A beefy card and the beginning of RAW putting their Survivor Series Teams together made for an intriguing episode of RAW that if anything could serve to be a great foundation for the RAW brand getting back on track.
Regardless, it lacked the sizzle that Smackdown has had with so many fun angles and plenty of depth. While it’s cool that Braun Strowman and Nia Jax’s months of squash matches now make sense that their on their respective Survivor Series teams, this booking unit hasn’t done enough to make RAW must-see.
At this point, if you had to watch one WWE wrestling show a week, RAW, would be the third-string quarterback behind Smackdown and NXT.
Matches:
Trick or Street Fight: Enzo Amore w/Colin Cassady vs. Luke Gallows w/Karl Anderson: This was a silly little match that saw Enzo and Cass use Pumpkin Pies and Kendo Sticks before Cassady put Anderson through a table, which allowed Amore to get the win with the DDT from the top rope (while Gallows had a Pumpkin on his head.)
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Brian Kendrick vs. TJ Perkins: A good back and forth until Perkins set Kendrick out of the ring with a Hurricanrana. With the ref counting, Kendrick made sure he didn’t get back in the ring and kept his title even in defeat via count-out. After the matchup, Perkins latched on the Knee Bar on the outside while Kendrick clutched his title.
Battle Royal for Spot on RAW Survivor Series Team: Sami Zayn vs. Jinder Mahal. vs. Curtis Axel vs. Darren Young. vs. Goldust. vs. Cesaro vs. Sheamus vs. Neville vs. Braun Strowman vs. Titus O’Neil: Zayn held his own throughout, but in the end, after several eliminations, Braun Strowman, who also absorbed a ton of punishment, got the win after he eliminated Zayn.
Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado and Rich Swann vs. Drew Gulag, Anthony Nese and Ariya Daivari: Lots of spots in a fun cruiserweight encounter where Swann got the win with the Rich Kick and the Jackknife cover.
Nia Jax vs. Bayley: Jax was dominant and got the win with the Samoan Drop.
Cesaro and Sheamus vs. The Shining Stars: Primo and Epico: A glorified squash match that saw Cesaro nail Epico with an Uppercut, while Sheamus got the submission win with the Cloverleaf.
United States Champion Roman Reigns vs. Chris Jericho w/WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens:Â Owens took advantage of every opportunity he had to help Jericho and if anything, it kept Y2J in the match longer and forced Reigns to slow down his assault. Although Reigns hit the Samoan Drop, a Sit-Out Powerbomb and a few other power moves, Jericho was able to latch on the Walls of Jericho a few times to slow Reigns down. However after a Superman Punch on the apron, Reigns hit the Spear before Owens interfered to get the match thrown out. After the match, Owens and Jericho hit the Assisted Code Breaker, but Seth Rollins soon joined the party and beat on both Jericho and Owens to end the show.
After the dust settled, Rollins and Reigns were left staring at one another. Can these two put the band back together?
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