Randy Orton was at his best but he also faced a challenge from a new star

Randy Orton sent a huge message to Drew McIntyre as he attacked the champion thrice on WWE Raw.

Orton punt kicked McIntyre several times and reports suggested that the Scot now has a broken skull.

He would be unable to defend his title at Payback but that doesn’t mean that Orton has a night off for payback.

This week’s Raw had a lot of action but most of the segments missed the point. There was just one positive in all this as we look at the hits and misses from the show.

Misses

1) Belair vs Vega

Bianca Belair vs Zelina Vega should get a proper match between them to end the feud. What we got was a mash-up of storylines with the IIconics teaming up with Vega to take on Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and Belair.

Vega vs Belair would be a great match but WWE is extending this rivalry for no reason. We still aren’t sure of who poisoned Ford and it is time for WWE to move on from this.

2) Retribution

Retribution made their move on this week’s Raw by destroying Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio. That was all well and good, but we still have no idea who the members of the faction are.

It makes little to no sense to have the faction appear, destroy and leave. WWE had something great on their hands when this first came out, but not they are simply stretching it for no reason at all.

3) Lee vs Orton

While Keith Lee challenging Orton was huge plus for the show, their match being interrupted by Drew McIntyre wasn’t.

McIntyre was already groggy from the earlier kicks to the head and he came out for some payback against Orton.

However, Orton ran off and this match ending was a poor one. Lee vs Orton could have seen Orton get a decisive win to show who is the boss, however, we got something else.

4) 24/7 title

Another week, another weak 24/7 segment. The Fatal 4-way match lasted a couple of minutes with Akira Tozawa’s ninjas helping him get the belt from Shelton Benjamin.

WWE are just wasting talents on this belt in hopes of getting a few laughs, and it is time for them to stop with such segments.

5) Illogical tag team making

Speaking of wasting talent, WWE decided to pair Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax to take on the Women’s tag champions.

This is an extremely ludicrous decision given that Jax and Baszler were literally trying to destroy each other for a while.

Why would they team up for the tag titles when both want to win the Raw women’s title? WWE has made weird tag teams in the past and they continue this tradition.

Hits

1) Going straight for the jugular

The only positive coming from this week’s show was Lee going straight for Orton.

This might have been Lee’s debut and all but the former NXT Champion wasn’t scared and was willing to make a mark.

Tackling Orton head-on might not have been a wise decision but Lee more than held his own in the clash. It will be interesting to see how he does at Payback, but it won’t be easy for Orton.

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