The final stretch ahead of WrestleMania 33 is upon us as WWE closes in on being two weeks out from the April 2 event in Orlando, Florida.  

From a wild confrontation between Seth Rollins and Triple H on Raw to the smashing of Shane McMahon’s head through a car window on SmackDown to solidify his return to WrestleMania, it was a busy week of highs and lows for WWE programming.  

Let’s take a closer look at the week. 

What they got right

1. Have a nice Raw: Since returning as general manager last summer, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley has floated between a comical parody of his famous shtick and a provider of fire and intensity on the microphone. Monday was his finest work to date as he carried a recurring storyline over three hours after being tasked by commissioner Stephanie McMahon to fire one member of the roster. His subsequent verbal joust with Triple H in the final segment got better by the minute, and his surprise Mandible Claw attack came off as believable due to his manhood and integrity being challenged. The segment had an epic quality to it, complete with Rollins’ ill-fated rescue attempt. This was “WrestleMania season” at its finest on Raw.

foley-hhh-raw-mandible.jpg
Mick Foley pulled out an old favorite in Mr. Socko on Monday night. WWE

2. Here comes the gurney: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again about the WWE’s handling of the AJ Styles-McMahon feud. Despite the initial groans when it was first leaked, the creative build continues to overachieve thanks to a undeniable edge of intensity. Styles’ blindside attack on Tuesday was so savage, it made you question whether WWE was being true enough to his character for allowing such a violent course of action against his storyline employer. Yet the use of blood on McMahon’s head (so rarely seen in the PG era) was handled in such a subtle yet impactful way that it didn’t matter. McMahon limping back inside the arena to announce Styles had a dance partner for WrestleMania felt so real it made you forget the sins that accompanied it, including an underwhelming the SmackDown main event (and episode in general) between American Alpha against The Usos. 

3. Payback’s a bitch: The idea of Charlotte Flair’s longtime lackey Dana Brooke turning on the former champion as comeuppance for constant abuse has been false-started enough times by WWE that Monday’s version shouldn’t have worked. But it did. And outside of the fact that fans long for this type of storyline (which explains the Damien Mizdow era), it worked because of how well Brooke sold it with intensity. It’s uncertain how this development will affect plans for WrestleMania but it’s an interesting wrinkle just the same.  

4. Letting “The Big Dog” bark: His Sweet Chin Music was nowhere to be found, thus Shawn Michaels’ surprise appearance on Raw may have felt like an underutilization of his talents. But the simplicity of the segment accomplished its intention: Selling the storyline danger that Roman Reigns faces against The Undertaker while hammering home just how unconcerned The Big Dog appears to be. It also provided Reigns a platform to stand out on the microphone, where he hasn’t always shined, by being just edgy enough as a babyface that those who still demand he become a heel were also satisfied. What we got was a “mic drop moment” with Reigns telling Michaels, “I appreciate the advice, but with all due respect, The Undertaker retired you, and I’m the guy that is going to retire him.” 

5. The era of Asuka: It’s no secret that Triple H (the “Creator,” not the “Destroyer”) knows what he’s doing in terms of presenting women’s wrestling on WWE TV. There wouldn’t be a “women’s revolution” if not for the culture he created overseeing NXT. To that end, NXT deserves credit for how well it has built up unbeaten women’s champion Asuka since her debut nearly 18 months ago. The extended promo package that ran on Wednesday perfectly illustrated that fact, complete with Asuka’s unique and arrogant delivery of tiny sentence fragments in broken English, hammered home by a guilty smile. There isn’t another woman in the company who is booked as consistently and effectively as Asuka, who could be entering her final NXT feud with Ember Moon. Either Raw and SmackDown would instantly be elevated upon her arrival.

Do better, WWE

1. The new face of smear: While supernatural detours and arson may not be your cup of tea, it has been hard to criticize Randy Orton’s feud with WWE champion Bray Wyatt. There may have been a few creative leaps and liberties taken along the way, but the attention to detail has been incredible -- as has the commitment to telling such an intense story with so many twists and turns over six months. But my question is this: Have we gone too far now that Wyatt, who has teased his character’s love for the dark side from the beginning, has so overtly announced his Satanical influence that he smeared the ashes of either his dead sister or the devil himself (honestly, I’ve lost track at this point) over his face and body? Where do I even begin with that?  

2. Heel turn to nowhere: Maybe it was just me, but Dolph Ziggler’s repackaging as a heel looked like it was the missing piece his character needed for a consistent return to the main event level. Two months later, after multiple losses to Kalisto and an announced spot in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania, all Ziggler has done is take steps back. This from a guy who closed 2016 fresh off a memorable Intercontinental title feud with The Miz. Seeing him walk away from a match against Mojo Rawley on Tuesday and accept a countout loss feels like the final straw. There has to be a better way.  

3. New Day rots? The Powers of Positivity are in a bad way. Scheduled to be the hosts of WrestleMania 33 but not penciled in for an actual match, the trio has largely been wasted in recent weeks, stuck pedaling ice cream bars during painful comedic segments or going through the motions in a makeshift feud against The Shining Stars. What New Day accomplished over the tail end of 2015 was remarkable, turning a no-win gimmick into constant gold whenever they were given a microphone. But the shark has been jumped and the team’s creativity simply hasn’t evolved of late, becoming parodies of themselves in the process. This week’s “New Day Talks” segment on Raw was one of the lower moments. No, this wasn’t a train wreck as bad as their “Old Day” debacle last September, but it was another huge step in the wrong direction.  

4. Oh-no: Bringing back Kassius Ohno to NXT in recent months after a four-year divorce was a strong move for WWE, as anyone who has seen him perform on the independent scene as Chris Hero can attest to. Seeing Ohno walk right into a title shot against Bobby Roode on this week’s NXT episode was just as promising. But the booking left much to be desired. While the idea of Ohno dominating the match only to succumb to a late-rallying Roode was designed to get Ohno over, seeing Roode kick out of his finishing moves four separate times wasn’t a great look for the future. 

Best of the week 

Wrestler -- Austin Aries: In a quiet week for in-ring performances, Aries continued to establish himself as a WrestleMania-worthy title challenger for Neville. After a strong showcase win on Raw, Aries sold the damage of being kneed in the face through a ringside barricade by Tony Nese perfectly on 205 Live, wearing the effects for the rest of the match until rallying to win.

Match -- Austin Aries wins fatal 5-way elimination match: With a WrestleMania title shot at stake against cruiserweight champion Neville, Aries joined Akira Tozawa, TJ Perkins, Tony Nese and Brian Kendrick in one heck of a 205 Live main event. It was a chaotic match that maintained its electricity without becoming a spotfest by presenting great storytelling. WWE certainly has its critics for how it has handled the cruiserweight division as a whole, pulling back on the constant in-ring theatrics that made last summer’s Cruiserweight Classic so fun. But credit the company for working so hard to establish each character’s identity in the meantime. This five-person match never would have been so entertaining without that emotional connection to offset the fast-paced action.  

Show -- Raw: With so many storylines and feuds to update ahead of WrestleMania, Raw was well-paced with one strong dialogue segment after another (while thankfully short on lengthy meaningless matches). In the process, it outshined considerably SmackDown for the second straight week. The intensity of Triple H’s brawl with Rollins to close the show only raised things to a higher level.  

Grade 

Week of March 12: B