HEYDORN’S WWE RAW REPORT 11/12: Alt Perspective coverage of the live show including Brock Lesnar’s return, final hype for Survivor Series, Ziggler vs. Balor, and more

HEYDORN’S WWE RAW REPORT
NOVEMBER 12, 2018
KANSAS CITY, MO
AIRED ON USA NETWORK

Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young

[HOUR ONE]

-The show opened with a video package honoring Veteran’s Day.

-From there, the show cut into the arena as the audience chanted “USA.” Michael Cole then welcomed the audience and cued up the first match which was a tag team Battle Royal to determine the captain of Team Raw for the tag team Survivor Series match on Sunday.

(1) TAG TEAM BATTLE ROYAL – Determines the Raw tag team captain at Survivor Series

The match began and the Lucha House Party got a decent spot in before Braun Strowman’s music hit. Strowman got a nice pop and proceeded to decimate the participants in the Battle Royal.

WINNER: No contest

Heydorn’s Analysis: Quite the way to build up Raw’s tag team division ahead of their match at Survivor Series. If ALL of them can’t beat one guy, their odds are pretty bad huh? Just inconsistent in terms of what is important going into Survivor Series. 

As he did this, the announce team debated whether Strowman was valid in breaking up this match. Braun proceeded to connect with a flurry of running shoulder tackles before he grabbed a chair and got back into the ring. He asked for a microphone and soaked in cheers before setting the chair up in the ring. Strowman said that tonight’s show was brought to us by the monster among men. He said he was done chasing Baron Corbin around the arena and said he wasn’t going to leave the ring until Corbin “gets these hands.” As he said that, the audience cheered. Instead of Baron Corbin, Stephanie’s McMahon’s music hit and Stephanie confidently walked to the ring.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Stephanie couldn’t possibly emasculate Braun Strowman here right? Stranger things have happened. Fingers crossed. 

Once Stephanie got to the ring, she stared Strowman down as the announce team said that Braun didn’t want to “cross this boss.” She said that Strowman has every right to be upset at Corbin, but could not hold Raw hostage. She said she appreciated all the aggression and rage, but that he needed to channel it at Survivor Series on Sunday. Stephanie said that Shane disrespected Raw when he stole the World Cup at Crown Jewel. Strowman said he didn’t care about Shane or Survivor Series. Stephanie said that he and the rest of the Raw locker room better care. Strowman then interuppted and said he wouldn’t be manipulated. He said that all he cares about is getting his hands on Corbin. Stephanie responded by saying if Strowman leads team Raw to victory at Survivor Series, he could have whatever he wanted. Strowman said he wanted a Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar and that he wanted Baron Corbin in a match of his choosing. Stephanie said yes to all of it as long as he didn’t lay a hand on Baron Corbin until after Survivor Series.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Alright, that worked just fine. Strowman looked like the star that he is and didn’t cower to Stephanie McMahon. In addition, he was smart about his demands and got what he wanted.

Once the deal was done, Stephanie proceeded to begin pumping up her Raw stars for Survivor Series. Instead, Ronda Rousey’s music hit to a huge pop from the crowd. After Rousey climbed into the ring, Ronda walked face to face with Stephanie and stole the mic from her hand. Ronda told Stephanie to save the pep talk and she’s been waiting for a challenge like Becky Lynch since she came to WWE. Ronda said she can’t wait to show “The Man” how breaking arms is really done. As she said this, a “Becky” chant broke out.

Heydorn’s Analysis: There’s that Becky chant. This is a big match to be sure, but the thing to watch Sunday is how Ronda will react to her first unfavorable reaction. She’s been tremendous to this point and working through that at Survivor Series will be another growing pain for her.

