WWE Raw Review October 28 2019 feat. Seth Rollins vs. Erick Rowan

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As Mr McMahon’s band of superstars gear up to travel to Saudi Arabia for extravagant money-spinner, Crown Jewel, the company presented Raw this Monday hoping to drum up interest in a match card that is hardly awe-inspiring at the moment. It has been a tough couple of weeks for WWE, with the pressures of some long overdue competition in the shape of AEW, and the much-hyped Smackdown move to Fox seemingly sapping the creative team of any originality or direction. With that said, WWE programming continues to present quality in-ring action, with Humberto Carillo and The Street Profits making stunning Raw debuts last week. Would any new emerging stars put the rest of the locker room on notice? And would the intensity in key rivalries be ramped up ahead of Thursday’s Crown Jewel?

 

Becky Lynch vs. Kairi Sane

Former Women’s champion Paige introduced her protégé’s The Kabuki Warriors, ahead of Sane’s match against Becky Lynch, which was set after the nefarious way they beat The Man the other week. The Kabuki Warriors cut off Paige, and solidified their heel turn with Asuka spitting the green mist in the Norwich native’s eyes. Lynch’s music hit and she went straight for Sane before the bell could ring. As the match started, the champ continued the beatdown until Sane responded with a series of stiff blows. One half of the tag team champs then sent the Irish Lasskicker face first into the turnbuckle. Lynch hit back with a bulldog and a dropkick for the two count before Sane regained control. The Man couldn’t be contained, though, and grounded her opponent with some mat work, before a failed attempt at the Disarm-Her. An Asuka distraction allowed Sane to drive Becky into the steps, and then a couple of disrespectful slaps. This angered Lynch into a couple of clotheslines and a dropkick, culminating in a Bexploder for the two count. Kairi scored a near-fall of her own with a DDT before going up top, but Lynch countered with a flying leg drop, nearly putting her foe away. The spirited Kabuki Warrior was eventually put away with the Disarm-Her.

It was good to see Paige in the squared circle again, and it was a nice call-back to acknowledge her pairing and endorsing the Kabuki Warriors. That is why it was neat for the women’s tag team champions to turn on Paige, as it fully cemented their heel turn and drew a ton of heat from the WWE Universe. The Kabuki Warriors should go from strength to strength now, especially if Sane’s highly impressive showing in a physical and thoroughly entertaining opening match is anything to go by.

 

R-Truth vs. Buddy Murphy

The 485-time 24/7 champion got a rare outing against the impressive Buddy Murphy. The former 205 Live champion solidified his spot on the main roster in the past couple of months with a match of the year contender against Roman Reigns and a high-profile win over Daniel Bryan, so was looking to make short work of Truth. Truth surprisingly got in an awful lot of offence, even scoring a couple of near-falls. The 24/7 procession, featuring the Singh Brothers and No Way Jose, distracted Truth, allowing the Australian to hit him with a big knee for the victory.

R-Truth is always good in comedic segments and was on good form in his pre-match interview. Murphy struggled to assert his dominance, as Truth threatened an upset. Murphy came out on top against an experienced opponent but is unlikely to benefit too much from not completely laying waste to the veteran. He was, here, a subplot to the 24/7 circus that interrupted the match. Murphy is a ridiculous talent, though, and needs a spotlight and competition to reflect this.

Ricochet vs. Drew McIntyre

The build for the Team Hogan vs Team Flair grudge match is currently severely lacking intensity and a reason for these two legends to be at loggerheads. Any hopes of this being remedied when the Hulkster and the Nature Boy came to ring were dissipated when they barely said two words between them, and instead introduced two members of their respective teams; Ricochet and Drew McIntyre. These two produced a barnburner of a match seven days ago, with McIntyre coming out on top. And the Scot picked up where he left off, tossing Ricochet around with gleeful abandon. The big Scot underlined his dominance with a slap to the face, a big boot and a Hogan-esque leg-drop. A comeback by the highflyer was thwarted as the Scottish Psychopath sent Ricochet’s neck into the turnbuckle before goading Hogan. Ricochet had no answer for the relentless McIntyre, but managed an Inziguiri to create separation. This was followed by a dropkick and massive clothesline and moonsault for the two count. A huge clothesline from Drew, though, nearly turned Ricochet inside out. He set up for the Claymore Kick but ran straight into a superkick. Just as Ricochet was about to score the unlikeliest of wins, Randy Orton -another Flair team member- appeared with an RKO out of nowhere to finish what was another fine, fine match between these two.

As noted earlier, there isn’t a great deal riding on this match and little for the WWE Universe to get invested in, though Flair’s team surely have the edge with McIntyre and Orton in their ranks. McIntyre was relentless in this match and completely in control. He needs to lay waste to the entire team at Crown Jewel to cement his potential as the top monster heel on Raw.

 

The Viking Raiders vs. Enhancement Talent

The Raw tag team champions quickly dispatched of a couple of local competitors in clinical fashion.

Erik and Ivar were dominant and they were impressive, but they have been against all competition thus far, on their way to tag team gold. Squashing a couple of jobbers was their preparation for the biggest tag team turmoil match ever at Crown Jewel. It would have benefited the Raiders and their opponents if another tag team or two from the turmoil match were also showcased tonight.

