By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw on the USA Network
Aired live on December 2, 2019 from Nashville, Tennessee at Bridgestone Arena
[Hour One] The AOP tag team of Akam and Rezar arrived in a black SUV. Charly Caruso greeted them and asked why they attacked Kevin Owens. Both men spoke in their native tongue. When she asked them to say it in English, they told her she looked lovely and then walked away… [C]
Pyro shot off on the stage and then Vic Joseph introduced the show. He was joined on commentary by Jerry Lawler and Samoa Joe…
Seth Rollins made his entrance dressed in all black and smiled as he walked to the ring. Rollins slapped some hands before entering the ring. Rollins recalled telling the Raw roster that they all sucked at Survivor Series. He said it was a little too harsh, but it was coming from a good place and coming from his heart. “This is not just my job, this is my life,” Rollins said. He added that the wrestlers are his family.
Rollins said he feels it’s his job to motivate the locker room and get the absolute best out of them. Rollins said he thought about it all week and may have went overboard and thus he wanted to apologize. Rollins apologized to the fans, the locker room, and Kevin Owens. Rollins called for Owens to come to the ring so he could apologize to him.
Kevin Owens made his entrance. Once in the ring, Owens said it smelled like when the rodeo comes to Nashville. Owens said he thinks it’s because of Rollins’ apology and claiming the wrestlers are all family. Owens asked Rollins if the two closest members of the family happen to be AOP. Rollins swore he had nothing to do with their attack. Owens said he knew Rollins was lying because his lips were moving. “By the way, that smell I’m referring to is bullshit,” Owens said.
AOP’s entrance theme played and the duo walked onto the stage with mics in hand. Akam and Rezar once again spoke in their native tongues and then spoke in English while challenging Rollins and Owens to a tag match. Rollins said he was in if Owens was in. Owens said one of three things can happen and all of those scenarios end with the three of them beating him up.
Owens said if that’s where it was going then they should just get it over with. Rollins said he tried and told Owens that he was on his own. Rollins walked to the stage and looked at the AOP duo, who backed up to let him pass. Owens said Rollins might be gone, but he’d love to get a piece of them. AOP teased heading to the ring, then laughed and headed backstage to boos. Owens said it won’t be Rollins or AOP, but he was in the middle of the ring and Nashville was looking for a fight. Owens called for someone to come out and fight him.
Bobby Lashley and Lana were shown walking backstage. Joseph wondered if Lashley was going to accept the invitation…
Powell’s POV: So Lashley is randomly walking backstage and that means he’s accepting the challenge? How can this be anyone other than Aleister Black? The guy has spent the better part of the year asking for someone to pick a fight with him, and now Owens has issued an open challenge, so you’d think his character would be running to the ring. Anyway, I like the angle a lot. Rollins still has plausible deniability, and Owens isn’t being booked as typical doofus babyface who is the only person in the world who doesn’t know when he’s about to be duped.
Owens remained in the ring waiting for someone to answer his challenge. Lana’s music played and she walked out while Owens acted turned off by the situation. Lana said she didn’t want to make it all about her, but it’s all about her. Owens said no one cares. Lana said she wasn’t done talking. Owens asked what she could possibly say that would make our lives better. Lana said Rusev would not appear because she filed another restraining order.
Lana called Rusev a danger to society and said he would go to jail for a long time if he showed up. Owens said he’d never met someone who talked so much and said absolutely nothing. Owens said Lana is repulsive on the inside. Lana said Lashley is the only man she’s ever been with in her entire life and he would come out and finish Owens. Lashley made his entrance. Two plain clothes police officers came out and stood guard at ringside…
1. Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Lashley (w/Lana). Lashley performed an early spinebuster. Owens came back and tripped Lashley off the apron, then performed a splash from the apron onto Lashley on the floor. [C] Lashley stuffed a Stunner attempt and countered with a neckbreaker that led to a two count. Owens rallied, but AOP entered the ring and attacked him to end the match.
Kevin Owens fought Bobby Lashley to an apparent no-contest.
AOP dragged Owens to ringside while Lashley moved Lana aside and watched as the beatdown continued onto the bottom of the entrance ramp. AOP dragged Owens up the ramp and to the backstage area heading into the break… [C]
Powell’s POV: The DQ finish was logical to avoid having either wrestler lose the match while obviously playing into the bigger storyline. I’m really digging the repackaged AOP thus far.
