Monday Night Raw(7th August) - Winners and Losers

Raw was an odd one last night, there didn't seem much direction if any. However loads of stuff happened even if it felt like it was put together last minute.

So who were the real winners and losers from last nights messy affair:

Winners

Seems like Big Cass is getting a major push from creative

The opening segment with Enzo and Cass which ended up with a confrontation with Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens was brilliant. Even if it took a while to warm up, Jericho never disappoints. My slight problem with it all is that it is putting Kevin Owens in the mid carder section which he's way too good for but his time will come.

It also seems like they are really feeling out Enzo's ability in the ring even if his size does seem to hamper him. These two are one of the best things about Raw every week and a feud with arguably the two best heels in the company will be golden on the mic.

Another slight problem is that Enzo's promo this week felt a little rehearsed and scripted and that's not what makes him so great on the mic, it was still solid because his energy gets him through but can't always be relied on.

Cesaro

A rematch of last week's match was lazy at best from creative and despite the result still going Cesaro's way it wasn't clean and still holds his momentum back. He comes out as a winner this week because the man is simply unbelievable. In my opinion only Seth Rollins is hotter in the ring right now. 

Cesaro deserves a bigger push that he's been getting. It's obvious everyone knows it but clearly WWE doesn't think he has the look the company are looking for which is laughable. His in-ring ability is special and so is his persona, Just needs work on the mic and he's a future Champ for sure. 

He seems to be falling into the Kevin Owens territory where there's too many good wrestlers and not enough top championships. This match was another classic don't get me wrong. Both him and Sheamus being physical makes it exciting watching but it's set for a match at Summerslam and it's getting slightly overdone already.

Braun Strowman

Another week and another Squash match and the subtle change by giving his opponent a theme and an interview(if you can call it that) before hand made it look fresh. Once again he dismantled his opponent with ease and continues to look like a destructive machine.

My slight issue is that just like Ryback maybe it's time to up the difficulty or even include a lower card wrestler on there just to make it more competitive because it's only taking up 5 minutes at best right now.

Seth Rollins delivers another Vintage promo

Rollins continues to build his feud with Finn Balor with his ability on the mic and literally can do no wrong right now. It's a match we're looking forward to and it's being built up rightly so. 

With Balor still not great on the mic due to his accent partly, it's up to Seth to really promote. We did see a pre-recorded promo by Finn talking up his Demon persona but it's really not as effective had it been in person and in ring. 

Losers

Lana and Rusev

Lana and Rusev really were destroyed last night. Not only was Lana embarrassed with the whole cake in the face incident but the entire segment once again was used to make Roman Reigns look a million bucks.

Don't get me wrong for once I didn't mind Roman Reign's persona and his character just because he came across much more relaxed and not the so called face of the company. However Rusev was again decimated by Reigns and made him look weak which is the opposite how the past month has gone. 

It's nice to have a fresh feud and in theory it should work but it's not really bringing out the best in either and it's awfully booked. Also when has a wedding celebration ever worked, sorry no for me.

Darren Young and Titus O'Neil another dull match

Another poor finish to the Titus O'Neil and Darren Young match and it makes you think where is this really going? Obviously they've been paired together because they know each other inside and out but it's already becoming stale. 

I said last week that making Titus a bad guy just doesn't work and it all feels like filler right now throughout the show. There's no story and it feels like a pre-show match at Summerslam at best right now.

Mick Foley and Daniel Bryan once again get involved in the show

One of my biggest gripes right now is that the general managers are constantly getting involved in the show and not really developing a storyline. Especially since the brand split, Raw and Smackdown just seem intent on promoting each other and not fighting for viewing figures.

It's all became a little tame and there's no thought behind it. Daniel Bryan was on Raw and why exactly? To talk through Randy Orton invading Raw, then poaching Cesaro. There's no heat and it just doesn't feel right at all.

Raw was disappointing by usual standards. There were repeated matches and hardly any storylines were moved on. Seth cut a stylish promo and the opening of the show was exciting if the match wasn't a little dull. There was potential but not enough substance and it's disappointing.

They keep squeezing as much out of Daniel Bryan's popularity as well as Mick Foley's and it takes away from the new era ethos they keep trying to push. Dana Brooke lost a match against Sasha Banks so she's banned from ringside at Summerslam and even that felt awkward. 

Smackdown could profit from a pretty lacklustre Raw tonight and propel itself on a higher level. The whole brand split though hasn't created any animosity between both brands in fact it's coming across a little vague. 

Let's hope for something a bit better next week especially with Brock Lesnar and of course Paul Heyman being on the show. The fact it's the last Raw before Summerslam means there needs to be a big push next week. A lot of storylines need to be pushed through and almost picking up the pieces from this week too.

Thanks for Reading, See you in the next one.

Daniel