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Two weeks before the mega-event of the year, Survivor Series, WWE presented Monday Night Raw from Manchester, England. The yearly visit to Europe is currently in full flow, which meant a delayed episode of Raw this week.
WWE tried to make this appearance in England memorable, with some captivating segments throughout the show. The champion vs champion rivalries were given further momentum and the result of the main event gave a significant change to the lineup of Survivor Series.
Braun Strowman made his return to the ring for the first time since TLC and his first match as a babyface was a delight to watch. Let's find out some other interesting talking points from Raw in Manchester.
#5 The next Roman Reigns?
Jason Jordan defeated Elias in a weirdly stipulated "Guitar on a Pole" match. The crowd looked dead for the most part of the bout and Jordan was greeted with boos during the match.
Jordan has struggled to connect with the WWE Universe due to his lack of charisma and mic skills, and his premature push has not done him any favours. He may be on the path that Reigns took a few years ago, a heavily pushed babyface with zero positive reactions.
Jordan being named the fifth member of the RAW team was a surprising choice as well and is not going to go down well with the WWE Universe.
#4 NXT Revisited
Samoa Joe faced off against Finn Balor in an entertaining match on this episode of Monday Night Raw. The two tore the house down with their matches last year in NXT and provided a glimpse of that during their encounter in this episode.
Both of them are currently directionless and are not involved in any storylines. This match was a welcome change and it led to both of these performers coming out looking like a million bucks.
Joe and Balor joined Strowman, Angle and Jason Jordan as the representatives of Monday Night Raw at Survivor Series. Expect these two exceptional wrestlers to make the match memorable and a possible feud between these two after SS looks likely.
#3 A new champion in town
Enzo Amore continued his trash talking in Manchester, before being interrupted by UK's own champion, the Bruiserweight, Pete Dunne. His appearance was a major surprise for the WWE Universe, and his hard-hitting offense was on complete display during his match against Amore.
Dunne is the holder of the highest rated match in WWE in 2017 and his arrival on the main roster will be a fresh change in the cruiserweight division. He is a talented performer and many have drawn parallels to William Regal with his exceptional personality and great in-ring skills.
WWE need to make the UK stars a permanent feature on WWE programming and if this is the sign of things to come, expect a lot of hard-hitting action coming our direction.
#2 The Big Monsters Among Men
A rivalry between Kane and Strowman was expected after the actions of Kane at TLC, which led to Strowman turning face for the first time in his career. Kane is currently being booked as a super monster, and his rivalry with Braun Strowman will be a delight to watch.
Kane interrupted Strowman's mauling of Miztourage to take out the Monster Among Men, but Strowman delivered a powerslam of his own. Kane looked to be unaffected by this manoeuvre which was a terrifying sight.
Kane vs Strowman may not be a five-star classic, but it does bring back memories of the vintage WWE, with two big bad dudes fighting to become the number one monster in town.
#1 Madness in Manchester
The New Day interrupted a fantastic match between The Shield and The Bar for the championship and proclaimed that an Under Seige 2.0 is happening. This was eventually found to be a hoax but the distraction helped Sheamus and Cesaro to win back the tag team titles.
The European Duo defeated the Shield and will now face The Usos at TLC. However, this leaves a major question mark on The Shield's status for TLC. Will they retaliate against The New Day, leading to a Shield vs New Day match at Survivor Series, which is undoubtedly a dream match in the WWE for many.
RAW haven't retaliated after the lethal attack by SmackDown two weeks ago. But after the madness and confusion during the main event, expect the RAW roster to return the favour soon.