Ronda then teased attacking Stephanie, but she was interuppted by Baron Corbin. Corbin said he agreed with Stephanie and that he wants to motivate Raw talent like she does. Corbin then walked to the ring and said that after Shane stole the World Cup from Raw, they cannot afford to get embarrassed again. Corbin then walked toward Ronda and told her not to get overconfident. In response, Ronda took him down with a judo throw and left the ring. From there, Corbin got up and went face to face with Braun Strowman. Corbin taunted Braun before Stephanie told him to leave the ring. Braun then told Corbin to enjoy being Stephanie’s lapdog because after Survivor Series, he’s neuter him.

Heydorn’s Analysis: For what that was, it worked. At the same time though, Survivor Series is on Sunday night. This segment in know way built additional interest in that event. Instead, it basically lined up Braun Strowman for after it. Survivor Series is confusing in that regard. Unless there is in-fighting on the team or stories between team members, the fact that it’s brand vs. brand makes it hard to build interest for. The nature of the beast because of how WWE defined the show. As for Ronda, she did well as usual, but the true test is coming on Sunday. Based on this crowd, Becky will be the overwhelming favorite on Sunday night. 

-After the segment, Tamina and Nia Jax were shown walking backstage.

-Out of the commercial break, Ember Moon made her entrance. From there, Nia Jax walked out and waited on her new partner, Tamina. As Tamina made her entrance, a recap video aired that highlighted Tamina and Jax beating up Moon last week. As the video aired, Graves claimed that Ember Moon looked up to Nia Jax as she broke into the business.

(2) EMBER MOON vs. TAMINA

When both women got to the ring, the match began. Tamina got the upperhand out of the gate, but Moon built momentum after connecting with a variety of strikes that brought Tamina down to one knee. Ember then clocked Tamina with a kick before making a two count pin attempt. Eventually, the action spilled to the outside where Tamina got the momentum back. She then clotheslined Moon to the hard mats on the outside as the show went to break. (c)

Out of the break, Tamina continued to hold control of the match until Moon battled back with punches to the face. Moon then hit a dropkick on Tamina before connecting with a step up enziguri. In response, Tamina countered back with a right hand. She then tossed Moon into the ropes and Moon proceeded to hit a suicide dive on Jax, who was on the outside of the ring. From there, Moon connected with a springboard cross body on Tamina and then fired. up.

Heydorn’s Analysis: The audience seems extra quiet. To me, that falls on Tamina. She is and has been defined down on WWE television for years. Her recent push has no backstory for fans to get behind. Her push was out of the blue and the audience is reacting accordingly. 

Next, Moon climbed to the top rope for her Eclipse, but was knocked off. Instead, Tamina climbed up and hit her splash finisher for the 1,2,3 win.

WINNER: Tamina via pinfall

-After the match, Cole wondered whether that win would affect Alexa Bliss’s choice in who would be on her team at Survivor Series. In the ring, Jax and Tamina attacked Moon again and left her laying in the middle of the ring. (c)

Heydorn’s Analysis: The match did it’s job from a storyline standpoint, but got a very small reaction from the crowd. Tamina and Jax need to define their team so that they can get more heat as heels. Because they haven’t defined that, the audience has a hard time engaging – hence the small reaction. That said, women’s tag titles would give their team the purpose they need and could anchor that division out of the gate. 

-After the commercial break, the announce team aired a highlight video detailing last week’s events between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. It showed AOP winning the tag team titles and Dean Ambrose confronting Rollins in the ring.

Heydorn’s Analysis: The music behind this video was tremendous. It was diabolical in nature that fit perfectly with Ambrose. Great stuff. 

-When the video ended, Corey Graves introduced Seth Rollins as his guest. The audience popped big for Rollins and as he walked to the ring, the announce team hyped his Survivor Series match against Shinsuke Nakamura. Once Rollins got to the ring, he slapped hands with Graves and grabbed a microphone. Graves said even with the Ambrose stuff going on, he wanted to talk about Survivor Series. Rollins said his match against Shinsuke would be a big fight, but that he doesn’t care about Nakamura. Rollins said on Sunday he would be focused on Shinsuke. He said that tonight, he still wanted answers from Dean Ambrose. Rollins said that Ambrose knows why he did what he did, but that he wasn’t man enough to tell him face to face.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Out of the gate, Rollins dismissed the Nakamura match too nonchalantly. He saved it though by correcting course and defining his focus on tonight AND on Sunday. It was an important save too. Nakamura and Rollins is a dream match and needs to be defined as such.

