Hello! It's another RAW Review, so far we're 1 out of 1 for November. As we're getting closer to Survivor Series there obviously needs to be a good build for it- and with the limited time there's been to develop a number of new feuds these last couple of RAW's have definitely been interesting. With there just being last night's RAW and then next week (EDIT: There's actually two RAW's left) before Survivor Series I had reasonably high expectations from a storyline progression standpoint. So the question is, did it deliver?
Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Authority Promo
I believe last week I started my campaign to STOP FUCKING GIVING ROMAN REIGNS SCRIPTS/BULLSHIT DIALOGUE. The campaign has not started on the right foot. I'll be perfectly honest, I was only half paying attention during the Reigns Promo- until he just decides to go "fuck it" one day and rip up the script his Promos are never really going to be worth watching. The annoying thing is, I'm 99% sure if they just told Reigns to go out and sell a match with Rollins he'd be able to do it a million times better than their scripts allow him to. The Rollins Promo was, well a Rollins Promo- as was the Authority Promo an Authority Promo. There isn't really a necessary descriptive word for them now, they're just what they are.
I was torn when they announced the Survivor Series match for the Main Event. On the one hand they blew one of the main Survivor Series selling points, but on the other the way they treat the show as if new people are watching every week if anyone new signed up for the Network then job done.
Kevin Owens v Dolph Ziggler
The match wasn't as good a match between these two as it could be. I think that was a lot to do with the fact Owens was wrestling twice, combine that with the fact the crowd were pretty flat throughout and a pretty shaky shenanigans finish it wasn't the best. This isn't anyone's fault other than Kevin Dunn, but they pretty much blew the finish by cutting to Breeze too quickly and that took away from what was already a pretty standard match.
Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens Backstage
In the fantasy world where the WWE actually follow through on all of the things they set a premise for- the "Rollins owing Owens one" angle could potentially be a really good one. Then again, it's WWE and I doubt the angle will even be a thing by December.
Becky Lynch & Brie Bella Backstage
They're really trying their best to make us hate Becky aren't they? All of the NXT vignettes she got made her come off as a genuine, driven character. Then on the Main Roster every time Becky does an Interview it just comes off as so fake. I don't want Becky being all wacky and acting like she's drank 47 Cans of Red Bull, is that too much to ask for? By the time Brie showed up I was just done with this segment. Seeing as this whole thing was about "B"s- here's a one word Review, BAD.
Cesaro v The Miz
While I want Cesaro higher up the card, in some ways I don't- because Cesaro was just a ridiculous amount of fun in this match. He was legitimately having fun in this match, and Miz was really the perfect foil for him and sold all of his stuff impeccably. I picked up on this on Twitter as well, Miz sold the Swing the "right" way by just keeping his arms out as opposed to flailing or holding his head- and it just made it look so much better. I'm not quite sure when they're going to progress from the Stardust Section to a fully-fledged feud, but I'm enjoying it on the whole.
Bray Wyatt Promo
I loved this Promo. It's not necessarily the first thing you'd show someone who's new to wrestling, especially if they're coming in with the "you know it's fake, right?" mentality. With that said, as far as pre-existing Wrestling fans go this Promo was just great. It was cheesy, ridiculous, laughably fake- and I just loved it. It was the best Bray Wyatt Promo for a while, because crucially he's actually got something he can properly sink his teeth into both Promo and Character wise at the moment. This isn't exclusive to Bray, if the WWE played to the performers strengths and gave them proper motivations the show would be so much better. The only thing that I didn't like about this segment was the fucking "What?" chants. Can those just die now? I was sick of them ages ago. Especially when people are doing the "What?" stuff during a segment that's actually good, it just makes it even more annoying.
The Lucha Dragons v Sheamus & King Barrett
This segment was good on the whole. I'm not quite sure where The Lucha Dragons fit into the Tag Team dynamic now between the returning Usos and The Dudleys- although The Dudleys may have finished their current run. The fact we got our first Lucha Dragons vignette 6 Months after they made their debut was a bit hilarious, and them seemingly finally getting on the Lucha Dragons train just as they've re-hired Del Rio for mega money is infuriating. The match was good though- if not a bit too long, and for a match with hardly any direction story-wise that's all that can really be asked of it.
