Opener
Vince McMahon arrived immediately and explained what was up with RAW, he was Heel Vince tonight and that made me smile. He brought Steph McMahon down to the ring and then HHH came down to the ring too, then Shane O’Mac came out! What a sight to behold, HHH, Steph, Shane and Vince sharing a ring together. Steph said that RAW hasn’t been doing well and that it is their fault because they haven’t listened to their audience. She says they’ve been performing badly and then Trips chimes in by saying that the ‘absent management’ has delivered poorly. So now they’re all running RAW and SmackDown Live together, giving us what we want and hearing HHH say that we, the audience, are now The Authority? That sounded incredible! NEW faces, new superstars, new match ups and a fresh beginning is what has been promised too!
Baron Corbin then came out to monumental boos. Like.. So, so loud. He may well be the most over Heel in WWE right now. Everytime he spoke the place would boo so loud he’d have to stop. The biggest and loudest crowd for a long time! Corbin wanted the TLC decision overruled and to be considered for permanent GM. Obviously they all say no, but HHH and Vince then say that maybe he could be permanent GM again, but only if he could beat this man..
Kurt Angle vs Baron Corbin
Angle got a huge pop and Corbin looked seriously worried.. but then Steph announced a special referee and out came Heath Slater. Amazing start to RAW so far I thought!
As the match went on, Corbin was starting to get the upper hand, until ol’ Trips came out and made it a Handicap match. So out came Angle’s partners.
Apollo Crews, Roode and Gable and Kurt Angle vs Baron Corbin
Corbin tried to run away, can’t say I blame him to be fair.. Because it was then made into a no DQ match too! Chairs came out, Corbin got his ass well and truly whipped again. No more Corbin in charge. This was exciting as Hell! No idea what was coming from RAW. Then tables came into the mix after the crowd requested it, he ate an Angle Slam through the table and that was the opener done. Incredible difference from last week!.
Congratulatory Segment
John Cena won the Sports Illustrated Muhammed Ali award for outstanding leadership, dedication and philanthropy. Congratulations to John Cena.
Finn Balor vs Dolph Ziggler
This was a fantastic match, so many back and forth moments, but all of that was thwarted when Drew McIntyre came down to the ring and caused a DQ. Hit everyone with a Claymore and walked away.
Ambrose Promo
Ambrose came out with his masked men who all stood around the ring, taking a side each, Ambrose cuts an amazing Heel promo. He invited Rollins down to the ring for an open challenge to punch him in the face, then issued an open challenge to anyone who isn’t Seth Rollins.
Tyler Breeze answered the challenge and what a showing he gave! This actually gave Breeze that champion level feel for a bit, which is what he deserves, but it was all said and done after many near falls from Breeze when Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds from outta nowhere. He then got on the Mic and started running down Rollins some more, Rollins’ music hit and the masked men went to the ramp as instructed by Ambrose, all but one of them. That one would get in the ring and show Ambrose the sole of his boot Superkick style! He then unmasked to reveal he was actually Seth Rollins. He beat up Ambrose and took out his masked goons, then they all retreated and Rollins looked like a million bucks!
Backstage
Drake Maverick and his Authors of Pain go to Shane McMahon and tried getting a title rematch, but instead they got an opportunity for a Fatal 4 Way tag match to determine the next no.1 contenders. B Team, The Revival, Lucha House Party or AOP. This could be an indication that automatic rematches are no longer a thing, which would be an interesting development and probably will make the championships feel more special.
Promo
Next we get an awesome look at some of the NXT call ups occurring soon! We have Lars Sullivan, Nikki Cross, Heavy Machinery, Lacey Evans and the Top 1%, EC3. That, boys and girls, is bloody exciting.
Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush segment
They parody Elias’ introduction and his concerts. They steal his catchphrases too. However Bobby’s show is just him flexing and showing us his arse again. But.. then JoJo says “ladies and gentlemen, Elias”.. Elias then appears behind them and just smashes Lashley with a guitar and takes the ring for himself. Yes! Loved the ending to this!
Return promo
Sami Zayn is on his way back! Finally!
Fatal 4 Way Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender match, Lucha House Party vs The Revival vs AoP vs B Team
Pretty cool match with some decent spots. The victory came to The Revival though which makes for a very intriguing match up next week! Gable and Roode vs The Revival for the WWE RAW Tag Team Championships?? I smell a match of the year candidate!
Return promo
This time for Kevin Owens! That made me happy. He is well and truly missed in my household.
Rollins interview
Rollins was interrupted by Baron Corbin, who blamed him for losing his GM role, but Rollins just smacked him in the ear and walked off.
Ronda Rousey promo
Rousey came out to explain her actions, then said she isn’t going to. Which seemed a bit Heelish. Also she decided to issue an open challenge to anyone in the back. Everyone is shouting backstage that they want the match. So Steph makes a no.1 contenders Gauntlet match beginning with Foxy and Bayley.
Foxy got rolled up after 5 minutes or so, then Dana Brooke was next, she was eventually eliminated by Bayley via a Bayley to Belly. Mickie James was next. Bayley brought it, she came close but James got her with a kick for 3. Ember Moon vs Mickie James was next, this went back and forth for a while but ended in an Eclipse and a pinfall, next out was Natalya, Natalya got the win over Ember and Ruby Riott was the next out. The two battled it out like true warriors until Nattie got the win bringing out Sasha Banks as the final entry, Sasha and Nattie went at it and both had near finishes before the final moments when Nattie locked in a Sharpshooter and forced The Boss to submit. Natalya vs Ronda for the title “next week”.
I liked the match. I liked the impromptu booking of a Gauntlet match. This was so much better as a showcase of the Women’s division than random 6 Women Tag Matches.
Conclusion
8.5/10🌟
I feel that this episode was the beginning of something very special. Vince admitting he was wrong and has been wrong for a long time gives me real hope about the future of the company. I’m going to wait until January before I really make up my mind on this, but as far as a reset goes, this was pretty damn good.
Match of the Night: Finn vs Dolph. I love that these guys are in a Triple Threat, hopefully this allows for Dolph and Drew to go down their turbulent road and Finn goes his own way toward The Royal Rumble.
Annoyance of the Night: I didn’t have anything that annoyed me. I’d say this was a solid Raw to be honest.
Thank you all so much for stopping by again if you’re a regular reader and if you’re not then thank you for taking the time out to have a little gander, I appreciate every single one of you, please feel free to comment, like and share and make sure to Too Sweet that follow button on the Twitter machine @KayfabeToday. Peace and love to one and all! ✌🏻💚
- CB
