HEYDORN’S WWE RAW RECEIPT 11/22: Serviceable final hype for Survivor Series leads Raw

This week’s episode of WWE Raw has wrapped. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and relive some of the madness.

-It’s really nice to see (and hear) Kevin Owens get the kind of pops he got this week. Owens has a relationship with the audience that has never been properly utilized. Maybe that time is now? It certainly seems like Paul Levesque has something for him and Owens leaning into Roman Reigns is important given Reigns is at the top of the food chain. Owens, The Rock, Sami Zayn, Cody Rhodes, and Seth Rollins all have potential avenues to Reigns. That’s an embarrassment of riches. Smart to have those who can, talk about what that match means.

-Sheamus was great this week. He’s become such a natural on the mic and very in tune with what his character would say. Very likable and was able to build up the War Games match effectively because of it.

-Soooooo about that Johnny Gargano push? He lost to Omos in three minutes this week. Gargano has been ice cold since showing up on Raw and this further freezes him up. Ouch, but look, I like Johnny Gargano just as much as the next person, but he hasn’t shown much thus far to warrant something more appetizing than what the outcome was this week. The feud with Miz doesn’t help, so part of the issue is that. Part of the issue is him, though. The smug attitude has to go.

-Another good backstage promo from Austin Theory. Losing the MITB briefcase was the best thing that ever happened to him. Are you taking Theory or Gargano right now?

-Seth Rollins is a babyface at this point it seems. So, he needs to figure out a way to talk differently about other babyfaces. The Cody Rhodes references this week during his backstage promo made him unlikable because everyone likes Cody. Rollins was playing out of his Britt Baker playbook this week — sorry, just had to do it.

-It’s pretty damn shocking to see Matt Riddle legit tagging with Elias and that being all he does on an episode of Raw. He was a go-to guy and now is relegated to lower than the middle of the card. He needs Randy Orton back in a bad way.

-A decent avenue to get to Baron Corbin vs. Drew McIntyre again. The Corbin and JBL pairing continues to confuse. Hey, at least Tozawa isn’t dressing as a ninja anymore.

-I like the brawl between Judgement Day and The OC. It gave a jolt of energy to Finn Balor vs. A.J. Styles at Survivor Series and just looked and was shot pretty cool too. Good stuff.

-Attention, WWE. Babyfaces should not be teasing a big announcement in front of a live crowd that will take place in front of an entirely different live crowd. That screams “boo us right now” and they did just that to Bianca Belair and company. Either addressed by revealing who it is, or give a reason for now knowing.

-Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka was a fun rematch to see. They had a good match, but Ripley winning was an easy guess.

CATCH-UP: 11/21 WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW RESULTS: Keller’s report on final Survivor Series hype including Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka for War Games advantage