Breaking Down the Best and Worst of the WWE for Week of Nov. 10

Championships and cages provided the stage for excellent WWE action.

It was when the company was most serious and allowed its wrestlers to be warriors that the highlights came.

Kane battled in one of two Steel Cage matches on SmackDown. Rusev defended the United States Championship in another compelling brawl. Adrian Neville outsmarted Sami Zayn with the NXT title on the line.

The week's head-scratchers came courtesy of WWE giving Kofi Kingston a gimmick doomed from its onset and booking the worst guest star in Raw history. Thank Kane, Rusev and Neville for then making up for those poor choices. 

Best: Twice the Cage, Twice the Fun

Friday's SmackDown began and ended with gladiators colliding inside a steel cage.

To open the show, Goldust and Stardust defended the WWE Tag Team Championships against The Usos. Kane and Dolph Ziggler slugged it out in the show's main event.

Neither match is going to draw any comparisons to Magnum TA vs. Tully Blanchard from 1985, but they were both enjoyable, exciting fare.

It's refreshing to see the tag titles defended on TV, especially on the oft-neglected SmackDown. As for Ziggler's bout, the IC champ got a big win in a showcase match. That helps amp up hype for Survivor Series (where Ziggler and Kane will be fighting on opposite teams), but it also has a midcard titleholder win in the spotlight.

That's something that happens too rarely—midcard champs like The Showoff too often suffering non-title losses.

Had The Usos and the Rhodes brothers' feud been given more attention before this, it would have been even better. Still, clashes with titles on the line in a battlefield lined with steel are always welcome.

Worst: Kofi Kingston Getting Lumped into "New Day" Gimmick

Xavier Woods was the first of the so-called "Super Athletic Friends" trio to appear in a "New Day" video surrounded by a choir. Kofi Kingston joined him this week, signaling that the faction that never really got started is getting a full makeover.

Rather than be an aggressive, angry group of wrestlers looking to prove themselves, they appear to be working a gimmick where they are well-dressed, smile a lot and have some tie-in with church. 

That's a letdown from what Kingston and company could have been, especially for The Wildcat.

The early incarnation of the stable showed a more compelling version of Kingston. He bared his teeth a little and looked done with being pushed around.

That's not happening with this new persona. The last thing Kingston needed was to be even more happy-go-lucky than he was already.

This gimmick is going to be an even odder fit for Big E, a powerhouse bruiser asked to dance and clap along with the choir. 

Best: Rusev and Sheamus Deliver Another Slobberknocker

The drama surrounding Ryback's refusal to pick a side and the continued construction of Team Cena and Team Authority were the headline-creators coming out of Raw. Rusev vs. Sheamus was the enthralling display of brute force that boosted Monday's Raw in terms of in-ring action.

Sheamus' chance to regain the United States Championship ended in disappointment for him, but it produced an intense brawl.

Much like their first go-round on the WWE Network, the two hard-hitters left welts on each other's bodies as they battled. Rusev slammed Sheamus into the announce table. The Celtic Warrior pounded his fists against Rusev's wide frame.

This match was a testament to the wisdom of pitting bruiser against bruiser and of making sure the midcard belts are defended often.

The higher stakes inevitably lead to better matches. They also present the champion as a tough mountain to climb.  

Let's hope WWE remembers to keep the challenges coming at The Bulgarian Brute. The last two men to hold the belt that he now owns had too many stretches of inactivity. 

Worst: Grumpy Cat Coming to Raw

Sometimes there are headlines that sound made up, like they are punchlines crafted by clever fans. "Grumpy Cat to Host WWE Raw" is one of them, but unfortunately, it's not a joke.

People reported that the famous cat will host the Nov. 17 edition of Raw to promote Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever.

Never mind that this is a go-home show before one of the year's biggest events in Survivor Series. Never mind that WWE is struggling to get the WWE Network numbers where they need to be. This would be a terrible idea at any time.

Grumpy Cat's appearance isn't going to sway anybody to tune in. More likely, it will have disgruntled fans who ache for the Attitude Era to avoid watching Raw. 

Talk about misreading your fanbase.

Mike Tyson is the type of celebrity whose fanbase overlaps with WWE's. Action stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger are a good idea to bring aboard as well. A cat based on an Internet meme is not who you turn to for better ratings.

This will only bring the laughingstock kind of publicity that makes it easy for people to dump on WWE. 

Best: Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville's Feud Remains Fresh

Far from the first time Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville have squared off, their title bout on Thursday's NXT retained its magic thanks to a well-told story before and during the match.

Zayn has been traveling on what he calls his "road to redemption." He defeated all the Superstars who have recently handed him losses, save for one—Neville.

Beating his friend would bring Zayn the NXT Championship along with that redemption he sought.

That made every near-fall a powerful moment. It had Zayn's flurry one that raised heart rates. It looked as if he was going to finally reach the horizon he'd been chasing, but Neville outwitted him.

The Man Who Gravity Forget hurt his knee on a failed Red Arrow attempt. When the referee tried to stop the match and call for medical help, Neville rolled Zayn up for the win.

That sets up a rematch where the two will be less respectful to each other, where Zayn will be more angry and desperate and where fans will be just as entertained as they were this time around.

The folks booking NXT are tapping into the simple, moving stories that make wrestling great. Zayn and Neville are delivering once the story moves between the ropes.

This is the kind of rivalry that WWE can turn to for years—two greats at similar stages in their careers with a rare level of chemistry together.