11/11 WWE Raw Results: Powell’s review of Becky Lynch’s show opening promo, Kairi Sane and Asuka defend the Raw Tag Titles, Lana’s confession, Seth Rollins on how he’ll choose his Survivor Series team

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By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

WWE Raw
Taped November 8, 2019 in Manchester, England at Manchester Arena
Aired November 11, 2019 on USA Network

[Hour One] The Raw opening video started the show… The broadcast team was Vic Joseph and Jerry Lawler, and Mike Rome was the ring announcer…

Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch made her entrance. The broadcast team checked in from ringside and noted that Natalya was unable to appear due to family obligations, thus Lynch would replace her in the tag title match. They also said Dio Maddin was recovering from Brock Lesnar’s attack. Lawler thanked Maddin and said he hopes he returns soon.

“The Man is in Manchester,” Lynch started. She recalled training in the UK as a 15 year-old girl. She said her challengers are getting hungrier and the matches are getting harder. “Bring them on,” said Lynch. She said getting retribution makes her feel alive and what makes her The Man.

Lynch said she’ll never stop running her mouth or slapping heads. She said her only fear in life is not being the greatest. Lynch said it was time to regain her legacy of being Becky Two Belts by beating The Kabuki Warriors to win the tag titles in Manchester.

Charlotte Flair made her entrance. Joseph recalled that the Kabuki Warriors hold a victory over Lynch and Flair. The Kabuki Warriors made their entrance for the tag title match. Rome delivered in-ring introductions for the title match and they went to the first commercial break… [C]

Powell’s POV: Lynch’s promo was well delivered and well received. They explained why Natalya isn’t teaming with Flair, but it really doesn’t explain why Lynch is despite the rocky history between the two. By the way, I didn’t have a report sent in on these tapings and I actually managed to avoid spoilers, so there’s no need to worry about me revealing anything before it airs.

1. “The Kabuki Warriors” Kari Sane and Asuka vs. Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair for the WWE Women’s Tag Titles. Flair tagged in a few minutes into the match and chopped Sane a couple times, then strutted toward Asuka to taunt her. Flair actually allowed Sane to tag in Asuka, who got the better of Flair initially. NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler showed up at ringside and smirked at Flair. An NXT chant broke going into a break. [C]

Flair was isolated by the heels. She had Asuka on her shoulders and went for a Samoan drop, but Asuka turned it into a crucifix rollup for a near fall. Flair eventually made the hot tag to Lynch, who worked over both opponents. Baszler climbed onto the apron. Bayley showed up and pulled Baszler off the apron. Baszler roughed up Bayley. Meanwhile, Lynch, who was being held back by the referee, was rolled up and pinned by Asuka.

Kari Sane and Asuka defeated Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in 17:50 to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Titles.

After the match, Bayley attacked Lynch and left her lying while Baszler just walked away…

Powell’s POV: Smackdown was taped in the same venue on Friday, so we could see more of their wrestlers on this show. The tag match was solid and the involvement of Bayley and Baszler was logical in terms of setting up their Triple Threat match for Survivor Series. Bayley still feels like a third wheel in the match, but we’ll see what they can do between now and the pay-per-view to change that.

Backstage, Ricochet was talking with Randy Orton while Humberto Carrillo stood by when “The OC” AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson showed up. Styles taunted Ricochet by calling him “Mr. Superhero” and told him he’d love for The OC to face he and Carrillo in a handicap match, but WWE officials wouldn’t allow it. Styles told him to start stepping. Ricochet held his ground. Styles told him to find a partner to face them. “Something tells me they’re not going to have to look that far,” Orton said…

Drew McIntyre made his entrance for a match… [C] The broadcast team hyped the six-man tag match…

2. Drew McIntyre vs. Sin Cara. McIntyre powerbombed Sin Cara, then finished him off with a Claymore Kick.

Drew McIntyre defeated Sin Cara.

Powell’s POV: There was no sign of Catalina, nor did the WWE mention her. Given that the guy who plays Sin Cara publicly announced that he asked for his release from WWE, this is probably the last time we’ll see him on WWE television for a bit. I’ll be surprised if they let him out of his deal, but I’m guessing he’s not going to get much television time. Meanwhile, this was a typical wheel spinning win for McIntyre in that he wins throwaway television matches, yet the creative team doesn’t seem to have an actual plan for him.

Erick Rowan was shown talking behind some type of screen as if he were talking to a baby…

R-Truth made his entrance and performed the What’s Up song. Joseph said Truth was looking to become a 22-time WWE 24/7 Champion and would face The Singh Brothers for the title in a handicap match after the break… [C]

Joseph set up a video on WWE Backstage. Mick Foley was advertised for Tuesday’s show on FS1…

3. Samir Singh and Sunil Singh vs. R-Truth in a handicap match for the WWE 24/7 Championship. Joseph noted that Samir entered the match as the champion. The Singhs grabbed the title and then Truth chased them to the back. The crowd booed. The cameras followed the backstage chase. The Singhs entered the women’s locker room and there was screaming. Truth said he wasn’t going in there.

