With Roman Reigns now the new #1 Contender to Seth Rollins’ WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the only two questions remain are when and how? When will they wrestle, and what type of match will it be?
The Wyatt’s have been on a mission to rid the WWE of “The Brothers Of Destruction,” Undertaker and Kane, and have been successful so far. They want to once again be “the new faces of fear,” what will they do tonight to continue their way?
Will the Tag-Team division heat up again and produce new challengers to The New Day? Since Team B.A.D. helped Paige in her match with Natalya last week on Smackdown!, does this mean the former “Diva Of Tomorrow” and new bad-girl is a new member of Beautiful and Dangerous?
All this and much more I’m sure will go down, so read on!
Monday Night Raw TV Report for November 2nd, 2015 – “Meeting Your Match”
Introduction Segment: Welcoming and Arena Promo
Michael Cole addresses us, then the music of Roman Reigns plays, who makes his way through the fans. The “superman” of WWE talks about being next in line to take on Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Title, which will happen at Survivor Series. (That answers question number one!) (Note: appropriately Roman gets a great amount of cheers while Seth receives mega-boos.) He does credit Rollins for being champion since WrestleMania, but also berates him for being a “brown noser” and “kissing The Authority’s ass.” (Same thing isn’t it?) He proclaims that he will defeat Rollins and “reign” as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
The current one interrupts, standing on stage. Seth Rollins denies Roman, saying that he will not lose to his former Shield partner. Much like Reigns, Rollins does also put over his opponent as a strong competitor for matching Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, until Rollins himself interjected and used his Money In The Bank briefcase to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. “When it comes to you and me, yeah you’re good, but you’re going to be second-best, always. And these people, they will only remember you as the guy who used to carry my bags.”
Roman threatens to start it up with Rollins right away, but The Authority stop it. They tease giving the fans the 1 – 1 encounter, but relinquish it, saying they will not make a huge match like that just for television. Instead, Triple H and Stephanie book a traditional Survivor Series Five-On-Five Tag-Team match, pitting Rollins and four teammates of his choosing against Roman Reigns and his four partners.
Later tonight, a Fatal-4-Way between Paige, Brie Bella, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch determines who will take on Charlotte for the Divas Championship at Survivor Series; and more with the Wyatt Family and their demolition of Undertaker and Kane. Up next, Dolph Ziggler is wrestling Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens!
Commercials.
Match #1: Single – Dolph Ziggler VS. Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens (Non-Title)
Owens kicks at Dolph’s left knee immediately and begins to work it over. Ziggler tries to comeback with a small headbutt, but is down again. He kicks Kevin off, but misses a splash, however rolls out of the way of Owens’ running senton and drives him to the canvas with the Leaping-DDT! The I.C. Champ falls to the floor, then Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae make their way down.
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During the break, Breeze and Rae’s entrance distracted Dolph, allowing Owens to capitalize. He has controlled the bout from then on and wears down Ziggler. Owens runs to Dolph in the corner, but Ziggler moves and clotheslines Kevin down. “The Show-Off” gets some momentum and trades roll-ups for near-falls. He hits a superkick but only gets two. Tyler is picturing himself, which averts Dolph’s attention, and lets Kevin to slam him with the Pop-Up Powebomb and cover for the victory!
Winner via Pinfall: Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens
Post-match, Tyler goes to picture himself with a laid-out Ziggler, but “The Show-Off” slaps back. Breeze drops him on the mat with the Beauty Shot spin-kick, then he and Summer pose over a prone Dolph and take a “selfie.”
Segment #2: Video Promo
A montage of 1987, the year Survivor Series started, is shown, of course featuring footage of the show itself as well as other moments in those 365 days.
Commercials.
Segment #3: Backstage Promo
Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens is walking through the halls when WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins walks up. He entices Owens about picturing the two wrestling at WrestleMania in a Title-for-Title match, which definitely pleases the I.C. Champ. Owens then agrees to be on Rollins’ team.
Segment #4: Video Promo and Backstage Promo
The events of Paige’s heel turn is recalled and Rene Young interviews Becky Lynch. She reminds Lynch that if she is victories, then it will be her taking on her friend Charlotte for the Divas championship at Survivor Series. Before Becky can respond, Brie walks in and puts her down, but Lynch fires back with disparaging comments about Nikki instead. Brie walks away and Lynch is happy.
