WWE Programming's Best Matches for Week of August 8

Last week, you voted Neville's challenge for Seth Rollins' WWE World Heavyweight Championship as the match of the week, with the bout far eclipsing the two other contenders.

Perhaps out of all the world champions in the current belt's lineage, Rollins is most deserving of the "workhorse" label. He's capable of bringing out the best in any opponent, and he's been able to do so on a weekly basis thanks to his knack for avoiding injury.

Fans who saw Neville's reign as NXT Champion will know that he shares those talents. It's difficult to say whether The Man Who Gravity Forgot will ever rise to the heights of world champion, but he certainly has all the ability he needs between the ropes to do so.

Contender No. 1: Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton on Raw

The lines between the WWE roster's upper midcard and main event are becoming increasingly blurred, and while that might seem like a criticism, it's producing some TV matches of really excellent quality.

On this week's Raw, these three competitors engaged in a match to see who would face Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship later in the night. That set-up gave the show a real sense of purpose and produced two great matches that elevated the broadcast as a whole.

However, the first match managed to outshine the main event. Sometimes, a Triple Threat match can only serve to dilute a feud between two competitors. That certainly wasn't the case this past Monday.

Randy Orton is in a strange stage of his career, where he's unlikely to be inserted into a major program but can be relied upon for a great match at a moment's notice. The recent influx of independent stars to the main roster seems to have given him a larger palette in terms of talent to work with, and he's shining.

Meanwhile, the feud between Kevin Owens and Cesaro is one of the most exciting elements of the build to SummerSlam. It's not an opportune time for the rivalry, as both men are in need of a win, but it's difficult to decry an engaging program that's destined to produce an excellent match at the pay-per-view.

This fast-moving, hard-hitting match managed to avoid being your standard, cluttered multi-man match and delivered something well out of the ordinary. In fact, it wouldn't have looked out of place on a major show like SummerSlam.

Contender No. 2: Neville & Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens & Seth Rollins on SmackDown

Despite sharing much of the same talent with the previous match, this one would stick out like a sore thumb on the SummerSlam card—it's a television match through and through. However, that doesn't mean that it's any less worthy of your time.

The tag team main event of SmackDown has been a running joke since the days of Teddy Long as general manager. Despite that, it has to be said that it can work very well if the talent and the feuds that they're embroiled in align in the correct manner.

That's exactly what happened here, as the four managed to put on a great contest without it simply seeming like a way to play for time until the pay-per-view. Rather than simply bringing together two feuds, it served as a cap on the mini-rivarly between Neville and Seth Rollins, while continuing the program between Cesaro and Kevin Owens.

Credit: WWE.com

Moreover, it was an ideal showcase for Cesaro, who managed to get in some crowd-pleasing offence. The Swiss Superman is reaching the same level of popularity that he attained at his peak, and bouts like this are the perfect showcase for him to make the best of that following.

However, the match also served to give Rollins a pinfall victory over a credible opponent, even if there was an element of foul play. There's a lot of talk about the Architect being a weak champion because of his constant use of shortcuts, but it's serving its purpose based on the reactions he gets.

SmackDown tag main events are a dime a dozen, so a bout really needs to go the extra distance to stand out from the crowd. Thanks to a top-tier selection of talent being involved, this one did just that.

Contender No. 3: Bayley vs. Becky Lynch on NXT

The mass exodus of the NXT women's division to the main roster has left the developmental promotion in something of an unwanted situation—however, it's difficult to say that it's in any kind of bad shape when there's a talent like Bayley there to shoulder the weight.

While we've seen plenty of excellent female competitors pass through NXT, none of them can claim quite the connection with the Full Sail audience as Bayley. She's built a persona that people can't help but get behind, and her ringwork isn't far being that characterization.

Bayley might be known for her personal rivalries with the likes of Charlotte, but this week's bout with Becky Lynch was a matter of business. Her focus is on the NXT Women's Championship, and based on this performance, it's difficult to predict anything but a win for TakeOver.

However, this wasn't a one-woman show. One of the most enjoyable things about the women's division of NXT is the way that its various competitors are able to tailor their arsenal to match their competition. Moves always have a meaning, and that was very true of this match.

Lynch is a master of putting her offense in the right place, whether it's using her submission moves to work a limb or taking her opponent to the Irish equivalent of Suplex City. This week, Bayley's arm injury was capitalized upon to make the bout's finish a little more unpredictable.

Lynch is certainly one of the best technical performers in WWE at present, but here she was more of an impediment to Bayley's title hunt than anything else. NXT's women's division is headed for great change, but the developmental promotion is more than capable of building new talent from scratch.

What was your favorite match this week? Make your voice heard by voting in the poll, and continue the conversation in the comments section below.