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WWE RAW November 5, 2018

By Mark Rodriguez

Fans are foaming at the mouth at the fact that Brock Lesnar beat Braun Strauman, in a squash match no less, at WWE Crown Jewel. What's gonna happen now? Since Baron Corbin was the one that helped Lesnar win, is he going to have a Monster problem on his hands? Let's find out.



Acting General Manager Baron Corbin segment-

RAW opens with the entire locker room lined up as well as several security guards as Baron Corbin makes his way to the ring to kick off the show. He starts promoting Survivor Series. Corbin also says that next week Stephanie will address as to how Shane McMahon stole the win at the World Cup Tournament.


Corbin announces he will be captain of the RAW team for Survivor Series though he won't be competing. He announces that Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre will be on the team. He also says Braun Strauman will also be on the team despite the fact that he'd be angry at him. Corbin also announces the captain of the Smackdown Womens Team at Survivor Series will be Alexa Bliss.


Like Corbin, Alexa will not be competing. She announces a match between The Riott Squad and Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley. Suddenly Kurt Angle shows up and says he wants to lead the RAW team personally as well as compete. Kurt announces a match between him and Corbin, and if Kurt wins he will lead and compete in the Survivor Series Team.

Alexa is about to announce the triple tag match again when Braun Strauman comes in and steamrolls through security. Corbin makes a run for it and Braun muscles his way through the RAW roster to get at him.

First Match- Natalya, Sasha Banks & Bayley VS The Riott Squad

Natalya went for the Sharpshooter on Ruby right way but Sarah socked her to break it up. Sarah Logan overpowered Natalya and tagged Liv in.


After the break, Liv is still working on Nattie, keeping her away from her partners. Nattie finally got to tag Sasha in who would easily deal with Liv Morgan while socking out Sarah and Ruby. She'd hit Sarah with a Meteora out of the ring and then Lv with another Meteora inside the right. She'd get Liv in the bank statement but Ruby would come in for the save. Ruby would get Bayley into their corner so the Riott Squad can attack her at will. Liv would jump off the ropes and slam Bayley face first into the mat.


After the break, Sarah was still attacking Bayley until Nattie was tagged in. As both teams fought each other, Nattie locked Sarah in the Sharpshooter. Ruby would come up holding up Natalya's father prized sunglasses that she brought for this match. Nattie released Sarah and could only watch as Ruby snapped them in half and stomped on them. The Riott Squad head out as Natalya burst into tears. Sasha and Bayley can only console her. The ref counts them both out and there is no clear winner.

Second Match- Jinder Mahal VS Apollo Crews

Jinder would try to overpower Crews, but the Human Highlight Reel would show off his athleticism with some flips and a dropkick. Jinder got Crews into a hold, but as soon as he broke free, he was able to pick him up for a Press Slam. Apollo would then Hinder the Jinder with a Standing Moonsault and score the win.



Seth Rollins still wants answers-

Rollins laments that after all the hard work for Reigns to take the Universal title off of Lesnar, only for Corbin to help Lesnar get the title back. He also talks about how he could call Ambrose out again but he probably won't show up. He says he can't defend both titles at the same time. Just then Baron Corbin says that Rollins can defend both titles by himself and sends AoP after him.

Covered in titles with no one to fight, Baron Corbin will fix that for ya!


Third Match- AoP VS Seth Rollins- RAW Tag Team Title Match

Seth would try his best but is soon overpowered by both Akam and Rezar. On his own, Seth would get attacked relentlessly by the Authors of Pain. Rollins would get a moment to break out, clotheslining Rezar out of the ring and hitting him with a Suicide Dive. He'd do a second Suicide Dive on both men. Rollins would hit Akam with a Blockbuster for a chance to win but he'd break the pin. Rollins managed to land a Frog Splash but Rezar would still kick out of a pin. AoP would grab Rollins and double slam him, scoring the win and getting the RAW Tag Team Titles.

Just then Ambrose would show up while Rollins was still down. Ambrose would still explain why he betrayed Rollins and hit him with a Dirty Deeds. With Rollins out cold, Ambrose walks out.

