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This week’s RAW was all geared up for Seth Rollins’ apology after he criticised the entire RAW locker room last week. And fans were interested in how Kevin Owens would react to his apology, and whether the Authors of Pain would get involved in the affair.
Apart from that, the episode focused on rebuilding a few superstars such as Drew McIntyre, Randy Orton, and AJ Styles, while giving a push to other top Superstars to begin new storylines.
With the RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch missing for the second consecutive week from television, and the WWE Champion not showing up yet again, it was up to the other Superstars to step up and carry the flagship brand forward.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things that the company got right on this week’s episode of RAW.
#5 Continued rebuilding Drew McIntyre
Once considered a top contender to even take down someone like Brock Lesnar, Drew McIntyre has seen many highs and lows since his return to the main roster last year.
The Scottish Psychopath needs some time and top rivalries to rebuild, and the company has decided to give him some more time on the mic and opposite some top men like Randy Orton.
This week, McIntyre took on Akira Towaza in a match that was fun to watch. It is necessary to note here that Towaza is an outstanding cruiserweight competitor who has the ability to overcome even the biggest challenges.
However, McIntyre was able to score a victory over his smaller opponent convincingly, and it seems like the company is giving McIntyre a new spot to work on which stems from his height and size.
McIntyre then cut a promo where he spoke about the complaints in the locker room and called Randy Orton out. The two men had a good one-to-one conversation before The O.C. interrupted.
This was a good way to rebuild McIntyre who needs to be at the top of his game and bookings by Royal Rumble so that he can get back to competing at the top level.
#4 Added fuel to Black & Murphy’s rivalry
I can’t wait for this rivalry unfold as we all know how good Aleister Black and Buddy Murphy are in the ring.
Tony Nese was the latest unfortunate soul who dared to knock on Aleister Black’s door. The two men squared off on RAW this week, and the former Cruiserweight Champion gave Black a good fight for a little while before falling victim to the Black Mass.
This was another chapter in the story that will ultimately lead up to a clash between Buddy Murphy and Black, and it seems like the company is ready to invest in the two men at last.
Pairing the former NXT Champion against a former Cruiserweight Champion this week was the right thing to do as the impact of the win is greater since Murphy is also a former Cruiserweight Champion.
Murphy did well in his backstage interview with Charly Caruso after the end of the match which made the rivalry more intense from both sides and gives fans something to look forward to heading into Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2019 (TLC 2019).
#3 Gave Charlotte Flair another top match
An interesting booking this week saw Charlotte Flair square off against both the women from The Kabuki Warriors. Flair already lost to Asuka last week after The Empress of Tomorrow sprayed green mist on Flair, and Flair decided to take both women on at once in a handicap match.
Once again Flair and Asuka worked well in the ring, and even Kairi Sane got some high points in the match.
Flair got the upper hand late in the match over Asuka and looked to put her away with a spear followed by a Figure Eight leg-lock. Unfortunately for her, she missed a tag from Asuka to Sane who delivered an In-Sane Elbow from the top turnbuckle just when Flair went in for the kill with the bridge.
This was a good match that sets up a future mega rivalry between Asuka and Flair, and we could see Flair find a partner soon to even out the odds and even challenge for The Kabuki Warriors’ Tag Team Championships.
The odd part about the match was watching Sane pinning the most decorated woman in wrestling today rather than Asuka once again using a heelish tactic to score another one over her archrival.
#2 Worked on KO as the face of RAW
As a former Universal Champion, Kevin Owens has everything a Superstar needs to have to become the face of a brand.
It seems like the company is once again working on him to begin working as the face of RAW while Seth Rollins has started work on becoming a major heel on the brand.
This week, Seth Rollins kicked off RAW again and tried to issue an apology. Kevin Owens soon hit the ring to speak on behalf of the WWE Universe and also claimed that Rollins owed him a personal apology.
KO didn’t hold back and called Rollins apology crap and also called him a liar. The Authors of Pain (AOP) soon interrupted and laid down a challenge for the two men to fight them in a tag team match later on. Rollins left the ring, not looking for a fight, and Owens laid down a challenge to anything in the back.
The man who he interrupted at Starrcade answered the challenge and Bobby Lashley and he had a match until AOP once again appeared to beatdown Owens and dragged him to the back.
This has helped bring KO to the forefront of the Red brand again, as he was doing well on SmackDown before he was moved to RAW but did not get the start that he’s have been looking for early on.
#1 A new beginning for The O.C.
The O.C. gained a considerable amount of momentum during mid-2019 after Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson became the RAW Tag Team Champions in July, soon after AJ Styles won the United States Championship. This enabled them to become the premier faction of the Red brand.
Gallows and Anderson soon lost their tag titles, and the US Championship held by Styles was keeping the faction on top. The O.C. even showed some dominance by acting as the defenders of RAW during the invasion angles during the Survivor Series buildup.
Last week, after Styles lost his United States Championship to Rey Mysterio, the faction lost a major part of their credibility, and this prompted the creatives to start booking them better and stronger.
It seems like they are off to a good start, as The O.C. defeated the team of Rey Mysterio, Humberto Carrillo, and Ricochet this week. Styles was later attacked by Randy Orton which will help Styles get into a top rivalry right away and the two men can have a great feud which could lead to one become the #1 contender for the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble.
