Man, I can't believe this. I thought RAW was great:
* Cena's US Challenge being back is best for business. It was good to see him build his match with Seth Rollins at Madison Square Garden, which will give him a chance to beat Rollins three times in a row and cement the US Title as the most prestigious in sports entertainment. Rollins can handle it, because he's a bad guy, and the money is in his super-built match with Triple H.
* The New Day were fantastic. I worry that they might be relying on them too much, as they do the same entertaining shtick every week, but Xavier Woods was by far the best choice to face Cena in the singles match, given that he's had the most success as a singles competitor.
* The six-man tag was really good. I do wish Cena and The Dudleyz got the win, since beating the champions would have helped them, but you can't hit all the nails on the head.
* Bringing in an HR consultant to deal with the impending issues between Kane and Seth Rollins is a unique and fresh build-up to their tertiary main event for the World Title at Hell in a Cell.
* Sexual tension sells, so Ambrose and Orton fighting over Reigns' approval will keep the young girls interested. It will be like Memphis in the old days. Ambrose vs. Orton with Reigns as Special Guest Referee will be great -- especially if Reigns refs it shirtless.
* Big Show vs. Mark Henry was fun. The only problem I can think of is how they will promote Show vs. Henry the next time they want to run The Biggest vs. The Strongest. I guess Mark Henry can always come back for revenge. Maybe he can beat Cesaro next week? See, Cesaro is a young cat, so the story is in him working his way up the ranks and eventually beating Big Show, then Mark Henry, once Henry beats Big Show.
* Charlotte and Becky being on Miz TV was a great throwback to their segment on the show last time. Paige joining Charlotte and Becky is actually really great storytelling, because we all know girls can't make up their minds. The Bellas beating them made sense too, because Paige is going to turn heel again soon, and she needs to beat Charlotte so that she can get her automatic rematch.
* I liked the segment with Kane giving Seth Rollins the head, because it had Ashley in it. I'm glad they are introducing new female characters to this show.
* The Wyatt Family need wins so they can take the titles off The Dudleyz down the line. They'll beat Orton and Ambrose first though. It's a shame The Prime Time Players had to do the job though. I would have liked to have seen them get more in on Strowman, so they could come out of this match looking stronger.
* Stardust vs. Neville has got great build. I like the way they keep beating each other. King Barrett coming back will lead to a Triple Threat at Hell in a Cell, which works, because they're probably going to do a Fatal 4-Way between Owens, Rusev, Ziggler & Ryback and a multi-woman match, so it creates a theme for the PPV, which I think it desperately needs. I hope Barrett gets his own tag team to fight The Lucha Dragons and The Ascension. Maybe The Crown Princes of Puerto Rico, in Epico y Primo?
* I love the build to Kane vs. Rollins. It might seem silly, but I think having two different Kane allows for them to create two different action figures. Maybe they can even have Kane wrestle on the show twice? Not everything has to be so serious folks, and I think this will really help their World Title match stand above previous serious affairs for the title. Rollins tricking Kane into the Pedigree was clever, and I liked Ashley saying Rollins was the one that was difficult to work with -- I think that will get people to boo him. The Demon coming out of the ambulance was a great spot, and it highlighted how magic Kane is.
* Randy Orton beating Bo Dallas was good. Bo is pretty young, so he should be losing to everybody. His serious re-invention was too professional wrestling, but Bo's got a big future in sports entertainment with his current gimmick. I just wish this
did go longer, because these two could have really worked a really good story as to who has the better chinlock.
* I talked about the Fatal 4-Way earlier. It's a shame we didn't get any progression in the Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev story, but the two fighting over the IC Title with Ryback and Owens is just what that story needed. Maybe Summer Rae could end up siding with Ryback and his giant muscles?
* Paul Heyman talks too much, but I appreciate what they were trying to do here. I think Big Show should have knocked him out or ate him, so that Brock Lesnar has a reason to be scared at Madison Square Garden.
* The main event was excellent, and man did that crowd make it. I could watch these two guys go at it every week from now until the end of time. This is the future, folks, and it reminds me of the days when Austin and Rock used to wrestle every week. See, this is good storytelling, because there wasn't a finish to the match, because we are building to the finish LATER. It's called BUILD, people!
Great show, and I'm genuinely enthused about the hot young stars of WWE. Especially Cesaro and Summer Rae.