Breaking Down the Best and Worst of the WWE for the Week of Nov. 3

Even during a week heavy with Halloween themes and WWE Network flubs, there was plenty to celebrate.

Rusev's conquest, Randy Orton's exit and NXT's new blood made it fun to be a WWE fan. The company made some shrewd choices in terms of title bouts and the Survivor Series.

United Kingdom wrestling-heads aren't going to call WWE smart right now, though. Neither will the folks holding out for Xavier Woods to lead Big E and Kofi Kingston into the promised land. Officials made some baffling moves regarding Woods and the WWE Network.

It was an uneven week for that reason; however, the future looks appetizing enough to make up for the present pitfalls.

Best: Randy Orton, Exit Stage Left

No one harnesses the power of a wrestler taking time off like the WWE does. 

Randy Orton needed to step away to shoot The Condemned 2: Desert Prey. WWE wrote him off TV in powerful fashion.

The Viper went berserk, attacking Seth Rollins despite Triple H's best efforts to quell the tension between them. His punishment was a beatdown from a pack of suit-wearing jackals. Triple H gave the word, and Rollins stomped Orton's bloodied head into the ring steps.

Rollins now looks even more dangerous, and Orton has a story of revenge awaiting him once he's done with the movie.

And Raw ended with an unsettling, hard-to-forget image: a defiant Orton trying to lift his head up from the steel as his supposed comrade crushed him with a Curb Stomp. 

Worst: Divas Halloween Costume Battle Royal

There are countless ways to decide who becomes the No. 1 contender, and a Battle Royal with everyone in Halloween costumes is among the worst of them. Having a little Halloween fun is fine, but don't mix it with championship pursuits.

This SmackDown match was the comic relief bleeding over into the drama.

If Nikki Bella had defeated Paige or made her way through a three-round tournament, she would enter her title match with AJ Lee looking like a convincing threat. Instead, she looks lucky, emerging from a silly scene as the winner.

Layla (dressed like a clown) pulled handkerchiefs from Paige's top mid-match. Paige stood there and took it with a smile, as if the division's ultimate prize wasn't nearly as important as having a good laugh.

That's a certain way to make the title feel insignificant.

Dean Ambrose vs. Cesaro later provided an example of how to incorporate the Halloween theme without producing something stupid. They battled hard in a Trick-or-Street Fight, a brawl that included a few pumpkins and a witch's broom as add-ons. 

In that case, the Halloween element was supplementary, not damaging.

Best: Survivor Series Ups the Stakes

Thanks, Vince McMahon. Team Cena vs. Team Authority at Survivor Series now decides Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's fate as WWE's rulers.

McMahon announced the added stipulation on Monday's Raw.

That move makes the upcoming main event far more intriguing. The value of winning and losing shoots up. Selecting the two teams is now a more significant task. 

Survivor Series' marquee bout will borrow the drama that powered Team WWF vs. Team Alliance in 2001 and Team Bischoff vs. Team Austin in 2003. It's a simple, smart move to raise the stakes like this.

WWE is going to reap the benefits from that decision on every Raw until the pay-per-view, during the event itself and—if The Authority loses power—for the foreseeable future.

Worst: WWE Network Launch Delay and SmackDown Trickery

Just minutes before the second promised launch of the WWE Network in the United Kingdom, the company announced on Twitter that it had been delayed.

That's not exactly how you get the U.K. fanbase to help the service reach its subscriber goals. The unprofessional choice to announce something that clearly wasn't finalized is a head-scratcher. And WWE has done it twice in the same place.

It comes at a bad time too. WWE's European tour began a few days after the news.

The delay was a slip-up that is understandable to a degree, while WWE's tactics for promoting the network on SmackDown were just shady.

As PWTorch's James Caldwell details, last Tuesday, during the SmackDown tapings, Big Show asked the crowd to send Daniel Bryan a birthday message by chanting "Yes!" The footage was then turned into an ad for the WWE Network.

A video of McMahon was superimposed onto the big screen so it looked like fans were chanting for the WWE Network. You have to know that word of that would get around.

Bad publicity like that is the exact opposite of what the company needs right now.

Best: Sami Zayn Moving Up, Finn Balor Moving in

Just as it looks like Sami Zayn is set to move to the main roster, NXT welcomed another fantastic wrestler.

Zayn battled Tyson Kidd on Tuesday's Main Event, in a match that served as an excellent way to introduce the NXT star to more fans. WWE also put together a video covering some of his journey so far.

This gradual transition to the main roster is smart. Rather than just throw Zayn onto center stage, WWE is giving fans a chance to get to know him. When he finally does get an official call-up, he won't be an unknown; he'll have momentum in his possession. 

The talent pool at NXT won't drop off even with him gone, though. Finn Balor debuted on Thursday's NXT, giving WWE developmental another seasoned in-ring wizard.

Balor will begin his NXT run as Hideo Itami's tag team partner. That's a duo many would never have dreamed of seeing in WWE. The fantasy has now become a reality.

Worst: Xavier Woods' New Day

Sometimes you need someone to stand up in a meeting and say, "No, that's a terrible idea." That didn't happen when WWE officials thought up a new way to present Xavier Woods.

A promo aired on Raw that showed him playing what seems to be a preacher with James Brown tendencies.

That smells an awful lot like another Fandango-like character primed for a short shelf life. It's especially disappointing considering WWE had just repackaged him before this with something far better.

The angry, well-dressed leader of men he played while captaining a faction featuring Big E and Kofi Kingston looked like a great fit for him. It was the most interesting he had been with the company. It also gave Kingston and Big E something to do. 

Now, unless Big E and Kingston play Woods' choirboys, it looks like that alliance is over.

Woods ventures forward with a silly gimmick that will have him dancing and shimmying right into jobber territory. 

Best: Rusev Wins One for Russia

After Raw went off the air, Rusev dethroned Sheamus to become the United States champ.

Making this a WWE Network exclusive is the kind of move that will make the streaming service more desirable. Beyond being exclusive content, it was great entertainment.

The hard-hitting collision of rhinos ranks as one of Rusev's best bouts to date and one of the highlights of Sheamus' title run. It could have used more hype beforehand, and it would have been nice if the United Kingdom fans could have watched this, but it was still a big success.

Not only did the match engage, but now a man who hates America has the ideal prop to fuel his gimmick. The upcoming promos where he and Lana talk down to America while holding the U.S. title are going to be mighty fun.

If WWE can keep sending bruisers like Sheamus his way, his reign will be a joy to watch as well.