By: Keila Cash
Hello everyone and welcome to another installment of The Raw Exposé. Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw emanated from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the first of two go-home shows for Survivor Series which takes place this Sunday. With another European Tour in the books, did the red brand crew feel refreshed or jetlagged once they returned to the States? Most importantly, did my hometown stay awake for all three hours? The answers can be found throughout this blog. Without further ado, let’s dissect tonight’s show in no particular order.
· The Shield saved Kurt Angle from losing his job six days before Survivor Series by preventing Stephanie McMahon from saying her father’s favorite catchphrase.
· No one was fired tonight as Roman Reigns put Stephanie in her place by challenging The New Day to a match at Survivor Series. If the trio had the balls to say yes, The Shield was going to kick their ass come Sunday. And with that, the opening segment came to an end with The Hounds of Justice riling up the live crowd.
· This was a fine way to start the show. Stephanie McMahon calling out Kurt Angle for picking Jason Jordan as the final member of Team Raw instead of John Cena almost made her the smartest person in the room as the fans booed Angle’s decision. Angle had no answer for his blatant nepotism as Stephanie shamed him a like disobedient puppy for his incompetence over the past couple of weeks.
· From letting The New Day in the building last week without safeguards to Shane McMahon playing him for a fool, Stephanie was in full emasculation mode as she read Angle for filth. Kurt tried to stand up for himself by vowing to break Shane’s ankle at Survivor Series, but Steph wanted her brother’s head on a silver platter instead. I don’t think decapitation is supposed to be a part of the end game, but I digress.
· Fortunately, The Shield vouched for Kurt which kept his job and manhood intact. For now…
· Bayley earned the final spot on Team Raw at Survivor Series when she pinned Mickie James with the Bayley-to-Belly in a decent match. Dana Brooke was a part of the Triple Threat Match as well, but she made the costly mistake of punching Asuka which led to her getting kicked in the face for her efforts. At least the Atlanta crowd appreciated the badassery of Asuka as she received the biggest pop since her debut. Thanks, hometown peeps for recognizing greatness when you see it. Smooches!
· Drew Gulak and Enzo Amore defeated Akira Tozawa and Kalisto when Enzo pinned Tozawa with the JawdonZo in a solid match. Tozawa and Kalisto were super crisp as the crowd was surprisingly into the action for the most part. Enzo was okay while Gulak is always a solid hand in the ring. Gulak might be at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of positioning, but his heel character is on point as he tries to be prim and proper when speaking on Enzo’s behalf. If Gulak starts to get over organically, he could become a star if he’s treated as such.
· Miz TV featuring Sheamus and Cesaro as The Miz’s special guests was nothing more than a Mutual Admiration Society Schmooze Fest as they bragged about how they were going to defeat The Shield later tonight. The segment was fine, but it didn’t set the world on fire in terms of excitement.
· Jason Jordan defeated Bray Wyatt with a roll-up, but Jordan didn’t get a chance to celebrate the win as Wyatt attacked him from behind. Wyatt clotheslined Jordan before slamming his left leg against the ring post as the fans showered him with cheers. The savagery from my hometown was pretty sick as they chanted “Thank You Wyatt” for injuring Jordan. Jordan needs to turn heel. Stat!
· Paul Heyman offered five selling points as to why fans should watch Survivor Series to see Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles.
1) It’s happening for the first time ever.
2) Heyman selfishly wants to see the match.
3) Styles is stylistically better than every other wrestler in the world today.
4) It’s a Rocky movie come to life with Styles playing the role of the ultimate underdog who will be eaten alive by Brock Lesnar.
5) This is not a movie because Styles will be beaten, conquered, and victimized by The Beast as Heyman congratulates The Phenomenal One for having the match of his life only to fall short in the end.
· However, the five-point preview took a hilarious turn when a surprise proposal took place in the crowd during Heyman’s promo which led to a raucous “She Said Yes!” chant. Ever the improviser, Heyman clapped back by saying that the only reason she said yes was that she wasn’t standing in the presence of Lesnar. It was an awesome zinger that popped the crowd something fierce. Heyman continued to call out the fan for interrupting his promo which pushed things over the top.
· All in all, this was a great way to promote Styles vs. Lesnar at Survivor Series. It’s a special match that should be hyped to the fullest. Here’s hoping both men show up and show out because I don’t want to see Lesnar take Styles to Suplex City before hitting him with the F5 in five minutes or less.
