Another week of WWE programming is in the books, as Raw kicked things up a notch following No Mercy, while SmackDown Live continued to build towards Hell in a Cell. Here are the five biggest storylines to watch.
The WWE’s most recent pay per view, No Mercy, received a mixed bag of reactions from fans and critics alike. It was praised for most of its matches, specifically the match between “The Shield” and “The Bar” that featured a gutsy performance from “BROKEN” Cesaro. However, the two marquee matchups, John Cena vs. Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman, fell flat to many viewers.
Despite these criticisms, Vince McMahon successfully moved all of his main stories on the “Red Brand” along, and these storylines were furthered on the following episode of Raw. We saw Roman Reigns begin a potential feud with Intercontinental Champion The Miz, Finn Balor inexplicably continue his feud with Bray Wyatt, and a new feud at the top of the women’s division.
Meanwhile, SmackDown Live gave us a couple of new matches for Hell in a Cell, in addition to the wonderful spectacle that was #RusevDay.
As a whole, I can’t have any real complaints about what we saw on television this week, because it was quite good. It also gives us plenty of fodder for discussion, so here are the five biggest storylines stemming from this week’s WWE programming.