Breaking Down the Best and Worst of the WWE for Week of March 9

WWE's flaws interlocked with its strong points this week.

Paul Heyman's passionate diatribe cannot be praised without noting that he's the sole part of the Brock Lesnar-Roman Reigns feud that WWE is getting right. You can't tip your hat to WWE for working to make the Intercontinental Championship significant again without pointing out that Bad News Barrett has simply forgotten how to win.

On Monday's Raw, the women got two matches on the show. Unfortunately, not one of them was as long as Wiz Khalifa's performance.

For every home run it hit, WWE swung and missed badly enough to pull a muscle. Even crafting a vignette, something that is the company's specialty, was simultaneously a success and a failure. Sting's response to Triple H had some powerful lines and visuals but also featured a cheesy altered voice—a bad idea taken straight from the Black Scorpion gimmick of the early '90s.

That video was representative of the up-and-down week WWE had, as it both struts and stumbles en route to WrestleMania.

Best: Paul Heyman Holding Up WrestleMania Main Event

Paul Heyman is the MVP of the WrestleMania build.

In yet another stunner of a performance, he talked up Brock Lesnar's power on Monday's Raw. He threatened that the champ could leave with the title and would take out anyone trying to execute a "Montreal scenario."

Again, Heyman added intrigue to the bout. 

Lesnar's not going to go to UFC as WWE champ and try to unify those titles, but it's smart to insert that possibility into the audience's mind. The Beast Incarnate isn't going to murder anybody at Levi's Stadium, but saying that he would helps amplify Lesnar's imposing aura.

The trouble is, WWE has had Lesnar himself and his opponent, Roman Reigns, do very little. They didn't cross paths on Monday night. They didn't add anything to the story.

We are two weeks away from WrestleMania and WWE is on cruise control. The company needs to deliver something and not have Heyman put the entire build for the main event on his shoulders.

Worst: Divas' 'Chance' Is over

When fans demanded that the women on the roster get more time and more respect, Vince McMahon tweeted: "We hear you. Keep watching." It seems he might have meant "keep watching despite us not making any changes."

Monday's Raw had the Divas division go back to status quo.

Yes, WWE gave the women two matches on the show. However, they were still short, hurried affairs. Per ProFightDB.com, Natalya and Naomi battled for just one minute and 47 seconds. Good luck trying to cram any highlights into a bout that short.

Thursday's SmackDown only allowed the Divas a slightly more spacious stage to work on. AJ Lee and Paige took on Cameron and Summer Rae in a match that totaled just 2 minutes and 25 seconds.

Even beyond ring time, the feeling that the women are just afterthoughts continued.

The Divas title is not on the line at WrestleMania, WWE opting instead for a tag match—AJ and Paige versus the Bella Twins—that feels more worthy of Raw. And the company did little to build toward that clash.

Bray Wyatt saw his rocking chair go up in flames. John Cena paid back Rusev for knocking him out at Fastlane. The women heading to WrestleMania, meanwhile, got a win over Summer Rae and a fist bump between partners.

Best: Finally Doing Something with Alex Riley

Alex Riley was always too good to be at the commentary desk at such a young age. WWE just didn't have anything for him. He spent the last two years pining for a return to the ring, only to watch others perform.

Leave it to NXT to find a powerful way to bring Riley back to life. 

In pursuit of Kevin Owens, he stepped into battle for the first time in ages. His win over CJ Parker was no classic, but Riley's heart and emotion made it special. His promos before and after the action were tremendous.

We're seeing a superior version of Riley—a hungry, desperate man in love with this business.

His second WWE life is going to be fun to watch. First comes a showdown with Owens that promises to be brutal as Riley will look to keep his current momentum flowing.

Worst: Champions Losing and Losing

It does not pay to be a midcard champion right now in WWE. A wrestler puts on a gold belt and is suddenly incapable of victory; it's as if the strap contains the titleholder's kryptonite.

This week alone saw far too many champs lose in non-title action.

Bad News Barrett lost to Daniel Bryan on Monday's Raw. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd lost to the New Day that same night. Barrett lost again on Thursday's SmackDown, taking a knee to the face before Daniel Bryan pinned him in six-man action.

Take a look at Barrett's match record on CageMatch.net. He has now lost six times in a row and is 4-10 (not counting the Royal Rumble) since winning the Intercontinental Championship.

How does that improve his standing? How does that make use of his time as champion? Heading into WrestleMania, he's looking like a bumbling failure rather than a powerful champion who will be difficult to dethrone.

That hurts the company's recent efforts to elevate the IC title.

Best: The Move Toward Intercontinental Championship Prestige

While WWE refuses to book Bad News Barrett like a champion, it is clearly making an effort to make the Intercontinental Championship matter again. That is welcome news.

On Thursday's SmackDown, Daniel Bryan officially entered the Ladder match for the IC title. That puts two former world champs into a field that already had some impressive star power. And for the second week in a row, the IC title hunt was the main focus of SmackDown.

The company also wisely moved away from the "everyone is stealing the title" story and just had the contenders fight each other.

Of course, just as fans had to be excited about seeing Dolph Ziggler and Bryan in the title chase and watching a fun six-man tag match to close the show, they knew that something silly was coming. WWE couldn't resist.

Dean Ambrose called Bryan a "turd" and Ziggler followed suit. 

That is not how you turn up the volume on a feud's intensity. That is not how you make the IC title fill the void left by the currently defunct World Heavyweight Championship. That's just stupid.

It appears WWE can't go a full night with out throwing up at least one air ball.