RAW

Seth Rollins’ heel turn is finally official, at least for this week. WWE creative went about it in a very clever way by adding a very real element to it.  This is exactly what Seth does on social media, a perfect example being when he called AEW the minor leagues of wrestling. The more he talks, the more he seems to stick his own foot in his mouth. He did it this time by calling out and almost insulting the entire Raw roster after they gave it their all at Survivor Series.

Seth is going to play more of a tweener character where he’ll be working as a heel in some programs and a babyface in others; very similar to what Roman Reigns was doing several years ago. Hopefully he will have more luck in getting over with the WWE universe as a more authentic character who is true to himself.

It’s impressive for Rey Mysterio to still have the endurance at 45 years old to be able to put on three matches in two nights; and look good doing it. This has been a good run for Mysterio toward the end of his in-ring career with WWE.

His primary goal right now may be to hang around long enough to give his son Dominic a good storyline to springboard his career with WWE. Rey has probably won a title at this point for that reason which is extremely unselfish, and I greatly respect that.

Side Note: it’s good to see AOP being given an immediate spotlight upon their push. The red friend is clearly the place for new stars to be created right now in WWE.

It looks like WWE came to the realization that Jerry Lawler and Vic Joseph did not provide quite the level of excitement that the WWE universe is used to on Monday Night Raw November 11^th. Because Dio Maddin is still out due to his storyline injury from Brock Lesnar’s attack, Vince McMahon wisely chose to add a new member to the announce team for the November 18th episode. Samoa Joe did an excellent job on commentary and made the show feel a little more exciting and unpredictable.

NXT has dealt with a mild amount of overexposure. The entire reason it has been so successful is that it has gotten the right amount of exposure. WWE just needs to stay the course and the ratings on the USA Network will surely rise. The presence of AEW, however, will make this process slightly longer and more difficult.

It has been revealed who WWE is going to push heading into the end of 2019. Some up-and-coming superstars will receive the bulk of Paul Heyman’s attention such as AOP, Aleister Black and Buddy Murphy. AOP’s eventual clash with The Viking Raiders is something to look forward to. The budding rivalry between Buddy Murphy and Aleister Black is absolutely perfect and is just what each superstar needs right now. The two young stars can build each other up into legitimate title contenders.

Humberto Carillo will also continue to be very heavily pushed as he will get yet another opportunity at AJ Styles’ United States Championship on November 25th.

Vince McMahon seems to be building the pairing between Lana and Bobby Lashley toward a wedding between the two at ‘Mania. Lana is such a bad actor that I don’t see the WWE universe being able to tolerate this storyline for that long unfortunately. The funny thing about this is that it’s serving as a constant reminder of just how much Vince McMahon failed by not capitalizing on Rusev Day and putting a title on him during that time because fans are still chanting it. Maybe it could be revived.

The Veterans Day addition of Monday Night Raw was an underwhelming show indeed. However, this needs to be put into perspective. People on the Internet are always so quick to criticize WWE for any and all bad events they put on. They forget that WWE has no off-season and shows go year-round; it’s inevitable that the quality of shows will fluctuate depending on the time of year. They cannot all be A’s; there will be a few D’s and even a couple F’s throughout the year.

My theory on the reason why this week’s episode of Raw was so underwhelming is that it was largely due to Dio Maddin being absent because of the attack from Brock Lesnar. Maddin has quietly established himself as a top-level commentator right up there with Corey Graves. In these matches, it’s not only the athletes that offer entertainment, it’s the commentators as well.

The show, which emanated from Manchester, England, started out with a pretty good promo and match afterward from Becky Lynch. Somehow the spell gradually got worse for about two hours until it was capped off with a segment from Lana which featured some terrible acting. I felt like I was watching a bad soap opera or Lifetime movie with my mom. Rusev only made the segment worse by playing dumb.

Becky Lynch is still fitting very authentically into her role as Raw Women’s Champion and it seems to be very much in the energetic state of doing whatever it takes to remain champion. It doesn’t matter much that she was unable to capture the Women’s Tag Team Championships with Charlotte Flair.

One way WWE could potentially help the underwhelming nature of shows such as this one is to establish the consistent presence of stars like Aleister Black rather than having him simply sit in the back and cut cryptic promos. He is a more than capable competitor and could provide significant aid in terms of TV ratings.

Randy Orton seems to be playing the role of a grizzled veteran, kind of like a Clint Eastwood type of character. Around the younger superstars who are trying to prove themselves, he seems to have the mentality of “you’d better not mess with me because I no longer have time for your crap.”