An ad for NXT on USA Network focused on Finn Balor kicking Adam Cole. The narrator asked what’s next for Balor and how will Cole respond…
Lashley and Lana were interviewed in the ring by Caruso. Lana said she’s tired of everyone booing them. Rusev entered the ring and caught Lashley with a superkick. The cops slowly climbed onto the apron, then Rusev ran away. The cops returned to ringside. Lashley rolled to ringside and barked at the cops. One of the cops said he’s a WWE fan and they do things differently in Tennessee.
Lashley shoved the cop and started to walk up the ramp, but the cop grabbed him and cuffed him. Lana slapped one of the cops while yelling that he should be arresting Rusev. The other cop handcuffed Lana and then the heels were escorted to the back…
Powell’s POV: There’s plenty of dislike about the love triangle storyline, but this got over big with the live crowd.
Footage aired from during the break of Lashley and Lana being placed inside a police car while Lana verbally protested. The Street Profits and R-Truth were shown watching…
2. Drew McIntyre vs. Akira Tozawa. Joe put over Tozawa as being perhaps the fastest guy in the company. McIntyre got on his knees and told Tozawa to leave or he would beat his ass. Tozawa teased leaving, then dropkicked McIntyre. Tozawa followed up with a suicide dive. McIntyre recovered and catapulted Tozawa onto the floor, then threw him back inside the ring. Tozawa rallied and performed a missile dropkick. McIntyre came back with a Claymore Kick and scored the pin.
Drew McIntyre beat Akira Tozawa in 4:10.
After the match, McIntyre said the problem today is that if you mess with someone they go to social media and whine about it. McIntyre said he’s different. McIntyre said he has a problem with Randy Orton, then called him to the ring so they could talk about it… [C]
McIntyre was still in the ring after the break and said he knew Orton was in the building. McIntyre set up footage of their chop fest from last week, which concluded with Orton poking McIntyre in the eye. McIntyre described the footage as “stupid, stupid, stupid” and told Orton to get his ass to the ring.
Randy Orton made his entrance and joined McIntyre in the ring. McIntyre asked Orton how his chest was doing and if it drown out the voices in his head. Orton laughed off McIntyre having a problem with him over that and started to leave, but McIntyre told him not to disrespect him. McIntyre said Orton walks around like he owns the place and has no respect for anyone or the rules.
McIntyre barked at Orton to look at him. He said he gets that Orton is a 13-time champion and a future Hall of Famer, but that doesn’t give him the right to talk to him like a child. McIntyre said Orton was the most ferocious man in WWE in his past, but now he’s most ferocious at posting on social media. McIntyre told Orton that he’s bigger and stronger than he is, and he’s the most ferocious man in WWE today. McIntyre said Orton is the past and he’s the future.
[Hour Two] Orton said he thought the real problem was a McIntyre reality problem. Orton said he does what he wants because he’s earned the right to do so. Orton said McIntyre hasn’t earned a damn thing. Orton said that he and McIntyre are cool as far as he’s concerned, but if McIntyre thinks they have a problem then they could solve it on the spot. McIntyre and Orton went face to face.
“The OC” AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson walked onto the stage. Anderson said Orton is responsible for Styles losing his U.S. Championship. Styles said he’s not okay and getting his hands on Orton would make it better regardless of what type of match they have. Orton started to speak, but McIntyre said it seemed like a problem between Orton and The OC. McIntyre left the ring and waved at Orton while Styles laughed.
The OC surrounded the ring while Orton held his ground. The OC put the boots to Orton. Ricochet ran out to help, but he was quickly outnumbered. Humberto Carrillo ran out to even the odds, but he was beaten down while the other two were down. Rey Mysterio ran out and performed a huracanrana that sent Styles to ringside. The babyfaces cleared the ring while Orton stood on the side of the ring opposite The OC heading into the break… [C]
Imagery of Nashville was shown and NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch and Michael Waltrip were shown in the crowd…
Backstage, Orton told Mysterio, Ricochet, and Carrillo that he appreciated the assistance, but he didn’t need it…
3. Aleister Black vs. Tony Nese. Nese’s entrance was not televised. Buddy Murphy was shown watching the match on a backstage monitor (while presumably praying for less generic entrance music). Nese caught Black with a punch to the throat and went on the offensive. Black rallied with a leaping knee to the head, lifted Nese’s head up using his foot, and then hit the Black Mass kick for the win…
Aleister Black defeated Tony Nese in 3:25.
