By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw (Episode 1,433)
Live from Orlando, Florida at Amway Center
Aired November 9, 2020 on USA Network
[Hour One] Raw opened with a recap of last week’s show… The Raw opening video aired… Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, and Samoa Joe were on commentary…
The Miz and John Morrison made their entrance while the broadcast team hyped the previously advertised matches. The six-man tag match was billed as the main event. Miz and Morrison delivered a promo in the ring, which was set up for Miz TV.
Miz hyped the six-man tag match and said “anything can happen” while holding up his Money in the Bank briefcase. Miz also hyped the premiere of Miz & Mrs. for Thursday and a bonus episode airing after Raw.
WWE Champion Randy Orton’s entrance interrupted his tag partners or the evening. Orton took issue with Miz acting like his reality show is more important than any match with him in it. Orton spoke about Miz being kicked out of the locker room and Morrison going to work in the minor leagues.
Orton turned his back to Miz and told him to take the WWE Championship. Miz and Morrison said it could be a big night for all of them. Miz said that if their team was victorious, then he and Morrison might be in line for a Raw Tag Title shot.
Raw Tag Champions Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods made their entrance. Kingston and Woods entered the ring while encouraging the heels to entertain them. Orton dropped Kingston with an RKO. Miz and Morrison cleared the New Day duo from the ring.
Drew McIntyre rushed out and fought with Orton until he was outnumbered by Miz and Morrison. Miz hit McIntyre with the MITB briefcase, then he and Morrison shoved McIntyre into an RKO from Orton. The heel trio left the ring together. Orton acted annoyed by Miz and Morrison being obnoxious as they stood together on the ramp. Orton looked at the MITB contract, then headed to the back on his own. In the ring, McIntyre leaned against the bottom rope and smiled while looking at Miz and Morrison…
Phillips hyped the Survivor Series qualifier as coming up after the commercial break… [C]
Powell’s POV: A good opening segment in terms of setting the hook for the six-man tag main event. Say what you will about the MITB holders this year, but they are definitely getting more out of Miz holding the briefcase than they did when Otis had it. I don’t know if the average fan sees Miz as a threat to cash in successfully, but they are doing a good job of teasing the possibility. On a side note, I encourage you to check out new Dot Net staffer Colin McGuire’s blog on the main page for his detailed rundown of what it was like to attend the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view on Saturday.
The broadcast team touted Undertaker’s Finale Farewell for Survivor Series and stressed that Taker will appear live on the pay-per-view…
Ring announcer Mike Rome introduced Elias, who sat on his stool and played his guitar in the ring. Elias said he needed the win because things haven’t gone well for him and it’s as if Jeff Hardy’s greatest addiction was hitting him with guitars.
Elias said he was going to honor the fans who bought his album with a song. Elias assumed someone would come out. When that didn’t happen, he started to play his song, then he was interrupted by Jeff Hardy’s theme. Riddle followed (and has indeed lost his first name)…
1. Jeff Hardy vs. Elias vs. Riddle in a second chance qualifier for Team Raw at Survivor Series. AJ Styles and the big man were shown watching the match on a backstage monitor. The match spilled to ringside. Elias ran Hardy into the ring post, then tossed Riddle into the barricade. Elias clotheslined Hardy heading into a break. [C]
Hardy set up Riddle for a Twist of Fate when Elias returned and knocked Hardy out of the ring with a running knee to the head. Riddle hit the Bro Derek on Elias moments later and scored the pin while Hardy was down on the ring apron…
Riddle defeated Elias and Jeff Hardy in 8:50 in a Triple Threat to earn the final spot on Team Raw at Survivor Series.
Powell’s POV: It was a bad match, but I couldn’t care less which man qualified for Team Raw. Perhaps in the minority, but the Survivor Series qualifier stipulation actually lessens my interest in these matches.
Backstage, Adam Pearce and AJ Styles shook hands on something while the big man stood behind Styles. Charly Caruso showed up and asked what that was all about. Styles said they were just friends. Styles said he was happy that Riddle qualified for Team Raw. Styles spoke about being at fault for getting Team Raw off to a wrong start last week.
Sheamus showed up and was pissed about Riddle qualifying for the team. Sheamus called Riddle and obnoxious punk and said he had no problem kicking his head off his shoulders if he gets out of line. Styles said they have to work together. Styles said he was going to call a team meeting.