Zeb Colter, Jack Swagger & Alberto Del Rio Backstage
This was the obvious feud upon Del Rio's alignment with Zeb, and on the whole I'm fine with it. As pretty much a place-holder two PPV feud before Cena's back at the end of December the feud's good. It has a solid enough base for it to actually make sense, and crucially the matches should be really good.
Alberto Del Rio v R-Truth
I didn't watch the Smackdown version of this, but I can't imagine it was much different. It was basically just a pretty standard RAW match, the only thing that may be considered a bit "out there" is Truth getting in as much offence as he did on Del Rio. I don't like the fact they're appearing to settle on the Corner Stomp thing as Del Rio's finish, because there's way too much set-up required and it looks awkward really. Hopefully he'll be using the Kick or the Cross Armbreaker alongside/instead of the Corner Stomp soon.
Seth Rollins & The New Day Backstage
I really liked this segment. Everything involving New Day is just great, and the Rollins and New Day dynamic is a really fun one. The idea that New Day seemingly believe they're kindred spirits with Rollins, all while Rollins can't stand the only people other than The Authority who want to be "friends" with Seth is just great. I thought Xavier was missing another week at first, but as soon as Rollins said "there needs to be a fifth" and Kofi and Big E started smiling I also started smiling and it was all great.
Sasha Banks Backstage Promo
SASHA WAS IN-FRONT OF A MIRROR, SHE'S TURNING.
Paige v Becky Lynch v Brie Bella v Sasha Banks- #1 Contender 4-Way
This was a match. It was most definitely a match, the less said about the match the better- but it was a match. I had no idea what was going on half the time, no clue who I should have been wanting to win. In many ways this match summed up the Divas Division, a match that was a bit of a mess and not having any clue who the Babyfaces and Heels were apart from Paige. I suppose in that regard at least the right person won, in that the only one who actually has a clear character/motivation is the one to be wrestling for the Title.
Charlotte Backstage Promo
I was out of the room for this Promo, but I can pretty much guess what she said. Something about her Dad and how Paige is good but she's a Flair- which makes her better. Am I close?
The Reigniacs v Team "We're the only good things about RAW"
This wasn't great, I wasn't expecting a 5 Star amazing match- especially when Team Reigns was revealed to be Ryback, The Usos and Dean Ambrose (that one shocked me), but I was still expecting more than what we got. On the whole it was a pretty standard multi-man Main Event. Especially with the speed at which Kofi, Xavier and The Usos got eliminated they may as well have made it a 6-Man Tag. The finish was probably the best one they could have gone for once they decided on doing the Survivor Series match. In their minds the Survivor Series match will have been so much fun, but ruined by Seth that they'll HAVE to sign up to watch Survivor Series and get a decisive finish from one. I'm not saying that'll work, but that's what they were thinking.
The finish was a bit annoying, they tried to have a "balanced" finish- when really with having the RAW last night and the go-home (EDIT: There's next week as well) I'd have preferred if they just decided to go for it and get the heat firmly on Rollins. They didn't even have to have Seth kill Reigns necessarily, for example Seth could have handcuffed Reigns and then beat the shit out of Ambrose with the Chair. You know why? BECAUSE AMBROSE IS FUCKING TURNING.
Overall this RAW wasn't the best. Especially in the first Hour or so it felt like there was a lot of stuff happening way too quickly and none of it really being able to sink in. There was some storyline progression last night, but not nearly enough given the tight turnaround between Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series.
Thanks for reading as always, as already said we've only got next weeks Go-Home Show (EDIT: We've got two RAW's left) before Survivor Series- so hopefully you'll be coming back for the Reviews and Predictions next week. Thanks again for reading, as I said hopefully you'll be staying tuned for the Survivor Series Review and more- BECAUSE AMBROSE IS FUCKING TURNING.
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