Joseph announced Mysterio, Ricochet, and Carillo vs. The OC for later in the show…
Backstage, Caruso interviewed Buddy Murphy and asked if he regrets knocking on Black’s door. Murphy said Black takes himself way too seriously. Murphy said he’s cool, calm, and collected, whereas Black is a hothead. Murphy said Black needs to calm down and if he doesn’t want to, then he’ll be the one to calm him down…
Powell’s POV: It’s nice to see Black doing something other than wait for someone to knock on his door. I like they way they are building toward Black vs. Murphy rather than just having Murphy knock and then take an ass kicking on the same show. Are they saving it for the TLC pay-per-view?
Andrade and Zelina Vega made their entrance. Joseph said Andrade would be in action after the break… [C]
4. Andrade (w/Zelina Vega) vs. Eric Young. Young’s entrance was not televised. Joe said Young is one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the locker room. Young caught Andrade with an elbow drop from the ropes for a two count. Young went back to the ropes, but Andrade pulled his legs out from under him. Young rallied, but Andrade cut him off on the ropes again. Andrade performed running knees in the corner. Vega barked orders, then Andrade performed the hammerlock DDT and scored the clean pin…
Andrade defeated Eric Young in 4:35.
Powell’s POV: Another spotlight match for Andrade. Here’s hoping it leads to something meaningful soon. Meanwhile, it was nice to see Young get some television time and more offense than usual while the show was in Nashville.
While Andrade and Vega were celebrating, R-Truth ran to ringside and hid between the barricade and the NASCAR drivers Busch and Waltrip. A group of the usual suspects ran out. Busch and Waltrip sent them away. Truth hugged Busch, but Waltrip stopped him and revealed that he was wearing a referee shirt under his jacket. Busch rolled up Truth and pinned him. The NASCAR drivers headed to the back. Truth stormed up the stage… [C]
Powell’s POV: Here’s hoping the NASCAR drivers have a race car waiting in the parking lot and intend to speed away with the title belt so it will never be seen again. Hey, I can dream.
The Street Profits hosted the latest merch shilling segment and passed out gifts to No Way Jose and his Rosebud Rejects as they did a conga line dance…
Highlights aired of the opening segment… Seth Rollins was shown walking backstage with his luggage. Caruso recalled Rollins saying everyone backstage is part of his family, then wondered why he didn’t help out Owens when he was attacked by AOP. Rollins said he offered his help, but Owens didn’t want it. Caruso also said people were wondering about the sincerity of his apology. Rollins said he always seems to be the bad guy no matter what he says or does. Rollins said everyone is a critic, but not everyone has the guts to be a locker room leader…
The broadcast team spoke and Lawler said Rollins was telling it like it is. Joseph set up footage of Mysterio winning a four-way to earn a shot at the U.S. Championship and then beating AJ Styles for the title last week…
Powell’s POV: Lawler also said earlier tonight that he hoped Rollins wouldn’t apologize, so apparently Lawler is back to being a heel again after all these years.
Erick Rowan spoke into the animal cage while the camera showed the POV of whatever is inside. Rowan said he didn’t know what he would do if anything ever happened to the mystery creature/thing… [C]
5. Erick Rowan vs. No Way Jose. Jose’s conga entrance was actually televised. One of the goof troop members snuck a peak into Rowan’s cage. Rowan went to ringside and destroyed him and a couple of other dancing dorks while the rest of the losers ran backstage. Rowan performed his claw slam on Jose and could have pinned him, but he picked him up and performed the move a second time and then pinned him…
Erick Rowan defeated No Way Jose in 2:05.
Powell’s POV: Rowan was the babyface in that match, right?
The Kabuki Warriors were shown warming up backstage. Joseph said the handicap match was up next… [C] A WWE 24/7 documentary on Trish Stratus was advertised for WWE Network…
Seth Rollins was advertised for Tuesday’s WWE Backstage… Joseph recapped footage of Rowan flipping out on the conga losers… Backstage, Sarah Scrheiber asked Rowan what was in his cage. He walked away without answering despite her repeated attempts…
Charlotte made her entrance for the handicap match. Backstage, Caruso interviewed Asuka and Kairi Sane and noted that Flair broke Asuka’s winning streak at WrestleMania. Asuka spoke in Japanese while Sane laughed hysterically.
