Breaking Down the Best and Worst of the WWE for Week of June 29

As well as WWE booked Bray Wyatt and as electric as John Cena vs. Cesaro was, a cloud still hung over the ring as June came to a close. That's because Raw's ratings suffered a dramatic hit.

Viewership for WWE's premier show is up-and-down over the course of any given year, but there's been a lot of the down part as of late.

On Monday night, far fewer fans tuned in. They missed Cena and Cesaro knock one out of the park. They missed Wyatt looking like the monster he was born to play. On the flip side, though, they did escape having to sit through some subpar acting from Summer Rae in a grating storyline.

Whether it's segments like the one between her and Lana or Seth Rollins and The Authority being in a marquee spot on the show that is leading to the ratings slipping remains to be seen. Whatever the issue, WWE has some work to do in the weeks ahead.

Best: Cesaro and John Cena Tear the House Down

When it's time to tally up the candidates for the best TV matches of the year, John Cena's open challenges are going to comprise much of that list. Something about the opportunity for the United States Championship has led to guys such as Stardust and Neville having career performances.

On Monday's Raw, it was Cesaro's turn to reap the benefits of an impromptu title match.

The King of Swing worked with Cena to produce an engaging bit of wrestling theater. Mat wrestling blended with brawling. The stakes felt high, and the stage felt big. This was further evidence that Cesaro can deliver bouts worthy of the main event when given a top-notch opponent and some decent ring time.

WWE wisely avoided pinning a loss on Cesaro here, opting instead for Kevin Owens to interfere. That both helps push the Owens-Cena feud and keeps Cesaro from losing momentum after a standout showing.

Here's hoping WWE doesn't wait long to give Cesaro a shot like this again.

Worst: Too Much Summer

Summer Rae is not a good actress. She's wooden and unnatural, and she lacks stage presence. She's not much of a wrestler either, seemingly unraveling as a ring worker after coming up from NXT.

Still, WWE selected her to play a key role in a love story unfolding between the ropes.

Summer has aligned with Rusev, serving as a replacement for Lana, who has since claimed Dolph Ziggler as her man. The soap opera-like narrative has its high points, but it's been uncomfortable to watch for the most part.

A catfight on Raw preceded a plea from Rusev on Thursday's SmackDown.

In both cases, Summer dragged the segments down. Rusev, Lana and Ziggler are all on a much higher level as performers. Meanwhile, Summer is a Double-A batter trying to hit major league pitches.

Worse yet, this angle can't lead to much of anything. It's not as if a Lana vs. Summer matchup has any potential. 

Best: Tag Team Dream Match

The main event of Wednesday's NXT was a convergence of talent that had to thrill many a wrestling fan.

In one corner, Samoa Joe, a key cog for both Ring of Honor and TNA, teamed up with Finn Balor, a man who made his name at New Japan Pro Wrestling. Kevin Owens of ROH fame partnered with the well-traveled Rhyno, a former ECW world champ.

It's not often that one sees such a diverse group collide on a single stage. It's not often that diehard fans get to see so many of their favorites all at once.

The action didn't disappoint.

What was designed to create doubt about Owens' chances of retaining the NXT title at WWE Beast in the East ended up also being one of the week's better in-ring outings. Intensity permeated much of the bout. A juxtaposition of styles made for a fun contest.

This fresh, intriguing clash was miles more appealing than WWE's choice to pit Kane and Seth Rollins against Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns for the umpteenth time.

Worst: The Bottom Falls Out for Raw Ratings

Monday's Raw pulled in just a 2.51 rating. That's not acceptable. As James Caldwell notes on Pro Wrestling Torch, "For a regular episode of Raw, it was the lowest rating since a 2.49 rating in October 2012."

This is why TNA's failure hurts WWE. With no true No. 2 wrestling company to compete with Vince McMahon's enterprise, there's no one pushing WWE into desperation, pushing the writers to max out their creativity.

Something isn't clicking with the audience. 

Maybe it's just how dominant a part of the narrative The Authority has been. Maybe it's WWE's continual neglect of the midcard, the tag team division and the women on the roster. Likely, it's a combination of all those issues, among other things.

The 2.51 rating should serve as a wake-up call. Raw is heading in the wrong direction, and that will continue without some innovation and without adding some energy to the product overall.

Best: Bray Wyatt Bearing His Fangs

Ahead of his showdown with Roman Reigns at Battleground, Bray Wyatt is being allowed to be a sadist and a wrecking ball. He tore his way into Reigns' tag match on Monday's Raw and left his foe lying afterward. The announcers talked up how Wyatt was picking the bones of his prey like a buzzard.

On Thursday's SmackDown, Wyatt collided with Dean Ambose in a hard-hitting match.

He overcame The Lunatic Fringe with brute force. After smashing his ribs against the guardrail, he pounded his head into the mat for the win. 

Those moments, combined with his usual haunting rants, made Wyatt a high-profile part of WWE programming and a man with momentum on his side. That makes him going up against Reigns more interesting. That makes him come off like a monster who is only growing stronger.

Now WWE just has to follow through with building him up, allowing him to either defeat Reigns at the upcoming pay-per-view or create an opportunity to have him leave us with a violent lasting image.