5 Ups & 6 Downs From WWE Raw (Oct 3)
It was a great run while it lasted, but Raw returned to Earth this week.
After two months of marked improvement in the quality of WWE Raw, we were bound to see a slide at some point, and that time came Monday night.
Of course, we should qualify things right away: We’re no longer grading on a curve for Raw, so this is an “honest” rating of a show that was just slightly below average, not a dismal show that underperformed low expectations.
In some ways, part of this came from Raw feeling like it peaked in its build to Extreme Rules a week too soon. In others, it was a case of WWE falling back on some bad habits, like relying on distraction finishes as a major crutch, booking impromptu matches during the show, and angles that simply seemed to retread already covered ground.
The good news is that we already know WWE can do better, and it’s safe to expect better next week. And we should fully expect Extreme Rules to deliver a solid show this weekend. But for a go-home program, Raw was a slight disappointment overall. Here’s hoping they can bounce back quickly.
Let’s get to it…