The Royal Rumble announcement plans for WWE Backstage’s preview special have been modified.
It was announced on tonight’s SmackDown that the preview special will now reveal the wrestlers who will be entering the men’s Royal Rumble match at numbers one and two. There will also be a WWE Backstage exclusive match between Natalya and Tamina airing on the preview special, with the winner entering the women’s Royal Rumble match last at number 30.
The preview special had originally been set to reveal the first and second entrants for the women’s Royal Rumble match and the 30th entrant for the men’s Royal Rumble match.
The WWE Backstage Royal Rumble preview special is airing on FS1 at 8 p.m. Eastern time this Saturday night. It’s being hosted by Renee Paquette, Booker T, and Paige and will also feature “exclusive Fox guests and interviews.”
This will be the first episode of WWE Backstage since weekly production of the show was ended in June of last year. It was noted at the time that the show could return for special episodes surrounding major WWE events.
The WWE Backstage preview special will also re-air on FS1 at midnight Eastern time and at 5 p.m. Eastern this Sunday, which is the day of the Royal Rumble.
Date: November 30, 2020 Location: Amway Center in Orlando, FL
The Big Takeaway —
AJ Styles will face Drew McIntyre for the WWE title at TLC.
Raw was quite bad outside of the triple threat match where Styles beat Riddle and Keith Lee.
Show Recap —
The announcers ran down some of tonight’s card which includes Drew McIntyre teaming with his “best friend” Sheamus against Miz and John Morrison.
A Moment of Bliss
Bliss introduced Randy Orton, whom she called her favourite superstar. Orton entered wearing a zip-up hoodie and shorts. Bliss showed a replay of what happened next week. She pretended to be surprised that the Fiend got involved in Orton’s match but thought Orton would have a better idea why.
Orton said he’s known Wyatt a long time but has never met the Fiend and certainly doesn’t know him like Bliss does. Orton noted that the Fiend shows his pain and suffering on his face while Orton keeps it bottled inside so he can blend in.
Orton recalled finding Wyatt’s weakness years ago and burning it down to the ground. It was time to find the Fiend’s weakness and Orton thought that Bliss was that weakness. Bliss stopped speaking like a child and stood up to him before saying, “who’s manipulating who?”
The screens slowly went off and the lights turned red. Bliss was suddenly in Orton’s arms and the Fiend was in the ring.
Orton carefully handed Bliss back to Wyatt and quickly bailed from the ring. Orton smiled and said, “who’s laughing now?”
This was not good.
The announcers plugged the upcoming Jeff Hardy/Elias match and called it the final chapter. I’m not sure how they would know that.
Symphony of Destruction match: Jeff Hardy defeated Elias (12:29)
Early in the match, R-Truth popped out of a piano that he was hiding in. Erik and Tozawa immediately ran out so perhaps they were waiting in Gorilla. They ran after Truth who ran away. Drew Gulak ran out but Hardy gave him a back body drop. Gran Metalik ran out but Elias clotheslined him. Elias hit Lince Dorado with a guitar and Hardy hit Gulak with a chair.
This led to a break about three minutes into the match. Hardy tried a Whisper in the Wind but Elias hit him with a guitar. Elias tried jabbing him with something but Hardy moved and Elias jabbed a speaker which “electrocuted” him. Hardy hit him with a bass.
The big spot came at the finish. Hardy placed Elias on a table on the outside (and put some small instruments on top of him). Hardy then hit a Swanton Bomb off the top to the outside through the table for the pinfall win.
It was a spectacular spot but also a dangerous one as Hardy’s head came way too close to hitting the steel steps. I have no idea why they didn’t think to move the steps away. Hardy appeared to be just fine, thankfully.
(The other annoying thing about the match was the announcers chuckling throughout. They laughed at Hardy hurting his tailbone and Elias presumably getting electrocuted.)
Riddle approached Keith Lee who was warming up in the back. Riddle rambled on and on and Lee didn’t seem amused. The camera zoomed in on Riddle who looked away from Lee for a moment to make an Austin Powers joke. When the camera expanded, Lee was gone. (It was a funny visual but also dumb to think Riddle didn’t notice Lee leaving.)
The New Day plugged WWE Shop.
