5 Ups And 7 Downs From WWE Raw (Feb 7)

There are weeks where it’s readily apparent that Raw is a three-hour slog for the writers and they’re struggling to fill out the show. Monday was a great example of having too much time to fill and not enough content to do so.

Matches and segments were stretched out to the point of pointlessness, with one match ending in a DQ after nearly 10 minutes to give way to a tag match that ended with one of the participants of the singles match pinning the other in another 10-minute bout. A Miz TV segment rambled on aimlessly about whether Miz is a cheater.

Oh, and four of 11 announced participants in two Elimination Chamber matches next week ate pinfall losses Monday night. Because why not? Who needs momentum? (Yes, three participants won those four matches, but that means 1/3 of the Chamber matches are losers.)

Sure, Raw had some good moments as usual. The Alpha Academy/RK-Bro Quiz Bowl was great, enjoyable stuff, and Chad Gable continues to make the most out of his TV time. Becky Lynch and Lita did an impressive job making a week-old program feel like it meant something. And Bianca Belair continued her slow-but-steady rebuild in advance of a possible WrestleMania title push.

Let’s get to it…