5 things RAW got right on the episode before TLC 2019 (Dec 9, 2019)

Fresh off Survivor Series, the RAW brand has managed to cook up some great feuds in a very short time. Considering that the next pay-per-view, Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2019 (WWE TLC 2019) is less than a week away, it’s great to watch the creatives go ahead in full gear.

This week’s show gave us some major turns from the top Superstars of the brand, while two leading women of RAW joined forces to challenge the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.

Apart from that, the younger and newer Superstars got a chance to appear on screen too, making the entire episode a treat to watch.

In this article, we will look at the 5 things WWE got right on RAW this week.

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#5 The Critic of Critics on both brands

Sami Zayn has been doing a good job by acting as the mouthpiece of Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown. While Nakamura’s first reign as a main roster Champion after his US Championship win was forgetful, his current reign as Champion is much better.

Zayn also seems to be providing his services to Cesaro, who is in dire need of a push as he is an excellent wrestler.

Similarly, on RAW, many lost souls are in search of guidance. Mojo Rawley is one of them, and he walked out this week with The Critic of the Critics in order to demand an apology from Kevin Owens for his actions from earlier in the night.

Instead, KO delivered a Stunner to Rawley to end the segment. With Zayn working both brands now, we can now rest assured that some unutilized talent on both brands will start getting some more screen time in weeks to come.

Zayn is an excellent mic worker and could prove to be an asset to both RAW and SmackDown by helping elevate some underused talent on both brands.

#4 The Viking Raiders get the competition they deserve

RAW has seriously improved in terms of storylines since Survivor Series. We’ve seen Seth Rollins go back to his roots, while Kevin Owens has taken over as the face of the brand in many ways.

Apart from that, even the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions are doing a great job, with Charlotte Flair has remained in the mix throughout.

At Survivor Series, only The Viking Raiders were successful in their match from RAW. However, they’ve been running through local competition ever since and making their Tag Team Championship reign as forgetful as possible.

Finally, the creatives addressed the bad bookings by allowing The Street Profits to answer the Champions’ Open Challenge.

Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins came out with all guns blazing and almost pulled off a shocker after a spinebuster and frog splash to Erik. However, the Champions recovered and gave the challengers the Viking Experience to bag the victory.

This was a good fun match which showed that Erik and Ivar can give us some great matches if they’re provided with some real competition.

It also gave some screentime to The Street Profits who did well in the match even though they lost.

#3 The Architects of Pain

Kevin Owens was all out in search of Akam and Rezar last night and wanted some answers from Seth Rollins too. Rey Mysterio handed Owens a lead pipe in order to help him even out the odds in case of another beatdown.

KO met Rollins in the ring, but the two men could not get on the same page yet again. Later on, KO headed backstage in search of Authors of Pain and found their car. He bashed the car with the lead pipe until Akam and Rezar laid him out. Afterward, Rollins stepped out of the car and delivered The Stomp to The Prizefighter on the concrete floor.

As KO was loaded into an ambulance, Rollins walked out on the stage and blamed the fans for not believing in him. He revealed that the AOP believed in him, and seemingly aligned with the heelish duo in the process.

This was a great way to introduce this faction to the Red brand, as AOP is known to be ruthless while Rollins had been teasing a turn since Survivor Series.

The Beastslayer’s promo showed that he seems to be comfortable as a heel once again, and it will be interesting to watch how KO retaliates and overcomes the odds.

#2 A tease from Randy Orton

Randy Orton has been one of the fan’s favorite Superstars since his introduction to the company. It doesn’t matter whether he plays a heel or a face, the fans are always behind the Superstar at all times.

Orton had been teasing a face turn for quite some time now, and it seems like he hit the nail on the head this week on RAW.

Orton has been a villainous character for quite some time now and we are seeing him pair with the babyfaces for the past few weeks.

He helped Mysterio overcome AJ Styles a couple of weeks back, and win the United States Championship in the process.

This week, he once again helped Mysterio retain his title by sliding in the ring and distracting Styles, but did not attack which allowed the Referee to continue the match.

These little teases are playing well with the WWE Universe, and it seems like we are ready for a full-blown rivalry between Orton and Styles once again. With this week’s actions, it seems crystal clear that Orton wants to go into the new decade as a babyface, and he could indeed become the face of the Red brand in the coming year.

#1 A victory for Humberto Carrillo

It’s always special to watch the younger stars deliver great matches and performances, and that’s why this point tops the list.

Humberto Carrillo played the gentleman with Andrade’s manager Zelina Vega, and Andrade did not like it. He challenged Carrillo to a match.

The match had everything one could ask for and showcased the brilliance of the former NXT Champion Andrade. He made Carrillo pay whenever he got the chance, and Carrillo worked on Andrade’s only mistake to pick up the victory.

The victory not only allowed Carrillo to feature in a match this week but also remain high on the mid-card after falling out of his feud with the legendary AJ Styles.

The experience will help Carrillo move forward, while Andrade’s reputation does not take a hit from this loss. Fans have been waiting to watch Andrade wear gold around his waist on the main roster for a long time, and this feud can deliver that in the weeks to come.

This match provided RAW with a great fast-pitched thriller where fans weren’t really sure who’d come out on top. The creatives should work on this storyline and involve Vega more into it to give both Superstars a push they so well deserve.