Breaking Down the Best and Worst of the WWE for Week of Sept. 8

NXT pressed its handprints all over WWE this week.

A handful of surprise debuts and NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way gave fans plenty to get excited about. There were not only a number of tremendous moments and matches from the stars at NXT, but a clear sign of the prosperity the company has ahead of itself.

The week's low points were harder to find. Even the latest Bella Twins segment, featuring an appearance from Jerry Springer, wasn't all that bad.

To find where WWE didn't hit the target, one has to look to a pair of missed opportunities. Rusev could have had a boost from a name from the past and the tag team division would be bettered with the addition of an alliance not seen on TV.

Those complaints easily get washed away by the thrills fans saw inside a steel cage and at Full Sail University. 

Best: Twice Inside the Cage

Monday's Raw was only supposed to feature one Steel Cage match, but the show began and ended with violence in that structure.

To open what WWE called Raw's "season premiere," Bray Wyatt defeated Chris Jericho by slithering over him and escaping the cage. It was an engaging bout, complete with a stunning spot where Jericho dove from on high.

Ending with an escape rather than a pin was an odd choice, but Wyatt still looked far more dangerous than he has in recent weeks. He won his series with Jericho, something he failed to do against John Cena.

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton capped off the show. The match was a lot like their SummerSlam collision with The Viper dominating and leading the dance.

The match's aftermath was what left the biggest impression.

Orton happily beat on Reigns after lowering the cage. He, Seth Rollins and Kane left Reigns out cold, the villains gloating over him.

It was refreshing to see Orton return to the vicious, merciless version of his character that he performs so well. For Rollins, he gets a vengeance-seeking foe at Night of Champions.

Worst: Missed Opportunity with Rusev

WWE left a stick of dynamite unlit by not uniting Nikolai Volkoff and Rusev onscreen.

In the state where Francis Scott Key composed The Star-Spangled Banner, Lana mocked the song and instead grinned as the Russian national anthem played on the loudspeaker. The segment ended abruptly, leaving fans to wonder if their TVs had suffered a glitch.

During a Raw Fallout video, we would later find out that Volkoff was at the arena.

Volkoff spent much of his career generating hatred by demanding that the Russian national anthem play before his matches. Why not have Volkoff come out and join Rusev? Why not put a Russian heel from the past with the one from the present?

The most likely explanation is that WWE was running short on time. They may have planned to do exactly that, but couldn't fit it in.

If that's the case, that points to bad producing. Raw is three hours.

Besides, if there's time for a man in a bunny costume to attack Titus O'Neil, there's time to let two Russian forces converge on stage.

Best: NXT Invasion

NXT bled over onto WWE programming and boy was it fun.

Sami Zayn teamed with Adrian Neville to take on Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd in a good tag match that served two purposes. Its immediate effect was to promote the fact that those four men would be battling for the NXT title on Sept. 11. 

It also introduced a wider audience to three of NXT's top prospects.

Fans know Kidd, but many were seeing Zayn's speed and Neville's uncanny agility for the first time. When Neville hit the Red Arrow to end the bout, a massive, collective "ooh!" filled Maryland's Baltimore Arena.

That's a sound we will hear a lot more once Neville is on the main roster full time.

The next night, The Ascension stormed onto Main Event. They knocked off Los Matadores after their surprise debut.

It's smart of officials to give fans these samplings from NXT. It helps increase interest in the WWE Network and will ease the transition for these prospects as they go from Full Sail University to WWE proper.

Worst: Where Is Xavier Woods' Faction?

After finding an ideal vehicle to showcase Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, WWE has kept it in the garage.

The Woods-led stable has been nowhere to be seen on TV. The week's Superstars, SmackDown, Raw and Main Event all featured other teams instead again.

The group is still together as seen in a house show report from PWTorch that noted that Kingston and Big E took on The Ascension during a live event over the weekend.

Why not give those guys some TV time as well? Keeping them out of sight for so long prevents them from gaining momentum.

The tag team division would greatly benefit from having them on board.

Instead, fans saw Los Matadores twice and The Bunny squabble with Heath Slater and Titus O'Neil two times. There had to be enough time during the week to at least slip in a video promo of Woods ranting.

Best: NXT Takeover Title Matches

Each of the battles for gold at NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way delivered.

Sin Cara and Kalisto's style merged well with The Ascension's. In one of Viktor and Konnor's better matches, the longest-reigning tag champions in NXT history, fell to their challengers.

It was a fun moment seeing the high-flyers finally overcome the dominant champs.

Bayley and Charlotte then composed a bout that is arguably better than Charlotte vs. Natalya from earlier this year. Both women infused their characters into the dramatic, enthralling action.

Charlotte's swagger and coldness elevated the action, just as Bayley's gutsiness did. 

After they produced a match worthy of the main event, Tyler Breeze, Tyson Kidd, Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville looked to surpass the bar they set in a fantastic Fatal 4-Way for the NXT Championship.

Tongue-in-cheek plugs won't help sell the WWE Network. It's in-ring magic like this that will.

Each man thrived when their time in the spotlight came. Kidd looked like a wily strategist, Breeze showed off impressive speed and agility, Zayn created empathy like few wrestlers can and Neville came out of it an even stronger champion.

For fans pessimistic about the direction of the company, this is the kind of event and showcase of rising stars that can replace doubt with hope.