Step Up: Paige
Look who finally has a personality! Paige came out of her shell this week on Raw and brutally attacked the Divas Champion AJ Lee. Finally we get to see the Anti-Diva from NXT, and not this timid, “best friend” garbage we’ve seen since her debut on the main roster. WWE booked her to look incredibly weak in her first few months on the road, even losing clean in ENGLAND, her home country. But now after losing the title – and putting it back where it belongs! – she’s got character, and I’m actually excited to see their next encounter, likely at SummerSlam.
Step Up: Jack Swagger & Rusev
All press is good press. WWE got in a lot of trouble when people misunderstood Lana’s Battleground promo, and it made national headlines. But there’s the catch – WWE made national headlines. They took a day off on Raw, which was smart, then picked up the feud on Main Event and will continue on to SummerSlam. It means people are paying attention. It means people, now that they are truly upset at those Russian bastards, will pay to see Swagger put Rusev in the Patriot Lock – not the ankle lock, the PATRIOT LOCK dammit! Viewership was up 11% this week over last. Raw passed 3.0 for the first time since Daniel Bryan left. Was it because of Rusev and Swagger? Probably not. But all press is good press, and it certainly did not hurt.
