Instant Reaction - WWE Raw 7/14
By Ben Tucker, PWTorch TV specialist

Overall Score - 7.0

After two long years of three-hour Raws, WWE has finally stuck with a format for the show that prevents viewer fatigue by the end of the program. By messing with the pacing just a bit, Monday Night Raw has become much more engaging, with story arcs playing out over the course of an episode, more important segments being placed in the once dreary pre-main event position, and long-form mid-card matches taking place earlier in the night.

Hype for Battleground was mixed; while the WWE Title match was advertised a great deal, the Intercontinental Title battle royal took up the focus of a large portion of the show, and the Rollins-Ambrose feud reached a new high in the beginning of the program, many of the undercard matches (specifically the Usos-Wyatts Tag Title re-match) were briefly mentioned and quickly forgotten about. On its own, though, Raw was a pleasing three-hour event that didn't manage to overstay its welcome, despite lacking true outstanding moments on the program.

What to Watch Later:

- Q1: I love the Roman Reigns character for the fact that he is one of the only people to have ever called out John Cena for his goofy promos. Reigns's cool demeanor is fantastic, and he showed why so many people have high hopes for him. The tension shown by the champion and challenger was well done, and Dean Ambrose's interruption was even better, highlighting the young talent's versatility on the microphone even when given little to say.

The follow-up attack on Ambrose looked brutal (too bad Reigns and Cena didn't feel like helping out their friend) and felt like a fitting progression of the Ambrose-Rollins program that has been brewing for some time. From start to finish, the opening portion of the show set a fine arc for the rest of Raw while developing storylines along the way in a relatively concise manner. That's how it should be every week.

- Q2: The opening Miz-Sheamus match was probably the match of the night on a Raw where match quality wasn't a high priority. Miz was in top form in terms of getting his new "Hollywood" persona over, excelling in getting across his egotistical persona via avoiding any potentially face-threatening attacks. The giant Miz face on the Titantron was a nice addition as well, though it probably isn't the nicest thing to do for the crowd in the upper arena who would most likely enjoy having a larger view of the proceedings in the ring.

- Q4-5: The "detente" segment of Raw between Team USA and Team Russia had the chance to be absolutely terrible, but a hot crowd propelled the Rusev-Swagger drama to a new level. Lana incited the crowd wonderfully and Zeb Colter served as a perfect foil. A good old pro-USA storyline is one that I had thought had become passe, but it has been revived quite successfully in the last few months, as seen here. The crowd was the hotter for this than anything else all night, and it made it a joy to watch. Isn't it great to have more mid-card stories?

- Q9: In the top talking segment of the night, Chris Jericho and Bray Wyatt had yet another very nice war of words. The brash and flamboyant Jericho character serves as a nice counterbalance to the horror-esque Wyatt gimmick, and I thought the two played off each other's parts perfectly. Jericho sells Wyatt's mystique like a champ, but also gets the crowd to rally against him well. These two have always been gems on the mic; hopefully Battleground won't be the end of the line for this duo.

Little Tidbits:

- The Sting advertisement for WWE 2K15 was stunning. It's videos like that which make me still want Undertaker vs. Sting to happen.

- Adam Rose is officially taking over Santino Marella's job of doing horrible advertisements. If only he debuted with his original theme music...

- Seth Rollins's potential injury is very concerning, and it should also make people wonder if the increasingly athletic WWE Superstars should be toning down their in-ring style to protect their bodies more. If he did suffer a knee injury, Rollins needs to change his move set to take strain away from his lower body. Otherwise, his body could break down later in his career, akin to Rey Mysterio or even C.M. Punk to a lesser extent.

Any questions or comments? Message me on Twitter @BTuckertorch!

We suggest these recent related articles...

10/5 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Natalya vs. Paige, Owens vs. Cara, Stephanie McMahon, Sasha Banks, Xavier Woods

COLLECTIBLES COLUMN: The History of Foam Hands in Pro Wrestling

9/28 WWE Raw Hits & Misses: Kane's Split Personality, Divas Revolution, Heyman & Big Show, Reigns vs. Wyatt