{"id":70435,"date":"2018-11-25T23:48:14","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T05:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=70435"},"modified":"2018-11-26T13:23:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-26T19:23:00","slug":"wwe-raw-primer-11-26-rollins-ambrose-strowman-injured-nia-ronda-raw-tag-team-championship-match-elias-vs-lashley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/11\/25\/wwe-raw-primer-11-26-rollins-ambrose-strowman-injured-nia-ronda-raw-tag-team-championship-match-elias-vs-lashley\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE RAW PRIMER\u00a011\/26: Rollins-Ambrose, Strowman injured, Nia-Ronda, Raw Tag Team Championship match, Elias vs. Lashley"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-767289650\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3>WWE\u00a0MONDAY NIGHT\u00a0RAW PRIMER<br \/>\nNOVEMBER 26, 2018<br \/>\nMILWAUKEE, WI. AT THE FISERV FORUM<br \/>\nAIRS ON USA NETWORK,\u00a08:00PM EST<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST<\/h3>\n<p><em>Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Arena &amp; Items Advertised by WWE<\/h3>\n<p>WWE pulls into the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for Raw tonight as we continue to put Survivor Series behind us and turn our attention towards TLC, which comes to us in just under three weeks\u00a0on Sunday December 16, 2018. This is the first time the Fiserv Forum will host Raw as the arena only opened its doors two months ago to the day. It is the new home of the NBA\u2019s Milwaukee Bucks.<\/p>\n<p>This week I will tie the recap of last week\u2019s Raw and the build for TLC into the items of emphasis advertised for tonight. Those items according to\u00a0WWE.com\u00a0are as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Seth Rollins to issue an Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge on Raw<\/li>\n<li>Braun Strowman out of action; Balor vs. Corbin<\/li>\n<li>Ambrose on the offensive<\/li>\n<li>The \u201cFacebreaker\u201d awaits the Baddest Women on the Planet<\/li>\n<li>AOP vs. Roode &amp; Gable for the Raw Tag Team Championship<\/li>\n<li>Elias vs. Bobby Lashley<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Ambrose On the Offensive<\/h3>\n<p>Seth Rollins is set to defend his Intercontinental Championship against his former Shield \u201cbrother\u201d Dean Ambrose at TLC. Thus far, it is a straight-up one-on-one match.<\/p>\n<p>These two have been circling each other for weeks ever since Dean betrayed Seth following their winning of the Raw Tag Team Championship the night Roman Reigns announced he had leukemia and relinquished the Universal Championship. Last week, Dean made reference to the Shield getting what they deserved based on their actions. He never specified those actions, but went so far as to allude to Roman deserving leukemia. He also trolled the Los Angeles crowd blaming them for a \u201cbad smell,\u201d and even painted the words \u201cburn it down\u201d in a backstage area he claimed was where the Shield always hung out.<\/p>\n<p>At the close of the show Dean continued his tirade of the crowd and Seth when Seth would make his way out to confront him. He ended up being treated to two of Dean\u2019s Dirty Deeds finishers. Tonight, we will follow up on this and continue the build for their TLC match.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I like none of what was done for this feud. I don\u2019t care if Roman Reigns approves. Pointing out his cancer in furtherance of a wrestling angle is in poor taste. Trolling the crowd and putting a towel on your face complaining of a bad smell and especially painting burn it down when a part of California is struggling in the aftermath of wildfires is absurd. It\u2019s cheap heat, lazy writing, and does nothing to further the story. Historically, when you do the friend-turning angle, it has always worked better when the issues are about the parties involved. Go look at Paul Orndorff or Randy Savage turning on Hulk Hogan in the 1980s. Those feuds worked incredibly well because Orndorff and Savage both emphasized their issues with Hogan individually and thus you felt the conflict between the wrestlers when they ultimately got into the ring. Seth\u2019s initial promo after the turn was done well, but the feud has come up short since. Dean has spoken in riddles and not clearly told us why he betrayed Rollins. He gave us a few reasons, but not the clear reason. Let\u2019s hope we get that soon.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Check out this week&#8217;s episode of PWTorch&#8217;s Wrestling Night in America with Greg Parks&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In this episode of Wrestling Night in America, PWTorch columnist Greg Parks is joined by PWTorch.com contributor Jeff Vandrew Jr. to talk about the WWE landscape after Survivor Series. They also talk about the recently registered trademarks by the Elite group, and the upcoming ROH Final Battle PPV. They answer caller questions on Daniel Bryan&#8217;s top three babyface opponents, why WWE won&#8217;t let us miss Roman Reigns, and more.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3274268330\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 100px;\" src=\"https:\/\/tunein.com\/embed\/player\/t127413989\/\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">-On Tune In Radio <a href=\"http:\/\/tun.in\/tiQVip\">HERE<\/a><br \/>\n-On Apple Podcasts <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/pro-wrestling-torch-livecast\/id354947346?mt=2\">HERE<\/a><br \/>\n-Or<strong> search &#8220;PWTorch&#8221; or &#8220;Pro Wrestling Torch&#8221;<\/strong> on your podcast app of choice<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Braun Strowman Out of Action<\/h3>\n<p>Last week it was announced by Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon that Braun Strowman would have a TLC match at the upcoming so-named PPV against interim G.M. Baron Corbin. Braun was also told he would have a Universal Championship opportunity against champion Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble in January. Getting the matches with Corbin and Lesnar was part of a deal he made with Stephanie prior to Survivor Series.