WWE Raw vs. SmackDown: Winner, Top Highlights and Botches for Week of Sept. 21

WWE Raw vs. SmackDown: Winner, Top Highlights and Botches for Week of Sept. 21

This week, the flagship was devoted to hyping the biggest matches and most prominent feuds ahead of Sunday's No Mercy pay-per-view and to an extent, it succeeded.

"Suplex City, Bitch"

Brock Lesnar stared into the camera, addressing Braun Strowman, and spoke with an eerie calmness.

He thanked The Monster Among Men for inspiring him, for backing him into a corner, because that is when he is at his most dangerous. He issued one last word of warning, his Suplex City catchphrase, and disappeared.

Short, sweet and to the point.

That has always been when Lesnar is at his best. He gets his point across, it sells the match and everyone is better off for it. We heard Strowman talk. More than once.

When Lesnar finally retorted, fans felt the gravity of the match, its "big fight" environment and were eager to see the bout play out.

That is the epitome of effective hype, especially for the Universal Championship main event of Sunday's No Mercy.

Unpredictability in the Women's Division

As if there wasn't enough unpredictability in the Raw women's division, what with the title switching hands every so many weeks of late, Bayley stunned the WWE Universe Monday night by returning and joining friend Sasha Banks in the squared circle.

First, those two and women's champion Alexa Bliss formed an unlikely partnership to lay out Nia Jax, then Bayley and Banks laid waste to Bliss, ending the segment by embracing to a big pop. The hometown return, in front of thousands of San Jose fans, was a memorable one and a fun way to inject the unexpected into the broadcast.

When Bayley was announced as the fifth entrant in the title bout at No Mercy, things got even more interesting.

At a time when WWE Creative appears hellbent on promoting the same crop of talent, keeping fans guessing is of the utmost importance. Otherwise, monotony sets in.

The Miz Shines

There has not been much to like about Jason Jordan's ascent to championship contention by working with The Miz, his weaknesses are shadowed.

The intercontinental champion can carry the program from a promo standpoint, doing the talking of two men. He did just that Monday night, a verbal buzzsaw as he tore into both Jordan and his on-screen father, Kurt Angle.

He also brings a star power Jordan simply cannot claim at this point. While he is unproven as a singles star, Miz has accomplished everything there is to accomplish and is also the best pure heel the industry has to offer.

Monday night, he carried the feud on his back, drumming up interest through the words he spoke with conviction and his ability to generate heat even for the most one-dimensional babyface.

He was the star of the show, bookending it and singlehandedly creating buzz for a match that otherwise would have been an afterthought on Sunday's loaded card.