WWE RAW PRIMER 11/11: (SPOILER-FREE) Oh Captain my Captain, The Man to Kick off Raw, WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match, Lana’s Got a Secret

By Frank Peteani, PWTorch contributor

Becky Lynch set to miss to Monday Night Raw

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND AT THE MANCHESTER ARENA
NOVEMBER 11, 2019
AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Vic Joseph, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Dio Maddin

Arena, Top 10 Moments from Last Week, and Items Advertised by WWE

WWE remains put in the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England for tonight’s Raw. The episode was previously taped, so you may or may not have seen spoilers out there. This report is spoiler-free.

Here are the top 10 moments of last week’s show, which once again featured the NXT talent as we get ready for Survivor Series:

Here is what’s advertised for tonight’s show:

  • Seth Rollins named first member of Team Raw ahead of Survivor Series
  • Becky Lynch to open Raw and address upcoming Triple Threat Match at Survivor Series
  • The Kabuki Warriors will defend the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
  • Lana is set to unveil a shocking confession on Raw

Matches & Segments:

Team Raw to Be Revealed

WWE.com has acknowledged that Seth Rollins will captain team Raw at Survivor Series. Last week on Raw, Rollins admitted he didn’t know what was next. Long-time rival and former Authority leader Triple H came out and reminded Rollins every time they worked together; good things happened for him. NXT’s Undisputed Era walked to the ring through the crowd. Next out was the O.C., while the Undisputed Era retreated until NXT’s Dominic Dijakovic and Damian Priest started beating down the O.C. Others from Raw ran out to help, and I suppose because they were in Long Island Zack Ryder was the focus of the faces to save O.C. Rollins couldn’t be bothered with anyone. Later on, he challenged Adam Cole of Undisputed Era for the NXT Championship but didn’t win the title when the rest of his crew got involved.

Tonight, they’ll reveal the rest of team Raw. Survivor Series this year is Raw vs. Smackdown vs. NXT, so it’s hard to say how they will set up the matches.

Frank’s Analysis: I hope against hope they’re not going to do a triple threat Survivor Series match. Nevertheless, I didn’t expect it, but Rollins needed to go away for a while after the feud with The Fiend. They did acknowledge in his promo that fans haven’t been too please with him lately, but it’s not enough. What can you do. Anyway, I wonder if Rollins will be turning heel at some point in the near future. It may be an uphill climb to rehab him as a babyface.

Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch to Address Triple Threat Match at Survivor Series

At Survivor Series, all three women’s champions will face off in a triple threat match. Raw champ Becky Lynch goes up against NXT’s Shayna Baszler and Smackdown’s Bayley.

Last week on Raw, Becky was to have a sit-down interview with Charly Caruso until Baszler walked in. Baszler told Becky she knows who she is and acknowledged her friendship with Ronda Rousey but she’s not her. Becky of course defeated Ronda and Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania to walk away with both the Raw and Smackdown titles (remember Becky Two Belts?). Nonetheless, Baszler said she would pin or tap her out. Becky said she didn’t know whether to respect her or slap the head off of her. She said a few more scripted lines before they stood up face to face.

Becky is running a hashtag #BeckyBigMatch. Here’s a tweet which shows the face-to-face, and one from Baszler:

 

According to WWE.com, Becky opens the show tonight addressing the triple threat.

Frank’s Analysis: It was a great face-to-face. It was a little wordy and scripted, but I’m so used to that at this point with WWE. I really wish it was one-on-one, but that still may come down the line. Bayley is a good buffer, especially with her new character. Both women felt like threats and big-time champions. The only problem I have is that Baszler has got her WarGames match at Takeover the night before. It’s hard to keep up with everything.

Women’s Tag Team Championship: Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) to Defend Against Unknown Opponents

Last week on Raw, Charlotte Flair & Natalya defeated the Kabuki Warriors in a non-title match. They won it when Natalya tapped Asuka to her Sharpshooter.

Tonight, the Kabuki Warriors put their titles on the line against unknown opponents. They’ve recently had an unexplained change in their ways and even bid farewell to their manager Paige when Asuka sprayed green mist in her eyes.

Frank’s Analysis: I’m not sure why Charlotte and Natalya wouldn’t just be named the opponents ahead of time. Keeping this a mystery and then revealing them as the opponents tonight has zero shock value. Also, WWE has done this time and time where champions lose non-title matches and the winners get a title shot. The formula is old and tired, and I wish they’d come up with challengers another way. Finally, why is Charlotte making nice with Natalya all of a sudden? Why have the Kabuki Warriors changed their ways?

Lana Reveals Shocking Confession

Last week on Raw, Rusev said that Bobby Lashley (Bob Lashley) could have his soon to be ex-wife Lana. He then challenged him to a match. Lashley and Lana came out, but Lashley was “injured.” He said he hurt his groin doing things with Lana Rusev could only dream about. They then revealed an opponent, which turned out to be Drew McIntyre (isn’t it great he was standing by and his music was ready to be played). Rusev and McIntyre went about ten minutes before Lashley got involved, revealing he wasn’t really injured. Rusev won via DQ. Later on, Randy Orton showed up and hit an RKO Out of Nowhere. Ricochet came down to help Rusev get rid of Orton. This all plays off of team Hogan vs. team Flair from Crown Jewel.

Apparently, Lana has a secret to reveal. Two weeks ago, she revealed Rusev cheated on her. Who knows what will come to light tonight.

Frank’s Analysis: I have no analysis on the Rusev-Lana-Lashley love triangle. Drew McIntyre continues to be used in a strange way, which is more my concern out of this whole thing. He shouldn’t be someone’s “heavy” or henchman. He’s too good. I’m cautiously optimistic he’s going to turn babyface and be the top wrestler on Raw, considering where we are with Seth Rollins.

Other Match Results and Notable Segments from Last Week

  • WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman arrived on Raw, where Heyman officially announced Brock was joining the show. Brock went looking for Rey Mysterio and attacked several people along the way, including announcer Dio Maddin. Rey then came out to attack Brock with a baseball bat and the WWE Championship belt. Brock was seen limping towards backstage. Later, Rey challenged Brock for the WWE Championship. That match is on for Survivor Series.
  • Buddy Murphy defeated Cedric Alexander. The match was not announced ahead of time and neither wrestlers’ ring introductions were televised.
  • Andrade & Zelina Vega defeated Sin Cara & Catalina.
  • The O.C. defeated Humberto Carrillo & the Street Profits.
  • Raw Tag Team Champions the Viking Raiders won another squash match. With New Day winning the Smackdown titles, the triple threat at Survivor Series is now the Raiders vs. New Day vs. NXT Champions Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly).

Summary & Closing Thoughts

Things should start to become clearer for Survivor Series as we are less than two weeks away from the show. You saw the O.C. arrive on NXT last Wednesday and the Imperium from NXT UK on Smackdown for whatever that’s worth. I still wish we didn’t have the battle for brand supremacy as the waters are muddied, but this is the direction, nonetheless.


Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Questions and discussion are welcome! Thank you for reading.

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