It can come across as being extremely insensitive in the moment, but one can sense that he really cares, kind of like Clint Eastwood’s demeanor. In the 2008 film Gran Torino.

Side Note: Humberto Carillo got the pin in the main event of Raw, which is telling. At 24 years old, he may be the best young prospect WWE has at the moment.

Speaking of Veterans Day, this is the time of year when we should most recognize people like Bobby Lashley and Lacey Evans for their service in the military. A special recognition goes from me personally to Lacey Evans – a former Marine – because I myself have a brother who is currently in the Marines.

It seems to be a distinct possibility that Seth Rollins will be headed over to NXT within the next couple of months; possibly before ‘Mania. This move could provide a resurgence to his career similar to the one Finn Balor recently experienced with his official move to Full Sail and subsequent heel turn. In my opinion, Rollins should definitely consider a character change because it would be a refreshing turn of events in WWE.

In the world of WWE, Triple H serves almost as a father figure to Seth, because every time Seth lacks direction or motivation on what to do next in his career, he always turns to “The Cerebral Assessment” to provide some direction for him. Triple H pointed out about five examples of this from the past seven or so years to Rollins.

This is such a great story because there really are kids like this who always look to their parents to tell them what to do next in life when they are not sure. This is no fault of their own; their consciousness is not completely ready to handle the sense of full autonomy that adulthood brings.

Perhaps Seth and “The Game” could draw up architectural plans to build a new Shield on the third brand, which is rapidly gaining traction btw.

Brock Lesnar will be bringing the WWE Championship to Monday Night Raw as well as his star power; two things the show at this point seems to be lacking. Dio Maddin was his first victim. Dio is obviously much bigger than Rey Mysterio. Brock will need to be mindful to leave at least a little piece of him after Survivor Series.

It’s fitting that The OC will be receiving a pretty sizable push in the coming months, primarily because they received sizable contract extensions not too long ago. They might as well be pushed if they are making so much. AJ Styles has gotten pretty good treatment from WWE booking since debuting in the Royal Rumble match in 2016.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Gallows and Anderson. They have been lost in the shuffle probably two or three times in their time with the company. None of that matters anymore, however. Maybe WWE is turning over a new leaf in terms of the way they view these very talented performers.

I have to say I’m most excited about the women’s match at Survivor Series. It’s between the newly heel Bayley, The Queen of Spades and longtime NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler, and The Man Becky Lynch (it’s amazing Becky never comes across as cocky; just extremely sure of herself). This match could very well be the greatest match of the night, and I believe it definitely deserves strong consideration for the main event spot on the card.

It’s huge for Humberto Carrillo to have his first two matches on Monday Night Raw against two of the most well-respected performers in the entire company – Seth Rollins and AJ Styles. It’s also gigantic for Carrillo to face both men while they are the top two champions on Monday Night Raw. This is a fantastic indicator that Carrillo is viewed very highly by top executives in WWE and will most likely be pushed very hard very early.

One final thing I need to mention is that Carrillo probably has the best entrance music in all of WWE. It has a Luchador feel to it.

The WWE universe had to be a little taken aback by the very passionate promo of Seth Rollins. I don’t know if I recall him ever being quite that passionate, but I absolutely love it. He also adds a little bit of humor into his promos by calling Charlie Caruso “Chuck,” a guy’s name. His promo stuck out more than his match to be honest, and his false count anywhere match with Erick Rowan was pretty good in itself.

If Seth cut more promos like this, I guarantee he will be much more over as a face with the WWE universe as opposed to being vilified on social media. There are always those few fans however that cannot be won over no matter what, and unfortunately those are the most vocal.

It makes perfect sense for Paige to return to WWE and get involved again with the Kabuki Warriors. The reason was reportedly so they could generate heel heat, because they are still being cheered at WWE live events. Maybe Asuka can retain the role of a heel when they stop teaming together, but Kairi Sane is uniquely suited to be a great babyface.

Each of them over the course of the next couple of months will be working in a singles program with Becky Lynch over the Raw Women’s Championship. It looks like Kairi Sane, who has not done anything of note on the main roster yet, will be up first. Asuka will probably have a much more intriguing story to tell with Becky considering they have a history in the Women’s Royal Rumble matches and whatnot.

The storyline involving Rusev and Lana is clearly benefiting Bobby Lashley more than anyone. Lashley’s primary weakness – character development –is being addressed. It appears to be working as well.

Dio Maddin is quietly carving a good reputation for himself as the third member of the commentary team on Monday Night Raw. The WWE universe had to figure that Vic Joseph and Jerry “The King” Lawler would mesh just fine considering they already had experience and a little bit of a relationship.

