Breaking Down the Best and Worst of the WWE for Week of June 15

The changing of the guard at WWE is underway, and this week was evidence of that.

It was the company's rising stars who grabbed the audience's attention most firmly. Kevin Owens was asked to go into battle several times, and he managed to make the most of each fight. He thrived at Money in the Bank, where the act of show-stealing was especially hard.

That's thanks to Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, who throttled each other in the name of a great story that same night.

Their stellar bout was one of many in-ring highlights of not just the week but the year. On the flip side, WWE stumbled when it came to presenting King Barrett and The Prime Time Players. Missed opportunities and odd choices hampered those wrestlers.

They have to be jealous of Owens, Rollins and Ambrose, who not only had chances on center stage but turned those chances into classics. 

Best: Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose's Brutal Masterpiece

Seth Rollins is making sure that he's in the Match of the Year conversation by the end of 2015.

His latest triumph came at Money in the Bank in a collision between him and his archenemy, Dean Ambrose. With the WWE title at stake, champion and challenger beat the hell out of each other in a violent, stirring display of wrestling theater.

The action built to a powerful climax, with desperation setting in between the foes and the match intensifying as it went on.

In the end, Ambrose was made to look like a man who can shake off pain to a supernatural extent. He withstood a thrashing only to pop up out of a pile of steel debris for one last gasp. Rollins had his most impressive showing as champ, coming off as a vicious, relentless competitor.

This is how you make a loss not feel like a loss in Ambrose's case. This is how you harness the violence of a Ladder match and make it a powerful viewing experience.

And with this latest success, both Ambrose and Rollins made a statement to WWE about deserving to stay on the marquee. Any doubts about whether either man was a legitimate headliner were gone by the end of the night, buried under a pile of bent steel.

Worst: An Underwhelming Championship Win

The Prime Time Players are now tag team champions.

Putting the belts on them so soon after The New Day won them is a major surprise. Even with delivering an unexpected result and letting two likable guys have a run with the gold, the title switch came with little emotion. What should have been a win accompanied by fireworks settled for golf claps instead.

That's a result of WWE not building this moment up better beforehand.

The Prime Time Players were doing most of their wrestling on the little-seen Superstars and Main Event shows before this match. They weren't involved in a real feud with The New Day. There were no personal issues; the stakes didn't feel especially high.

And because of that, Titus O'Neil and Darren Young get shortchanged. Their biggest career moment is a lackluster one.

Hopefully, WWE can present their championship run better than it did their pursuit of the championship. 

Best: The Kevin Owens Show

A bruiser left his mark all over WWE TV this week. Kevin Owens was a busy, busy man, battling foe after foe.

WWE made sure the spotlight was on the NXT champ often.

Owens powerbombed Machine Gun Kelly off the entrance ramp on Monday's Raw, battled John Cena at Money in the Bank, collided with Samoa Joe on NXT, took on Cesaro on SmackDown and defeated Dolph Ziggler on Raw. Add an interview with Michael Cole, and it's clear that WWE is fully invested in pushing the newcomer.

That's a refreshing decision. Too often, a guy comes onto the scene and is allowed to fade away. Adam Rose and Bo Dallas have yet to truly sink their claws into WWE, for example.

Owens, on the other hand, had ample opportunities before him. He made the most of each of them.

His bout with Cena is a Match of the Year candidate. His brawl with Joe was simply electric. The rest of his workload was among the best stuff on each program.

Owens continues to make WWE look smart for opening the door so wide for him. With all these home runs coming off his bat, seeing a lot of Owens on a big stage moving forward is a certainty. 

Worst: Continuing to Wreck King Barrett's Image

King Barrett has to wonder whom he angered. A man talented enough to be one of the top-tier Superstars is instead being asked to be a doormat. 

In what has become a familiar sight, Barrett lost twice this week. R-Truth took him down at Money in the Bank. He then suffered a quick defeat against the rapping wrestler again on Raw.

That only worsens a loss-drenched record. Per CageMatch.net, Barrett has lost more matches this year than both Heath Slater and Curtis Axel, and he is tied in that category with perennial bottom feeder Adam Rose.

It's not just the number of losses, though; it's how they come about. Kevin Owens left John Cena flustered, drained and feeling lucky to have escaped with a win. Dean Ambrose had his fingertips on the WWE title after making Seth Rollins work like hell to keep it.

Barrett, meanwhile, is being asked to let a comedy wrestler beat him with little effort.

This is a continued waste of his talents. Treating him like this generation's Iron Mike Sharpe is a mistake.

He can be so much more than that if he's put into more high-profile feuds and allowed to win every once in a while.

Best: WWE's Tributes to Dusty Rhodes

WWE said goodbye to Dusty Rhodes in heartfelt fashion.

Much of the week's programming was dedicated to the late Hall of Famer. The company went far beyond putting up a graphic, though. It showed Rhodes a wealth of respect by continually saluting him. 

An NXT live event kicked off with a send-off for The American Dream. With his voice cracking, Triple H gave an emotional speech about Rhodes. Before Money in the Bank, WWE honored Rhodes with a 10-bell salute.

And the WWE production team put together a stirring video filled with clips of Rhodes' famous speeches, biggest career moments and images of him lighting up the crowd.

We have to eventually let go of all of our heroes. When we do, this is exactly how it should be done—with class and with great passion.