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Credit: WWE.com
November 16 marked the final night of Monday Night Raw before WWE Survivor Series 2020. This show promised title matches that could change the complexion of that big show as well as the likely appearance of various SmackDown stars, looking to get an edge for their brand.
Drew McIntyre demanded his WWE Championship rematch against Randy Orton. While The Viper did outsmart and defeat The Scottish Psychopath at WWE Hell in a Cell 2020, McIntyre has more often than not had Orton’s number.
New Day may be the most dominant tag team in WWE history, but fans have not gotten a chance to truly see what Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods can do without Big E. Their biggest test to date was The Hurt Business’ Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin, who already held a victory for the Raw tag team champions.
Team Raw has had a rocky start, but the red brand looked to get the group on the same page. Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman and Riddle took the fight to the cohesive unit Retribution. They hoped to show that they could work together and win, even against a dominant unit like the one Mustafa Ali leads.
This night had the typical air of the go-home show before Survivor Series. SmackDown and Raw have often sought an upper hand by invading the other brand before Sunday. It was likely someone or a whole group who appeared to cause troubl.
Raw had a monumental task of elevating Survivor Series after a month of lackluster build. Luckily, this stacked card could certainly pull it off.
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Drew McIntyre opened the show to address what was to come. He called out Roman Reigns for putting himself a pedestal over everyone else. Randy Orton appeared on the titantron, explaining that he was too good to lose or be fazed by any suspension he faced.
The Miz and John Morrison interrupted as McIntyre headed to the back. They explained that they would make an impact regardless of who won in the main event. The A-Lister and The Shaman of Sexy called Bray Wyatt afraid of them as they held a control over the WWE Championship that no one else did.
Grade
D
Analysis
This was an overlong reminder of everything that has already been done on Raw recently. The red brand is cycling without direction. Every week, it is the same story. McIntyre said it clearly that he and Orton have said the same things over and over without resolution.
Especially with a huge show ahead, this should have been a much better opener. The Scottish Psychopath tried his best to elevate the content, but even his natural charisma can only go so far. This was flat and uninteresting, amounting to wasted time.
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Lana put on a brave face as she agreed to team with the women that had tormented her, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. The WWE women’s tag team champions did not let Lana do much early as they isolated Mandy Rose, badly injured her elbow on the steel steps.
After Jax and Baszler dominated Asuka and Dana Brooke as well, Lana found an opportunity to potentially pin the Raw women’s champion. However, The Empress of Tomorrow kicked out then trapped her in the Asuka Lock to force a submission.
Jax feigned respect for her partner then grabbed Lana and sent her with a Samoan drop through the announce table for the ninth time.
Backstage, Reckoning attacked Brooke as she was trying to explain the extent of the injuries Rose had suffered at the hands of Baszler and Jax. Brooke and Rose were replaced by Peyton Royce and Lacey Evans for Sunday.
Result
Asuka, Rose and Brooke def. Lana, Baszler and Jax by pinfall.
Grade
D
Analysis
The commercial break during this match was longer than the actual in-ring action, and it barely felt like anyone benefited in this contest. Once more, Lana plays the heel in trying to steal a win, but she failed. She does not earn the Samoan drops. However, she also has not earned anyone’s sympathy.
At best, this story has kept Lana relevant without overexposing her weekly. Maybe WWE can make her a middle-of-the-road babyface for the red brand. It will take a serious impressive effort at Survivor Series to make it happen.
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Credit: WWE.com
MVP explained that The Hurt Business needed to represent Raw as the group was the best of the best. Shelton Benjamin promised he and Cedric Alexander would win and defeat The Street Profits at Survivor Series while Bobby Lashley took out Sami Zayn. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were not impressed.
Hurt Business started out trying to slow and dominate Kofi, hitting an impressive top rope famouser/powerbomb combination. The former WWE champion fought out with a top tilt-a-whirl DDT to get the tag to Woods.
Woods went off with momentum that allowed him to clear the ring of both men. An impressive missile dropkick on Alexander nearly took the win. Kofi survived an Angle Slam and brainbuster then set up Daybreak for the pinfall win on Alexander.
Result
Woods and Kofi def. Alexander and Benjamin by pinfall to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships.
Grade
B
Analysis
This match attempted to save the show, but the pacing with commercial breaks was awkward. It never felt like the teams got going until the second commercial break. From that point on, the teams truly shined in what became a great athletic showcase.
If this was on pay-per-view, it would have been fantastic. Instead, the start and stop held the teams back. The contest was better than anything else on the show to date though, which is worth quite a bit.
New Day vs. Street Profits needed to happen to sell Survivor Series. At the moment, the card is flat, but that tag team match could be the absolute selling point of the entire night.
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Jeff Hardy was angry about a flier he saw Elias was floating around about The Living Truth’s accident. He found the musician backstage and attacked him, telling him to drop the accusations.
AJ Styles handed out matching Raw T-shirts to Team Raw, but no one was interested. The Phenomenal One then found out that his bodyguard could talk based on comments from Riddle.
Styles started on commentary, but he had to go meet Braun Strowman and Sheamus as the two argued. The tempers calmed as Retribution isolated Riddle for a bit, facing the aggressive energy of T-Bar, Mace and Slapjack guided by Mustafa Ali.
Keith Lee got the hot tag and ran over Retribution with full focus. Once Sheamus and Strowman got back into the fight, the two could not stop fighting. Ali managed to roll up The Original Bro after knocking him into The Monster Among Men to steal the win.
Result
Retribution def. Riddle, Strowman, Sheamus and Lee by pinfall.
Grade
C
Analysis
As a negative, this was a messy match that never really got going. Despite all the talent involved, no one found their rhythm. The arguments told more of a story than anything in the contest, and Retribution played bystanders in this match.
As a positive, Retribution finally picked up a win. Following up Ali’s solo victory over Ricochet the previous week, the group finally have a small amount of momentum. It may be a little too late, but every win counts.
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Bray Wyatt called out The Miz on The Firefly Fun House after his comments to start the night. Nikki Cross was still looking for Alexa Bliss, sure that her friend could still be saved.
Miz tried to talk Wyatt out of this match, but Bliss arrived to make clear that The Firefly Fun House host was not backing down. Cross tried to interrupt The Goddess, and Bliss slapped her. A fight broke out that was calmed by the arrival of Wyatt.
The A-Lister took control early, but he just could keep up Wyatt down. The Firefly Fun House host rallied, especially after Bliss launched herself at John Morrison. Wyatt caught Miz in the corner and hit Sister Abigail for the win.
As Wyatt and Bliss held hands up the ramp, The Fiend appeared to stare down at them.
Angel Garza cut a promo about protecting the beautiful women of the world. Asuka promised that she would defeat Sasha Banks for Raw at Survivor Series.
Result
Wyatt def. Miz by pinfall.
Grade
A
Analysis
This was not a classically great match, but the story of it all worked so well. Everything Wyatt has done recently has been phenomenal. He and Bliss carry an energy that no one can match. Miz knew exactly how to sell his fear as things turned against him.
The segment around this match was just as good. Cross vs. Bliss has been developed into a fascinating rivalry that needs a major blow-off match down the line. Wyatt and The Fiend finding themselves at odds adds another fascinating layer to his complicated two-face tale.