Mustafa Ali, with Retribution, cut a backstage promo. Ali wondered why Ricochet continued to try pushing the same boulder up the same hill every week just to have it fall back down. Promises made to him will just turn into lies and dreams will turn into nightmares. Slapjack said he was rejected but Ali saw him for what he really was: a weapon. Ali warned Ricochet that he would face consequences.
There was a promo by Ricochet that he apparently did on Twitter. Ricochet’s focus was to be better than Ali in the ring and that would prove that Ali was doing things the wrong way. They need to shoot every Ricochet promo like this because this was way better than usual.
Slapjack (w/Mustafa Ali) defeated Ricochet (3:31)
Ricochet gained control so Ali summoned T-Bar and Mase from the back. Ricochet sent Slapjack to the outside and wiped out all three men with a dive.
Dana Brooke suddenly appeared behind Ali and slapped him. This led to Ricochet fighting off interference attempts by every Retribution member as the referee just watched. Ricochet chased Ali from the apron but Slapjack caught him with his finisher for the pinfall win. Slapjack pinned Ricochet. Brooke vanished. This sucked.
The first hour was quite bad.
[Second hour]
MizTV with The Miz & John Morrison
Miz and Morrison introduced Sheamus as their guest. They were very annoying. They basically tried to drive a wedge between Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. Sheamus laughed them off.
Miz fired up and reminded Sheamus he used to be a top guy. Now McIntyre was on top as Sheamus just watched from the sidelines. Miz called him a joke.
Sheamus got serious, removed his jacket and hat (revealing a completely normal hairstyle) and attacked both men. The numbers were too much, though, and Miz clocked him from behind with the briefcase. Miz hit him repeatedly with the briefcase.
Women’s Champion Asuka & Lana defeated Tag Team Champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler in a non-title match (9:17)
Before the match, Jax told Sarah Schreiber that Asuka and Lana got lucky last week (but not before insulting Schrieber’s appearance first). Baszler reminded her that she was fighting Asuka while Jax couldn’t even handle Lana. Baszler said it was one thing to lose to Asuka, but couldn’t stomach a loss to Lana. Jax said they would win and put Lana through a table.
Lana and Asuka each tried a baseball slide but were caught by Jax and Baszler. (Actually, Baszler caught Asuka but Lana came up short because Jax was standing too far away.) Jax and Baszler swung them into the barricade and they went to break barely a minute into the match.
Asuka tagged in Lana immediately upon return from the break. Jax cut her off easily and clobbered her with a forearm. Jax and Baszler worked her over until Lana managed to slip off of Jax’s shoulders before shoving her into the post.
Lana fell into the corner and Asuka tagged herself in before running wild on Baszler. They knocked each other down with kicks so Lana tagged herself in. Lana hit a flying crossbody but Baszler rolled through and applied the Kirifuda Clutch.
Asuka fought off Jax and broke up the cover by giving Baszler a shining wizard. Lana rolled over on Baszler and pinned her for the win. Lana pinned Baszler.
McIntyre approached Sheamus in the back. McIntyre seemed amused that Sheamus was hurting. He figured Sheamus had fun because he’s a physical guy. Sheamus wasn’t amused but cheered up and agreed with McIntyre that it was a bit of fun. They were both looking forward to tonight’s match.
New Day promo
New Day entered. Kofi Kingston put over Xavier Woods being named host of G4. Woods sincerely thanked anyone who has ever been on his channel or supported him in any way. Kingston asked Woods to recap Hurt Business repeatedly failing to win the tag titles. Woods did play-by-play as replays aired. They were very happy with themselves.
Hurt Business interrupted. (Woods could be heard off-mic saying, “where are the other tag teams?”) MVP said they were technically 2-2 against each other. Shelton Benjamin said they would win the titles and hurt them in the process. Cedric Alexander jumped in the ring, got in Woods’ face, and told him it was dumb luck that they were still the champions.
They seemed to be getting ready to start the match when Alexander attacked Woods. This led to commercials.
The match began during the break and Woods was in control when they returned. Woods tried a DDT but Alexander caught him and dropped him over the top rope to take control. Woods came back with chops, a forearm, a clothesline, and an Honor Roll clothesline for two.
Alexander countered a powerbomb into a brainbuster for two. Alexander went for a suicide dive but Woods dodged and Alexander went into the barricade. Woods took too long to capitalize so Alexander nailed him with the Lumbar Check for the pinfall win. A perfectly fine match.
