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WWE RAW looked to build itself ahead of Survivor Series after SmackDown crowned some Superstars to make up their teams during last week’s show. While the women’s Team RAW is already set, there were two spots up for grabs on the men’s team before this week’s show.
United States Champion Bobby Lashley faced 24/7 Champion R-Truth during the night. After Lashley was done with R-Truth, he took out Drew Gulak and left him laying on top of Truth. Gulak became the new 24/7 Champion in the process.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defeated their Team RAW teammates Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke after which Jax also beat Lana during the show.
The chances of an invasion from the SmackDown roster were high this week as the creative team looked to build towards the Survivor Series pay-per-view.
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In this article, we will look at the five things RAW got right during this week’s show.
#5 The target on Randy Orton’s back gets even bigger on WWE RAW
WWE Champion Randy Orton kicked off this week’s RAW to declare himself the best of all time. He claimed that he was better than everyone in the locker room, including The Undertaker, Edge, and Drew McIntyre.
He called himself a legend before admitting that he had a big target on his back. However, he called out anyone in the back to try and come after him and his WWE Championship. While fans expected Roman Reigns to make an appearance this week to hype up his match against Orton at WWE Survivor Series, it was Alexa Bliss who made her way out to confront The Viper.
After what had happened on A Moment of Bliss last week, Bliss told Orton that “he could be here” before the arena darkened. After the lights come back on, The Goddess had disappeared and McIntyre appeared to deliver a big Claymore to the WWE Champion. He dared The Viper to give him a rematch and vowed to make his life a living hell.
As McIntyre headed to the backstage area, The Miz arrived with John Morrison to cash in his Money in the Bank contract. The two heels were stopped by The Scottish Psychopath who threw them out of the ring before claiming that only he’d take the title away from Orton.
This was a great way to kick-off WWE RAW and show that McIntyre is waiting for Orton to give him his rematch while The Miz won’t waste too much time before cashing in his briefcase.
#4 Braun Strowman wins the battle of the giants on WWE RAW
AJ Styles arrived with his massive bodyguard to talk about Team RAW for WWE Survivor Series on the show. He established himself as the captain of Team RAW before Keith Lee and Sheamus made their way out.
The three men traded a few harsh words before Braun Strowman walked out to remind the three men that “the only thing this team needs is these hands.”
Lee told Strowman that he hadn’t qualified for the team like the three other men, and Styles pitched a Triple Threat Match between Lee, Sheamus, and Strowman to see if The Monster Among Men could make the team.
The Limitless One and The Celtic Warrior worked together for some time to take Strowman out of the equation before locking horns with each other. The Monster Among Men recovered to take the fight back to his opponents and all three men delivered some massive spots to show the power of Team RAW.
All three men delivered a Tower of Doom spot following which Sheamus nailed The Limitless One with a Brogue Kick. However, Strowman caught Sheamus in the Powerslam to pin his opponent and pick up the victory to enter Team RAW for Survivor Series.
The former Universal Champion was a natural choice and it was interesting to watch WWE give fans such a massive match on a televised show. However, we’ve seen differences arise within teams for years and WWE could have just teased that ahead of Survivor Series to make things more interesting for the RAW brand.
#3 The Firefly Fun House changes the landscape of WWE RAW once again
Another episode of The Firefly Fun House made it to WWE RAW this week with Alexa Bliss accompanying Bray Wyatt.
Wyatt did not waste any time to address the new WWE Champion and claimed that Randy Orton had been a very bad person in the past. He once again spoke about the Wyatt Family compound which had been burned down by Orton and claimed that he had built a new world with the ashes from the fire.
Wyatt then reminded the WWE Universe that it can be never that simple as “he never forgets”.
With Wyatt’s assistance, Bliss showed off her newest trick which included something oozing out from her mouth. The host of the show had to abruptly end the Firefly Fun House to close things out.
Without even laying a finger on Orton, Wyatt has been able to build a big case for the WWE Championship on RAW. He has reminded the WWE Universe of the past and has entered the title picture with ease. This will likely get more interesting as time passes on.
#2 The Hurt Business get in the hunt for more gold on WWE RAW
At Survivor Series, The New Day will have to compete against SmackDown’s The Street Profits. However, they had to compete against the other big team on WWE RAW this week as they came face to face with The Hurt Business.
Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander stood up to the challenge and it seemed like WWE had picked the duo to give Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods a victory without denting the heel faction.
Kingston and Woods were as good as ever in the contest, but it was Benjamin who showed what he’s got during the match. The action was traded back and forth for several minutes before Kingston mocked MVP and delivered a big Boom Drop to Alexander.
The two teams kept competing until Woods missed a blind tag that allowed Benjamin to hit him with the Pay Dirt. Alexander then followed it up with the Neutralizer for the victory.
It was interesting to see how RAW decided to put The Hurt Business over their Tag Team Champions. This immediately takes Benjamin and Alexander into the RAW Tag Team Championship picture, and we could even end up seeing the titles change hands before Survivor Series.
#1 Randy Orton shows why he is the WWE Champion to close out RAW
Drew McIntyre had prevented The Miz from cashing in his new green briefcase to kick-off WWE RAW. This gave the company enough reason to give us a two-on-one Handicap Match between the former WWE Champion and the team of Miz and John Morrison.
McIntyre took the fight to his opponents early and gave The Miz some of the most thunderous chops of his life. Miz and Morrison worked together, later on, to send McIntyre into the guardrail and then worked over him to keep him down.
However, The Scottish Psychopath powered his way out and even took a Skull Crushing Finale from the A-Lister but refused to keep his shoulders down for the three count.
McIntyre finally nailed his opponent with the Claymore Kick to pick up the victory. After the match, Orton came out of nowhere to deliver an RKO to McIntyre. Though he stood tall at the end of the night, The Fiend’s laughter filled the arena as the show came to an end.
At no point in this match did it seem like McIntyre was going to lose. However, it seems like WWE gave The Miz and Morrison a loss against the former WWE Champion to give a taste of what to expect when The Miz ultimately cashes in his MITB contract.
Orton stood tall to show that The Apex Predator wasn’t afraid of the McIntyre, Miz, or The Fiend.
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