Cesaro enters the arena for his match, next!
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Match #2: Single – Cesaro VS. The Miz
They lockup and Cesaro rolls out of a wrist-lock, kipping-up multiple times, then flipping Miz over into a wrist-lock of his own. They run at each other off the ropes, then Cesaro gets Miz mid-air and turns him around with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He goes for repeated uppercuts in the corner, but Miz escapes to the outside then rams Cesaro into the barricade. He takes over for a bit, but is soon caught in a spine-buster and swung around 25times! Cesaro ties Miz up in The Sharpshooter, forcing him to tap-out!
Winner via Submission: Cesaro
Up next, The Wyatt Family will be out to make their latest statements.
Commercials.
Segment #5: Arena Promo
Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erik Rowan, and Braun Strowman stroll to the ring. Bray does all the talking, with the other three standing behind him. He declares himself to now have all the powers of the Undertaker and Kane, which are the “thunder,” “lighting,” and “forces of darkness.” Bray tells us that he will set our humanity on fire and have go to “hell.” Pyro blasts on stage at this point, then a video compilation of ‘Taker and Kane’s greatest hits is shown, from 1997 – 2012. It ends in a swirl, which appears to be “sucked into” Bray. He is kneeling and yells “follow the buzzards.”
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Match #3: Tag-Team – The Lucha Dragons (Sin Cara and Kalisto) VS. King Barrett and Sheamus
Sheamus and Kalisto start out, with Kalisto hitting Sheamus with fast moves. Sheamus hits back with a shoulder-block, then tags in Barrett who kicks Kalisto in the gut. He repeats the kick again in the corner, the suplexes him out of it. Cara is now in, and he and Kalisto double-team Barrett in the corner with a flipping-front-splash, but Barrett regains domination over Kalisto.
Commercials.
King is still governing the contest over Kalisto, until he makes the hot-tag to Cara, who flies all over Barrett and Sheamus. He goes tot the top turnbuckle but is distracted by Barrett, allowing Sheamus to push Sin down. Kalisto breaks up the subsequent pin attempt, but King continues the punishment. He rams into the barrier then clamps on a chinlock.
Barrett whips Cara in the corner then kicks him with a smack in the gut and switches with his Irish partner. “Mr. Money In The Bank” chucks Sin with a front-suplex. He whales away on Cara’s chest with the 10 Beats Of The Bowron, then lets Barrett knee him and hit a big boot. Wade goes for a suplex, but Cara reverses into a driving-DDT, and makes the hot-tag!
Kalisto is in a again and almost takes this, but Sheamus disrupts. Cara puts Sheamus to the floor, and Barrett boots Sin to the ground too. King winds up for the Bullhammer Elbow, but Kalisto turns around into his finisher to finish this one!
Winners via Pinfall: The Lucha Dragons
Segment #6: Locker Room Promo
Zeb Colter is shown texting in his scooter when Jack Swagger walks up. His former protégé wonders what is up with the partnership with United States Champion Alberto Del Rio, to which Colter tries to convince Swagger that he is trying to combine Mexico and America, as both have many prospects on the positive side. Jack seems to not entirely buy into it, and Del Rio walks up to warn Swagger to “stay away.”
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Match #4: Single – R-Truth VS. United States Champion Alberto Del Rio (with Zeb Colter) (Non-Title)
Truth gets some decent offense in, but Alberto is too strong and gets the 1 – 2 – 3 after a second-turnbuckle double-stomp!
Winner via Pinfall: United States Champion Alberto Del Rio (with Zeb Colter)
Segment #7: Video Promo
Another Survivor Series/year recap is shown, this one from 2005.
Commercials.
Segment #8: Backstage Promo
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins meets Tag-Team Champions The New Day, who want to be on Team Rollins. He reluctantly agrees, not wanting to be enticed with their usual antics.
