6 Ups And 6 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (July 30)

1. Closing The Show

Messrs Show and Cass battled yet again over who really was 'Big' this week in a pathetically poor end to the show. Recent statistical information has revealed that Monday Night Raw's second hour out-performs the third ratings-wise every week, leading WWE to steer into the disinterest more and more by loading up the middle portion with the big action and testing the waters with more experimental conclusions.

But while quarterly ratings and flip-board line graphs may be the bread and butter of the WWE's office drones, they matter little to the devoted audience and the measured expectation of a 'Main Event' that actually befits the status. Big Cass (and his only-slightly-improved new theme music) and Big Show was assuredly not that match.

Ignoring the typically infuriating logic flaw of having one brand new heel tackling two babyfaces, the contest itself reeked, and Enzo Amoré flushed away the sympathy he'd amassed in the first two weeks of the turn by being every bit the 'insect' Cass referred to him as earlier in the night.

Cass has a big boot, Show has a big punch. Both were on display tonight, and only one of them is likely to land at SummerSlam. Everything about this entire programme is backwards.

Ups...

6. Walking Away

Following a tense moment between former rivals Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle, Paul Heyman took charge of the show-opening segment to reveal the company's latest masterstroke in their longterm booking of 'The Beast'.

Suggesting that Angle wants his Universal Title away from the untamed monster, Heyman implied that the SummerSlam main event had been intentionally stacked against Lesnar, but he quickly flipped the script on the General Manager by dropping a bombshell that his client would simply up and leave the company should he drop the strap in the Fatal Four Way.

At long last, WWE have realised what they have in Lesnar and the real life unpredictability a character such as his can bring to their traditionally generic storylines. Brock was all over Mixed Martial Arts headlines this weekend after teasing his UFC return and facing an immediate challenge from new Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, leading many to speculate that he'll take another wrestling sabbatical to return to his real combat love.

Adding new tension ahead of delivering three quarters of the actual match later in the show, Brock's potential loss now carries huge new gravitas.