6 Ups And 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (July 30)
2. Killing Time
No Sasha Banks this week thanks to international marketing responsibilities, leaving best friend Bayley short-handed in her battle against Alexa Bliss' chief frenemy Nia Jax.
The Raw Women's Champion ringside presence late in the match was more welcome than just about anything else in the turgid third hour of this week's show, especially considering how rapidly the match between the title's two top contenders was shaping out.
Nia Jax's schizophrenic development remains problematic for the company despite what looks to be a certain top-level push at some point down the line. For every good week she has, six near disasters will follow, including this latest run punctuated by falling hard on Emma to get her new finisher over last week, and vastly under-delivering in a match that has usually generated a rewarding outcome.
Bayley too seemed off the pace, perhaps still struggling to find her fire again following the profound mishandling of her character since switching the title to Bliss back in April.
Above all of the time wasting and posturing, the main antagonist for the real big angle was nowhere to be seen. Sasha and Bayley's relationship (and all the history wrapped up within it) means more than the title match itself, particularly with the match set to go down in Brooklyn.
Outside of setting up another clunky fatal four-way a la WrestleMania, there's no money left in this chase.