4 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE Raw (Nov 16)

Drew McIntyre defeats Randy Orton, RETRIBUTION loses while winning, Lana meets table.

Drew McIntyre
WWE

So here’s a sad-but-true observation and prediction about Survivor Series: From a storyline standpoint, this PPV is devoid of any value. But from a wrestling quality standpoint, this could be a pretty damn enjoyable event.

That has been the story with WWE’s fall classic in recent years, as the company has insisted on brand warfare dominating the event, which is forced conflict based on brand loyalty… among wrestlers who just have been drafted between shows. There are no stakes, other than bragging rights. Champions face champions, again, solely for bragging rights.

However, Survivor Series does yield some really good matchups that are highly entertaining, and one of those potential matches came into focus on Monday night, with the WWE Championship up for grabs – and a PPV bout against Roman Reigns. Another one got upended due to injury, and yet another was solidified in another Raw title match.

Beyond that, Raw brought us more of the same on Monday night: another poor showing for RETRIBUTION, team dysfunction, bizarre storytelling and uninteresting feuds. However, we did get a couple of really nice title matches. Your best bet would be to skip the bulk of the foolishness and catch the two title bouts. Beyond that, buckle up for Survivor Series on Sunday.

With that said, let’s get to it…

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fortunately became a fan in time for WrestleMania III and came back as a fan after a long high school hiatus before WM XIV. Monday nights in the Carlson household are reserved for viewing Raw -- for better or worse.