Caruso asked Sheamus how Styles was doing as team captain. Sheamus said Styles is not his captain. Braun Strowman showed up and also said that Styles is not his captain… [C] Phillips hyped Ricochet vs. Mustafa Ali…
Mustafa Ali delivered a backstage promo while standing by the other four Retribution members. Ali said Ricochet is a fool for thinking one man could change things. Reckoning spoke briefly, then Ali said there would be no mercy shown. He listed the Retribution members by name and said they would not rest until they shut you down…
Highlights aired of Drew Gulak winning the WWE 24/7 Title with help from Bobby Lashley, and of Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander scoring a non-title win over Kingston and Woods…
The Hurt Business were shown talking backstage when a suit wearing Drew Gulak showed up and made a play to join the faction. MVP confirmed that Gulak was serious, then told him that they were not accepting applications. Lashley grabbed Gulak by the tie, which unclipped. The Hurt Business members put the boots to Gulak and left him lying. R-Truth showed up with a referee and pinned Gulak to win the WWE 24/7 Championship…
Lana made her entrance and teased going backstage, then headed to the ring. Footage aired of Lana being put through the broadcast table seven times. Phillips hyped Lana vs. Shayna Baszler for after the break… [C]
Phillips set up a video package for Veteran’s Day, which takes place on Wednesday…
2. Shayna Baszler (w/Nia Jax) vs. Lana. Baszler’s entrance was televised. Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke sat in on commentary and said they could have been tag team champions if it wasn’t for Lana. Baszler dominated Lana and could have pinned her, but she picked her up to dish out ore punishment. Baszler applied the Kirifuda Clutch and got the submission win…
Shayna Baszler defeated Lana in 1:50.
After the match, Jax took the broadcast table apart and told Rose and Brooke to get lost. Jax set up for her usual Samoan Drop on Lana, but Rose and Brooke stopped her. Jax’s entrance theme played for some odd reason…
Powell’s POV: The night is young, Lana.
Phillips hyped the Team Raw team meeting… [C]
[Hour Two] Backstage, Lana thanked Rose and Brooke, who said they didn’t do it for her as much as they did it to send a message to Jax and Baszler. Rose and Brooke once again claimed that Lana cost them the tag titles and told her to stay out of their way…
Powell’s POV: Did anyone actually come away from last week’s WWE Women’s Tag Title match thinking that Rose and Brooke would have won the match had it not been for Lana?
AJ Styles and the big man headed to the ring for the team meeting. Styles introduced the Team Raw members Keith Lee, Riddle, Sheamus, and Braun Strowman. Styles said they got off to a bad start last week, but now they have the final piece of the puzzle in Riddle.
Sheamus and Lee bickered about last week’s Triple Threat match until Strowman interrupted them. Strowman told Sheamus that he’s a sore loser and should shut his mouth. Styles tried to play peacemaker by standing between Strowman and Sheamus.
Riddle said everyone needs to chill and gave them all Survivor Series names. Riddle dubbed Sheamus “Fire Face” and said it’s because his face turns red when he gets real angry. Sheamus asked Riddle if his team name is “Dopey.” Riddle asked him how he guessed.
Styles told Sheamus that Jey Uso is tearing it up on Smackdown. Styles tried to fire up Lee about Seth Rollins, Riddle about Kevin Owens, and Strowman about King Corbin. Styles invited them to work together as the best of the best. They agreed, then took offense when Styles billed himself as the team captain again.
Styles said he spoke with Adam Pearce earlier and he sanctioned Strowman and Sheamus vs. Riddle and Lee with Styles as the guest referee. Styles said they would gain respect for one another…
Powell’s POV: Like every other year, the Team Raw members don’t like one another, they bicker about having a team captain, and they have no reason to feel loyalty for Raw. In this case, four of the five wrestlers on Team Raw were on the Smackdown brand last month. The annual battle for brand supremacy is awful and needs to be scrapped.
3. Keith Lee and Riddle vs. Braun Strowman and Sheamus. AJ Styles was the referee. Riddle threw a knee at Sheamus, who moved, causing Styles to take the shot. Sheamus rolled up Riddle, but Styles was selling and didn’t make the count. Riddle threw a kick at Sheamus, who ducked, and Styles took that too. Lee and Strowman ran the ropes and went for a shoulder block that ended up sandwiching Styles. The big man entered the ring while a woozy Styles scrambled to keep the peace. [C]
The big man was back at ringside and the match continued with Riddle and Styles fighting in the ring. Sheamus eventually set up for a Brogue Kick, but Strowman tagged himself into the match and worked over Riddle. Strowman was setting up for his own finisher when Sheamus tagged himself in. Strowman went to the corner and was Brogue Kicked by Sheamus. Riddle recovered and rolled up and pinned Sheamus.
Keith Lee and Riddle beat Braun Strowman and Sheamus in 12:20.
Powell’s POV: I must admit that the tag match turned out to be fun. As much as the bickering teammates formula feels tired, they did a nice job of leaning into it during this match.
