WWE Monday Night Raw 14/11/2016

The show begins with the stand out of the representatives of Raw Brand and a cool speech by Steph and Foley. Mick Foley dancing on Enzo's trademark steps was entertaining. This Sunday night PPV will be great. This episode of Raw, the last one before the PPV, was packed with amazing stipulations. Great chemistry was shown by Charlotte and Sasha in today's match. The same can be expected in Sunday's match as well with the presence of Bayley.

Sheamaro vs. Kevin Owens-Roman Reigns:
In the offset segment, Cesaro demonstrated various escape and jump skills. Sheamus' Battering Ram with the help of Cesaro was a little out of place but it was performed nicely. By the way, Cesaro's over-the-top-rope jump: picture perfect. KO copying Roman's taunts followed by his Cannon Ball just showed how magnificent an improviser he can be. Sheamus' Slaps to the chest of KO near the rope would make any Lazy Smark nostalgic, who followed WWE during the period when he was a face. Remember? We missed those shots in the Wrestlemania in his bout against Daniel Bryan which ended in just eight seconds! :P The end-match segment was neat and elegant. 

Jericho-Rolins-Strowman Backstage Promo:
In this segment, Jericho gifted scarf to Rolins and Strowman in a friendly gesture. But Strowman tore Jericho's own scarf. It was a light, funny segment. Considering that it was Jericho's Promo, it was as charismatic as expected.

Bo Dallas vs. Sami Zayn:
It was a solid stipulation. Bo with his new gimmick has been able to show his real skills because of increased TV time in the recent past. Bo Dallas needs such matches. I wanted the match to last longer. Writers were depicting Sami as the man to beat in the Survivor Series, so this stipulation could not have focussed on how good Bo Dallas is performing. But I believe that Bo deserves to showcase his exceptional mic skills and wrestling skills more and more in each and every episode of Raw.

Cruiserweight Backstage Promo:
The cruiserweights have been cool. They have been agile and funny at the same time. Notably, Sin Cara and Kalisto reuniting after the Cruiserweight division joins the SD is a welcome-prospective.

The New Days vs. Jericho-Rolins-Strowman:
The New Day in the pre-match promo advertised their products in a pretty fun way. Mat fight segment between Xavier Woods and Seth Rolins was lovely. Double kick by Kofi and Woods followed by Woods blowing off  Francesca 2 turbo: classic New Day stuff, with a little flavour. Strowman delivered many OMG moves on Big E and Kofi Kingston outside the ring. These were perfectly executed. This was the 'Holy Shit' segment of the match. Later, Rolins pulled off a free fall over the rope with the help of Xavier Woods. It was clean, noticeable and classic. Overall, it was a fabulous match.

Paul Heyman-Mick Foley-Steph McMahon backstage promo:
Paul always gives formidable promo cuts. It was not an exception. Especially, Paul praised the SD talents and one can dare to say that was not overrated.

Charlotte-Sasha Backstage Promo:
This segment was fierce. These women are expected to deliver such top class backstage promos. They are certainly the leader of the Women Revolution in WWE.

Kendrick vs. Sin Cara:
It was an okayish stipulation. Kendrick exhibited his in-ring skills smartly. Sin Cara, per my perception, could have showcased more in this match.

Gallows-Anderson vs. Enzo-Big Cass backstage promo:
Enzo was having a lot of fun as usual. I love their gimmick. Anderson and Gallows have posed themselves as a genuine party-pooper team. It will be fun to watch their feud after Sunday's PPV.

Brock Lesnar-Goldberg in-ring promo face-off:
The entrance and the crowd response for both pro wrestlers were magical. Owing to their earlier match, many people predict that their upcoming PPV match will be a repeat of shitshow. But with an increase of Smarks and reduction of Lazy Smarks, we can expect a better crowd of Smarks and Marks which would produce a great match for sure. Goldberg has been practising his cardio. He was a squasher earlier. But recently, he has been more poised and has shown potential to fight longer. If these two guys put up a grand match come Sunday, it would be a happy memory for everyone. The crowd was quite vocal throughout the promo. But I was a tad bit disappointed as I expected a better conversation. Goldberg showed fierceness. But Paul cut a better Promo. He conjured up a good lot of "Goldberg" chants from the crowd which Goldberg himself couldn't have done. I am looking forward to the "The Fantasy Just Got Real" match.

Charlotte-Sasha Bank vs Alicia Fox-Nia Jax:
The match ended a little abruptly. I expect a lot from the women's division. Alicia and Nia could have displayed better performance. Similarly, Sasha and Charlotte also had lots of scopes to build the match up, on which they didn't capitalise. Despite the poor show in this match, I am sure they will give their best in the PPV. Bayley's act as a peace-keeper will be a fresh gimmick on Sunday.

Enzo-Big Cass-Gallows-Anderson vs Shining Stars-Golden Truth:
Enzo did a great in-ring promo playing with words. The match was convenient. Golden Truth and Gallows-Anderson produced nice moves as a team. The stand-off moment between Enzo-Cass and Golden Truth was quite funny. Similarly, the end segment was also amusing.

