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Last night's RAW marked the final stop the red brand took before WWE's debut on ESPN, with Wrestlapalooza streaming on the new service this Saturday domestically in the United States. The show was once again a mixed bag: it packed a punch, but suffered from tiring repetitiveness.
The big stars on the show were John Cena, CM Punk, AJ Lee, Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Jey Uso, LA Knight, Bron Breakker, Rhea Ripley, IYO SKY, among others, and while some of them were featured prominently, others were relegated to cameo appearances.
So, without any further ado, let's give you a dose of the best and worst of Monday Night RAW on Netflix.
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Best of RAW: Bayley is back!
Bayley made her return to RAW after several weeks off last night, saving Lyra Valkyria from a beatdown by Roxanne Perez and Raquel Rodriguez. She looked phenomenal in the ring, and after a few moments of indecisiveness vis-à-vis Valkyria, proceeded to ignore her altogether and then went out of the ring to hug everyone at ringside: Joe Tessitore, Corey Graves, Alicia Taylor, and several fans too.
This glimpse into her psychologically complex personality was explored further when voices of Bayley screaming (talking to herself through her various personalities) came from inside her locker room as Valkyria approached the room to make sense of what happened earlier on in the show. However, she was simply seen scrolling on her phone.
Valkyria's mission left her more perplexed than ever before, for there was no sense to be made. When she tried to talk to the Grand Slam Champion, Bayley yelled at her for entering without permission, indicating that she had switched personalities again.
The concept of this story is unique and interesting, but it could have very easily gone down the drain with how weird it is. Instead, Bayley's creativity continues to shine through, and The Role Model has played this new role, or rather, roles, with brilliant flair.
Bayley's character is one of the most captivating ones in all of wrestling currently.
Best/Worst: Jey Uso's character shift; same main event every week
From one complex character transformation, we now move to the curious case of Jey Uso, who has once again become an interesting character to watch on RAW, as he wrestles with the weight of being a former World Champion, his failure to get back on top again, Roman Reigns' words of wisdom, the OTC's absence, and his clearly complex and contentious relationship with his twin, Jimmy Uso.
The Usos may be reunited, but Jey's personal ambitions and ego, a direct result of his rise in fame and status over the past two years, leave him as a person who now has traits of Roman Reigns himself from his run as The Tribal Chief. The arc is compelling, and one can only hope it eventually progresses, incorporates Roman Reigns heavily, and leads to a satisfying conclusion, with another innings of The Bloodline Saga set to play out.
However, the problem is the same old tired ending to RAW every week, involving Jey Uso and LA Knight (and now Jimmy Uso) struggling to get on the same page on one end and Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed on the other. This week, The Vision defeated Big Jim and Knight after Jimmy chose to team up with The Megastar despite Jey's advice to the contrary.
Main Event Jey did come out to save Jimmy, with the heel duo scurrying, and helped his twin up before LA Knight teased hitting Jey with a chair, only for him to land the BFT on him eventually and hand him his receipt from the previous week.
The narrative is interesting, but why does it have to be a different version of essentially the same main event each week? It's not like RAW lacks star power or stories. It is, therefore, down to the formatting of the show that possibly needs to change.
Best: The IYO SKY-Asuka situation
It's funny how prominently IYO SKY has been featured and how layered the storytelling around her has been after she lost the Women's World Championship at Evolution. Why was this not the case while she was still the champion post-WrestleMania 41?
Her story with Asuka and Kairi Sane has made for incredibly compelling television, because it also involves Rhea Ripley, who is looking to get back her Women's World Championship following Wrestlepalooza, and Stephanie Vaquer, who will face SKY for the vacant title at the PLE.
Will Asuka cost SKY the title at Wrestlepalooza? Is Vaquer on the verge of a shocking heel turn? Where will Kairi Sane's loyalties eventually lie? And how will Rhea Ripley factor into this equation? These are all interesting questions that will ostensibly have answers, considering how this story has progressed over the past few weeks on RAW.
We are in the midst of a captivating soap opera that adds so much to the characters of foreign wrestlers who aren't necessarily the most adept at communicating with the American audience due to a lack of proficiency in the English language. And yet, the RAW creative writing and great performances all around have overcome one of the biggest obstacles wrestlers face.
Worst: Why are Tyler Bate, Pete Dunne, and AJ Styles in the El Grande Americano-verse?
The El Grande Americano-verse is a polarising saga, and the character himself, whether being played by Chad Gable or Ludwig Kaiser, has been received in polarising fashion by live crowds, too. For some reason, he is a major crowd-favorite in AAA despite being a parody of Lucha Libre, and on Monday Night RAW, he is a despicable heel.
On last night's RAW, El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser) faced Dragon Lee, and he was helped by the two sidekick Americanos, despite AJ Styles' attempts at mitigating the outside interference. While the identities of the new Americanos haven't been revealed on TV, they are clearly Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate. Is this the best use of two men that, with plenty of experience and age still on their side, and very capable of being major singles stars or one of the best tag teams in WWE?
And is this the best use of AJ Styles, who does not have much time left in his legendary career? The El Grand Americano-verse is arguably nothing but harmless fun, but it is not going to get anyone involved in the main event scene in RAW. And instead of elevating Dunne and Bate, it strips away their identity.
Gable and now Kaiser have done a fantastic job with the character. However, when we have sidekick Americanos, the potential for them seems limited.
