6 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (April 18)

Lie detectors, double weddings, heel turns, spooky parlor tricks... a.k.a. a typical Raw.

By Scott Carlson /

WWE.com

Welcome to Monday Night Raw, brought to you by pyro, weddings, heel turns and teleporting wrestlers! WWE delivered a decent program Monday night, providing fans with a few good segments and developments, along with the right dose of silliness to provide a couple of genuine chuckles.

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But as we always say, we grade Raw on a curve. The action is good, but never outstanding. The comedy has its moments, but is never original and laugh-out-loud hilarious. And the plots are often groan-inducing, and we really can’t say anything positive about the writing on a regular basis.

Still, Raw managed to deliver some entertaining moments. But we also saw the first negative development involving Cody Rhodes – though we wouldn’t go sounding alarms just yet. We had to endure more of Edge’s spooky parlor tricks, which was enough to make you want to scream.

We saw a new champion crowned, and we also saw another champion thrown off their game by a simple distraction tactic, making them look like a chump. So while Raw was watchable Monday night, there also is plenty left to be ironed out and improved upon. Maybe they’ll get there, but it certainly at times feels like 2-3 different shows at once rather than a cohesive storytelling effort.

With that said, let’s get to it…