5 Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Jan 5th)

We saw new superstars buried, an heir apparent stumble and an ending that fell flatter than the confetti that fluttered from the ceiling.

By Scott Carlson /

2015 is just five days old, and we might have already seen a top five contender for worst Raw of the year. WWE is going to have to dig deep to best (worst?) Monday night€™s effort. Really, from top to bottom, there was very little to like about this episode of Raw. It made some of the really bad shows at the end of 2014 look like NXT€™s three best shows back-to-back-to-back. Normally, this column tries to balance the pros and cons of Raw each week, looking for what worked and what didn€™t. Even if an episode is particularly bad or groan-inducing, there usually are enough positives to keep a balance €“ even if the negatives are €œheavier€ than the positives. But Monday Night Raw was just awful. It€™s obvious what WWE wanted to do: The Authority was back in power and was going to rule with an iron fist, and they were going to punish those who sent them away forever€ er, six weeks. However, instead of giving fans a logical presentation of this story, we got the promise of several €œPPV-quality€ matches €“ none of which delivered. We saw new superstars buried, an heir apparent stumble and an ending that fell flatter than the confetti that fluttered from the ceiling. All of this happened in front of a crowd that was largely silent, save for a handful of big spots. Fifteen years, ago, this storyline would have involved Vince McMahon swearing revenge on everyone who betrayed him and making people beg for their careers, while the marked wrestlers would fight like hell for their livelihoods. Monday night, we got€ something else.

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