In-Ring Promo of McMahons and General Managers:
The crowd greeted Daniel and Shane quite heartily at their entrance. The Raw crowd open-heartedly accepted the SD's dominance. This Raw vs. SD scenario is different from what it was 10 years ago. The crowd is quite more learned now and has more Smarks. So it was expected from that crowd. The Charlotte vs. Sasha in the Hell in a Cell match was exceptional as Mick rightly mentioned. The 10-member face-off of Survivor Series men representatives was a Holy Shit moment for the WWE Universe. The crowd was going mad with chants of "AJ Styles". His promo was perfect. The bromance of Jeri-KO was hilarious. Jericho's promo segment was astounding. AJ Styles, AJ's hair and Ellsworth made the List of Jericho in this segment. Well, it was anticipated. :) The brawl segment was surreal with the wrestlers showing off their impromptu skill sets. This kind of ending to the show was a nice way to sell Survivor Series. Hope, it will be a great PPV.

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WWE Monday Night Raw 14/11/2016 @Forbes

WWE Monday Night Raw 07/11/2016

Someone from the McMahon family had to come to the ring to start Raw and sell Raw vs Smackdown clash. I think that Steph could have done it better, although the show is already on the must-watch list of all the Lazy Smarks and Smarks. Survivor Series is full of great competitions. So, people are expecting it to offer great matches. Steph welcomed all the Raw Men’s Team’s representers to the ring and announced Seth as the last member of Raw team. This guarantees that we will have some good chemistry in Men's Survivor Series match as some of the performers have spent lots of time on the road together and know each other’s in-ring capabilities better.

It is cool to note that Roman is still getting boos from the crowd. It may push the writers to make Roman a heel in coming future. The JeriKO segment was beautiful and the crowd was completely behind them. The fighting segment among all five members was awesome. I assume that we will see the Raw Men's team winning on Survivor Series in some fashionable and bizarre way. The main event of the day also suggested the same.

Brian Kendrick-Noam Dar vs Rich Swann-Sin Cara:

The home crowd welcomed the debuting Noam Dar with lots of love and warm cheer.

Sin Cara's Swanton, Swann's thunder jump and Noam's gunshot were the best moments of the match. But the best part came just after the match as the crowd got the taste of Kendrick's mic skills and Dar's athleticism which was missing during the match.

The stipulation of Smackdown vs Raw for the intercontinental match against Dolph is a great choice by the writers. It will be a big match, surely. 

The conversation between the tag teams didn't have the fierceness. Sheamaro and the New Day showed good mic skills to get the crowd going. Still, I missed something. I expected that the New Day would at least mention last week's comment by the American Alpha. However, I have to say, the New Day wearing Scottish costume was superbly received by the crowd despite the fact that many people all over the world must have found it hilarious.

Gallows-Anderson vs the New Day:

Kofi showed that he is still good at his athleticism and kicks. Woods failed to create music from that bagpipes during the Unicorn Stampede. He was missing his Francesca 2. He really needs to work hard for the bagpipes because without music, the unicorn stampede can never be complete. Gallows and Anderson performed their act very neatly, so applauds to them.

The backstage segment between JeriKO and Strowman was awesome. Brawn Strowman's character will act as a wildcard in Survivor Series Match.

Golden Truth vs Shining Stars:

This match was well-paced. Gold Dust is still at his peak. Shining Stars are slowly but steadily building their characters. I hope, they will be able to show their best in the PPV.

The crowd completely hijacked the show during the Women's Team's introduction segment. The crowd was loud and was having so much fun that even Charlotte couldn't resist her smile. It was great to watch the humbleness of the performers.

Alicia Fox-Bayley-Sasha vs Dana Brooke-Charlotte-Nia Jax:

The match has a first segment with all three of the faces kicking Nia who was outside the ring without causing her any trouble. It was fun to watch. Bayley planting Charlotte on the mat near the ringside, Nia Jax throwing Alicia using her hair AGAIN, Charlotte's kick, Bayley's finishing move and the loud crowd were the most crucial factors of the match which couldn’t have gone unnoticed to the writers. They must take these women seriously and give them more TV time.

Sami Zayn vs Rusev:

This was a high-expectation match with Rusev having raised the bar due to his performance in the last PPV and Zayn being the local boy. Sami's over-the-rope jump on Rusev was nice. Rusev's kick and Sami's Helluva Kick were beautiful. Overall the match was a nice little package and perhaps this is the beginning when writers must have started considering to give a good feud to Sami and pushing him to the top cards.

Brawn Strowman vs Chris Jericho vs KO vs Roman Reigns vs Seth Rolins (Fatal Five-way):

This is a perfect stipulation even though they will be competing with each other soon. I guess, this match had the potential for the performers to better their chemistry for the PPV and they must have taken it to their advantage. We will see a good chemistry among the wrestlers of Raw Men Team, certainly. The move-sets shown by Seth, Roman and Jericho to take Strowman out of the ring was a singular segment of the match. It felt surreal. Similarly, JeriKO's attack on Roman followed by Seth throwing Jericho on Strowman who was lying on the table were really the ‘holy shit’ moment of the match. The front crowd were chanting "This is awesome" and they were not wrong. The finishing segment of the match was crazy, magical, funny and weird. :)

The Raw writers, if keep on scribbling such matches, don't need heavy powers such as Brock and Goldberg to rely on, that's for sure. After this Survivor Series, let those heavy powers not be the saviours of Raw, but the enhancers. Raw writers need to understand how cool the talents are that they own. They work daily with the same enthusiasm to entertain. The writers need to give them with some good stories or more freedom for building up their own story instead of letting someone gets obliterated at the cost of bad stories and part-time performers.

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WWE Monday Night Raw 07/11/2016 @wwe.com