Alexander celebrated big after the match. In fact, he went up the ramp all pumped up but left MVP and Benjamin behind in the ring. MVP and Benjamin seemed confused. (I didn’t mention it earlier, but Alexander took a slight shot at Benjamin earlier for losing last week.)
Riddle approached AJ Styles and Omos in the back. Styles told him tonight’s match was serious. Riddle said he was getting the carrot tonight. Omos laughed. Styles didn’t get it. Omos said Riddle’s bunny was named skipper (which was Riddle’s nickname for Styles).
Styles said that didn’t make sense because bunnies hop. Riddle said his turtle was named hoppy. Riddle said Styles was like his bunny because Styles had great hops, was furry and was cute. Styles shoved him and stormed off.
[Third hour]
Triple Threat match: AJ Styles (w/Omos) defeated Riddle and Keith Lee (12:58)
Lee set up for a dive on both men early in the match but they both ran for their lives before he could attempt it. Lee leaped over both men in the ring before giving Riddle a crossbody for two. Lee gave Styles a big back body drop before working over Riddle. Styles briefly winded Lee (with an assist from Omos) and Riddle took them both down with a springboard dive.
Riddle was all over both guys after a break. He went for a senton but Styles got his feet up. Lee whipped Styles into the corner but he’s so strong that Styles slid into the post and out of the ring. Lee tossed Riddle around the ring. Riddle tried applying a triangle choke but Lee used Riddle’s body to knock down Styles. Riddle did apply the hold but Lee got out of it.
Riddle followed with running forearms in the corner to both guys. He gave Styles an exploder but Lee gave Riddle a pounce for a two count. Styles came back with strikes on Lee for two. Styles went to the top but Lee headbutted him. Riddle tried powerbombing Lee but Lee slipped out and tossed him aside. Styles gave Lee a diving crossbody for two.
Riddle gave Styles a German suplex into a pin for two. Lee and Riddle exchanged strikes which Riddle actually got the better of after a knee strike. With Lee down, Styles flew in with a Phenomenal forearm on Riddle for the pinfall win. Very fun match.
AJ Styles will face Drew McIntyre for the WWE title at TLC.
Charly Caruso interviewed Miz and Morrison. She wondered if they had a plan tonight. They rambled for a bit and she called them out on it. She didn’t believe they actually had a plan. Morrison said he had an idea so Miz left with him.
Dana Brooke defeated Reckoning (w/Mustfa Ali) (2:17)
Yim’s mask came off a few seconds into the match. Ali tried distracting Brooke but Brooke rolled up Yim for the pinfall win. Ali admonished Yim after the match for failing.
Miz and Morrison approached Styles and Omos. Morrison had a peach pie for Styles because Styles was from Georgia. Styles didn’t want to hear them anymore but agreed to help them. Miz seemed surprised. Styles said he’d rather face Miz for the title than McIntyre. Morrison understood. Miz seemed annoyed. Styles told them he’d see them out there. They were about to leave but Styles told Morrison to give him the pie.
MVP approached Riddle. Riddle admitted that losing sucks but at least he had an opportunity, unlike Bobby Lashley. Riddle made some donut jokes so MVP shoved him. Riddle got in his face but Lashley suddenly appeared and put Riddle down with the Hurt Lock.
Elsewhere, Lee approached Sheamus. Lee said this was none of his business but the word in the back was that Sheamus was planning on turning on McIntyre. Sheamus said he was right: this was none of his business.
Charly Caruso in-ring interview with Drew McIntyre
McIntyre said it felt damn good to be WWE champion again. Sometimes, you need to get knocked on your ass to find out what you’re made of. McIntyre was a man of his word when he said he would Claymore kick Orton and regain his title.
McIntyre also claimed that he was right when he said he would bring Roman Reigns back down to earth. He kicked out of spear after spear because he was unlike any man Reigns had faced before. Reigns only won because Jey Uso interfered. McIntyre warned Reigns that their paths would cross again and McIntyre would win the war.
Caruso asked about Styles. McIntyre had no problem with Styles and their match would be phenomenal. McIntyre told Miz not to cash in because the briefcase was the only thing keeping him relevant.
McIntyre was good here.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre & Sheamus defeated The Miz & John Morrison via DQ (9:55)
Styles joined commentary. Sheamus was in complete control early on and began taunting Styles, so he left commentary. Sheamus knocked down Miz who tried to cheap-shot him. Sheamus turned around to face Styles but encountered Omos instead. The distraction allowed Morrison to dropkick Sheamus into the announce desk, which sent us to break.
