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Tonight's episode of WWE RAW was a pretty decent follow-up to WWE TLC. The show had its share of highs and lows, one particular low point being the Gauntlet match which inexplicably ended with no result. We also got a new look at Liv Morgan's character change and it definitely wasn't what we expected.
The highs of the show included Seth Rollins laying out his new agenda as well as a stellar main event match up between AJ Styles and Randy Orton. Without further ado, let's get straight to the best and worst of tonight's episode of WWE RAW.
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Best: Seth Rollins opens RAW
After his vicious beatdown of Kevin Owens with the help of AOP, Seth Rollins opened this week's RAW with a scathing promo. Rollins said that since the moment he signed for NXT, Rollins said that fans claimed that he was the future and this lasted up until earlier this year when fans started to turn on him.
Rollins said that he was a leader and as a leader, he didn't always make the popular decision. He added that despite what fans thought of him but he would be the one to lead the WWE for a decade. Rollins added that whether fans liked it or not, he would lead WWE fans into 2020. Finally, Rollins warned anyone who planned to get in his way that the AOP were there to enforce his will. Rollins also said that he had his crosshairs set on one particular Superstar. We'd find out more about this later in the night.
This segment did a great job in getting across Seth Rollins' mindset and the reason for his actions in recent weeks.
Worst: The Gauntlet match
The gauntlet match to determine the new #1 contender for the US Championship was one of the most disappointing parts of this week's WWE RAW. R-Truth and Akira Tozawa started off the gauntlet with Tozawa making short work of R-Truth, eliminating him in a couple of minutes.
RIcochet was the next man in. Tozawa and Ricochet started off slow but when they picked up the pace a little. Things were looking up a little at this point but it didn't last long. Ricochet ended up getting the better of their contest, hitting Tozawa with the Recoil before pinning him to advance in the gauntlet match.
WWE legend Matt Hardy was the next man in. Despite his experience, Ricochet proved to be too good for Matt Hardy and pinned him with a roll up. There was a noticeable botch during the pin.
Humberto Carrillo. The match had the potential to really pick up here. Both Ricochet and Carrillo are stellar athletes but their match was really slow paced for some reason, with Carrillo breaking out rest holds. Zelina Vega came out near the end of the match but didn't really do anything, just standing on the entrance ramp.
Things picked up a little near the end of the match but on the whole, the gauntlet match was just painfully long. After Carrillo won the match but the next man in the gauntlet match, Andrade attacked him from behind. Andrade then dragged him out to ringside, removed one of the floor mats and hit Carrillo with his patented Hammerlock DDT right to the floor. Rey Mysterio had to come out and chase Andrade away. This left us with no winner after almost an hour of action. What a colossal waste of time.
Although the post-match action was great, the gauntlet match itself left us disappointed.
Best: Seth Rollins challenges Rey Mysterio
After Rey Mysterio came out to save Humberto Carrillo from Andrade, the WWE legend was in for a rude shock of his own. He was confronted by Seth Rollins and his henchmen, the Authors of Pain. The trio attacked Mysterio and left him in a crumpled heap in the middle of the ring.
Charly Caruso asked Rollins for the reason behind his action backstage, soon after this. Rollins replied that the reason he hadn't sent Mysterio to the hospital was because he intended to challenge Mysterio for the WWE US Championship next week on RAW.
Worst: Lana asks Lashley to ask her to marry him
The storyline with Lana, Lashley and Rusev looks all set to continue. Although Rusev and Lashley's match at TLC was pretty good in my opinion, tonight's segment on WWE RAW was just strange. Apart from Lana saying the words "hot boyfriend" too many time, it led to Lana making Bobby Lashley propose to her.
Lashley then said that he didn't take orders from anyone, except Lana. He then proposed to Lana, who accepted.
Best: Deonna Purrazzo's RAW debut
NXT's Deonna Purrazzo made her RAW against the formidable Asuka. Purrazzo impressed and didn't back down from the 'Empress of Tomorrow', blindsiding Asuka with a running pump kick before the bell had even rung.
Although Asuka dominated most of the match, Purrazzo continued to try and go toe to toe with the Empress. Despite losing the match after tapping out to the Asuka lock, Purrazzo still impressed in defeat and looks like she has a bright future ahead of her.
Worst: Liv Morgan's strange new character direction
We got a vignette hyping Liv Morgan's new character direction on RAW and it left us disappointed. Morgan's original character in WWE had a lot more personality than what we saw in the vignette tonight which made her character look more generic. Morgan also stated that people would no longer be telling her what to do but that was NEVER a problem for her during her main roster run. The vignette reminded us of what WWE were trying to do with Emmalina before they abruptly dropped that storyline.
Let's hope that WWE are heading somewhere good with this because Liv Morgan is really talented and she seemed a perfect fit in the Riott Squad.
Best: Becky Lynch's promo
Becky Lynch was backstage being interviewed by Charly Caruso. Becky said that the powers that be in WWE were protecting her from Asuka because they thought she couldn't beat her. Lynch said that for once, Asuka didn't need to face her. However, she needed to beat Asuka because she'd never managed to beat the Empress of Tomorrow and needed to prove to herself that she can do it.
This was one of Becky Lynch's best backstage promos of the year and she laid out clearly what a match with Asuka meant to her. Overall, it was fantastic.
Best: The main event between AJ Styles and Randy Orton
The main event of WWE RAW saw Randy Orton go one on one with AJ Styles. Both Superstars brought their A-game in what was one of the best RAW main events in recent weeks. Orton started off strong but Styles soon had the Calf Crusher locked in, forcing Orton to crawl to the bottom rope. Styles didn't relent and continue to attack Orton's need, hitting him with a running chop block at ringside.
Styles continued the targeted assault after we came back from the break. Orton bought himself some time after poking Styles in the eye and then launching him into the turnbuckle. Both men traded strikes after this until Orton hit a Powerslam to buy himself some more time.
Orton somehow kept himself in the fight and the finish saw Orton caught an attempted Phenomenal Forearm from Styles into a RKO out of nowhere for the win. This was easily the best match of the night and a great way to end the show.
After the match, The OC came out and attacked Orton. The Viking Raiders tried to come to Orton's rescue but Styles and The OC laid them out too.