<\/p>\n<p>Corbin was looking for his G.M. position to become permanent as a result of Raw sweeping Smackdown on the MAIN show of Survivor Series. At the TLC match, Stephanie decided Braun\u2019s title match with Lesnar would be on the line as well as Corbin\u2019s G.M. position.<\/p>\n<p>Following this announcement, Braun would be \u201cinjured\u201d in an impromptu Survivor Series-style match featuring himself, Finn Balor, and Elias vs. Corbin, Drew McIntyre, and Bobby Lashley. Corbin hit Braun\u2019s elbow with one of the stairs as he was being restrained by McIntyre and Lashley. It turns out this was to write him off TV as he is having surgery as a result of bone spurs in his elbow according to multiple wrestling media outlets. WWE also announced it on their website and Twitter, and called it a \u201cshattered elbow\u201d:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">INJURY UPDATE: @BraunStrowman will be undergoing surgery on his shattered elbow as a result of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BaronCorbinWWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@BaronCorbinWWE<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/fightbobby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@fightbobby<\/a> &amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DMcIntyreWWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DMcIntyreWWE<\/a>&#39;s ruthless assault on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RAW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#RAW<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QbiWUA315P\">https:\/\/t.co\/QbiWUA315P<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1065093782788599809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The tweet will allow you to go to\u00a0WWE.com\u00a0and review the video of the injury angle if you wish. Word is that he will not miss significant time and should be ready for TLC; however, this not confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>Frank\u2019s Analysis: I get the sense Braun will be ready for TLC. He was expected to miss significant time last year due to injury, but returned in half the anticipated time. It doesn\u2019t mean that will happen again, but WWE will certainly want to get one of their top stars back ASAP. The injury bug has ravaged the company as of late as Dolph Ziggler is also dealing with a foot injury. He was at Starrcade\u00a0Saturday night\u00a0not in a wrestling capacity but in McIntyre\u2019s corner.<\/p>\n<p>If Braun can\u2019t go it\u2019s been speculated that Bray Wyatt could take his place. He returned to WWE action at Starrcade and worked against Corbin.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cFacebreaker\u201d Awaits the Baddest Woman on the Planet<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2591645824\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Ronda Rousey is set to defend her Raw Women\u2019s Championship at TLC against Nia Jax, who has dubbed herself the \u201cfacebreaker\u201d following her hard way punch to Smackdown Women\u2019s Champion Becky Lynch a few weeks ago. As we recall, this forced WWE to remove Becky from her Survivor Series Champion vs. Champion match with Ronda and replace her with Charlotte Flair<\/p>\n<p>Last week Ronda came out to discuss her being a fighting champion following her Survivor Series match with Charlotte, a match which saw her get brutalized during and after the contest:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RondaRousey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RondaRousey<\/a> let everyone know what a TRUE champion is&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RAW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#RAW<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uua9spHzUe\">pic.twitter.com\/uua9spHzUe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1065183287784525824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>She would go on to defeat Mickie James after she forced Baron Corbin to give her some competition. Following the match Nia and Tamina would come out and make their presence known to Ronda:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There&#39;s just something about <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RondaRousey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RondaRousey<\/a>&#39;s face&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>@NiaJaxWWE wants to punch it. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RAW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#RAW<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0nfHVwA7YU\">pic.twitter.com\/0nfHVwA7YU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/1064718700060635136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 20, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Earlier in the evening Nia and Tamina defeated Sasha Banks and Bayley.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: After Ronda got booed out of the building at Survivor Series, WWE is lucky there is nuclear heat on Nia Jax. She\u2019ll likely get a favorable reaction in this feud, but I can\u2019t help but think Ronda has run out of equity with the fans. To be fair, I believe they\u2019ve turned on her mostly because of Becky\u2019s emergence as a huge star. There continues to be a Twitter war between both women. Here\u2019s a few tweets just to give you a sample of what has been going on:<\/em><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/beckylynchwwe\/status\/1065275806308548608?s=21<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/beckylynchwwe\/status\/1066104630650785792?s=21<\/p>\n<h3>Raw Tag Team Championship: AOP (Champions) vs. Bobby Roode &amp; Chad Gable<\/h3>\n<p>Last week in a backstage skit where several wrestlers were getting food at catering including Bobby Roode &amp; Chad Gable, they made fun of Raw Tag Team Champion AOP\u2019s manager Drake Maverick\u2019s \u201curinating in his pants\u201d incident at Survivor Series. Following the segment, Roode &amp; Gable defeated AOP in a non-title match.<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, Roode &amp; Gable get an opportunity at the championship as they challenge AOP.