7 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (May 16)

1. Botching Bliss’ Return

If you needed evidence that WWE can actively screw up the easiest stuff, witness Alexa Bliss’ return.

Let’s set aside the January vignettes that were rushed through to get Bliss back on TV for Elimination Chamber – and then she was promptly forgotten about because WWE didn’t have anything else for her, despite filming a nine-part series announcing her return.

Bliss finally returned last week as a straight babyface (albeit carrying Lilly, but sans mystical powers) and squashed Sonya Deville. It seemed straightforward, though she got zero promo time to explain where she had been and what her character is going forward.

Then Monday, WWE just decided to run back that same match. Only this time, Deville got a bunch more offense, and Alexa lucked out that the referee was out of position, or she would have lost. She put Sonya away, and that was it. No promo, no character development. A five-time champ returns for only her third match since September and she gets… that.

And somehow, WWE officials will be confused next week and the week after when Bliss’ pop diminishes as fans have less reason to react to her.