7 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (Mar 15)

1. Shane Gunges Stupid, Stupid Strowman

The Shane McMahon vs. Braun Strowman storyline is abject and it's hard to think of a less interesting or compelling way WWE could have paired these two off.

Strowman hit the ring to call Shane out, p*ssed off at The Best in the World for calling him "stupid" last week. Braun spoke about being bullied by silver-spoon goons like McMahon all his life, meaning he has gone from colossal wrecking machine to a helpless victim of schoolyard bullying in canon, before Shane called him stupid about a dozen times. Eventually, McMahon accepted his challenge for a match later on.

The match? Even worse. Shane bailed, did some push-ups, and played hopscotch, teaching Braun how to count. He was eventually trucked by Strowman but proved his foe every bit as stupid as he claims by clocking him with a camera when Braun did his easily-telegraphed run-around-the-ring bit with its overlong setup. After being elbow dropped through the announce table, Strowman had a bucket of green gunge sloshed over him. Twice.

Having already devolved to one of the least-threatening monsters in modern WWE history, Strowman is coming out of this storyline looking awful. His character is stupid! That's the problem. Rather than just snapping the billionaire's son like a twig, which he could do with ease, he's standing in the ring, crying while McMahon spits out clunky promos, gassing out at the first sign of physical activity.

This deal is a mess. A fun Shane McMahon stunt show is usually a welcome addition to a pay-per-view card, but how do you invest in a storyline in which the babyface is as dumb as the heel says he is and the heel is gunging like a mullet-headed British kids television host from the '90s?