6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (29 Aug)
New tag champs crowned, Owens confronts Sami, Lumis stalks Miz, Riddle flips out.
After several weeks of improvement in the quality of Monday Night Raw, WWE delivered an uneven program for its go-home episode of the red brand ahead of Clash at the Castle.
There certainly were some electric moments, such as Matt Riddle (yes, he has a first name again) and Seth Rollins getting really personal as their rivalry continues to heat up. And Kevin Owens trying to drive a wedge between the Usos and Sami Zayn was really good television.
They crowned new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions after three-plus months of the titles being vacant, and while the company tried to make them a big deal, that’s only going to work if WWE puts in the work in the coming months. A main event slot and pyro do not make up for three-plus years of neglect.
The main women’s feud involving Bayley and Bianca Belair’s crews oddly felt like it was on cruise control rather than reaching a fever pitch. The match should still be great, and overall this has been solid.
Really, that could describe Raw during the past month. It’s been overall solid, if unspectacular, but this week felt like the first one in the Triple H era that felt… off. There’s always next week.
Let’s get to it…