Raw Quick Takes 11/8/21

8 man tag

Omos, AJ, Dirty Dawgs vs Street Profits & RK-Bro

This match actually makes sense to make. Everyone involved has beef, the stories developing from this match will play a major role in the tag division on Raw. The match didn’t just make sense. It was actually really good match, Orton was on fire. Dirty Dawgs get in Styles and omos way and steal the pin.

Omos has been built up to be a force of nature and it works really well with everything going on around him. Styles looks like a genius for bringing Omos to Raw, making him a champion soon after debuting. Orton is probably going to turn on Riddle after losing the titles and after losing to Omos at a major PPV. The Street Profits and the Dirty Dawgs are right in the hunt for the titles so they’re relevant, can’t ask for more than that sometimes.

Hurting

The CEO of the Hurt Business makes his return when Adam Pearce puts Dominick Mysterio in a match against the Almighty Bobby Lashley. Lashley beats Dom and replaces him on team Raw. I don’t know if Pearce is becoming a heel or not but he has done some heel-ish things lately. Rey is going to get destroyed by Lashley but I wish it were going to go the other way, let Lashley lose to a legend, it won’t hurt him, it’ll make him angrier and more determined. Maybe Dominick is going to feud with Bobby Lashley and come out victorious.

Later, Rey comments on Lashley’s beat down of his son while Austin Theory sneaks in a selfie.

Big E[c] vs Chad Gable

Gable has had some great matches lately, I loved what these two did; both have wrestling backgrounds and based their match on it. It was competitive, showcasing the skills of Gable, keeping him strong even in a loss. I’d like to see Gable make a US title run. Damian Priest can find other babyfaces to feud with and be just as relevant.

Otis stares down Big E in the middle of the ring after the match, can’t wait until those two do battle. I don’t want Big E to be a weak champion but I do want him to have some adversity; Roman doesn’t so it makes this seem a little unreal.

Maverick vs Reggie[c]

24/7 champ Reggie has a match, I actually forgot all about him. His music is wack and he is part of a circus but there is a place for this kind of stuff.

Drake Maverick

The hurt business distracts Reggie when they beat down R Truth, leading to a temporary title change.

The title changed hands in this order:

Maverick

Tozawa

Corey Graves

Saxton,

Maverick then back to Reggie.

That was a fun segment, not easy to do in pro wrestling these days. I want to see more of this but I want to see more people involved and longer segments with different champions.

Fatal 5 way

Liv Morgan vs Rhea Ripley[c] vs Zelina Vega, Carmella & Bianca Belair

Winner wins an opportunity, I’m sick of silly terms like that. The women’s division gets spicy and they speak for themselves and how hard they’ve worked while arguing about the upcoming match. Bianca Belair should not have been in this match, Doudrop was absolutely right. Dana Brooke also made perfect sense as she spoke on how far she has come. Doudrop had words for Bianca and later cost her the match causing Liv Morgan to win on what looked like more of a fluke than a convincing win. Not a good way to put her over. Becky and Liv stare each other down and I kinda think that Liv doesn’t quite have what it takes.

KO vs Seth Rollins

KO talks to Big E and the entire locker room trying to convince them that he didn’t do Big E dirty last week. While announcing that he is leading team Raw, Seth questions who Kevin Owens really is. We saw seeds of doubt in people that Owens talked to, with a vicious past like KO has, no one should just be taking words for it. Actions proved to be louder than the good will Owens had earned over the years. The match was great, they had a lot of time to put together some good stuff. They even had a good reason for the count out. KO snapped on Big E, attacking him after E seemingly got in his way and prevented him from getting back in the ring. No one wholeheartedly believing Owens also played a role in his descent into madness. Owens is once again a heel and I don’t like it. There are enough heels on the roster as it is.

Honorable mentions

1. Veer Mahaan vignette.

Final take

Survivor Series is in 2 weeks and this episode did a lot to establish the basic story around the PPV as well as the rivalries that will be going on on Raw. I think it was a really good episode, not a dull moment in the show. A home run for the flagship show.

#BiancaBelair #BigE #BobbyLashley #RandyOrton