belair was always going to win the match, Dakota Kai's stock has risen as a result of her performance.
It was a great indicator of what she is capable of. Now all she needs to do is refine her character post-Damage CTRL, and she will be ready to be a Women's Champion.
#1. Worst: No proper finish to Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory
Bobby Lashley faced Austin Theory in a rematch on RAW from late January when the latter defeated The All Mighty. This week, they had a decent match that came to an abrupt end via DQ thanks to the interference of Bronson Reed.
From a storyline standpoint, it makes sense that Bronson Reed would interrupt, as his feud against Lashley was teased last week with their brawl. However, we are admittedly tired of seeing Lashley and Theory face off with no definitive conclusion in sight. WWE wanted to protect both Lashley and Theory so badly that they went with an unsatisfactory finish.
As for Theory, what is even next for him? He is the United States Champion and is supposed to be the next big star, but there seems to be nothing in place and no storyline. Since that underwhelming match against John Cena, he hasn't come off any better from it at all.
#1. Best: Solid match between The Miz and Seth Rollins
The Miz and Seth Rollins put on the match of the night on RAW this week, with Bianca Belair vs. Dakota Kai being a close second. While we admittedly groaned at the idea of The Miz vs. Rollins, the two men surprised everybody with an incredible match.
The A-Lister launched a pre-match attack and nearly defeated The Visionary before the latter took over and eventually got the win.
Everything about this was done to perfection, and for us, this was the highlight of the entire show. Props to both The Miz and Seth Rollins for the incredible effort they put in.
