10 Most Must-See Matches, Moments, And Segments From WWE This Week

Kevin Owens: "Machka something!" Translation: These were the 10 most interesting things on WWE TV.

The Miz Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com

In Week 9 of WWE's brand split 2.0, Monday Night Raw offered several marquee match-ups on the same night it halfheartedly attempted the final sell of its first brand-exclusive pay-per-view in over nine years, Clash of Champions.

However, a certain all-time great overshadowed the work in the ring with his gift of gab in various segments. Meanwhile, SmackDown featured strong character development, a keen eye for small details, and matches with greater emotional resonance, blowing Team Red's considerable roster advantage out of the water. NXT also made its presence felt with a prime candidate for the Match of the Week.

Did the SmackDown main-event trump Raw's Steel Cage showdown? Was the debut of the Cruiserweight division on Raw good enough in the ring to overtake the rematch for the Intercontinental Championship or the main-event on NXT as the week's best match? Or was perhaps the "List of Jericho" the strongest pro wrestling cocktail consumed over the last seven days?

Drink it in, man...it's the 10 most must-see matches, moments, and segments from WWE programming this [past week.

10. Cesaro Continues His "Epic" Comeback

The Miz Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com

The Best-of-Seven series between Cesaro and Sheamus has not exactly garnered a plethora of compliments since it began on the SummerSlam Pre-Show, but it has at least provided a tangible reason for them to be wrestling each other so consistently.

That said, there is not a more uninspiring booking choice than having Sheamus go up 3-0; though logically designed to create drama for Cesaro's uphill climb, fans were either too hip to the game or simply not interested enough in the first place to care. The commentary team has tried to sell it as an "epic" comeback, but it has instead come across as a predictable slog that has left both men treading water for three weeks as we inched toward the inevitable conclusion of a seventh match.

Match 6, to the wrestlers' credit, was one of the more entertaining bouts of a series that has admittedly done well to create one, long-running story instead of a group of individual scraps with a scoreboard. Matches in previous weeks could have been skipped in favor of watching highlights, but this week's penultimate bout in the series is definitely worth a full-on look.

Contributor
Contributor

"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition. Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.