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Welcome to things WWE subtly told us on the RAW after Hell in a Cell. This week's episode of RAW saw the build to Survivor Series begin and while it may not have been the most memorable episodes, there was a good amount of storyline progression. Let's jump right into it:
#5. A terrible RAW for RETRIBUTION...again
It's times like these when we really wonder why WWE formed RETRIBUTION, to begin with. While not too many people took them seriously from the get-go, the mystery of it all and the chaotic nature of it drew some level of interest.
RETRIBUTION was certainly never going to become nWo, but WWE could have had them get off on a better foot. For starters, they became RAW exclusive after they were drafted to the red brand this month.
The faction led by Mustafa Ali has primarily been feuding with The Hurt Business on RAW and over the last few weeks, they have been on the receiving end of a beatdown. After the big reveal on RAW that Ali was the leader of RETRIBUTION, it's been all downhill.
RETRIBUTION faced The Hurt Business in an 8-man elimination match. This was rumored to be the Survivor Series main event, but we got it on RAW and in hindsight, it was better not to put it on the fourth biggest PPV of the year.
Either way, WWE made a big mistake with RETRIBUTION in their handling and it only got worse this week. If this is what WWE plans to do with RETRIBUTION, then it's better to dissolve the faction. While it seemed like Mustafa Ali would benefit big on RAW, this isn't how we imagined it would go.
Either way, we can only hope that WWE has better plans for RETRIBUTION on RAW and that they start winning more. They ended up losing to The Hurt Business again and it doesn't appear as though they've even won a match.
#4 Randy Orton has 3 future opponents revealed on RAW
Randy Orton is going to have a busy few months as the WWE Champion on RAW. We certainly expect him to hold the title going forward next year as well, but November is going to be a hectic month for him on RAW and at Survivor Series.
For starters, it was revealed that Randy Orton will be facing Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Survivor Series in a Champion vs Champion match. While that's a solid bout, those aren't the only opponents Randy Orton will cross paths with.
Roman Reigns may not be a title challenger for Randy Orton, but there are two men who will be.
Alexa Bliss hosted Randy Orton in A Moment of Bliss tonight on RAW. It was instantly clear what the direction was and even Charly Caruso made no qualms about asking Randy Orton whether he feared the Fiend or not.
One of the interesting touches was Bray Wyatt looking back and remembering Randy Orton burning down his old house from their rivalry back in 2017.
Randy Orton didn't seem to fear The Fiend since he claimed to know Bray Wyatt. Drew McIntyre even predicted that The Fiend would come out to attack Randy Orton on RAW.
So the main event segment played out and Randy Orton was pressing Alexa Bliss and trying to figure out when she would unleash The Fiend. When it seemed like it was going to happen, we heard Drew McIntyre's music instead and that was an indicator that the feud between Orton and McIntyre still has one more chapter left on RAW.
While Randy Orton exited and stood on the ramp, The Fiend appeared behind him and the final segment of RAW got a lot more interesting. While it looked like a Triple Threat match may have been in the works, the way the segment played out suggested otherwise.
We could actually see Orton go up against both men on separate dates. Which brings us to the next point.
#3 Drew McIntyre to get his WWE Championship rematch soon
Randy Orton knew that The Fiend was behind him but he still went after Drew McIntyre during the closing moments on RAW. It was an incredible segment and RAW ended with the two men brawling while The Fiend had disappeared.
In just one night on RAW, Randy Orton had two title opponents teased - Drew McIntyre and The Fiend. It makes sense that WWE would insert Drew McIntyre back into the World title picture since he had a reign that exceeded over 200 days.
It wouldn't look good if Drew McIntyre was abruptly removed from the WWE title picture on RAW the same way Kofi Kingston was when he lost the title to Brock Lesnar last year.
Since WWE might have to build towards Randy Orton vs The Fiend at a PPV like TLC, we wouldn't be surprised to see Drew McIntyre get a Championship rematch on RAW - either before or after Survivor Series.
It's not often that we get such quick rematches but this could be WWE's way of taking McIntyre out of the title picture on RAW...for now.
#2 The build to Survivor Series starts on RAW
A lot happened with regards to Survivor Series as they began the build on RAW. It's a lot to break down, but it seemed as though WWE was making up for the lack of match announcements at Hell in a Cell by bombarding us with matches on RAW.
Some of the Champion vs Champion matches are:
Randy Oron vs Roman Reigns - WWE Champion vs Universal Champion
Bobby Lashley vs Sami Zayn - United States Champion vs Intercontinental Champion
The New Day vs The Street Profits - RAW Tag Team Champions vs SmackDown Tag Team Champions
Asuka vs Sasha Banks - RAW Women's Champion vs SmackDown Women's Champion.
NXT won't be involved this year and it's better that way as well. As for the Men and Women's Elimination Tag Team Match, the former is 1/3rd done while the full women's team for RAW is set. Here's what the breakdown looks like:
Men's Team - AJ Styles, Keith Lee, and Sheamus
Women's Team - Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, and Lana.
For the women, Adam Pearce had announced the first four and Lana earned the opportunity by defeating Peyton Royce, Nikki Cross, and Lacey Evans. That didn't stop her from getting put through the table by Nia Jax for the sixth week in a row.
WWE was essentially rushing things in, but we can't help but feel as though the RAW Women's team is a bit underwhelming.
#1 What's next for Drew McIntyre on RAW?
Since Drew McIntyre won't be challenging for the WWE title at Survivor Series, we see no reason why he shouldn't take the fourth or fifth spot in the RAW men's team at Survivor Series. This is provided he doesn't get a shot for the title quickly as suggested earlier in this article.
When looking back on the last seven months of RAW programming, there hasn't been a single Superstar more important than Drew McIntyre and even looking at both brands, there hasn't been a bigger babyface than him as well.
Being the face of RAW in the COVID-19 era was a daunting task for Drew McIntyre, but he did a great job. It's not often that you see a WWE Champion that has excellent matches in every single title defense - but that's what we got with Drew McIntyre.
Whether it was against Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Dolph Ziggler, or even Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre's title reign was filled with amazing matches and he had to carry RAW on his shoulders during the most unique period in WWE history.
After losing the WWE title, the Scotsman vowed to win it back on RAW and he even crossed paths with The Miz and John Morrison who tried rubbing salt on the wound.
It turned into a big mistake and Drew McIntyre thrashed The Miz on RAW before being in the main event segment later that night. Drew McIntyre may not have the WWE title anymore, but he is every bit as important to RAW as Randy Orton is right now.