From there, Ambrose was shown on the big screen next to a barrel of fire. Ambrose said he wanted to walk into the ring and beat up Rollins, but that he didn’t owe Rollins, the fans, or anyone else, anything. Ambrose then mocked people asking questions and gave Rollins potential reasons why he may have done what he did. Ambrose said he used to think that the Shield was stronger together. He said that the truth was that the Shield, Seth, and Roman made him weak. He said that the burden of being their brother, made him weak. Ambrose then picked up his Shield gear and tossed it into the fire barrel to “burn it down.”

Heydorn’s Analysis: Solid promo and an effective next chapter in the Rollins/Ambrose saga. That said, if this was Ambrose’s only explanation, it left a little to be desired. For one thing, it wasn’t in the middle of the ring and in front of the live crowd. Allowing fans to engage with a heel Ambrose in that environment would help breed the heat Ambrose needs to keep a wave of momentum behind his new character. That was sacrificed so that Dean could burn his Shield stuff backstage? Not a good trade off. 

Back in the ring, Rollins slammed his microphone down and quickly walked up the ramp and to the back. Cole then asked Renee Young what was going on and said that it was Dean’s story to tell. (c)

-After the break, a highlight video aired that recapped last week’s events between Drew McIntyre and Kurt Angle.

-When the video ended, Kurt Angle’s music hit to a big pop from the audience. As the “You Suck” chants started, Dolph Ziggler’s music cut Angle’s off and Ziggler walked out on the ramp. After Dolph, Drew McIntyre hit the ramp and joined his partner. Together, they walked to the ring.

[HOUR TWO]

Once they got to the ring, McIntyre said that he warned everyone that he would make an impact on Raw. He then asked the audience “do you believe me now.” McIntyre then addressed Kurt Angle and said that he saw Angle’s will to win fade away when they were in the ring together last week. McIntyre said that he worked 18 years to have his moment and said that Raw was his show. He said it belongs to him and that he would mold it in his image. He said that there wasn’t room for weakness or nostalgia acts.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Great intensity from McIntyre, but a little clunky while talking about Angle crying. He finagled that into the rest of the promo, but it seemed like he missed lines. 

From there, Finn Balor’s music played and Balor walked to the ring. Finn did his full entrance and then confronted both McIntyre and Ziggler in the ring. Drew spoke first and said that Finn had a lot of guts to confront him based on what he did to him last week. Balor said McIntyre crossed the line in how he beat Kurt Angle last week. In response, McIntyre said that dignity is not a right for all. He said he could have done worse things to Angle and that Finn Balor is what is wrong with the Raw locker room. Drew then told Balor to head back up the ramp before Balor interuppted by telling McIntyre to shut up. Balor then challenged McIntyre to a match as the audience chanted “Yes.” McIntyre accepted the match, but said it wouldn’t be with him. Instead, it would be with Dolph Ziggler. As McIntyre said this, Ziggler looked confused. From there, McIntyre said that if Balor could beat Ziggler, maybe he would take Balor on. Ziggler and Balor then jawed back and forth before McIntyre head-butted Balor in the face as the show went to break. (c)

Heydorn’s Analysis: Both McIntyre and Balor were good here. They knew their roles and stayed in their lanes to build the match. Simple, but it worked. 

(3) FINN BALOR vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER

After the commercial break, the bell rang, and the match began. Balor was still reeling from being hit by McIntyre which allowed Ziggler to get the upperhand. Ziggler connected with a handful of strikes before wrestling Balor to the mat. On the mat, Ziggler locked in a front head lock submission before making a cover, but Balor kicked out at two. As Dolph owned the match, Renee Young addressed McIntyre running Ziggler down ahead of the match.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Seeds planted? We’ll see.

