Breaking Down the Best and Worst of the WWE for Week of Sept. 30

A monster was left wanting, tag teams went to battle and the Rhodes family saga reached a critical point in the best and worst of the WWE week.

As the company builds toward Battleground, Raw and Main Event featured matches both excellent and lackluster.

Santino Marella got some surprising air time, continuing a trend that began when he returned on Sept. 9. Cody Rhodes' story led to an intriguing match at the pay-per-view. Paul Heyman continued his campaign to become the heel of the year, while Bray Wyatt remained hungry for destruction.

Missed opportunity, odd choices and outstanding performances highlight this week's highs and lows in WWE.

Best: Tag Teams in Spotlight

WWE's tag teams got put to work this week.

Monday's Raw featured Los Matadores against 3MB and The Usos joining forces with Dolph Ziggler against The Shield. Wednesday's Main Event added two more tag team battles; The Real Americans against Tons of Funk and The Prime Time Players vs. Luke Harper and Erick Rowan.

A number of those squads are comedy acts, but it was refreshing to see a big chunk of the division in action. Too often, the tag division is ignored and underutilized.

This week was a good sign of the opposite happening more often. The Wyatts appear to be developing a rivalry with Titus O'Neil and Darren Young which could be mighty fun. The Usos continue to wage war with The Shield in a feud that has potential to get deeper and more exciting.

Worst: Rise of the Cobra

Santino Marella has his place and can be a productive member of the roster, but WWE slotted him in too high a spot this week.

On Monday night, Santino pinned Antonio Cesaro, again. An occasional Santino upset can be exciting, but having him win as regularly as he's done since returning is a mistake. A defeat at the hands of someone who has been a jobber for so long makes Superstars look weak.

Santino followed his win on Raw by being in the feature match on Wednesday's Main Event against Damien Sandow.

Main Event has developed a reputation for giving Raw and SmackDown competition for the company's best matches. Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston, CM Punk vs. Sheamus and Wade Barrett vs. Justin Gabriel have all been impressive.

Sandow against Santino didn't join that list.

Best: Paul Heyman's Performances

Every time that the camera stopped on Paul Heyman, he made the most of it.

Throughout Monday's Raw, Heyman was among the most enthralling figures on screen. When he watched on as Curtis Axel battled R-Truth, he made perfect disgusted faces at his client's opponent.

During an interview backstage, he talked about living his life with gleeful spite and called CM Punk's hunger for revenge a fall into madness.

That poetic, powerful performance was soon overshadowed by his memorable "proposal" segment with Ryback.

The powerhouse and the weasel shared an intimate moment in the ring, Heyman getting down on one knee to ask Ryback if he wanted to be a "Paul Heyman guy."

Heyman did his best to make sure audiences couldn't move their eyes from the TV. He doted on Ryback in an increasingly romantic partnership that has fans wondering where this will all go.

Worst: Bray Wyatt's Almost Attack

Bray Wyatt mauling Kofi Kingston or Kingston fending off Wyatt with a steel chair would both have been entertaining options.

WWE went with a third choice, cutting to commercial before their confrontation and completely ignoring it ever happened once Monday's Raw came back on the air.

Kingston had just defeated Fandango with his Trouble in Paradise kick. Wyatt crept down to ringside, evil intentions clearly on his mind. Wyatt spoke about nightmares and devouring everyone around him.

Nothing came of it.

It felt like watching a heavily edited version of Goodfellas on network TV. One minute, it looks like the gangsters are going to shoot a stooge in the face and the next, the movie jumps forward to Ray Liotta cooking pasta sauce.

Best: Rhodes Family Saga

If fans were unsure about buying Battleground, the latest development in the story of the Rhodes family versus the McMahons added a very compelling reason to order the pay-per-view.

A story that has built up beautifully over the last month led to Stephanie McMahon offering Goldust and Cody Rhodes a match against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. Should they beat the tag team champs, both brothers get jobs with WWE. Should they fail, both will never be able to work for the company again.

That match suddenly becomes one of the highlights of Battleground.

Monday's Raw saw a tense confrontation between McMahon and Dusty Rhodes. The Shield ambushed the Rhodes family and the best-told story in WWE today get even more entertaining.

Worst: Los Matadores' Debut

After weeks of vignettes, Los Matadores debuted.

Primo and Epico are now officially Fernando and Diego, wrestling bullfighters with an athletic mascot named El Torito. As impressive as Torito was springing around the ring, having a little person in a bull costume sends the repackaged tag team into Tons of Funk-level silly territory.

Whether it was from being uninspired by their new digs, an off night or because they were wrestling 3MB, Los Matadores didn't look impressive once the match began, either.

The speed and high-flying that fans saw when the team was known as Primo and Epico was not as prevalent. Their debut match was tepid, a far cry from the greatest debuts in WWE history.