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With just two weeks left for WrestleMania, WWE stopped by Boston to put on the second last episode of Monday Night Raw before the showcase of the immortals, and fans were expecting the show to be a highly significant one, as previous installments of Raw didn't really do much for the build-up to the big event.
With WWE announcing that this year's WrestleMania was going to see the first ever women's main event, you would expect this week's episode of Raw to be much more eventful, but in typical fashion, WWE's broadcast of Raw was repetitive in some areas, uninspiring in others, and an overall disappointing show on the road to WrestleMania.
While some aspects of the show were well done, it was a shame that the company could not maintain that consistency throughout the show. So let us go through all the mistakes WWE made on Raw this week, and analyze how they could have prevented it.
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#1 A meaningless challenge
When news broke that WrestleMania 35 would feature the first ever women's main event, fans were delighted as the storyline between Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Ronda Rousey had been spectacular for the most part.
From an epic heel turn to brutal beat downs, WWE did their best with the storyline, even though it was overbooked in some areas, it was a fun narrative that made Raw better than it was in the last few months.
This week on Raw, you would expect WWE to come up with a white-hot angle to carry us all the way to WrestleMania, but we were treated to a meaningless beat the clock challenge featuring the three main eventers on WrestleMania and The Riott Squad.
The beat the clock challenge is appropriate when there are stakes involved, but in this scenario, there was no reason for WWE to book the challenge, as this was more of a time waster than an actual advancement in this narrative.
Instead, WWE should have given us something of substance to hype up this match, as this isn't any ordinary match, this the first ever women's main event of WrestleMania, and the success or failure of this match will affect women's wrestling drastically in the company.
#2 The Riott Squad job
The beat the clock challenge on Raw this week was an unnecessary time waster by WWE, as it did nothing for the main event of WrestleMania, and this match did nothing for The Riott Squad as well.
The Riott Squad might be the most unlucky faction in WWE today, as the company takes them from the hottest threat on Raw to the least intimidating of superstars in a matter of one week.
As the only thing the beat the clock challenge did for The Riott Squad was expose how the WWE Creative team truly feels about them, as it is actually a shame Ruby Riott and her buddies are constantly jobbing for bigger stars on Raw.
It will be interesting to see how WWE rehabilitates The Riott Squad when they need them to play pivotal roles in the women's division, as of right now it doesn't seem like the company can revive the careers of these once promising superstars.
#3 A waste of the big man
Not making Braun Strowman a star is the biggest missed opportunity in WWE over the last few years, as Strowman has the look, the in-ring aptitude, and the charisma to be a World Champion, but WWE has squandered many chances to get Braun to that level.
And it is shocking when you realize that this is the third WrestleMania in a row where WWE has no plans for Braun Strowman, from participating in Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royals to teaming up with a ten-year-old to win the Raw Tag Team Titles, Strowman has been utterly wasted at the biggest event in wrestling.
So it is no surprise when WWE announced that Braun would take part in Andre The Giant Battle Royal once again, but the most surprising thing about Strowman entering this match is his reasoning.
As this week on Raw, Strowman was a guest on Alexa Bliss' talk show where he confronted SNL's Colin Jost and Michael Che for their disrespectful actions a few weeks ago on Raw. Braun persuaded SNL's stars to compete in the battle royal at WrestleMania, as that was the only way he could get his hands on these men.
This is a complete waste of Strowman, and while some might say at least he is getting the chance to mix it up with mainstream stars, it doesn't change the fact that it does nothing for the big man, as the WrestleMania pre-show is never the place to make a star.
#4 The Revival are done
About two years ago everyone couldn't get over how good NXT's tag team division was, as teams such as DIY, AOP, and The Revival were tearing the house down every time they stepped into the ring. But it is surprising to know that as of right now most of those teams are struggling to stay afloat in the WWE.
What is even more surprising is the fact that The Revival are Raw Tag Team Champions but are still heavily underutilized on Raw, as this week on the flagship show The Revival lost to Alistair Black and Ricochet once again.
Black and Richocet are undoubtedly some of the best NXT call ups of the last few years, as WWE has done a fantastic job in making them feel a part of the bigger stage, but having them beat the Raw Tag Team Champions constantly on Raw is a mistake, as it just undermines the significance of being champion.
#5 Built up to be broken down
Last week on Raw, Baron Corbin was announced as Kurt Angle's last opponent at WrestleMania, and fans were outraged by Corbin receiving the chance to be known in the history books as the man that possibly retired Kurt Angle.
Even though this was apparently Angle's decision, it clearly didn't sit well with the WWE Universe and some people backstage, but it seems like we will be getting this match at WrestleMania unless WWE brings in John Cena at the last minute.
So ever since Corbin had been announced as Angle's WrestleMania opponent, WWE has booked him in such an inconsistent manner, as last week on Raw Corbin was defeated by Apollo Cruise, and for those thinking that this was going to signify a mini-push for Cruise, you were sadly mistaken.
As this week on Raw, Corbin decimated Cruise in a squash match. So, the question here is why did WWE give Cruise a momentum boost on Raw last week only for Corbin to utterly destroy his credibility this week on Raw? One day WWE has to question their booking strategies, as they have to realize that you can't create stars from fifty-fifty booking.
#6 No heat
The Universal Title feud between Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar is still not at the height of the intensity it needs to be as WWE has wasted the entire road to WrestleMania by doing absolutely nothing with this feud.
The only two things of importance that WWE has touched-on in this programme is the fact that Seth Rollins is a superstar fighting to bring back the Universal Title to Raw on a full-time basis, and that Lesnar is a heel that doesn't care about the fans.
While some might be content with that minimal reasoning, for others it is just not enough as this isn't any ordinary match, this is a World Title feud at WrestleMania. Think about all the great World Title feuds that took place at WrestleMania over the last few years - The Undertaker vs Edge to Stone Cold vs The Rock are some of the greatest World Title feuds in WrestleMania history.
But getting to Brock Lesnar vs Seth Rollins, WWE has done a lackluster job with this programme, as the only thing left for this feud to be predictably completed is for a locker room brawl on Raw next week.
#7 Retreading old points
This week on Raw, we saw Drew McIntyre steamroll through his competition once again, as he faced an angered Roman Reigns who was seething after he was assaulted by McIntyre on the flagship show a few weeks ago.
Reigns and McIntyre had a heated exchange of words before Reigns took insult to McIntyre's remarks about his family and proceeded to beat the living daylights out of the former NXT Champion, but as usual, the segment ended in the same way their previous encounter ended a few weeks ago, McIntyre got the jump on Reigns.
McIntyre then proceeded to the main event where he battled Dean Ambrose in a last man standing match, and as you would expect, this match ended the same way their previous encounter did, with McIntyre destroying Ambrose.
You may have noticed the repetition in this point, as that is what was on display on Raw this week. This feud between McIntyre and Reigns might be exciting due to the competitors involved, but WWE retreading old plot points doesn't take this narrative forward.