 

Sin Cara vs. Andrade

These two had a decent match last week on Raw, but it is hardly inventive on the part of Creative to book the second rematch from last week of the night. That said, the narrative was given another layer as Sin Cara brought out Carolina, to nullify the threat of Zelina Vega and to minimise the chances of her interfering and costing him the match as she did last week. Andrade seized control, though, a running knee drawing a two count. Cara managed to bundle his opponent to the outside, however, and dive on him with a corkscrew. Back in the ring, El Idolo was pinned until Vega got involved again, only for Carolina to intervene. A distracted Sin Cara was subsequently rolled up and pinned, Andrade using the ropes as leverage.

Again, the two superstars, though not given as much time as last week, put on a good show and have decent chemistry together. However, one can’t help but feel that Andrade needs to be in a more high-profile feud. Furthermore, the fact El Idolo didn’t win clean yet again suggests this rivalry isn’t over yet.

 

Charlotte Flair & Natalya vs. The IIconics

Deciding that this week they will be babyfaces, Flair and Nattie teamed up to take on the longest reigning women’s tag team champions. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce showed their chemistry and cohesion to work together, and separate Natalya from Flair, double teaming her in the process. The Australians were afforded little more offence as Flair was tagged and took control. Nattie re-entered and finished the match with a sharpshooter.

This pairing makes very little sense at the moment, and the decision to have them go over an established team in The IIconics in such convincing fashion is also a questionable one and does little for the former tag team champions’ credibility. The only reasoning could be that Nattie and Flair are teaming up for longer than one match, and will be looking at having a shot at the Kabuki Warriors gold. If not, this match made little sense.

 

Falls Count Anywhere Match: Seth Rollins vs. Erik Rowan

Universal Champion Seth Rollins geared up for his Crown Jewel grudge match with Bray Wyatt’s The Fiend by looking to take out former Wyatt Family member Erik Rowan. It didn’t take long for the action to spill outside, The Big Red sending Rollins over the barricade and stalking after him, aiming vicious right hands at him. As the two climbed the rafters and onto the concourse, Rowan continued the beatdown, sending the Architect into a merch stand and chokeslamming him onto a table for the two count. After the break, the action was inexplicably back at ringside and Rollins was now in control, sending Rowan shoulder first into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Rowan resumed control, impressing with a drop kick and a cross-body, his aerial prowess belying his 300 pound frame. He powerslammed Rollins into the ringpost for another near-fall, before hoisting the champ on his shoulders and marching him up the ramp. The big heel cleared the announce desk, ready to finish off the Beast Slayer, but Rollins countered with a superkick, before a Curb Stomp onto the table, which Rowan miraculously kicked out of. Incredulous, Rollins dived onto the Redwood from the table and clattered him with a steel chair, as the two brawled into the backstage area. Rollins landed a second Curb Stomp on a ladder and then crushed Rowan with a forklift truck to score the hard-fought victory.

This match was a fun sprint that was hurt slightly by the commercial break interrupting much of the action. It was a match designed to show that Rollins will go to any lengths to take out the Fiend at Crown Jewel, with Rowan a willing and more than able foil for this. The big heel is often maligned for his in-ring ability, but he looked sharp and powerful here, and was more than a match for the Universal champion.

 

Humberto Carillo vs. AJ Styles

After his sensational debut match against Seth Rollins last week, former 205 Live star Carillo was given another opportunity in a prominent spot against world class opposition in the shape of AJ Styles, who was accompanied by the OC. Carillo had the champ reeling early doors, shocking the Phenomenal One with his high flying offence and scoring a couple of near falls. Styles regrouped outside and re-emerged, battling back with a DDT to come into the match for the first time. Carillo turned the tide again, though, with a roundhouse kick and a dropkick, followed by a missile dropkick. He then connected with the Aztec Press as he completely dominated Styles. AJ was shocked into responding, hitting the inverted DDT and then setting up for the Phenomenal Forearm. Carillo had it scouted, though, and hit the moonsault for a very close tow count. Styles’ quality and resilience came to the fore, though, as he capitalised on a moment’s hesitation from Carillo to slap on the Calf Crusher for the win. The OC beat down Carillo after the bell, only for the Street Profits to make the save.

Carillo was mightily impressive here again, and looks like he could be set for a bit of a push on Monday nights, which would be fully deserved following his past couple of showings. It was surprising just how dominant he was over a top superstar like Styles, but the result was the correct one. Carillo won’t be hurt at all by not getting the win, and it also gives him the chance to fight from underneath against the dastardly heel in Styles, and maybe a United States championship opportunity is not out of the question.

 

King’s Court with Rusev and Lana

The craziest storyline of the year got prominent positioning in the headline spot on WWE’s flagship show as Rusev and Lana aired their dirty laundry with Jerry Lawler. Lana garnered heat from the WWE Universe by attacking them and claimed the Bulgarian Brute only wanted her for sex, labelling him a sex addict. She the remarked that Rusev had cheated on her. Bobby Lashley hit the ring and the two brawled, until Lashley hit him with a low blow. Lashley and Lana then kissed over Rusev.

Not even the oft-time comedic Rusev could get this storyline over, and the fact that it occupied the main event spot is baffling. It’s outdated, unoriginal, uncomfortable and downright weird. The protagonists involved, particularly the popular Rusev, deserve better.