But Dio was the experimental member of the announced team, with less experience and he had never met Jerry Lawler before he began working with him. He is making a name for himself as a very solid announcer with the subtle but very accurate observations he makes.

AOP is creating the aura of a real rat in the Raw tag team division, and at least right now it seems that they will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. Imagine how great the in-ring action would be if they feuded with The Viking Raiders over the Raw Tag Team Championships.

The Street Profits have finally gotten their well-deserved opportunity to have a main event match on Monday Night Raw. This team of Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford has an infectious energy that is far greater than either one of them could ever produce on his own.

I can only think of one thing Kevin Owens could possibly want with AJ Styles, and that is a United States Championship opportunity. This would make perfect sense given that AJ and KO feuded over the United States Championship throughout the summer of 2017 (the quality of this rivalry was a little bit overshadowed by the presence of Shane McMahon).

Drew McIntyre and Ricochet kicked off the night with one of three fantastic matches (the other two were Andrade vs. Sin Cara and Seth Rollins vs. Humberto Carrillo). McIntyre proved in his return to Monday Night Raw exactly why he is deserving of a top spot in WWE and, ultimately being Universal champion. He will be a welcome final addition to team Flair in the 5-on-5 match at Crown Jewel.

Drew suffered a mild injury a couple of months ago. WWE doctors advised him to get it cleaned up now so he could be fully ready to go heading into WrestleMania season. Kevin Owens meanwhile has not been in action since forcing Shane McMahon to leave WWE a few weeks ago. Both of their characters should begin to pick up steam as the WWE draft has concluded and everyone will be focused on moving into ‘Mania season.

My idea for the immediate future is that WWE could book a match between McIntyre and Owens to determine the No. 1 contender for the Universal Championship when Seth Rollins finishes his rivalry with The Fiend. Maybe Survivor Series would be appropriate. Ric Flair also needs to manage Drew McIntyre – because they are a perfect fit for each other.

I would guess that Drew McIntyre would be booked to win this match for two reasons:

• many WWE fans believe that McIntyre should already have a title around his waist and has the potential to do some great work as a major champion, and
• WWE may already have something planned for Kevin Owens at WrestleMania.

It is huge for WWE to grant Humberto Carrillo with the opportunity to be able to claim that his sights are set on becoming Universal Champion one day, and to subsequently be given an opportunity against Universal Champion Seth Rollins. Seth also seems to be setting the stage for his imminent heel turn. Hopefully we will see the final transformation against The Fiend at Crown Jewel.

I can’t be the only one who thinks that Aleister Black is very reminiscent of CM Punk. Obviously not in terms of the hair, but with their muscle structure and the almost cult-like aura and following they both create. Not to mention they both sit cross-legged in the middle of the ring.

It would be very cool if CM Punk were to return to WWE at some point in the future and face Black at WrestleMania in the future. I’m not necessarily saying it will happen, I’m just throwing it out there as a hypothetical possibility. Punk did say publicly not too long ago “I wouldn’t talk to them,” which is a back-ended way of keeping the door open for a potential return to the squared circle.

It’s great to see Shelton Benjamin playing a prominent role in a WWE storyline, even if it means he has to take a beating from Cain Velasquez. Rusev and Bobby Lashley are also guaranteed to have excellent matches in the future. This isn’t the greatest story, but it’s a good way to involve Lana and the audience has sympathy for Rusev.

The WWE universe will be wishing Sasha Banks all the best in her recovery from injuries to her hip and tailbone suffered at Hell in a Cell.

I will begin by stating the two picks in the draft which may be two of the most underrated.

The first is Buddy Murphy, who appears to be a perennial top-level superstar for the next decade.

The second is the final pick Liv Morgan, who is on hiatus after losing a big match in July and subsequently promises to be “real” when she comes back. She definitely has the look and charisma to be the next breakout star in the Women’s Division. Her in-ring abilities have also steadily improved.

There is also speculation that Liv may be incorporated into The Fiend Bray Wyatt’s conflict with Seth Rollins over the Universal Championship by portraying Sister Abigail. While this would be awesome, some members of the WWE universe may not feel this way, and the reaction that this may get from the WWE universe might be too risky even for Vince McMahon. It is unfortunate for the FOX execs that both of these choices went to Monday Night Raw on USA.

Seth Rolling staying on Raw is another big surprise. One would have thought FOX would have wanted him on their brand because he is so gifted in the ring. If Seth would have gone to Raw, that would’ve meant the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar could’ve come to Raw. The two major heavyweight champions in WWE switching brands would get a lot of people talking and also shift attention away from the success of AEW (since attention is the new currency).