Segment #9: Locker Room Promo
JoJo inquires Sasha Banks about the “we want Sasha” chants from the crowds, which she speculates puts a lot of “pressure” on her. Banks lives up to it, as she is “The Boss” and says that the rest of the Divas in the Fatal-4-Way will find out that she is “The Boss,” like Natalya did on Smackdown! She pokes fun at JoJo before walking off.
Becky Lynch makes her entrance for the Fatal-4-Way, next!
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Match #5: Fatal-4-Way To Determine The #1 Contender To The Divas Championship – Becky Lynch VS. Sasha Banks VS. Brie Bella VS. Paige
Brie and Becky go at it, then Brie and Sasha fight over the cover. Paige watches on, then is pounded on by Becky and put to the outside. Banks throws Brie into the corner then focuses on Lynch, who wiggles out of a slam and puts Sasha into a few pin positions for near-falls.
Brie is in her “mode,” then Paige and Becky brawl on the floor, with Paige throwing Lynch into the steel steps. Brie pushes Paige off the apron, but is dropped in the ring with Sasha’s springboard-double-knees.
Commercials.
Brie gives both Becky and Paige kicks-to-the-chest, then Sasha comes back in. A “Tower Of Doom” (double-suplex and powerbomb, all out of the corner) is orchestrated with Lynch powerbombing Paige and Brie as they double-suplexed Banks from the top rope!
Becky is up first and cleans house, but is soon taken down with the Bank Statement Submission. Paige breaks it up, then picks up the spot after giving Lynch the Ram-Paige DDT!
Winner via Pinfall and NEW #1 Contender To The Divas Championship: Paige
Post-match, Byron Saxton interviews her, but is quickly shot-down, as are the fans as well as Becky, Sasha, and Brie. She yells her signature “this is my house,” then dismisses Saxton.
Segment #9: Video Promo
2014 moments and Survivor Series is reviewed.
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Segment #10: Backstage Promo
Divas Champion Charlotte is questioned by Rene about Paige. Charlotte is happy that Paige will be the one meeting her at Survivor Series, so she can show her that just because she has a famous father and family, she did not get it easy. “She’s going to learn the hard way that I earned this!”
Tag-Team Champions The New Day make their entrance for the main-event. Prior, they tout Xavier’s return and many of their favorites that contain the word “survivor.” The Tag-Team bout is next!
Commercials.
Match #6: Ten-Man Elimination Tag-Team (Survivor Series Rules) – Tag-Team Champions The New Day (Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston, and Big E.), Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins VS. Roman Reigns and ???
Since Roman has not revealed his partners until now. The first are The Usos! Roman’s family makes their long return in fine form with their traditional Samoan entrance; next is Ryback, and lastly (but very-predictably) is Dean Ambrose,
Jimmy and Xavier begin, with Jimmy giving Woods a quick superkick! He tags in his brother, who rockets off the top turnbuckle with a splash and gets the fast 1 – 2 – 3!
Woods is eliminated; Rollins’ Team 4, Reigns’ Team 5
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Jey is still in, but being quadruple-teamed in the corner with stomps. Owens locks on a grounding chinlock, then Kofi kicks at the Uso twin and wears him down. He climbs the turnbuckle, but is upper-cutted as he dove off. Jey tags in Jimmy, who is all over Kofi with a Samoan Drop. Both Usos soar over the top rope with a splash on Big E. and Kofi; Jimmy follows with a Frogsplash on Kofi and covers to take him out!
Kingston is eliminated; Rollins’ Team 3, Reigns’ Team 5
Big soon plants the Big Ending on Jey and eliminates him.
Jey is eliminated; Rollins’ Team 3, Reigns’ Team 4
Kevin follows up with the Pop-Up Powerbomb on Jimmy and sends him to the back.
Jimmy is eliminated; Rollins’ Team 3, Reigns’ Team 3
Reigns and Owens wrestle, then Rollins gets involved but is put on the floor with a clothesline and rocketing-dive by Ambrose! Big clotheslines Dean, then Ryback tackles Big E!, and Rollins distracts Reigns before he can hit the Superman Punch, and Kevin benefits with a superkick.
Commercials.
Rollins is now controlling Roman, almost abolishing him with a DDT! He deteriorates Reigns with a grounding chinlock, but Reigns battles back. Seth counters and continues to beat down Roman, then tags in Kevin. The I.C. Champ punches away after a senton and cover, then kicks at Reigns’ back.