Eventually, Balor battled back and connected with a boot to the face on Ziggler. Balor then hit a flurry of punches before nailing Ziggler with a basement dropkick. From there, Balor attempted a chop, but Ziggler countered and rolled him up for a two count pin. Out of the pin, Balor hit a step up enziguri on Ziggler which left Ziggler laying in the drop zone. Seeing this, Balor climbed to the top rope, but was knocked off by Ziggler. The show then went to commercial break. (c)

After the break, Ziggler had full control of the match. He connected with a vicious neckbreaker on Balor, but then was countered with another boot to the face by Balor. Balor hit a massive chop that got a huge pop from the crowd. From there, Ziggler hit Balor with an elbow and Balor responded by connecting with an overhead kick. This left both men down on the mat. Eventually, both men got to their feet and Balor took momentum. He nailed Dolph with a second step up enziguri before nailing him a double foot stomp and Sling Blade. After, he tried for his turnbuckle dropkick, but Ziggler countered with a massive DDT. Right out of the move, Dolph went for the cover, but Balor kicked out at two to a big pop from the audience.

Heydorn’s Analysis: A clear heel. A clear babyface. The crowd is eating out of the palm of their hands. It’s not a complex formula and when executed right, it works. 

Out of the pin, Ziggler connected with the Fame-asser and then covered, but again, Balor kicked out at two. After that pin, Ziggler attempted to hit the Zig Zag, but Balor countered with his turnbuckle dropkick. He then tossed Ziggler over the top rope and hit his flipping suicide dive on both Ziggler and McIntyre. From there, Balor rolled Ziggler into the ring and tried for the Coup De Gras. Ziggler moved out of the way which caused Balor to hit the mat and tweak his knee. Ziggler rolled Balor up, but Balor rolled up through to make the cover and get the 1,2,3 win.

WINNER: Balor via pinfall

Heydorn’s Analysis: Really good TV match. Balor gets a reaction that other babyface wrestlers on Raw wish they got. The question is will Vince see it and run with it. With Balor getting the win on Ziggler, a match with McIntyre appears to be next. Sign me up for that. Good stuff. 

-After the match, the announce team hyped Brock Lesnar’s appearance for later in the show. The program then went to commercial break. (c)

-Out of the break, Stephanie and Baron Corbin were shown walking backstage. They ran into Finn Balor and Stephanie let him know that he would be on the Raw Survivor Series team. They were then confronted by Ziggler and McIntyre. McIntyre tried to go after Balor, but Stephanie stopped it. She said it was her show and that she needed her team to get along. From there, she welcomed McIntyre and Ziggler to team Raw and said she wants McIntyre to treat Shane McMahon the same way he did Kurt Angle. Stephanie demanded that they get along on Sunday, but that they could tear each other apart after.

Heydorn’s Analysis: That’s a little better I guess? It’s not great, but at least there is some semblance of a story on the Raw side of things. 

-Ronda Rousey was interviewed backstage and said that Becky can really dish it out. She said she wasn’t trying to offend Lynch in what she said last week. Ronda then ran through a convoluted speech in which she compared Becky Lynch to a crying millennial. Ronda said she would win at Survivor Series and then was confronted by Nia Jax and Tamina. Jax wished her good luck and then walked off the shot.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Whoa whoa whoa. What was that again? Did Ronda Rousey just talk about avocado toast in her promo? Good grief. That was way too cute and didn’t jive at all with the audience. As Ronda started her millennial rant you could hear the groans in the crowd. Nobody bought that one and it’s awful timing coming on the heels of a match in which she’s going to be facing adversity.

