Emanating from Glasgow, Scotland, Monday Night Raw, had a number of issues to solve this week, with spaces still open in all three of Raw’s teams for the inter-promotional matches at Survivor Series. Plus, question marks over how the team members that have already been announced, would be able to co-exist and works towards a common goal.
Not to mention to continued build to Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg on November 20th.
So, would the first ever Raw in Scotland be a memorable one or would some of the booking decisions leave the fans bemused?
#1 End of Golden Truth?
Despite being announced as part of Raw’s tag team Survivor Series match, Golden Truth would lose their spot on the team to the Shining Stars.
This was due to R-Truth trading their spot in the team for a month in Puerto Rico, as part of the Shining Stars’ timeshare scheme. They would also then go on to lose a match against Primo & Epico in an attempt to regain their spot.
Now, I don’t want to get everyone’s hope up, but it appears as though we could be seeing the beginning of the end of Golden Truth. Hallelujah!!!
#2 “They will never take our freedom”
The New Day channelled their inner William Wallace, to motivate Team Raw’s tag team contingent this week, dressing up and quoting Braveheart, with some questionable Scottish accents.
After some back and forth, New Day persuaded the majority of Team Raw to get on the same page, Enzo & Cass, Golden Truth, and Cesaro & Sheamus would all unite, however, The Club promised to stab their fellow team members in the back, when given the chance.
This lead to New Day facing Anderson & Gallows, in a non-title picture, which the latter would go on to win.
This whole segment went on for far too long and felt quite awkward, but the Glasgow seemed to enjoy it, particularly Big E’s Braveheart monolog.
#3 The reality of Brock Lesnar
Neither Lesnar or Goldberg appeared live on Monday night Raw this week, but we did get video packages from each man, to hype their showdown at Survivor Series, in a couple of weeks.
These video packages were both good but it was Brock Lesnar’s package that stood out for me…video package that is.
Despite not being considered a great talker, Brock thrives in pre-taped, sit-down interviews and did so again in this instance. Paul Heyman was also at his brilliant best and talked about how Goldberg will be dragged out of his fantasy World by the “reality of Brock Lesnar”.
It was also announced that Lesnar and Goldberg, will come face-to-face on next week’s go-home Raw before Survivor Series.
#4 Team Braun
It was a strong showing for Braun Strowman on this week’s Raw. It began in an in-ring segment at the start of the show, that featured all five of Team Raw’s Men’s Survivor Series contingent, which quickly turned into a brawl, with Strowman, standing tall when the dust had settled.
It continued in a couple of backstage promos, when Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho, tried to convince him to side with them, not just at Survivor Series but also going forward, Strowman simply stated that he was on ‘Team Braun’.
Strowman would also interrupt a Seth Rollins interview, before looking dominant in the fatal-5-way main event match that would take place later on in the night. It looks as though a big push lay ahead for Braun Strowman.
#5 Noam Dar debuts
Noam Dar made his long awaited Raw debut this week and the time and place could hardly have been any better.
The Scottish native was well received by his home crowd and, despite being on the losing end of his match, has already made an impact in the Cruiserweight division, by having a physical confrontation with the Cruiserweight Champion, Brian Kendrick.
It remains to be seen whether Dar will get involved in the title picture anytime soon, but with Rich Swann pinning Kendrick for the second time in the space of a few weeks, it appears as though there will be a new challenger to the title sooner rather than later.
It’s also interesting to note that former Champion, TJ Perkins, did not appear on this week’s Raw.
#6 Bayley hijacks Raw
In an in-ring segment to announce the remaining members of Raw’s Women’s Survivor Series team, the Glasgow crowd would hijack the segment and tirelessly chant for Bayley for the majority of the promo.
The remaining spots were filled by WWE ‘veteran’, Alicia Fox, and former Women’s Champion Sasha Banks. But even Sasha couldn’t take the spotlight off of Bayley on this night.
It was a great night for Bayley who proved that her NXT popularity, can transition to the main roster, and would top her night off by pinning Charlotte in a tag match, to put herself in line for a future Women’s Championship match.
#7 Smackdown Live plug
For the last two weeks, Smackdown Live has aired segments promoting Monday Night Raw and now Raw have decided to return the favour.
Why?!
It’s not like their even promoting things relevant to the dual-brand Survivor Series pay-per-view, they were hyping the Becky Lynch vs Alexa Bliss, that’s set to take place on this Tuesday’s show.
If you can’t tell, it’s become a pet peeve of mine, especially when were told that the two brands are in direct competition with each other.
#8 - Zayn to face Ziggler
After Dolph Ziggler’s open challenge to the Raw roster for a shot at his Intercontinental Title at Survivor Series last week, Sami Zayn, would face Rusev to decide, who would go on to face the ‘Show-off’ on November 20th.
Surprisingly, it was Sami Zayn, who got the victory and now has a chance to win his first championship on WWE’s main roster.
Zayn vs Ziggler has the potential to be a great match but this does have me wondering, where does this leave Rusev?
#9 Owens pins Jericho!
After Stephanie McMahon told the five-member of Raw’s Mens’ Survivor Series team, to get on the same page because their jobs depend on it, she would then announce that they would all face each other in this week’s main event.
It doesn’t really make sense to have your team soften each other up, two weeks before Survivor Series, but then again, when have WWE ever concerned themselves with logic?
The match itself was good for what it was, and a lot more violent than people were expecting, with tables and kendo sticks used throughout.
The finish came when Reigns hit Owens with a ’Superman punch’ and the Universal Champion, would unintentionally fall on an unconscious Chris Jericho for the fluke victory.
What does this mean for the team Kevin & Chris? Is this the beginning of a feud between the best friends?
#10 Odd crowd
It was a very odd edition of Monday Night Raw this week. Many had expected a red hot crowd for this week’s show, especially considering it was the first time Raw had ever aired from Glasgow, Scotland.
However, apart from a couple of instances, the Scottish crowd were very quiet throughout and seemed uninterested in the action in the ring. It seemed as though they were excited for a handful of talents, namely The New Day and Bayley, and couldn’t care less about the rest of the roster.
This was surprising considering the reputation that British crowds have built up over the last few years. What did you guys think, was this a poor crowd or was the show itself to blame for the lack of enthusiasm? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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