Coming off the back of Hell in a Cell and with Survivor Series around the corner the expectations for Monday Night Raw were high this week and ultimately those were not quite met in what was a relatively underwhelming episode. However, there were still plenty of talking points from the flagship show on this Halloween edition.
5. Goldberg sends a message to Brock Lesnar
This week's Raw kicked off in explosive fashion as Goldberg returned to Raw and sent a huge message of intent to his Survivor Series opponent. After a brief interruption by Paul Heyman the advocate for the Beast crossed the line when mentioning Goldberg's family and was saved by Rusev. Unfortunately for Heyman, Goldberg made quick work of the Bulgarian Brute, something that this author wasn't a fan of.
However, after a Jackhammer to Rusev, the former WCW star immediately hit Heyman with a huge Spear which would end up requiring him to go to the hospital, something that Brock Lesnar certainly won't take kindly too.
4. Back to normal for The Club
There are several things that are guaranteed in life, taxes, death, and the WWE's poor booking of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson and it was the latter on display this week on Raw as the team was comfortably beaten and embarrassed by Enzo Amore and Big Cass.
After picking up a much-needed victory at Hell in a Cell it seemed like the tides may have turned for Gallows and Anderson but that certainly isn't the case. Luke Gallows was put in a gimmick match set to Halloween theming against Enzo and it ended with both Gallows and Anderson being taken out with pumpkins smashed all over them, proving they are not going to be booked the way fans want to see them be, as a destructive force.
There is a major decision to be made regarding the future of Gallows and Anderson who may need to take some time away from T.V. in order to be repackaged as they are coming to a point where nothing will be able to turn them around.
3. Survivor Series teams begin to form
With Survivor Series coming up next the competition between SmackDown and Raw is heating up ahead of the three traditional Survivor Series matches and this week saw Mick Foley begin to form his teams ahead of the matches, adding the following people to his teams:
Male: Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens and Braun Strowman
Tag Team: New Day (captain)
Female: Charlotte (captain), Bayley, Nia Jax
These teams are all forming up to be incredibly strong which shows how serious these matches are set to be taken, though there is a slight concern that all of Raw's championships (other than the Cruiserweight) are set to be involved in these matches, meaning there will likely not be any title defenses from Raw at Survivor Series which is a concern, especially as it is a four hour show.
2. Braun Stowman's development continues
One aspect that has impressed this author since the brand split is the way which WWE have used Braun Strowman, taking him from someone nobody cared about and didn't want to see to a devastating monster who is improving every time he steps between the ropes.
The monster demanded more competition and was placed into a battle royal, a perfect place to highlight his strengths. The big man dominated everyone in sight and even though he spent some time on the outside of the ring (a wise decision as not to highlight his flaws) he eventually picked up the win after clearing out several men.
But it was the final aspect of the match with Sami Zayn that was the most interesting. This is a feud that nobody would have cared about several months ago, yet when the Underdog from the Underground almost had Strowman over the top rope the emotion from the fans showed that this feud could have great potential.
Quick hits
Here are a few other thoughts from Raw that didn't quite make the top five but are worth mentioning....
- The way the WWE are using the cruiserweights simply isn't working, the crowd were flat for the matches and are not invested in them.
- However, the method Brian Kendrick took to defend his Cruiserweight Championship was very unique and smart, his character has been well developed and shows that it can work if WWE invest in others.
- The Shield tease to close the show was well done and hopefully, WWE continues that.
- Why is Neville being wasted? He deserves better than simply being thrown into a battle royal.
- Three hours of Raw is simply too long.
1. Chris Jericho continues to steal the show
From his promo's to his brilliant match with Reigns at the end of the night for the United States Championship, Chris Jericho continues to steal the shows week in week out. Raw has become all about Y2J with fans being desperate to see him and now fans are hoping for more and more of Jericho on a weekly basis, yet his eventual turn on Kevin Owens still awaits.