[Hour Three] The Kabuki Warriors made their entrance. Lawler said he hit Ric Flair so hard one time that he told him his kids would be dizzy. He wondered if that explained why Charlotte took the handicap match…
6. WWE Women’s Tag Champions “The Kabuki Warriors” Asuka and Kairi Sane vs. Charlotte Flair in a handicap match. The Kabuki Warriors attacked Flair before the bell. The referee let Flair recover, then called for the opening bell. Flair performed a tope onto both opponents and fired up the crowd by yelling “come on.” Flair knocked Sane off the apron with a boot and then tried to hit Asuka with one from the apron, but Asuka stopped short going into a break. [C]
Flair placed Asuka and Sane next to one another and went for a moonsault, but they both put their knees up. Flair came right back and put Sane in a Boston crab, which Asuka broke with a kick to the head. Asuka brought Sane to her corner to tag her in, then performed a missile dropkick on Flair that led to a two count.
Flair rallied and went for a Boston Crab on Asuka, but Asuka countered into an armbar. Flair powered her up and slammed her to break the hold. Sane returned and hit Flair from behind. Sane went up top. Flair cut her off went up top with her. Asuka ran up and tagged herself into the match, then the heels tossed Flair down from the ropes. Sane performed a clunky looking double stomp from the top rope, then Asuka covered her for a two count.
Flair avoided both opponents charging her, then speared them both and got a near fall on Asuka. Flair targeted the left knee of Asuka. Flair kicked Sane off the apron, then went for a big boot on Asuka, who ducked. Sane made a blind tag and then Flair speared Asuka and put her in the Figure Eight. Sane performed an Insane Elbow on Flair and pinned her…
The Kabuki Warriors beat Charlotte Flair in a handicap match in 16:00.
Powell’s POV: Flair did a nice job of showing fire throughout the match via her facial expressions. I could have done without Flair not selling certain moves, but she did a nice job overall. Obviously, Warriors had to win in order for the tag titles to mean anything, but it’s not like we haven’t seen singles wrestlers destroy tag team champions in the men’s division before.
The Viking Raiders stood in front of their red light and made faces… [C]
Sarah Schreiber caught up with Charlotte and asked if she regretted challenging the Kabuki Warriors. “No,” Flair responded before walking away…
Powell’s POV: No forced woooos or cliche royalty lines made this the best Charlotte promo in months.
7. Raw Tag Champions “The Viking Raiders” Erik and Ivar vs. Mark Sterling and Mitchell Lyons in a non-title match. The Viking Raiders destroyed the jobbers and kept asking, “Are you watching?” They hit the Viking Experience for the win…
The Viking Raiders beat Mark Sterling and Mitchell Lyons in 1:35 in a non-title match.
Powell’s POV: I thought the legendary team of Sterling and Lyons had a real chance to win that one. At what point do viewers start wondering why the Raw Tag Champions rarely face actual WWE tag teams?
Backstage, Ricochet told Mysterio and Carrillo that he’s tried to prove that superheroes can be real (dork). Ricochet said all of that had to be shoved to the sideline because it was about showing up and shutting up The OC. Carrillo said The OC tried to ruin him from the moment he arrived on Raw. Carrillo spoke in Spanish to Mysterio, who said the honor was all his and praised both men. Mysterio told The OC to be ready for the future… [C]
Country music performers Morgan Wallen and Hardy were shown in the crowd… The broadcast team recapped highlights of Lashley and Lana being arrested…
Powell’s POV: Has anyone bothered to check to see if AOP are done taking turns on Kevin Owens yet? They dragged him backstage earlier and apparently no one cares about what they might be doing to him.
Ring entrances for the six-man tag match took place. Lawler said he’s a superhero guy who was wearing a Batman ring and owns a Batmobile, but Ricochet isn’t what he has in mind when he thinks about superheroes. The OC delivered a backstage promo and said they would enjoy hurting their opponents. The OC made their entrance heading into a break… [C]
8. Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, and Humberto Carrillo vs. “The OC” AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson. Gallows threw and early kick to the head of an opponent. Joe essentially gave a shout out to Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe of Ring of Honor by saying that some would call the Gallows kick “redneck kung fu” but he calls it effective. Mysterio went for a 619 on Styles, but Anderson cut him off and ran Mysterio into the ring post. [C]
Ricochet had a nice run of offense on Styles that concluded with a shooting star press for a good near fall. Ricochet took out Anderson and then rolled up Styles for another two, but he was kicked out into an uppercut from Anderson from the floor, which led to Styles getting a near fall. Ricochet caught a charging Styles with his Recoil finisher. Mysterio hit an interfering Anderson with a 619. Carrillo performed a missile dropkick and a flip dive on Gallows.
