Reverse Hipster's What Mattered
6. Finn vs. Mace
There is not much to say about this match. It fulfilled the bare minimum requirements to make this list. It progressed the King Of Ring Tournament storyline in that Finn won and looked strong. Also, it was a decent match, and Mace looked solid.
5. Big E and Drew vs. Dirty Dawgs
Creatively, I was not interested in this match. Big E and Drew are not a tag team. There is no need for them to coexist and after their brawl, last week, working together seems like a step back. However, the match was so good that I had to give them their credit. I expected the match to be good because of the caliber of superstars, but they even surprised me. My favorite spot of the match was the Super Famouser, where Bobby throws Ziggler in the air, and he lands in Famouser on top of Big E.
4. Mansoor Incensed
Mansoor beat Alexander, but the real story happened after the match. Ali came out to make fun of Mansoor. However, Mansoor wasn't having it. He was more intense than he had ever been, and Mansoor warned Ali that he would beat Ali senseless. Mansoor looks like a man who can barely contain himself before Crown Jewel. Ali looks like he is not quite sure what he has awoken in Mansoor.
3. Almost a King
Xavier and Jinder had a pretty good match. They had near falls. It was competitive, and I think Jinder looked good even in a loss. However, the clear story is that Xavier is going to the Crown Jewel to fight for his dream. We are one step closer to King Woods. I pray WWE doesn't bungle this.
2. RKBro vs. Street Profits
RKBro and the Street Profits had an exhilarating tag match that ended when AJ and Omos came out and wasted everyone. I like that WWE gave us a preview of what is to come in this instance. The Street Profits and RKBro actually match up really well in the ring. I also thought the DQ finish was well-executed. AJ and Omos came in at the height of the match and elevated the action with power and high-flying offense.
1. Charlotte vs. Bianca
The match was ill-advised, considering neither woman could win. However, it was an electric match-up that people will want to see down the road despite the DQ finish. Also, it was clearly drawn up because there wasn't much happening on RAW. However, these two women went all out, throwing everything they had at each other, refusing to relent until things got too real for Charlotte. She saw her title slipping away and she caused a DQ. However, Bianca got the last laugh and beat her with the chair Charlotte brought in.
Rob’s What Mattered
2. Woods to the Finals
This is my favorite storyline on Raw right now. Xavier Woods has campaigned to win this tournament for years, and now, he is in the finals. The match itself was nothing special, but I liked the passion from Kofi Kingston in Woods in their pre-match promo. Now, Woods is on to a white-hot Finn Balor to see who will claim the crown.
1. Flair and Belair Make the Most of It
Charlotte Flair opened the night with a good promo, highlighting the unique ability of many overprivileged white women to make themselves the victim. Flair targeted the administration for making her defend her title tonight, and she did a good job drawing heat. In the match, Flair and Bianca Belair showed off a unique chemistry and in-ring action that could have been a PPV if not for the DQ finish. My only question is why they would give this future main event away on free TV with minimal build. These two made the most of their opportunity regardless. The women in the championship picture have been the wrestling highlight of nearly every wrestling show the past two weeks. It is an interesting contrast to my number one what didn’t matter this week. I don’t know how WWE expects women to reach the level of the four horsewomen, but Belair found a way to do it against all odds. In any of these matches, she hasn’t looked out of place one bit.
Rob’s What Didn’t Matter
4. Wildcards and Ill-Enforced Rules
I’m not sure what WWE’s official stance is on crossing brands. Last I remember, you could do it three times a year, but it had to be declared as such by the commentators. This week, the WWE draft was still not supposed to be in effect, yet we saw Finn Balor, the Street Profits, and Bianca Belair wrestle on the red brand. Some of this was due to the storylines, but I think WWE mishandled this draft so badly that the last few weeks have felt like a chaotic anybody, anywhere, anytime rule.
3. WWE Still Doesn’t Explain the Hurt Business
Shelton Benjamin accompanied Cedric Alexander to the ring. Weeks ago, they helped Bobby Lashley, and they proudly dawn the Hurt Business gear again. Yet, they still have not explained how Benjamin and Alexander have reconciled. I am not even sure we have seen them with Lashley and MVP again since that week. This is a sad story of WWE letting a promising storyline fall through the cracks.
2. Big E and Big D Episode 3
What made the first two tag matches special is that they set up the tag match with relevant backstory and put energy into the opponents as tag team partners storyline. This match was an exact rematch of two weeks ago with no new developments and no new backstory. It was a lukewarm way to end a solid run of will they/won’t they tag matches for the WWE Champion and number one contender.
1. Queen’s Crown
I hate to write about this every week, but we saw so many underbooked and inconsequential matches this week, it’s hard to ignore that Shayna Baszler and Doudrop had another short match in the abysmally booked Queen’s Crown tournament. I was stunned Doudrop won after WWE had invested so much in Shayna Baszler. It could have been a big underdog moment, but WWE has not given them the time or attention to detail to tell that story. I felt bad for all the talent involved. This was supposed to be a celebration of the depth of the women’s division, and it became the low point of every show the last two weeks.
Reverse Hipster's What Didn't Matter
2. Shayna vs. Doudrop
This was the worst match yet because these two so clearly had so much more to give. Also, the result feels wrong. Shayna has been built up all this time only to lose in roll-up fashion. Also, when you short-change the women on their matches, it is hard to care about the results because they could not go out there and earn them. The saddest part of this is how clearly WWE is signaling to the crowd that they don't care about this tournament. On a show, where storywise nothing was happening, they chose to dedicate less than three minutes to the semi-finals of the first-ever Queen's Crown Tournament. While, at the same time, using Stephanie and the WNBA for P.R. Also, instead of a frivolous RAW women's title match ending in DQ.Why not put the women's semi-final match in the main event spot and let these women get themselves over and the tournament through their work?
1. Women's Tag Team Titles
When Nikki Cross and Rhea won the titles, I said I thought they would make them more relevant. I was so wrong. They are on both shows and can barely get time on either. The women's tag team titles are less important than the 24/7 Title, and I couldn't tell you why. If anything, the Tag Titles should be thriving right now because they are brandless. Also, if they can't even be featured on a throw-away RAW, when can they be featured? But also, why couldn't TWO FORMER RAW WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS COMPETE IN THE FIRST EVER QUEEN'S CROWN TOURNAMENT WHEN YOU HAD NOTHING ELSE FOR THEM?