<\/p>\n<p>Frank\u2019s Analysis: When did the Authors of Pain become AOP? It reminds me of when the Acolytes Protection Agency became \u201cAPA.\u201d Let\u2019s hope AOP has success similar to that of APA. As far as the match tonight there can\u2019t be many expectations. It\u2019s embarrassing that Drake has to have the moniker of peeing himself. As it was so eloquently put, this skit was written for an audience of one meaning Vince McMahon. It doesn\u2019t benefit Drake or AOP, who should be portrayed as a superior heel team. Their championship run is not off to a good start. Based on how Vince has booked tag teams in recent years, we can\u2019t be all that confident. Last week we saw the Revival, who appeared to be getting a push back in the summer, lose in three minutes to the Lucha House Party.<\/p>\n<h3>Elias vs. Bobby Lashley<\/h3>\n<p>Recently, Lashley defeated Elias to earn a spot on the Raw Survivor Series team by defeating him a few weeks ago. Last week in the elimination match I mentioned earlier, Lashley eliminated Elias via count out. Elias goes one on one with Bobby Lashley tonight.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis: This is a tough feud to handle because both have recently turned but also aren\u2019t the best of wrestlers. I\u2019m not sure a TV feud does them any good as it would if they were feuding on house shows. Neither one of them brings out the better in each other. We tend to get more focused on Elias playing guitar and praying Lashley&#8217;s manager Lio Rush doesn\u2019t serenade us on the microphone. Thankfully we have been spared that in recent weeks.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Other Items:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Stephanie McMahon\u2019s Dismemberment Comment\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is not an item of emphasis tonight, but I wanted to comment on Stephanie McMahon\u2019s \u201cdismemberment\u201d comment during her promo with Braun Strowman last week.<\/p>\n<p>When Braun was discussing his desire for a match with Baron Corbin and eventually Brock Lesnar, he told Stephanie he wanted it known he didn\u2019t want to be responsible for his actions. Stephanie eventually went on in the conversation to say &#8220;dismemberment is a bit of a corporate liability, but we\u2019ll get there, we\u2019ll get there, I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When I heard this, I nearly fell off my chair, but not from the standpoint that was brought up on several podcasts here at PWTorch. I just couldn\u2019t believe she would allude to dismemberment being a possibility in a wrestling setting. I get the sense she may have thought she was being funny and sarcastic, but that\u2019s taking it way too far regardless of what is going on in the world. WWE recently took a beating for going to Saudi Arabia in light of the murder and alleged dismemberment of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.<\/p>\n<p>All I\u2019m going to say in WWE is walking on thin ice with a lot of things they say and do. They\u2019re just lucky a certain company from the 1990s based in Atlanta named WCW isn\u2019t in business to push them around. Going to the extreme in promos doesn\u2019t work and it only gets people talking in a negative way about the company.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Natalya-Ruby Riott\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Natalya defeated Ruby Riott last week in a fairly competitive ten-minute match. Nothing is on the books for them as of yet tonight, but I\u2019m certain there may be a continuing of this feud in some variation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alexa Bliss\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been rumored that Alexa Bliss may be forced to retire due to a concussion she suffered prior to Evolution. She has since denied those rumors and vows to return to the ring.<\/p>\n<p>Given how conservative WWE has been with concussions in recent times, it\u2019s not out of the realm of possibility she moves into the G.M. role should they decide to have Baron Corbin lose at TLC. It\u2019s a position in which she would excel and buy some time while she recovers. Even if they want Baron to stay G.M., Alexa can be an assistant. There\u2019s no need to rush her back at this point.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Start Time &amp; Matches Advertised\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The arena\u2019s website is advertising a start time of\u00a06:30 p.m.\u00a0local but doesn\u2019t specify when doors are opening.<\/p>\n<p>They show two matches:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose<br \/>\n\u2022 Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre (w\/Dolph Ziggler)<\/p>\n<p>They do also show Raw Women\u2019s Champ Ronda Rousey, Bobby Lashley, Baron Corbin, Elias and \u201cmany more.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani or e-mail me at\u00a0fpeteani@gmail.com. Questions and discussion are welcome Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-140700904\"><div id=\"pwtor-4186586884\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE\u00a0MONDAY NIGHT\u00a0RAW PRIMER NOVEMBER 26, 2018 MILWAUKEE, WI. AT THE FISERV FORUM AIRS ON USA NETWORK,\u00a08:00PM EST BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young Arena &amp; Items Advertised by <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/11\/25\/wwe-raw-primer-11-26-rollins-ambrose-strowman-injured-nia-ronda-raw-tag-team-championship-match-elias-vs-lashley\/\" title=\"WWE RAW PRIMER\u00a011\/26: Rollins-Ambrose, Strowman injured, Nia-Ronda, Raw Tag Team Championship match, Elias vs. Lashley\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,52,4354,27,5893,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-opnionandanalysis","category-raw-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers","category-news_wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/08\/GableChadWK3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70435"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70453,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70435\/revisions\/70453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}