-From there, the Riott Squad hit the ring ahead of the commercial break. (c)

-After the break, Ruby Riott spoke and said she wanted to address what she did last week to Natalya. From there, she cued up a video of what happened. After the video, Riott appeared sad and said that when she broke Neidhart’s sunglasses last week she struck a nerve. She said that after a week to think about her actions, she understood why she got the backlash she got. She called Jim Neidhart a future Hall Of Famer and said he had an infection laugh. She said that in a moment, she turned his memories into a nightmare. The audience booed as she told the story. Riott then said she enjoyed every second of it. Riott said that she didn’t take things far enough and that she had to claw for everything she ever got. She said that last week, she wanted Nattie to feel real emotion and cry like a baby.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Really good promo by Riott. She has an “it” factor about her and this promo proved why. It was smooth, well executed, and generated loads of heat. Really good stuff on her part. 

From there, Nattie’s music hit and the Riott Squad left the ring to meet her on the ramp. Instead, Nattie attacked Riott from behind. She got a few good shots in before the rest of the Riott Squad ran back to help. The three of them decimated Nattie again and hit the Hart Foundation’s finishing move on her.

Heydorn’s Analysis: We have a mid-card women’s feud on Raw, folks. Times, they are a changing…

-After the segment, the announce team ran down all the matches at Survivor Series.

-Bobby Roode and Chad Gable made their entrance ahead of the commercial break. (c)

-Out of the break, the tag team Battle Royal that was set to kickoff the show began again.

(4) TAG TEAM BATTLE ROYAL – Determines the Raw tag team captain at Survivor Series

Right out of the gate, Heath Slater was quickly eliminated. Lucha House Party and The Revival had a spot that left Dash and Dawson eliminated from the match. From there, the Lucha House Party continued to run the show, but then were eliminated by the Ascension. B-Team was then eliminated by the Ascension as well which left them in the ring with Gable and Roode. Gable connected with a moonsault, but then was dropped to the mat with a shoulder tackle. From there, Gable locked in an armbar on Konnor while in the ropes. This allowed for Roode to dump Konnor over and give him and Gable the victory.

WINNER: Gable and Roode

Heydorn’s Analysis: So, that happened and that’s about it. Gable and Roode need some depth. It’s possible that they are more annoying than Lio Rush on the microphone during a Bobby Lashley match. 

-After the match, Paul Heyman was shown outside of Brock Lesnar’s locker room before the show went to break. (c)

-Out of the commercial break, Brock Lesnar’s music hit to a decent negative reaction from the audience. Brock smiled at the top of the ramp before he and Heyman walked down to the ring.

[HOUR THREE]

Once they were in the ring, Heyman paused to soak in the reaction and then did his typical introduction shtick. Heyman then proceeded to congratulate Braun Strowman for negotiating another title shot and called him an almost unbeatable monster. He then congratulated AJ Styles and paused as the audience chanted for him. Heyman and Lesnar laughed it off and said that the reason the audience cheered AJ was because of his performance in last year’s match against Brock. From there, Heyman ran down Styles a bit and said that because of how good AJ did last year against Brock, there is nobody Brock wants to decimate and beat more than him. Heyman then ran through his spoiler deal and said that at Survivor Series it would be an F-5 and then a victory for Lesnar. He proceeded to say that it wasn’t a prediction, but a spoiler.

Heydorn’s Analysis: It took a bit for Heyman to get going, but once he did, this was really good. He explained why the AJ Styles match was important for Lesnar to win even though he won last year which was a missing ingredient to this match up to this point.

From there, Jinder Mahal walked out and told Heyman not to underestimate AJ Styles. He said he was focused on a match with Brock at Survivor Series, but got distracted by AJ Styles. Mahal said he wanted to offer Lesnar his mantra to help prepare for the match. Heyman then asked Brock if he wanted to hear the mantra and after a comment about Heyman being Jewish, Lesnar invited Mahal into the ring. From there, Mahal did this shanti routine before Lesnar destroyed him and the Singh Brothers. Lesnar hit multiple suplexes on each man and ended things by delivering an F-5 to Mahal on the outside of the ring. Heyman then mocked Mahal before he and Lesnar walked back up the ramp.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Typical Lesnar stuff to close things out. Nothing more, nothing less.