Styles set up for his finisher on Ricochet, who rolled him into a pin for a two count. Styles caught Ricochet with a Pele Kick. Styles set Ricochet on the ropes and went for a superplex, but Ricochet fought him off. Anderson returned and went after Ricochet, who performed a moonsault off the post onto Anderson. Ricochet went for a huracanrana on Styles, who blocked it and performed a Styles Clash from the ropes and then scored the pin.
“The OC” AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson defeated Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, and Humberto Carrillo in 14:35.
After the match, Randy Orton entered the ring and took out a posing Styles with an RKO. Orton’s music played and he posed on the ropes to close the show…
Powell’s POV: Am I the only one who was hoping that the RKO was going to be followed by a Claymore Kick out of nowhere? A good main event with a bounce back win for Styles after dropping the U.S. Title to Mysterio last week. Overall, this was my favorite episode of Raw in recent months. They filled the three hours nicely and the show is getting better after months of being downright lousy most weeks. It is odd that there’s only the go-home edition of Raw remaining and they haven’t officially announced any WWE TLC matches aside from what’s been advertised in the local market. I will have more to say about this episode in my weekly same night audio review, which is available exclusively for Dot Net Members. Let me know what you thought of the show by voting in our weekly post show poll.
I like the Rusev story. It’s not as bad as it could be. Btw, is it me or is Lawler acting more heelish?
I find Lawler to be somewhat inconsistent it could just be me. It’s like he turns from a heel to a face back to a heel on commentary throughout the show. He’ll be for the heels at some point, but then they’ll “go to far or will be out of line.” Then he’ll be for the heels again later.
“Here’s hoping the NASCAR drivers have a race car waiting in the parking lot and intend to speed away with the title belt so it will never be seen again. Hey, I can dream”
yep only a dream it will never happen the 24/7 title is here to stay CHERRS!!! to the 24/7 title.
The only way I want to see the 24/4 7 title is if Kairi wins it and the only clips are everyone failing to catch her because she’s too quick.
Honestly, my favourite thing about this show was the amount of new faces being features. Andrade, Aleister Black, Buddy Murphy, Erick Rowan all got some build-up on this show. Hopefully at least one of the names I just listed goes on to be a future main eventer
1) Why are they dragging the Seth Rollins heel-turn on and on? Just do it! Embrace the boos and go with it…stop wasting time all the way to TLC. They’re pushing it past “heel heat” and into “we actually don’t like you at all, and don’t even want to watch you” hate. 2) WWE is missing the boat on making Drew McIntyre into a face. Am I the only one who wanted him to come back and help Randy Orton fight off AOP? But that’s WWE, isn’t it? They refuse to make moments anymore…and no longer know how to organically turn somebody into a star. It’s like…nope, here come the “real” good guys to help Orton!…even though nobody actually likes Ricochet, or Humberto Carrillo. They’re good at what they do…but they didn’t get (and never get) a REAL crowd pop. Ever. Drew McIntyre comes back and unexpectedly helps Orton?…Nashville would have exploded.
Good wrestling angles almost always build before giving you the conclusion you want. The last thing WWE needs to do is hotshot another turn.
Get fans ready and anxious for the switch, and then pull the trigger. We’ve got enough ADHD fueled crap in the world already.
WWE is dropping the ball with Drew McIntyre. A face-turn, and team up with Randy Orton would be awesome. They seem to have each other’s respect…so in my opinion, they should use that and organically create a face that the crowd will accept and support. Stop force-feeding us Humberto and Ricochet just to satisfy their multi-national / multi-racial agenda. They’re technically great at what they do, but let’s be real…they’re not nearly as over as WWE wants us to think they are.
If you unironically say things like “satisfy their multi-national / multi-racial agenda” (about WWE of all companies), you are either an idiot, an asshole, or (probably) both.
I have no problems with any other nationalities…and I didn’t mean what I said in a racial way. I’m meaning it in a “let’s get somebody from every corner of the globe to attract those markets” way. Let’s be real here, WWE is pushing agendas right and left and it’s hindering the storytelling because they have stars on RAW that aren’t gaining traction. They just aren’t. Ricochet / Humberto / Akira / Andrade / Rusev etc….it’s just not working. None of it is working right now. WWE dictates that those guys are the faces…whether you like them or not (which other than the 16 people who chant Rusev Day, nobody cares about those guys). It’s like they’re trying to give every country, every race, every corner of the globe a hero…a face…that they can call their own, and it’s just not working.
Fair enough. Tho I don’t think a bunch of white guys would be the answer either if they were subjected to the same start/stop/start pushes that Humberto/Ricochet/Andrade etc deal with