The Singhs ran and out and bumped into Truth. They entered a room where the lights were out. They turned on the light and Erick Rowan was there and he kicked both of their asses. R-Truth entered the room, surveyed the scene, and said, “Ya’ll need privacy.” Truth turned out the lights and left the room…

Samir Singh and Sunil Singh vs. R-Truth in a handicap match for the WWE 24/7 Championship had no ending.

Seth Rollins was shown walking backstage and Joseph said he would talk about the NXT takeover after the break… [C] An ad for Survivor Series focused on Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio for the WWE Championship…

Powell’s POV: The 24/7 silliness has never been a favorite of mine, but I get the feeling that it’s run its course with some of the fans who enjoyed it early on.

In honor of Veteran’s Day, a graphic noted that Bobby Lashley (Army), Lacey Evans (Marines), and Montez Ford (Marines) are all U.S. Military veterans…

Seth Rollins made his entrance.

[Hour Two] A video package recapped the NXT attacks on Raw and Smackdown. Rollins received a mixed response and Joseph said it was a finicky crowd in Manchester. Rollins recalled saying that he didn’t know what was next for him after he lost the WWE Universal Championship to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt.

Rollins recalled Triple H courting him for NXT. Rollins said Hunter showed his true colors by the end of the night. He said Hunter inspired and lit a fire under him. Rollins said he started in NXT, but Raw is his home, his show, and “Monday Night Rollins.” Rollins said NXT started the fight, but he and his gang will finish it at Survivor Series. A loud “NXT” chant broke out. “They’re getting more and more finicky,” Lawler said.

Rollins recalled Triple H courting him for NXT. Rollins said Hunter showed his true colors by the end of the night. He said Hunter inspired and lit a fire under him. Rollins said he started in NXT, but Raw is his home, his show, and “Monday Night Rollins.” Rollins said NXT started the fight, but he and his gang will finish it at Survivor Series.

A loud “NXT” chant broke out. “They’re getting more and more finicky,” Lawler said. Rollins said it’s no secret that he thinks of himself as the best wrestler on the planet. Rollins said that doesn’t happen by taking nights off. Rollins issued an open challenge to the United Kingdom’s best.

The Imperium faction of Walter, Alexander Wolfe, Fabian Aichner, and Marcel Barthel walked onto the stage. A “Walter” chant started. Walter said Rollins wanted the best and “here we are.” Walter introduced himself and noted that he’s the WWE UK Champion. Walter said Imperium is restoring the honor of the sport. He said the ring is sacred to them.

Walter said just because Rollins is tops in the U.S. doesn’t mean he’s safe from an NXT takeover. Rollins said he appreciates that Walter challenged him man to man and thinks he’s the best in the UK. Rollins said “that little title around your waist” might mean that Walter is right. Rollins called for Walter to come to the ring to face him… [C]

Powell’s POV: I could have done without Rollins referring to the WWE UK Championship as “that little title.” The guy who wants to be the top babyface in the company shouldn’t make light of a quality championship that a lot of hardcore and UK fans take seriously. That said, I hope we don’t get a swerve coming out of the break, because I’d really like to see Rollins vs. Walter.

An ad aired for NXT on USA Network, and an ad for Smackdown focused on Bray Wyatt and asked if he’s Bray Wyatt or The Fiend…

4. WWE UK Champion Walter (w/Alexander Wolfe, Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel) vs. Seth Rollins in a non-title match. Joseph said he had the honor of calling all of Walter’s NXT UK matches and added that he’s the longest reigning champion in WWE today. Walter performed an early German suplex. Rollins rallied and hit multiple superkicks and then set up for The Stomp when the rest of Imperium ran in and attacked him for the DQ.

Seth Rollins beat Walter by DQ in 4:40.

The Street Profits ran out and tried to help Rollins, but they were quickly outnumbered. Kevin Owens’ music played and he ran out and helped Rollins and The Street Profits clear Imperium from the ring. “Team Raw is standing tall,” Joseph said going into a break… [C]

Powell’s POV: Well, it was kinda fun while it lasted.

5. Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Montez Ford, and Angelo Dawkins vs. “Imperium” Walter, Alexander Wolfe, Fabian Aichner, and Marcel Barthel in an eight-man tag match. Joseph noted that Rollins issued the match challenge during the break. Aichner performed a spinebuster on Rollins and then Barthel threw a kick to the chest of Rollins, which led to Aichner getting a near fall.