-After the segment, Alexa Bliss was shown talking to Stephanie McMahon backstage. The show then went to commercial break. (c)

-Out of the break, Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush made their entrance and they both were wearing sunglasses. Once they got to the ring, Rush cut a promo and called Bobby Lashley’s body artistic. Rush then told Lashley to pose as the audience groaned and booed. Rush then cued up Lashley’s favorite pose and Lashley bent over so the crowd could see his behind.

Heydorn’s Analysis: I’m buying a vowel on this one. Can’t the guy just flex and pose like normal?

As the audience booed Lashley bending over, Elias strummed his guitar to a nice reaction of cheers and chants. Elias made fun of Lio Rush for being a lost child and made a fake call to child services. He then made fun of Lashley bending over before Lashley interuppted him and called him a clown. Lashley told Elias to walk down and confront him face to face. Elias obliged and walked down to the ring before saying that “Bobby Lashley sucks.” He said that he would take care of business and shut both Rush and Lashley up. From there, he strummed the guitar a bit to cheers in the audience and worked through his usual “Who Wants To Walk With Elias” gimmick. The crowd roared loudly as the show went to break. (c)

Heydorn’s Analysis: Great stuff from a babyface Elias. He used the awkwardness of Lashley’s strange posing to his advantage and the audience ate it up. Smart work.

(5) BOBBY LASHLEY vs. ELIAS

When the show returned from commercial break, the match was underway and Bobby Lashley was firmly in control. The announce team debated how LA would react to Bobby Lashley’s signature pose and also touched on the topic of what arenas Elias could sell out. Back in the ring, Elias took momentum back after he sent Bobby Lashley over the top rope and down to the outside mats. Elias followed Lashley and beat him up around the ringside area. Lashley halted that momentum by throwing Elias into the ring post. The referee had been counting both men out while they were brawling and as Elias worked to climb back in at nine, Lio Rush crawled out from underneath the ring to hold Elias down. This prevented Elias from making the count and allowed Lashley to get the victory.

WINNER: Lashley via count-out

-After the match, Elias beat up Lio Rush and Bobby Lashley before leaving the ring. (c)

Heydorn’s Analysis: Short match that didn’t show much of anything for either guy. Elias needed this victory. As a babyface, him being a part of the Survivor Series team would have been a nice next step as he grows his character and climbs the ladder on Raw. Being cast aside for Bobby Lashley and his posing gimmick his a mixed signal from Vince McMahon and company. 

-Out of the break, Alexa Bliss walked to the ring and was accompanied by Mickie James, Tamina, and Nia Jax. Bliss spoke and said that it was personal at Survivor Series. She said winning was about proving that Raw is the A show and that she demanded victory. From there, Bliss said she put together the most dominant team ever. Bliss then addressed that Nattie left because of emotional distress, but that she would be on the team. Bliss then announced that Mickie James, Tamina, and Nia Jax would join her squad as well.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Shocked, but happy that Bliss acknowledged her history with Nia Jax. A big issue with Survivor Series is the lack of acknowledgement of plot points like that one. Well done. 

After those announcements, Bliss said that for the fifth spot, she needed someone that would risk everything (including friendship) to win. Bliss then said that the winner of the next match would win the final spot. Then, Sasha Bank’s music hit and Sasha hit the ring to win her spot onto the team. Bayley’s music hit next and Bayley walked out ahead of the commercial break. (c)

(6) SASHA BANKS vs. BAYLEY

After the break, the bell rang, and the match started. Bayley took over early and nailed Sasha with a running clothesline. From there, attempted to hit Banks with a hangman in the ropes, but Banks counted by kicking Bayley in the face. Banks then hit a baseball slide on Bayley before taking her down with a dive off of the apron. After, Banks rolled Bayley back into the ring and connected with the Meteora before making a cover. Bayley proceeded to kick out of the pin.

Heydorn’s Analysis: As the first part of the match unfolded, the announce team debated who they wanted more on team Raw – Banks or Bayley. With the match going on, this debate was obnoxious and made it hard to focus on the match itself. 