Alexa Bliss was shown plucking petals from flowers when Nikki Cross showed up. Bliss acted like she didn’t remember seeing Cross last week. Bliss spoke giddily about her role on the Firefly Funhouse. Cross apologized to Bliss for not being there for her and allowing Bray Wyatt to sink his claws into her. Cross said Bliss needed to choose. Bliss blew the flower petals at Cross and happily said, “I choose him”…
Bobby Lashley and MVP headed to the ring while Caruso announced Kingston and Woods will defend the Raw Tag Titles against Alexander and Benjamin next week… [C]
MVP delivered an in-ring promo about Lashley facing Sami Zayn and Survivor Series, and said the Street Profits would end up facing Alexander and Benjamin after they win the Raw Tag Titles next week. Lashley said the only question about his match is whether he would let Zayn walk out of Survivor Series.
Titus O’Neil made his entrance and took issue with being rejected by Hurt Business last week. MVP gave him a chance to leave, but O’Neil declined and asked Lashley what the point was of being U.S. Champion if he didn’t defend the title. Lashley granted O’Neil an immediate title shot…
4. Bobby Lashley (w/MVP) vs. Titus O’Neil for the U.S. Title. O’Neil threw some punches, but he was quickly speared and then put in the Hurt Lock (Full Nelson), which led to the submission…
Bobby Lashley defeated Titus O’Neil in 1:05 to retain the U.S. Championship.
Powell’s POV: In a strange way, the Survivor Series format made this match slightly more interesting than it would be at another time of the year. You never know when WWE is going to do a quickie title change just for the sake of putting someone else in a champion vs. champion match at Survivor Series. In fact, that approach could be in play next week in the Raw Tag Title match if WWE wants to avoid the New Day vs. Street Profits match at Survivor Series.
Drew McIntyre was shown standing backstage when Sheamus showed up and vented about what happened with his Team Raw teammates. Sheamus also brought up McIntyre teaming with New Day. McIntyre did the New Day clap. Sheamus said he wishes they could team up again like the old days. McIntyre said those were some of the best times of his life. Sheamus said they should go up for a pint later. McIntyre said they would go out for more than one once he regains his championship…
Asuka made her entrance… [C]
Powell’s POV: The creative forces continue to showcase the McIntyre and Sheamus history and friendship, so this is definitely leading to something between the two. Here’s hoping it adds a missing layer to the one dimensional Sheamus character.
Nia Jax delivered a backstage promo while Shayna Baszler stood by. Jax claimed to be the Team Raw captain and said once she leads her team to victory she might come back and beat Asuka again to become champion. Jax and Baszler headed to the ring…
5. Raw Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Nia Jax (w/Shayna Baszler) in a non-title match. Lana, Mandy Rose, and Dana Brooke watched the match from ringside along with Baszler. Asuka applied an early octopus hold, then rolled Jax into an armbar. Jax’s legs were under the ropes so Asuka had to break the hold. Jax pulled Asuka to ringside where she ended up flinging her into the barricade. [C]
Asuka applied an armbar. Baszler climbed onto the apron and then Lana joined and bickered with her. Baszler put Lana in her finisher. Asuka caught Jax in another submission hold. Baszler ran in and kicked Asuka for the DQ.
Asuka defeated Nia Jax by DQ in 7:45 in a non-title match.
[Hour Three] Afterward, Jax and Baszler cleared Asuka, Rose, and Brooke from the ring. Jax cleared the broadcast table. Baszler tossed Lana to ringside. Jax put Lana through the broadcast table with a Samoan Drop. Jax told Lana over the mic that he doesn’t belong and will hold back Team Raw. “Just quit,” Jax said…
Powell’s POV: WWE creative must thing they are on to something since they put this right after the top of the third hour. That’s the eighth time Lana has been put through a table by Jax. It’s not as repetitive as R-Truth winning the WWE 24/7 Championship, but it’s getting there.
Sarah Schreiber interviewed R-Truth on the Gorilla Position set. She noted that he would be defending the title in a seven-way match. He thought he was having a seven-camera GQ magazine shoot, but she informed him otherwise. Truth’s music played, so he made his entrance without singing his song… [C]
Angel Garza spoke into the camera and said he’s trying to show every woman in the world that the other men are worthless. He said they all deserve someone like him who could give them everything they wanted. He pulled out a rose and said it goes to all of you…
6. R-Truth vs. Tucker vs. Gran Metalik vs. Lince Dorado vs. Drew Gulak vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Erik in a seven-way for the WWE 24/7 Championship. Tozawa rolled up and pinned Truth. After the match, Erik rolled up and pinned Tozawa. Rinse and repeat with Gulak pinning Erik, Tucker pinning Gulak, Gulak reversing the pin and pinning Tucker, then Tucker rolling over Gulak to pin him again. There was some fighting, then Metalik pinned Tucker. Dorado rolled up and pinned Metalik. Truth hit John Cena’s finisher on Dorado and pinned him, then Truth ran to the back with the title belt…
R-Truth ultimately regained the WWE 24/7 Championship.