· The Shield defeated The Miz, Cesaro, and Sheamus when Roman Reigns nailed Miz with a Spear followed by the Triple Powerbomb thanks to an assist from Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. This was a fast-paced match that featured hard-hitting action throughout. The finishing sequence between Cesaro and Reigns was especially strong as they traded counters before Miz made the blind tag.
· Miz tried to steal the win with a roll-up, but Reigns kicked out at two. Miz followed up with the Skull Crushing Finale, but Rollins nailed him with a flying knee to break the hold. Ambrose dropped Sheamus with Dirty Deeds which led to the finish moments later.
· It should be noted that Reigns received a mixed reaction when he was on offense. He wasn’t booed out of the building, but it was still noticeable. Even when he’s back with his Shield brothers, he still takes one for the team on the jeers front. Oh well...
· In a shocking turn of events, Jason Jordan has been replaced as the fifth on Team Raw. His replacement: None other than Triple H! The Game! The Cerebral Assassin! The King of Kings! The Godfather of NXT!
· Jason Jordan was whining like a little baby as he begged Kurt Angle not to put him off the team. Stephanie McMahon forced his hand as HHH came out to make the announcement that Angle was afraid to deliver. To make matters even worse, he pedigreed Jordan as the fans cheered him on. It was a crazy segment as Jordan’s babyface run disintegrates before our very eyes.
· Team Raw is absolutely stacked with Triple H joining Kurt Angle, Finn Bàlor, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman. Talk about an all-star team. Throw in the in-law element of Triple H facing off against Shane McMahon and we have ourselves one the craziest matches of the decade in terms of star power and storytelling. Survivor Series is going to be insane if WWE doesn’t screw the pooch in epic fashion.
· Samoa Joe and Finn Bàlor defeated Karl Anderson and Gallows when Bàlor pinned Anderson with the Coup De Grace in a solid match. Bàlor and Joe put their differences aside and worked as a cohesive unit. Joe didn’t stick around to celebrate the win, but at least they’re getting along. For now…
· Kane vs. Braun Strowman never got underway because both men began to brawl before the referee called for the bell. My hometown crowd decided to take a nap during the main event as they were absolutely dead for this segment which is weird because they were excited about the match earlier in the show.
· The physical confrontation was fine, but Strowman and Kane lack chemistry for some reason. This isn’t an encouraging sign as they are bound to wrestle each other in an official capacity sooner or later. Here’s hoping both men work out the kinks on the house show circuit because their brawl left a lot to be desired until the end.
· Strowman dropped Kane with a Running Powerslam which sent them crashing through the ring. You read that right. The referee freaked out as Raw went off the air with Strowman taking Kane to Parts Unknown in the literal sense.
· This was a bizarre way to end the show. It did nothing to promote Survivor Series on Sunday and it killed an otherwise hot crowd that was alert for the first three hours. The last ten minutes put them to sleep which is a shame because the ATL was making me proud until WWE doused them with Nyquil. Sigh…
· Overall, I thought tonight’s episode of Raw was solid for the most part. This was a surprisingly easy to show to watch until the last ten minutes. The 10:30 Lull Period of Death usually washes over fans until the main event. On this night, the opposite happened as the 11th Hour From Hell made its long-awaited debut. An otherwise hot broadcast ended on a sour note, but my enthusiasm for Survivor Series is pretty high.
· Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles is worth the price of admission alone, but the Men’s Traditional Interbrand 5-on-5 Survivor Series Elimination Match is stacked with star power from top to bottom. Team Raw (Kurt Angle, Triple H, Finn Bàlor, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman) vs. Team SmackDown (Shane McMahon, John Cena, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, and Shinsuke Nakamura) is going to be a monster matchup.
· The matter of age should be taken under consideration because everyone in the match is over the age of thirty while half of the field is 40+ (Angle, HHH, McMahon, Cena, and Roode).
· This is not a youth movement by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a star-studded match that will bring the down the house come Sunday. WWE deserves credit for making Brand Wars 2017 feel special. It’s still faker than a set of breast implants, but the company made Survivor Series a must-see show. Can the E build on this momentum heading towards the end of the year? We shall see, but’s been a fun ride with a lot of twists and turns along the way despite my initial disdain for SmackDown Live taking Raw under siege a few weeks ago.
On that note, this wraps up another edition of The Raw Exposé. I hope you enjoyed it and I will be back tomorrow night with a brand new installment of The SmackDown Files. See you later, boys and girls!
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