With Survivor Series only two weeks away, Raw was focused entirely on the build to the brand warfare that will take place at the event, as they hosted a special edition of Raw in Glasgow, Scotland. All three Raw Survivor Series teams were finalised, but not without tension between members.
Sami Zayn earned a huge win over Rusev, thereby earning an opportunity at the Intercontinental Championship on November 20th. Noam Dar, received a huge ovation from his home country crowd, while he made his debut for the Raw brand.
The women, men, and tag teams, who will represent Raw against Smackdown Live, all faced off in multi-man bouts, with a huge Fatal-5 Way main event for the men. Did Glasgow witness a good showing from the ‘flagship’ show, or did Raw fail to deliver once again?
Let’s find out, as I analyse and grade each segment from the November 7th edition of WWE Raw.
Sami Zayn vs. Rusev (Winner faces Dolph Ziggler at Survivor Series for IC Title):
Grade: 9/10
With the show up till this point, being filled with decent, yet forgettable matches, this stellar bout breathed life into a floundering show.
The high stakes amped the atmosphere of the crowd and quality of the match, as both competitors brought their A games. Rusev played his role as the vicious heel splendidly, while Zayn plays his role, as the scrappy underdog babyface, fighting from the ground up to perfection.
The two men’s chemistry was strong, and they will hopefully meet again in the near future. The finish was a bit unexpected but protected Rusev somewhat, as Zayn got lucky with a top rope Helluva kick.
Finally, the Underdog from the Underground has some much-needed direction, and the Zayn vs. Ziggler bout is a top contender to steal the show at Survivor Series. Even though it is babyface vs. babyface, expect a high-octane, fast-paced, brilliant bout that adds to the growing list of quality IC title matches in 2016.
It seems that Sami Zayn could win the IC title and move to SD if WWE plans on strengthing the roster of the blue brand. Would you like to see the Underdog from the Underground on SmackDown?
Stephanie McMahon introduces the Raw Men’s team:
Grade: 6/10
This whole segment could’ve been used to give all five men some mic time, but McMahon undertook most of the talking. Rollins was introduced as the fifth man, even though it was blatantly obvious, and no man had time to say or do anything of note.
The crowd, rather than being hot from the get-go, were cooled down somewhat by the Commissioner. This was merely a means of setting up the Fatal-5 Way for later in the night, and it did what it was supposed to, although the whole segment felt rather forgettable.
Jericho and Owens’ antics were highly entertaining, and the brawl was a nice way to amp up the atmosphere. However, the central focus of the segment was unfortunately on McMahon, rather than the five superstars.
Rich Swann and Sin Cara vs. Noam Dar and Brian Kendrick:
Grade: 7/10
Debuting Dar in his home country was a very smart decision from WWE, as he received a hero’s welcome, despite teaming up with the heel, Kendrick. The lack of reaction to Swann and Cara is worrying, as the character development of individuals in the division is still a big issue.
The matchup itself was short and relatively weak, but it was the post-match brawl between Dar and Kendrick, that was the highlight. Expect Dar to gain an opportunity at the Cruiserweight Championship, sooner rather than later.
This was a strong start for the Scotsman in the division, and let’s hope things only get better from here for Dar. A triple threat at Survivor Series, between Kendrick, Dar and Perkins or Swann could steal the show, so expect that to be announced soon for the event.
Raw’s Tag Teams gather in the ring, New Day vs. Gallows and Anderson:
Grade: 7/10 for both
This segment went on too long and dragged at times, with the lack of energy from the crowd. The New Day helped things tremendously, but this was based on comedy, rather than threats towards Smackdown Live’s teams.
New Day is still very entertaining, however, and their brief encounters with Enzo and Cass hinted at how wonderful, an alliance (or rivalry) between the two teams could be. The heels’ threats to leave the team, fell flat, as neither Gallows, Anderson nor Sheamus, have the credibility to seem anywhere near intimidating after their recent booking.
Still, this was fun for what it was, but it dragged on a tad long.
This was a relatively short, but decent, bout that gave Gallows and Anderson a strong win. Beating the tag champions clean, it appears the duo are back on track after the Halloween goofiness, we had to endure last week.
As long as WWE don’t continue their 50/50 booking, Gallows and Anderson, may be able to gain back some much-needed momentum, as they revitalise themselves. Unfortunately, the crowd wasn’t into this match at all, and the win for the duo didn’t feel as big as it should have.
The Golden Truth vs. The Shining Stars:
Grade: 5/10
The stipulation, that whichever team won would be a part of the Survivor Series team, which was added to this matchup didn’t help it at all. This is because nobody really cared which one of these teams qualified.
The silliness and lack of momentum of both teams, especially the Shining Stars, left this matchup as nothing more than boring filler. Unfortunately, the three-hour format of Raw has left these filler segments as a must, so we must endure them.
Let’s hope they are better in future.
The Women’s Survivor Series team meets and a Six-Woman Tag team match follows:
Grade: 7/10 for both
Once again, this segment dragged on too long and took time away from the matchup that followed. Bayley was incredibly over with fans here, and they chanted for the Hugger throughout the segment.
Although it was wonderful to see Bayley receive such a strong reaction, the crowd derailed the segment by not allowing any woman to talk, chanting over her words (even Bayley, who they were ‘supporting’).
What started as respect towards Bayley, turned into disrespect, and it felt like the fans were trying to beat their own drum, rather than let the women perform. Besides the crowd, this was a decent segment, which implemented the tensions between all five members, especially between Charlotte and the returning Banks.
The match that followed was a decent six-woman tag, but it sadly didn’t click with the crowd as much as other bouts. Nia Jax looked like a star here, being portrayed as extremely dominant over all the other women.
Expect her to shine in the Survivor Series bout. Tensions between Charlotte and Jax were also teased in the finish, and the sub-plots throughout will make the women’s bout at Survivor Series an exciting one.
A Bayley-Charlotte feud is where WWE seems to be heading, and it was a smart idea to gain Bayley some momentum, by pinning the champ after her loss to Jax last week. Overall, this was a decent match, but nothing memorable, although Jax and Bayley emerging as the biggest winners, was smart.
Fatal Five Way: Strowman vs. Rollins vs. Owens vs. Jericho vs. Reigns
Grade: 9/10
The number of splendid combined aspects within this highly entertaining matchup made this the best bout of the night. Braun Strowman looked like a monster, destroying former world champions with ease. It took all four men to take him down, and he is poised for big things in the near future.
Rollins and Reigns briefly teamed up to take out Jericho, Owens and Strowman, which intrigued fans significantly heading into Survivor Series. Will this brief alliance hold up, leading to a Shield reunion?
Owens and Jericho’s issues continued, with Owens gaining a fluke pinfall on his best friend but celebrating in victory nonetheless. The duo may be poised to break up sooner rather than later, and maybe even at Survivor Series.
All five men were great, and all these aspects, as well as the use of a table, kendo stick and the barricades, led to this being the best bout of the night, with a hot crowd being the icing on the cake.
Overall, a splendid main event that has fans greatly anticipating the men’s Survivor Series match on November 20th.
Overall Grade for Raw: 7.5/10
What did you think of this week’s Raw? Let us know in the comments!