Dolph Ziggler and Elias

Dolph would come out and complain about how Shane interfered with the World Cup Tournament and win a tournament he wasn't even supposed to be in. Elias comes out to roast him. He says if he's able to play his song, Oasis will reunite. Elias would play some good guitar and this time the crowd would cheer him. Dolph calls him up and Elias takes the challenge.

Fourth Match- Elias VS Dolph Ziggler



Dolph would try to out-wrestle Elias and got for a fast pin. Elias would break free and both would try to outdo each other with wrestling holds. Elias managed to knock Dolph down with a Mule Kick. He'd take to the ropes and jump down, but Dolph would get out of the way making Elias hit the mat hard.

After the break, Ziggler got Elias in another head lock. Ziggler would get Elias in a neckbreaker and an elbow drop, but he would kick out of a pin. The Showoff would get him into another headlock, trying to make him pass out. Elias would break out and both men would come to blows. Elias would hit Ziggler with a flying knee to the face, but the Showoff would kick out of the pin. Elias got Ziggler into a Sit Down Power Bomb but still couldn't get the pinfall.

Elias would try another Flying Knee but Ziggler would dodge it and got him in a Zig Zag. Ziggler would go for the pin, but Elias put his leg on the rope to break it. Elias would grab Ziggler in the Driftaway slam and score the in.

Rhonda Rousey Promo


Rhonda comes out to say that while she respects Becky Lynch and loves her new attitude, she is still the last woman she wants to provoke. Rhonda gladly awaits Becky in two weeks and tells her to come at her with everything. Just then Nia Jax shows up and says that after Rhonda's big match with Becky at Survivor Series, she wants a shot at her title.

Fifth Match- Ember Moon VS Nia Jax

Nia would overpower Ember at every turn. Ember would try a Crossbody but would be caught and slammed to the mat. Nia would toss her around like a ragdoll and then grab her by the neck. Ember tried to punch her way out but Nia would headbutt her and send her down to the mat. One of Ember's pinfall attempts would have Nia kick out, sending her flying off her. In the end Nia grabbed Ember in a Samoa Drop and won the match.

Suddenly Tamina would show up and give Nia another face off. Tamina would grab Ember and give her another Samoa Drop. Then Nia would give an approving nod and Tamina would grab Ember in a leglock while Nia would do several elbow drops on her former friend. Tamina and Nia Jax hug each other, signifying their new alliance.


Baron Corbin tells the interviewer that he has an 'emergency appointment' and Kurt Angle will be facing off against Drew McIntyre instead. The Acting RAW General Manager would get into his car and drive the hell away before Braun Strauman could get his hands on him.

Sixth Match- Fin Balor VS Bobby Lashley

As Lio Rush insults the crowd while talking up Bobby's physique, Bobby would bend over towards the crowd to show off the perfection of his backside (..... wtf...??). Fin Balor would thankfully show up to start the match.

Bobby would overpower Fin and hit him with a Fisherman Suplex. Fin would get him with a running dropkick. He'd try for a suicide dive but Lio would trip him up, allowing Bobby to regain control. Bobby would get Fin in the Vertical Suplex but Fin would kick out of the pin. Fin managed to get him down and climbed the ropes for the Coup Le Grace. This time he'd keep an eye out for Lio Rush, but the distraction would allow Lashley to get the upperhand. He'd slam Balor in a Gut Wrench Suplex and get the win.

Drew McIntyre would show up for his match, with the others still in the ring. He'd give Lashley the stare down, daring him to make a move. Lashley would back off for now and leave with Rush. McIntyre would act like he's helping Fin Balor get back up to his feet... only to hit him with a Claymore Kick.


Main Event- Drew McIntyre VS Kurt Angle- Winner Leads the RAW Team at Survivor Series

Kurt would run in with punches and kicks before the bell rang. Once the match officially started, Kurt would continue the attack until Drew hit him with a headbutt that sent him to the mat. Drew would get him in an Armbar. Kurt would get out of it and pick up Drew for an impressive Angle Slam.