Roman keeps on getting punished until he gets some motivation and hurls Rollins to the floor! He makes the hot-tag to Ryback, who is all over Big E, until he is clotheslined down too. This breaks down, leaving Ryback and Big E. in the ring; Ryback takes him out after a Shellshock!
Big E. is eliminated; Rollins’ Team 2; Reigns Team 3
Rollins quickly Pedigrees Ryback and gets him away!
Ryback is eliminated; Rollins’ Team 2; Reigns’ Team 2
Seth attempts a Pedigree on Ambrose, but “The Lunatic Fringe” backdrops him. He goes for the tag, but Rollins knocks Reigns off the apron. Dean is fired up, however, and dives off the top turnbuckle with an elbow! Rollins gets his shoulder up before three, then hits an Enziguri and mini-superkick, but is hammered on by Reigns! Kevin is back in, who works over Ambrose with Rollins for a while.
Seth Kevin keep double-teaming Ambrose until Rollins misses a top-rope knee and hits Owens instead! Dean tosses Seth to the floor and hits the Dirty Deeds DDT to Owens, eliminate
Owens is eliminated; Rollins’ Team 1; Reigns’ Team 2
The WWE World Heavyweight Champion is left with Reigns and Ambrose. He tries but the two-on-one is too much for him until he gets a chair and whacks Dean with it in the gut, dq-ing himself.
Rollins is eliminated; Rollins’ Team 0; Reigns’ Team 2
Winners via Disqualification: Roman Reigns, The Usos (Jimmy and Jey), Ryback, and Dean Ambrose
Post-match, Seth tries to attack again but Roman hits the Superman Punch, sending Rollins to run up the ramp. Reigns and Dean gather themselves as Rollins smirks and looks on from the stage to close the show.
End Of Raw.
Reporter’s Rumblings
This was another great Raw, both action-wise and general storyline-fluidity. Only a few minor dealings I have, but definitely a lot better than worse! Onto those particulars:
Excellence: matches between Ziggler/Owens, Cesaro/Miz (although, I do wish it was a bit longer), Dragons and Sheamus/Barrett, and Survivor Series. All were wrestled very well, even surprisingly the Dragons/Barrett/Sheamus bout, and told a great story. Again, Owens especially good at playing up his bad guy character during the match by yelling at the crowd and mocking his opponents.
Promos of Reigns, Rollins, Rollins recruiting, Zeb, Sasha, Paige, and Charlotte. I’m liking the relationship between Zeb and Del Rio, and it is very nice to see Roman getting the support of fans again; let’s hope they stay on his side for a long while!
Very happy to see Xavier back! While both Kofi and Big E have been awesome without him, Xavier does add so much more!
Tyler Breeze is going to be a major star! This should be a one-off match/feud with Ziggler, then he needs to continue to move on up.
Bray’s promo was epic and his delivery is getting more powerful week-by-week; I’m starting to re-think my side on if this was appropriate after he already lost to ‘Taker at Wrestlemania. I now think it is, as the 25th Anniversary of The Undertaker’s debut is bigger than WrestleMania this year, so why not have Bray take over “The Deadman” at this enormous event instead? The build is going well, so let’s wish it to stay that way. Again, I still want an Eight-Man, with The Wyatt Family taking on “Taker, Kane, Sting, and someone else.
The Uso’s return was again a true, nice surprise and it is great to have them back! They looked in great shape and will hopefully go on to have more superb bouts.
Liking the Survivor Series card so far, but am definitely hoping they add the Tag-Team Eliminations matches.
Bogus: while the Fatal-4-Way was wonderfully-wrestled, Nikki should’ve been in there instead. She has not had her official rematch yet, and she even won last week, so to me this should earn her the right to at least be in the match to see who faces Charlotte!
The only problem I had with Wyatt’s promo was the pyro at the end; it seemed more like opening-Raw pyro instead of “cryptic,” in which they should’ve used fire instead.
Wanted a Del Rio promo instead of R-Truth losing to him.
In general, loved this edition and hope they persist with most of this direction! Until Smackdown!, Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers and Fans!