Imperium continued to isolate Rollins while Joseph noted that Walter’s title reign has lasted over 200 days. Owens and The Street Profits ran in at one point. The referee got them back to their corner and then Walter knocked them each down to the floor. Walter went up top, but Rollins cut him off and superplexed him. Rollins made a hot tag to Owens.

Owens threw superkicks at the Imperium members and then hit a Swanton Bomb on Aichner and had the pin, but Walter broke it up. The Street Profits ran Walter into a superkick from Rollins, who followed up with a suicide dive onto Walter. Ford performed a flip dive onto Walter and hit the broadcast table. Dawkins took out Aichner with a suplex. Barthel took out Dawkins. Owens hit Barthel with a Stunner. Rollins rolled up Wolfe and then Stomped and pinned hm…

Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Montez Ford, and Angelo Dawkins defeated “Imperium” Walter, Alexander Wolfe, Fabian Aichner, and Marcel Barthel in 6:45.

Powell’s POV: An entertaining match and the broadcast team played up the brand loyalty by cheerleading the Raw team. The Ford dive was scary in that he landed on the broadcast table, but he seemed just fine. Imperium losing the match isn’t going to please some of the NXT UK faithful, but it was competitive and I don’t think any significant damage was done. I’m surprised WWE isn’t playing up some mystery as to where some of the more recently called up wrestlers stand given that they spent more time in NXT than on Raw or Smackdown.

Adam Cole was added to the lineup for Tuesday’s WWE Backstage on FS1…

6. Andrade (w/Zelina Vega) vs. Cedric Alexander. Both entrances were televised. The broadcast team narrated highlights of Andrade and Vega beating Sin Cara and Catalina. Alexander performed a suicide dive between the first and second ropes. Back inside the ring, Alexander hit a Flatliner for a near fall.

Andrade avoided a Lumbar Check. Vega grabbed the foot of Alexander for a momentary distraction that led to Andrade hitting his hammerlock DDT finisher for the win. Lawler said he’d give Vega a little bit of credit, but she didn’t do as much as she’s done in the past, perhaps because she didn’t have to…

Andrade defeated Cedric Alexander in 3:35.

Aleister Black sat in front of a dark backdrop and said he’s spoke in riddles and could speak of secrets that would tie it all together. Black said he knows who you are and what you have done. He encouraged someone to knock on his door and to pick a fight with him…

Powell’s POV: It’s nice to see Andrade continue to pick up wins on Raw. I’m looking forward to when we get to the point where he moves into a meaningful program. Meanwhile, it was more of the same from Black, who is even back to asking for someone to knock on his door.

A montage of wrestler tweets regarding Veteran’s Day were shown… Joseph and Lawler thanked veterans and then a Veteran’s Day video package aired…

Bobby Lashley and Lana were shown arguing backstage… [C]

Lana came to the ring and admitted that she cheated on Rusev, but told the crowd not to judge her because he cheated on her first. Lana said she had sex with Bobby Lashley seven weeks ago. Lana said she knows it was seven weeks ago because it was exactly seven weeks ago and it was their “sexiversary” today.

Lana said she believes in monogamy so she was monogamous with Rusev and then Lashley. She took issue with Ricochet knocking her down last week. She said Lashley had her visit a doctor, who determined she’s fine. Lana said she’s a perfectly healthy woman “that is nine weeks pregnant.” Lana did the math and said her soon to be ex-husband put a monster insider her.

[Hour Three] Lana threw a fit about getting fat and said she knew something wasn’t right. Rusev made his entrance. A “Rusev Day” chant broke out. Lana sarcastically said it was so exciting to see the father of her unborn child. Lana said Rusev shouldn’t be surprised that she’s pregnant given that he’s a sex addict who had sex with her in so many places.

Rusev said first he was a sex addict, then he was a cheater, and now she’s pregnant. “You’re calling me a liar?” Lana responded. Rusev said he didn’t call her a liar, but he wondered what she was doing to manipulate the situation. Lana yelled at him and eventually slapped him repeatedly.

Bobby Lashley’s music played and headed to the ring in his gear. Lana hopped on Rusev’s back and dropped off just in time for Lashley to clothesline Rusev. Lashley picked up Rusev and slammed him back down. Lana and Lashley embraced and then left the ring while the broadcast team wondered whether Lana was really pregnant.

“I cannot believe he believes I was pregnant,” Lana told Lashley on the stage. Lana and Lashley made out on the stage while Joseph said the situation was absolutely disgusting. Lana and Lashley waved to Rusev and walked backstage…

Erick Rowan was shown walking backstage while carrying something that was covered… [C] An NXT on USA ad aired and hyped the two previously announced matches…

Powell’s POV: The Lana, Rusev, and Lashley storyline is making for some painful television. It’s also doing good numbers for WWE on YouTube. Keep in mind, though, there are all sorts of nonsensical bullshit videos that do big traffic on YouTube that no one would actually pay money to see.

