4 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE Monday Night Raw (17 November - Results & Review)
Disappointing builds to WarGames matches mar feel-good moments with Cena and Women's IC Title.
WWE likes to tell people that they tell stories and are in the entertainment business, but if you were looking for a compelling, deep story surrounding the men’s and women’s WarGames matches on Raw Monday night, you were probably left searching long after the show went off the air.
Instead of personal blood feuds that can only be settled inside a double steel cage, the two WarGames matches are four loose alliances of wrestlers coming together because the calendar deems it time for teams of five to battle inside the structure.
WWE’s storytelling machine could compensate for that by doing a good job of weaving things together, but instead, they opted Monday night for a paint-by-numbers approach for the women, and shortcuts to pop the crowd for the men’s match. Worse, they broke the glass and brought Brock Lesnar back as one of those pops.
None of it felt inspired, interesting, or even remotely compelling. All of it feels like an obligation.
However, Raw did produce a couple of nice moments, with John Cena and friends having a fun house show match on television, Becky Lynch guiding Maxxine Dupri to a career achievement, and Je’Von Evans making an impact in the World’s Most Famous Arena.
But the big story is the creative – or lack thereof – coming from the top right now in WWE.
Let’s get to it…