The broadcast team recapped last week’s drama involving Retribution and Ricochet… Mustafa Ali and the rest of Retribution made their entrance… [C]
7. Mustafa Ali (w/Mace, T-Bar, Slapjack, Reckoning) vs. Ricochet. Ricochet’s entrance was televised. Ricochet and Ali fought on the apron. Ricochet performed a head scissors that sent Ali to the floor. Ricochet went to ringside and threw Ali back in the ring, then the other Retribution members approached him while he cautiously reentered the ring. [C]
Late in the match, Ricochet took out some Retribution members at ringside with a corkscrew dive from the top rope. Ricochet went for a Phoenix Splash, but Ali rolled out of the way. Ali applied a Koji Clutch and got the submission win.
Mustafa Ali beat Ricochet in 14:00.
Powell’s POV: This was easily the best match of the night, but you had to be able to get past the Retribution nonsense in order to enjoy it. In other words, this was a really well worked match that felt like it didn’t matter. Pull the plug on Retribution to give everyone involved a real chance to get over.
Randy Orton was standing on the Gorilla Position set when Adam Pearce showed up and informed him that he would defend the WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre next week on Raw. Pearce said he was just relaying the message. Orton shoved Pearce against the wall and told him to tell the staff that they can go to hell. Orton made his entrance for the main event… [C]
Powell’s POV: I’m surprised they are going with Orton vs. McIntyre next week. I’m even more surprised that they waited until the third hour to make that announcement when they could have built the show around hyping it next week.
The rest of the ring entrances took place for the six-man tag match. McIntyre was out last and was smiling while Orton was shown seething in the ring…
8. Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods vs. Randy Orton, The Miz, and John Morrison in a six-man tag match. Kingston and Woods dominated Miz and Morrison while Orton stood at ringside. McIntyre stood in the ring and smiled at Orton, who no-sold him. [C]
Woods was isolated by Miz and Morrison. Miz offered to tag in Orton, who blew him off while resting on one knee on the apron. Orton dropped down to ringside and watched the match from there. McIntyre took a hot tag and worked over Miz and Morrison.
McIntyre performed a double suplex on the duo while Orton got on the apron. McIntyre spotted Orton, who dropped back to the floor. McIntyre jawed at Orton, then dropped Morrison with a Future Shock DDT. McIntyre backed into the corner and glared at Orton, then dragged McIntyre to the corner and begged Orton to tag in.
Orton climbed onto the apron and leaned in to make the tag, then dropped off the apron again. Orton grabbed the WWE Championship belt and started to back up the entrance ramp. Morrison rolled up McIntyre and tried to use the ropes for leverage, but Woods broke it up. Morrison performed a big dive onto Kingston. McIntyre hit a spinebuster on Miz. Morrison returned to the ring and ate a headbutt from McIntyre, who followed up with a Claymore Kick and scored the pin.
Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods defeated Randy Orton, The Miz, and John Morrison in 13:10.
McIntyre jawed at Orton from the ring to close the show…
Powell’s POV: A good main event with McIntyre looking extremely confident while Orton acted rattled heading into their title match next week. As much as I like McIntyre as the WWE Champion, I sure hope they don’t intend to book a title change next week to give Survivor Series a late boost in the form of McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns. That’s a potential WrestleMania main event, not something you rush into because the annual brand supremacy show looks underwhelming on paper.
Overall, Raw continues to be a tough watch. The top of the card with Orton and McIntyre (and The Fiend) is interesting and I like a couple of other Raw programs, but they just don’t have enough quality material to fill three hours on a weekly basis. The worst part is that they just had a draft, so there’s no reason to believe things will improve. Scratch that. The worst part is that they have a 75 year-old booker who refuses to step aside, which is the real reason there is no reason to believe things will improve. Let me know what you thought of the show by assigning it a letter grade in our weekly post show poll. I will be back later tonight with my audio review for Dot Net Members.
both Rose and Brooke have to think they would have won the tag titles match weither they would have or not. you have to get the fans to believe they would have won.
would they have won the Women’s tag titles I doubt it. but it is WWE and anything is possible. if you learn anything about WWE over the years.
At least there was a Lana nip slip!