WWE Raw: Burning Questions to Address After July 4 Show

Holiday-themed wrestling shows are hardly destination viewing for professional wrestling fans, especially given the lighthearted nature of the shows, but that does not mean that Monday's Fourth of July episode of WWE Raw did not leave a few burning questions in its wake.

Just weeks before the July 24 Battleground pay-per-view, WWE Creative attempted to walk the fine line between over-the-top comedy and seriousness. On a holiday episode in which ratings were almost certain to disappoint, the realistic expectations for storyline progression were low.

So why even bother when an inconsequential main event headlines the broadcast?

Sasha Banks and Charlotte came face-to-face in an in-ring promo that explained the issues between them in a concise manner and added heat to a feud that will likely result in a Women's Championship match. The timing of the segment was questionable, to say the least.

Enzo Amore and Big Cass rescued John Cena from another three-on-one beatdown at the hands of The Club. After months of riding a booking treadmill, receiving thunderous ovations but receiving no measurable push, they catapulted into one of the hottest angles in the business. It is long overdue, but how long will their flirtation with the main event last?

1. Should WWE actively phone it in with holiday broadcasts?

It is difficult to watch a show that starts with a food fight, features a challenger to a major singles title competing in something right out of Uncle Sam's closet and a tag team match that defied logic and then shift gears and take The Wyatt Family's threats to The New Day seriously.

How can one watch The Social Outcasts come to the ring sporting costumes right out of the Revolutionary War and then buy into a ringside brawl between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as if it is the latest chapter in a heated rivalry?

It is difficult to walk the line between holiday fun and serious angle advancement like WWE Creative did Monday night and have the show make any kind of sense. The important developments were surrounded by meaningless fluff, even when the same developments could have been saved for Thursday's SmackDown.

If the writing staff and management cannot come to an agreement as to what tone they want to strike during Memorial Day and Independence Day, they should settle on mindless entertainment and allow the most significant angles to play out on SmackDown or the next week's broadcast rather than force fans to seek them out on YouTube.

2. Was WWE Creative correct in booking the Sasha Banks-Charlotte angle for a show destined for ratings failure?

At a time when WWE is in the midst of a Women's Revolution designed to get its female performers over in ways they never have been before, perhaps it was not in the best interest of Sasha Banks and Charlotte for their segment to be buried in the middle of a show that was of zero interest to a fun-loving, holiday-celebrating audience.

It does no good for neither Banks nor Charlotte, not to mention Dana Brooke, to have such an integral part of their rivalry wasted. WWE Creative should be concerned with putting performers in the best position possible to excel. That was not the case Monday, when Banks had her first opportunity to talk in any extended form or fashion since before WrestleMania 32 in April.

Fans who opted to not tune in to Monday's show, confident that they would be skipping a largely unimportant show, missed out on a promo that summed the entire Banks-Charlotte feud up in one segment. Now they will watch in the coming weeks as Banks battles Brooke in a series of singles bouts and not have a full appreciation for the story being told.

3. Is this the beginning of a sustained push for Enzo Amore and Big Cass, or are they merely along for the ride?

On Monday night, Enzo Amore and Big Cass exploded into the main event stratosphere courtesy of their rescue of John Cena. The franchise Superstar was in the middle of a three-on-one beatdown courtesy of AJ Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows when the former NXT stalwarts hit the ring and made the save.

It was a defining moment for a popular tag team whose stint in WWE had become somewhat bogged down by a lack of direction. While they find themselves suddenly in the middle of one of the highest-profile stories in WWE, one has to wonder if they are filling the role of Cena's latest buddies or if this is the start of a substantial push as the brand extension prepares to take effect.

Seldom does an act as electrifying and popular as Amore and Cass come along. No matter how dead a crowd is, their entrance music and subsequent mic work fires an audience up. Their in-ring work is energetic, and their presence is undeniable. In a day and age in which WWE is lacking legitimate stars, it would behoove the company to ensure that Enzo and Cass' momentum is not cut off or otherwise eliminated by the same Cena-centric booking that has overtaken WWE for the last decade.

Let them run at the top of the promotion. Not only does it create a pair of legitimate stars, but it also lends credibility to the tag team division of either Raw or SmackDown going forward. The positives are many, and the negatives are nonexistent.