Eventually, the action spilled to the outside or the ring again. Banks slammed Bayley into the ring post and then went for her Meteora again while Bayley was up against the post. As she went for the move, Bayley moved out of the way which caused Banks to go crashing into the post herself. Bayley took over at that point and owned the momentum in the match. She connected successfully with the hangman and then lifted Banks to her feet. Bayley kicked Banks, but Sasha caught her foot and nailed her with a knee to the face. Banks’s momentum was short-lived as Bayley crushed Banks with a devastating Bayley To Belly Suplex on the ring apron. The show then went to commercial break. (c)

Heydorn’s Analysis: Huge bump there for Sasha Banks. Maybe it’s safer than it looks, but man, that looked rough. 

After the commercial break, the show returned from the break as Bayley hit a top rope elbow drop on Banks. From there, Banks locked in the Banks Statement out of nowhere. The move was then broken up by Tamina and Jax who attacked both Banks and Bayley.

WINNER: No contest

-After the match, Alexa Bliss announced that neither of them won the match and gave the final slot to Ruby Riott. Riott walked out and the camera quickly cut to the backstage area where there was commotion going on.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Just a match to fill time and a hell Alexa Bliss pulling the wool over the eyes of Banks and Bayley works for me. It gets Bliss a little heat and gives an added boost to Riott. The entire thing is a bit nonsensical, but I can suspend critique for it in this case. 

-When the shot got to the action, Becky Lynch had Ronda Rousey in an armbar submission. The audience cheered loudly for this moment. Eventually, security got to Lynch and broke the hold.

Heydorn’s Analysis: An intense moment between too stars. I like Becky getting the upperhand. It gives her credibility and presents her as a a viable threat to Rousey.

-After the attack, Becky Lynch hit the ring to huge reaction. Lynch confronted seven women on the Raw roster before the Raw women’s division was attacked by SmackDown. As the brawl ensued other members of the Raw roster ran out, but were all beat down by SmackDown. Becky got busted wide open as soon as she got into the ring. As both sides fought, Ronda Rousey ran to the ring and sold her injured arm as she did. Rousey rolled into the ring and tried to help team Raw, but couldn’t because of her injury. As Ronda’s music hit, Becky rolled out of the ring to get a chair. Once she got it, she got back into the ring and nailed Rousey with hit. Lynch crushed Rousey a few times before her and the rest of team SmackDown ran up the aisle. Becky smiled and stared down Ronda as the in-arena part of the show came to an end.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Typically, I don’t approve or care for the invasion angles during Survivor Series season. The brand rivalry is beyond fabricated and doesn’t have enough meaning to warrant such a passionate invasion. This time it was a bit different because they rolled the Lynch/Rousey story into it. That part worked well. Both Ronda and Lynch looked like big stars and this angle gave their match more heat and intrigue going into Sunday. Becky Lynch is a tidal wave that can’t be stopped at this point. Sunday will be interesting for Ronda Rousey because of it. 

-After the shot on Becky and Ronda staring each other down, the shot cut backstage to Stephanie McMahon yelling at Baron Corbin. She asked Corbin how SmackDown got in and Corbin didn’t have an answer. In an angry tone, Stephanie asked Corbin what he would do to make good and Corbin said he would figure it out. From there, the show faded to black.

Heydorn’s Analysis: Seeds planted for a Raw invasion tomorrow folks. Perhaps the men’s team? Time will tell.  

FINAL THOUGHTS: Lot’s of talking on the show tonight. That’s becoming typical for PPV go home shows these days. The story of the night is Becky Lynch. Her popularity can’t be tamed or controlled at this point. The reaction for Lynch compared to Ronda at Survivor Series is going to be a talking point coming out of the show. If tonight is an indicator, Rousey is going to have an uphill climb.

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NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S REPORT: HEYDORN’S WWE RAW REPORT 11/5: Alt Perspective coverage of the live show including Crown Jewel fallout, Survivor Series build, Balor vs. Lashley, and more