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RAW PREVIEW
NOVEMBER 6, 2017
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND AT MANCHESTER ARENA
By Joey Galizia (@RamJam89), PWTorch contributor
By: Joey Galizia (@RamJam89)
ANNOUNCED WWE.COM
- Miz TV kicks off Raw in England with special guest Kurt Angle
- Elias vs. Jason Jordan in a…GUITAR ON A POLE MATCH
- Are the champion’s titles safe?
“TEAM BRAUN”
I think it’s pretty safe to say that Braun Strowman is not human. Maybe it’s because Halloween just ended and my mind has been swimming with supernatural horror elements, but the man has now survived being run over by a semi-truck and being crushed by a garbage truck in the same calendar year. Perhaps he just has some immunity to trucks. Either way, the Monster Among Men returned last Monday with a chip on his shoulder, and a new enemy in The Miz, utterly destroying him and his entourage. The A-Lister meanwhile has been busy defending his Intercontinental Championship and cutting vicious promos on his Survivor Series opponent Baron Corbin. Tonight, the Miz will open the UK show with his “can’t miss” segment Miz TV. His guest, General Manager Kurt Angle. Miz will probably be trying to dissect why Kurt has made such an effort to make the Miz’s life a living hell, or why he’s rewarded Braun Strowman by putting him on the Raw Survivor Series team.
“ONLY THE STRONG STAYS SAFE”
Speaking of champions, for the second week in a row WWE.com is warning us that all the champions on both brands ahead of Survivor Series are not safe before the big show on Nov. 19. Miz was able to fend off Matt Hardy last week, and Alexa Bliss had to deal with the remains of her Mickey James feud. We know what tomorrow brings, but we’ll talk about Smackdown at that time.
If there is one champ who is safe, it is the Universal Champion Beast Brock Lesnar. Besides the fact that Brock and Heyman aren’t even in Manchester this evening, who is prepared to stop this Dominant run Lesnar is having? Not since his 2014 title run has Suplex City been this dominant, and the opponents he’s slain have been the best of the best. (Even if some of the matches have only been fair to good.)
“ANARCHY IN THE U.K.”
-If we want to talk about out of control, see one of the big matches slated for tonight’s show. The Drifter Elias (I’d walk with him) will clash with the vegetable throwing son of an Olympic hero Jason Jordan. Will it be a cage match? Perhaps a No Disqualification match so they can really unleash their fury? NOPE. Instead, we get the most WCW 2000 matchup imaginable: A Guitar on a pole match. I don’t know the rules for this affair, but all I know is I can safely say that myself and the good people of England may be preoccupied with more important things.
-Currently Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose seem to be safe with their tag-team belts going up against the SD Tag Champs the Usos on November 19th. That is, if they can survive the Big Red Machine Kane who has been as DOMINANTLY booked as anyone in the past year. Kane’s main focus is Braun Strowman, but until he finally gets his hands around his throat, he’ll just be running through the stars of WWE with ease. (☹)
-As for the women’s scene, Alexa Bliss still shines atop the division, and will most probably be walking into Survivor Series with the Raw Women’s Championship. Who will her next challenger be? Nia Jax has made a pretty dominant return and still has unsettled beef with little miss Bliss. Meanwhile, Bayley continues to become more non-existent in the future plans for the division as her mishandling by creative has utterly destroyed her momentum. Sasha Banks remains popular, but is kind of just floating around in some type of Limbo. Really the entire Raw women’s scene is in Limbo, awaiting their showdown with the Empress Asuka, who after disposing of Emma has now begun destroying jobbers. PLEASE GOD… DON’T RUIN ASUKA.
-If we’re talking about inconsistent weeks, look no further than Finn Balor. A loss to Kane two weeks ago was a head scratcher considering that Finn just came off MOTN at TLC with the visiting A.J. Styles. Balor got back on track last week with a win over Cesaro, but was then obliterated by the Big Red Machine yet again. With spots still left open on the Raw team, will Finn be making an attempt to regain his status? Or will a returning Bray Wyatt be looking to finish what he started?
-Samoa Joe is back and MAN is he pissed. The submission machine made quick work of Titus Worldwide and will most likely be added to team Raw. Will Joe be able to co-exist with his partners is the bigger question.
-Stephanie McMahon is back!!! Why this didn’t lead my primer is probably surprising but let’s really evaluate what this means for the future: The return of Stephanie means that her hubbie Triple H is most likely in the shadows preparing for his television return as well. We know that he’s been filling in for injured Superstars on their tours overseas, and has even DAWNED the Shield uniform for some triple-powerbombs and “suicide dive” attempts. Will the Chairman’s daughter be making an appearance in Manchester? God I hope so, because if anyone knows how to press the WWE Universe’s buttons, it’s STEPH! STEPH! STEPH!
Spoilers will be out for this show before it airs, but his should give you a good idea of what to expect this evening.
NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS COLUMN: RAW PRIMER 10/30: Fallout from Under Siege, Survivor Series teams assembled, can Kane be stopped
You know in WCW’s dying days they started having silly “____ on a pole” matches that no one enjoyed. WWE seriously needs to consider getting their shit together.