7. Erick Rowan vs. Soner Durson. Rowan made his entrance and brought his covered item to the ring with him and set it on the broadcast table. Rowan destroyed Durson and put him away with his iron claw slam. After the match, Rowan went to ringside and took his covered item to the back with him…

Erick Rowan beat Soner Durson in 1:10.

Powell’s POV: Rowan strikes me as a ferret lover.

A graphic hyped The Viking Raiders vs. Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster. A video package aired on Andrews and Webster… The Viking Raiders were shown getting fired up in front of their stupid red light…

8. Raw Tag Champions The Viking Raiders vs. Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster in a non-title match. Joseph plugged NXT UK for Thursdays on WWE Network (check out Haydn Gleed’s same day reviews here at Dot Net). Andrews and Webster got off to a fast start and performed stereo dives onto the champions at ringside.

Back in the ring, Andrews hit the Stun Dog Millionaire on Erik, which led to Webster getting a near fall. The Raiders came back and hit their usual power moves on Andrews and Webster. Andrews hit a double Pele Kick, then took a Viking Experience finisher and was pinned by Ivar…

The Viking Raiders beat Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster in 3:05 in a non-title match.

Powell’s POV: This beat seeing the Raiders beat two independent wrestlers dressed in rival sports gear or polo shirts. But it does seem strange that WWE goes to great lengths to get the Vikings Raiders cheered in those squash matches and then had them beat a popular babyface duo from NXT UK.

Backstage, Ricochet told Orton he knows that he’ll give him RKO out of nowhere just as he’s done before. Orton told him to relax. He said the last thing Ricochet needs is to let him get inside his head…

Joseph set up a video package that recapped the recent storyline developments that resulted in Brock Lesnar moving to Raw and defending the WWE Championship against Rey Mysterio at Survivor Series…

The broadcast team ran through the Survivor Series lineup. They announced AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, and Rollins, Ricochet, Orton, Owens, and McIntyre on Team Raw for the 15-man Triple Threat match… Randy Orton made his entrance for the six-man tag main event… [C] The remainder of the entrances were also televised coming out of the break…

9. Randy Orton, Ricochet, and Humberto Carrillo vs. “The OC” AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson. Before the match, footage aired of The OC attacking Undisputed Era on last week’s NXT television show. Styles charged at Ricochet, who stepped aside and shoved Styles, who crashed into Orton. After Styles was cleared from the ring, Orton got in Ricochet’s face and then Carrillo kept them separated going into an early break. [C]

Ricochet was isolated by The OC for a stretch. Ricochet eventually caught Styles with a kick and then tagged in Carrillo, who performed several moves on Styles. Carrillo went for a moonsault, but Styles rolled out of the way. Carrillo tagged in Orton, who hit a powerslam on Styles and then hit the hanging DDT.

Orton struck the Viper’s Pose, but Anderson ran in and hit him. It was rapid fire spot time with the non-legal men. Carrillo performed a moonsault onto Anderson and Gallows at ringside. Orton looked down at Styles and Ricochet, who were both struggling to get to their feet. Orton faced Ricochet, spun him around, and then hit an RKO on Styles instead. Orton tagged in Carrillo, who performed a moonsault onto Styles and pinned him.

Randy Orton, Ricochet, and Humberto Carrillo defeated AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson in 16:30.

After the match, Orton teased going for the RKO on Ricochet, then stopped. Orton told Ricochet that he does what he wants, when he wants, and to whomever he wants. He told Ricochet to remember that. The broadcast team recapped the match to close the show…

Powell’s POV: The broadcast team tried to make it seem like it was a big deal that Carrillo pinned U.S. Champion Styles, but it didn’t feel like a major happening given that Orton set him up with the RKO on Styles first. The Orton and Ricochet dynamic is interesting. Overall, it was a decent three hours of entertainment and yet it doesn’t feel like there’s all that much happening. Sure, there’s the build to Survivor Series, but it’s caused the creative forces to hold off on booking a lot of programs between the wrestlers within their respective brands. I will be back later tonight with my weekly same night audio review of Raw for Dot Net Members. Let me know what you thought of the show by grading it in our weekly post show poll available via the main page.

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Readers Comments (1)

  1. It boggles my mind that nobody in WWE “creative” can figure out how to book these brand conflicts heading into Survivor Series while adhering to face/heel dynamics. You know whose on your freaking rosters, mix and match appropriately with heels not trusting heels from other brands, faces trying to one up each other, and every few years use it to start a turn for someone who needs to be freshened up or who is getting a shot to move up the ladder.

    It really can’t be that hard to do.

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