4 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE Raw (March 14)

If we’re going to grade WWE Raw on a curve for doing the basics right, we’ve got to also hold their feet to the fire when a show three weeks out from WrestleMania defies logical storytelling.

Raw had some genuinely good moments and set up what could be a show-stealing Raw Tag Team Championship match, and one of the red brand’s biggest stars returned from an injury to seek revenge.

But the show also was riddled with poor storytelling, ill-conceived character developments, and questionable decisions. You have a new United States Champion, so let’s beat him in a match against the former champ, then have him get laid out by a guy wrestling an announcer at Mania.

You build an entire feud for a full month between a wrestler and a retired Hall-of-Famer, so let’s throw a curveball a week after the legend accepts a challenge to potentially sub out the wrestler with another superstar, even if that doesn’t make any sense.

You take a popular superstar and have him turn heel, but you revamp the character so much that it’s too jarring to even take in, then give him a ridiculous promo to recite.

Yeah, this one just didn’t click at all.

Let’s get to it…