After the break, McIntyre would slam Kurt with a neckbreaker and a suplex. McIntyre would get Kurt back into the Armbar to wear him down. Kurt would punch his way out and get Drew into three German Suplexes in a row. Kurt would try for another Angle Slam but Drew would clock him with the Claymore Kick. Rather than pin him right way, Drew McIntyre would stand and watch as Kurt would try to get back to his feet. Drew would taunt him and Kurt would try to go for the leg for the Ankle Lock, but he'd get stomped down.

Drew would purposely offer his leg for a second attempt at the Ankle Lock. Kurt would try and gets kicked and punched to the mat. Drew would continue with the insults and this time Kurt would get fired up and grab him in the Ankle Lock. Drew endured the submission hold and kicked him off. The Scottish Psychopath would surprised everyone as he'd pick up Kurt Angle and use his own Angle Slam against him. Then Drew would get him with his own Angle Lock. Kurt would fight it off the most he could, but he had to tap out. Corbin will lead the RAW Survivor Series team after McIntyre defeated Angle with his own moves.


The Highs of RAW-

McIntyre is on fire- First the epic stare down with Bobby Lashley, the face fake-out on Fin Balor, then the intense victory against Kurt Angle. I thought him not going for the pin after the Claymore Kick would be his downfall, but taking down Angle with his own moves was something I didn't expect. He's definitely one of the top powerhouse heels.

Ruby Riott finally gets some heat- Breaking Jim The Anvil's Neidhart sunglasses crossed a line, but that's good. While it's not exactly a win, this makes Ruby's rivalry with Natalya finally have more meaning than 'oh let's go beat the Riott Squad again'. Let's hope they actually run with this and make something out of it. And give Liv and Sarah finishers while they're at it.

Elias gets the crowd behind him- The crowd Walks With Elias after he smashed his guitar over Corbin. Elias scoring a good win on Ziggler further builds him up and now people sing along and cheer along with his cheers. And the Driftaway is a cool move.

Tamina and Nia jax Teaming up- They could be a devastating force when combined. A modern day Natural Disasters, I hope creative runs with this and makes something out of it. Tamina and Nia Jax can give the rest of the female roster something to fear.

The Lows of RAW- 

AoP winning the Raw Tag Team Titles in such an unsatisfying way- First they went after jobbers, then they went after so-so tag teams, and now this is how they won the titles? With what's happening between Ambrose and Rollins, the sooner the Tag Titles went to someone else the better, as Ambrose clearly shows no interest in being a Tag Team Champion. I mean it's cool AoP finally got something, but a handicap match against Seth Rollins barely counts. I wonder how long they'll last with the titles before someone better takes them. Though that brings me to another point.

The Tag Team Division on RAW is kinda lame- The B-Team, Ascension, Bobby Roode and Chad Gable and AoP. All of them should be pretty good but RAW hasn't been doing good in building them up as such. The actual good tag teams, The New Day, The Bar and The Usos are all on Smackdown.

Bobby Lashley semi-mooning the crowd- Just... what the hell? I guess, something for the ladies?

Overall Opinions-

Wow, what an episode and what an unexpected finish. The way AoP won the titles was lame, but I guess they had to get the Tag Team Titles off of Rollins ASAP. It's too bad but Ambrose not showing up until after the match just shows there was no way those two would work together to defend the titles today or any other day. It's clear Ambrose is dragging out 'the reason' until whenever. I'm surprised they even brought up Renee's relationship with Ambrose (since I assume they're not supposed to be together in kayfabe) to see if she knew what was going on. Renee hasn't got a clue what the Lunatic Fringe is up to.

The highs and lows pretty much cover my thoughts, but I do want to add I was surprised that McIntyre won, and clean. I kinda gave it as a given that Kurt was going to win and lead the RAW team since nobody likes Corbin. I'm surprised Ziggler didn't come in to cheat, and I guess Strauman is so busy chasing Corbin around, he forgot he had beef with McIntyre as well and he didn't show up to interrupt the match, which would have been in Kurt's favor. McIntyre insulted, demeaned and tore Kurt down, he completely destroyed him clean and with his own moves. This might set up a great match at Survivor Series since Kurt won't be leading the team.

I'm glad they're finally doing something with Ruby, Tamina and Nia Jax, Bobby is getting heel heat and Elias is working as a face.

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