Seth is also in the midst of a heel turn since he is quite clearly embracing the darker side of his personality. There have been gradual hints of this since WrestleMania 35, but the most recent example occurred this week when Rollins burned The Fiend to the ground. This would be welcome because he was excellent as a heel back in 2014-15, the most memorable aspect being that maniacal laugh. We’ll have to see if Seth turns into a full-blown heel by the time his next Universal Championship match with The Fiend rolls around.

Another reason this possibility would have been a good one to go with is that it would put Brock Lesnar on the same show as Bobby Lashley so the two former MMA fighters could potentially have at least one big match in the future. But now, with both men already being in their 40s and being on separate brands for what looks to be the next few years, WWE may have missed out on this big-money match. Let’s face it, one or both of them will most likely retire within the next few years. Lesnar has even said it’s possible he may retire as soon as WrestleMania in 6 months.

That is my own personal fantasy booking, now let’s get down to what actually happened. The Viking Raiders have done everything the right way on their way to winning the Raw Tag Team Championships, and the future of the tag team division on Raw looks extremely bright. Paul Heyman has to be ecstatic by the addition of Erik and Ivar as these two athletic freaks are guaranteed to give classic matches.

One would have to assume that WWE will hold brand-exclusive Pay-Per-Views for the foreseeable future. The Raw and SmackDown rosters are both plenty big enough to accommodate this.

WWE is most likely going to leverage the star power of Tyson Fury for Crown Jewel emanating from Saudi Arabia. The company is likely going to book a match between Fury and Braun Strowman in addition to Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar (one would think the WWE Championship will be on the line). The Saudi government pays WWE a whole lot of money for the two events per year that they host, so WWE makes sure to pull out all the stops and book shows very well at all reasonable costs.

This will be kind of like the 2008 match between The Big Show and Floyd Mayweather (except Fury and Strowman are about the same size).

The Lana-Lashley storyline is going to significantly aid Bobby Lashley in getting over with the WWE universe. She is engaging him in a storyline the audience cares about, has empathy for, and feels invested in. It leaves fans wondering “how could Lashley be so heartless and steal another man’s wife?” It might also create an opening for Rusev to officially turn babyface.

Am I the only one who thinks Lashley creates a feeling in the bedroom very similar to “Sexual Chocolate” Mark Henry? He is the last man anyone would expect to be timid in front of the camera and a mic in part because of his physique. Hopefully, this will serve to make him more comfortable, as he has never been overly comfortable on the mic.

The Viking Raiders have done absolutely nothing the past few months but quietly keep their heads down and impress on a weekly basis. It paid off this week with them earning a victory over the Raw Tag Team Champions Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, who have clearly found a niche in the Tag Team Division. The Viking Raiders will receive a much-deserved opportunity at the Raw Tag Team Championships next week.

It’s somewhat surprising that Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross are still pursuing the Women’s Tag Team Championships. One might have thought that Alexa and Nikki would split after losing the titles and go their separate ways. I figured that Alexa might go to SmackDown on FOX and feud with Charlotte Flair, giving FOX a blockbuster rivalry that has not been explored that much. By the way, this was probably the biggest victory for Asuka and Kairi Sane over WWE’s top two women.

The overall direction of the company is very encouraging – many of the new employees are absolutely thriving, the storylines are in good shape (there will always be a fair share of complaints and room for improvement), and the new sets for Raw and SmackDown combined with the return of pyro creates very exciting vibes.

This past week in pro wrestling was one of the greatest weeks in probably 20 years since the fateful week in January 1999 when Mick Foley won the WWE Championship. WWE never looked back, as WCW never beat them in TV ratings again and wound up being bought out by Vince McMahon in 2001. This week was headlined by WWE of course and the premiering AEW on October 2. Wednesday nights will definitely be the most competitive night of the week in wrestling, as NXT goes head-to-head with AEW Dynamite.

WWE is clearly entering a new era in which they are treating SmackDown as the Flagship A show of WWE. Raw is the B show with the new set, logo, and the younger and experimental announcing team of Vic Joseph, Dio Maddin, and Jerry “The King” Lawler. Lawler obviously serves as the veteran presence, and they did a rather excellent job on Monday night. SmackDown will have veterans like Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and probably either Byron Saxton or Renée Young.

It is very telling as to what WWE thinks of Rey Mysterio’s son Dominick if they are letting him get in the ring at this young of an age with Brock Lesnar, obviously a top guy. Lesnar’s quite clearly very upset that he lost his title to Seth Rollins.

