Breaking Down the Best and Worst of the WWE for Week of Sept. 1

WWE hit both peaks and valleys in its storytelling this week.

On the positive side of things, the company found a fun role for Damien Sandow and amped up Goldust and Stardust's animosity with The Usos. The Divas division, on the other hand, got WWE Creative's worst efforts. 

The cast of Total Divas were involved in one of the worst matches fans have seen all year. 

It almost made the melodramatic "Growing Up Bellas" segments palatable by comparison. 

Adrian Neville helped counterbalance those misfires, delivering another standout performance. It's something fans have gotten used to. Unfortunately, that's also true for the Divas division belly flopping. 

Best: Tag Team Feud Progresses

Goldust and Stardust are getting nastier, and it's been fun to watch.

On Friday's SmackDown, Goldust apologized for attacking the tag champs last week. His actions said otherwise, though, when Jimmy Uso pinned Goldust.

The bizarre brothers flung The Usos around the ring, stomping on them with predatory grins on their face.

Goldust earned a victory over Jimmy on Monday's Raw. Although the match result was different, the post-bout activities weren't. The Rhodes boys pounded on Jey Uso's injured leg.

Stardust licked his lips before cracking a steel chair against his enemy.

In just a short time, this duo has gone from sideshow curiosities to dangerous monsters. That transformation has compelled and it points to a potential show-stealer between them and The Usos at Night of Champions.

This is a case of simple, effective booking.

Maddened by frustration, Goldust and Stardust have become vicious and disregarded their previous moral code. The Usos are now the sufferers, the wronged and the warriors the audience will love watching get their revenge.

Worst: Growing Up Bella

Enemies have had a variety of reasons to hate each other, to do battle in the ring. The Bella Twins storyline marks the first time that having to take a standardized test for someone has become the impetus for a fight.

In a series of clips that aired on Monday's Raw, Nikki Bella recalled several times that her sister had mistreated her. 

She talked of Brie stealing her prom date, asking her to take a test for her and crashing her car. Nikki's poor acting certainly didn't aid the quality of the scenes, but the biggest blame for the segments failure belongs to the writing team.

This is too corny of a narrative. It inspires more laughs than empathy.

WWE isn't going to stop this schmaltz train soon, though. Per WWE.com, Jerry Springer is coming to next week's Raw to step in the middle of this narrative.

Best: Damien Sandow Getting Some Spotlight

Of all the costume changes Damien Sandow has had during the last few months, the digs that have fit him best have been the ones that belong to The Miz.

Dressing up as an astronaut or Davey Crockett was random and didn't lead anywhere. Now that he's serving as The Miz's stunt double, there is purpose to his madness. He's been mighty entertaining as well.

On Monday's Raw, The Miz tried to get Sandow to hop into his tag match for him. Sandow ripping off his tear-away pants and yelling "Action!" was one of the funnier moments of the week.

Sandow also stood in for The Miz on Tuesday's Main Event where he hosted a Miz TV segment.

That led to some chances for Sandow to entertain on the mic and in the ring. He battled Dolph Ziggler later than night in The Miz's place. It was the most we've seen of Sandow wrestling in a long while.

This tweak to his gimmick is smart as it not only gives Sandow something to do, it makes The Miz's character more hateable. As a bonus, it's adding depth to the feud between The Miz and Ziggler.

The narrative is carving new potential paths for Sandow. He could turn on The Miz at some point or be the victim of the braggart's cruelty.

Worst: Total Divas, Total Mess

The newest season of Total Divas is almost here. That of course means WWE is going to plug the show at every opportunity and throw its cast members in random matches.

Fans can bear some of that, but the bout featured on Monday's Raw was unwatchable. 

That's not surprising when it had some of the division's least talented in-ring performers go at it. Rosa Mendes and Eva Marie should not be getting more ring time than Natalya. That's like sending out a one-armed man out to bat when you have Miguel Cabrera waiting in the dugout.

It's no surprise that fans were chanting "Randy Savage!" (the clear sign of audience boredom) early on in this clash.

Rosa was awkward, seemingly to the point of angering Layla. The match ended in a brawl, which felt like it was just tossed into the script. 

Is promoting the reality show worth turning off core WWE viewers? The company is asking for fans to reach for the remote if it keeps offering junk like this.

Best: Adrian Neville Rolls on

In 2014, the two most reliable things about any given week in WWE are that NXT will be one of the most enjoyable hours of programming and that Adrian Neville will rock it in the ring.

It doesn't seem to matter who he faces, he puts on an entertaining match each time. He continued that trend against CJ Parker at Thursday's NXT.

This wasn't as compelling as Neville's greatest hits, but it was a showcase of his consistency. He was fluid, quick, hypnotizing. That's what he's been at every turn.

The fans made it clear that they weren't psyched about Parker by way of a few choice chants. Neville, though, had them oohing.

It's seems as if off-nights just aren't in his repertoire.