7 Ups & 9 Downs From WWE Raw (Nov 8)

1. Lip Service To Survivor Series

The penultimate Raw before Survivor Series has come and gone, and the build is still really disappointing.

Yes, previous years’ incessant shouts about “brand supremacy,” especially in a year where literally 70% of the four five-person teams were on a different brand a month ago, would make little sense right now. But aside from the Dominik Mysterio/Bobby Lashley situation, there wasn’t much made of the actual matches against SmackDown.

Worse, Big E and Becky Lynch both have huge matches against Roman Reigns and Charlotte Flair, and they barely mentioned them, despite having plenty of mic time. These should feel like huge main events, especially Lynch/Flair, with the palpable heat from the title exchange a few weeks ago. But rather than cash in on that, WWE is going with a graphic on social media, and that’s good enough.

All of it contributes to making Survivor Series, WWE’s second-ever PPV and one of the “Big Four,” feel like an In Your House.