I don’t think this will necessarily happen, but I could see a scenario playing out where The Beast challenges The Fiend in say January and wins the Universal Title. Seth could then challenge him for the title at WrestleMania and win it, retiring him for good. The only reason I mention this is because Brock Lesnar has discussed the possibility of officially retiring at WrestleMania 36 in 2020.

It’s safe to say that Alexa Bliss is officially a babyface after she received major cheers from the WWE universe on Raw.

Bobby Lashley also returned to WWE about a month earlier than expected and shocked everyone by making out with Rusev’s wife Lana right in front of him. This has caused much more speculation and interest surrounding the WWE product. Is Lana cheating on Rusev? It always brings a lot of eyeballs to the WWE product when Vince McMahon incorporates love into storylines.

Hell in a Cell this Sunday almost seems like an afterthought because of the fast-paced booking style which was reminiscent of the way Vince Russo went about pacing the show during the Attitude Era. So many major events that happened so close together that the audience barely had time to process what had just happened before another major event went down.

This was a great strategy to keep audiences interested in the product. It will be much more difficult to consistently duplicate that strategy of booking because Monday Night Raw now is a three-hour show rather than just two back in the late 90s. For that reason, it will probably be much easier to embody this style of booking on SmackDown since it is only a two-hour show.

One has to feel a little bit for Braun Strowman because it seems that every time he gets in the picture for a world title match, he comes up short (no offense Gable). In the eyes of any observant fan, this obviously means that Vince McMahon doesn’t trust Braun enough to carry the company as its primary champion and face. He has had multiple opportunities at the Universal Championship (most notably against Brock Lesnar), but for whatever reason WWE has been unwilling to pull the trigger on him. This week on Raw, however, Strowman gets a pass because he fell victim to an attack by The Fiend Bray Wyatt. “Oh my lucky stars! The Fiend made a new friend.”

I think Rey Mysterio shocked us all this week in a very good way. He has been teasing retirement recently, but when a parent is doing something for their child, they can make miracles happen. WWE must have big plans in store for Dominic, because he is already signed to a WWE contract. Dominic will be with the company for many years to come, since he is only in his early 20s and has been under the training of Lance Storm. Mysterio vs. Rollins next week on the season premiere of Monday Night Raw is sure to be a main event that will draw quite a few eyeballs to the show. Personally, I thought WWE creative might use this opportunity to springboard the career of Ricochet, because they clearly love him and rightfully so.

Robert Roode showed some serious potential to be a future world champion in WWE as well. I would’ve never guessed he would be one of the final two men in the fatal five-way match. It would be great to see him receive a push similar to the one Triple H gave him in NXT, where he was the premier champion for about eight months before losing it to Drew McIntyre.

Vince McMahon clearly has a significant affinity towards Baron Corbin and is making no qualms about it. He is clearly the most hated heel in the company – and it’s not close – and he is fully embracing the role. The boos are deafening and Reigns-esque. Fortunately, WWE is not trying to force-feed Corbin to the WWE universe by incessantly pushing him as a babyface. Gable is also proving to have major potential and is using his excellent in-ring chemistry with Corbin to elevate himself. His moonsaults look exactly like Kurt Angle’s (maybe Kurt could manage him in the future).

Vince McMahon is also reportedly a huge fan of Gable’s and this is the primary reason he has received a recent sizable push in the King of the Ring tournament. Chad reminds me of a Daniel Bryan type purely because of his size, so maybe Vince McMahon has a sweet spot in his heart for Gable because he is a former Olympian like Kurt Angle and he possesses similar size to Daniel Bryan (and both of those guys worked out well in the past).

The Sasha Banks-Becky Lynch storyline has the potential to become the main story in all of WWE. Two of The Four Horsewomen of WWE with abilities as they have – this very well may be money. It is very reminiscent of the Sasha Banks-Charlotte Flair rivalry from about three years ago.

It is also not looking as though the Women’s Tag Team Championships are a significant priority at the moment. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross are currently in somewhat of a rivalry with Sasha Banks and Bayley, but they probably won’t be challenged at Hell in a Cell by them as Sasha will be challenging Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship and Bayley will presumably defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship at the event.

Regarding The Fiend, a few people on Twitter and YouTube have insinuated that this new gimmick for Wyatt could initiate the reunion of the original Wyatt family. Obviously for this to happen, Wyatt would need to lose his Universal Championship match to Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell (which seems unlikely), He would also need to be drafted to SmackDown with his brothers Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. They could even potentially convince Daniel Bryan to join them once again since he is currently a heel. This storyline would be a little different, but it would still have money written all over it (it probably won’t happen, but it’d be an awesome potentiality).