4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Raw (18 Nov - Results & Review)
WWE Raw sees poor women's WarGames build, but a solid main event,
As WWE winds down 2024, the company feels like its product is relying on an old favorite trick pony, a very reliable stallion, and a bunch of smoke and mirrors to power through the last PLE of the calendar year.
The Bloodline Civil War is an easy cheat code for the writers, as fans lap up the drama and interplay between well-developed characters with years of history between them. It has made for compelling television for two-plus years now, and there’s no reason to think that it won’t continue all the way up to WrestleMania 41.
Cody Rhodes is about as bankable as it gets, and his feud with Kevin Owens will deserve its flowers when everything is all said and done. But the rest of the product? Woof.
Monday Night Raw brought those deficiencies to bear with a thrown-together, slapdash women’s WarGames match unfolding in the opening segment, burning a significant return in the process. Raw also exposed the tag division as lacking and reminded fans that the Judgment Day is past its sell-by date.
Gunther and Damian Priest are battling for the World Heavyweight Championship, but their backstage scuffle on Monday night did nothing to build either man up. Instead, it just reminded everyone that WWE still has its ridiculous tropes that won’t die.
The rest of this taped show bordered on tolerable to very good, with only a couple true peaks. Here’s hoping they close a lot stronger before Survivor Series.
Let’s get to it…