Styles was back on commentary after the break as Miz and Morrison worked over Sheamus. McIntyre tagged in and tossed Miz and Morrison around the ring. Sheamus wanted a tag but Morrison yanked him off the apron and tossed him over the barricade. (In the Thunderdome, Tom Phillips acts like being sent over the barricade is like being sent into a volcano.)
Styles suddenly gave McIntyre a Phenomenal forearm for the DQ.
Miz and Morrison seemed annoyed because they thought they had things under control but Styles explained his reasoning. Morrison gave McIntyre Starship Pain and Miz gave him a Skull Crushing Finale. Styles gave the ref Miz’s briefcase for a cash-in but Miz stopped it. After some words were exchanged, Miz decided he would cash in.
However, McIntyre wiped out both Miz and Morrison. McIntyre confronted Styles. Styles then bounced out of the ring and into the arms of Omos. Omos carried Styles away. Styles and McIntyre taunted each other as Raw went off the air.
(Styles being carried away by Omos was somewhat amusing but it was funny in the Kurt Angle kind of way where it was actually very detrimental.)
Both of SmackDown’s teams for Survivor Series are now fully set.
On tonight’s go-home show for the pay-per-view, Otis was added to SmackDown’s men’s Survivor Series team. He’ll team with Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin & Seth Rollins against Team Raw (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman & Riddle) in Sunday’s men’s five-on-five traditional Survivor Series elimination match.
Bayley and Natalya are the final two additions to SmackDown’s women’s Survivor Series team. It will be Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley & Natalya vs. Team Raw (Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Lana, Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce) in Sunday’s women’s elimination match.
In storyline, Adam Pearce named Otis and Bayley to their respective teams. Pearce told Natalya that she would have to defeat Tamina in a last chance qualifying match if she wanted to be on the women’s team.
Here’s the updated card for Survivor Series:
The Undertaker will appear for his “Final Farewell”
Non-title champion vs. champion match: WWE Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns
Non-title champion vs. champion match: Raw Women’s Champion Asuka vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks
Non-title champion vs. champion match: Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)
Non-title champion vs. champion match: United States Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn
Men’s five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match: Team Raw (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman & Riddle) vs. Team SmackDown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin, Seth Rollins & Otis)
Women’s five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match: Team Raw (Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Lana, Lacey Evans & Peyton Royce) vs. Team SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley & Natalya)
WWE also announced overnight that Erik of The Viking Raiders has signed with Raw as a free agent and Tamina, Billie Kay, and Zelina Vega have signed with SmackDown.
**********
After tonight’s Raw went off the air, an additional round of draft picks was announced on Raw Talk.
Lana, Riddick Moss, and Arturo Ruas were selected by Raw in the last round of the draft. Natalya and The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan) were selected by SmackDown.
Lana won a dual-brand number one contender’s battle royal in the main event of Raw tonight and will challenge Asuka for the Raw Women’s Championship on Raw’s season premiere episode next Monday. Natalya said she was done with Lana earlier in tonight’s show and appeared to have the battle royal won, but Lana returned and eliminated Natalya to get the win. Lana had been put through a table by Nia Jax during the battle royal but was never eliminated.
Andrade, Erik of The Viking Raiders, Billie Kay, Tamina, and Zelina Vega were in the night two draft pool but weren’t picked tonight. Mickie James hasn’t been drafted from the night one draft pool. Shorty G and Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado also weren’t originally drafted from the night one draft pool, but it was announced prior to Raw today that Shorty G has been selected by SmackDown and Metalik & Dorado have been selected by Raw.
Andrade and Vega were laid out by stereo Sister Abigails from “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss on tonight’s Raw. Wyatt and Bliss were both selected by Raw in the draft.
The updated rosters for Raw and SmackDown following this year’s draft are listed below:
Raw —
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre
Raw Women’s Champion Asuka
The Hurt Business (MVP, United States Champion Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander)
AJ Styles
Naomi
Women’s Tag Team Champions Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax
Ricochet
Mandy Rose
The Miz & John Morrison
Raw Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
Mickie James’ return match looks to be set for next Monday’s episode of Raw.
After more than a year out of action, James returned to Raw and took part in a backstage interview on last night’s show. It set up James vs. Natalya for Raw next Monday.
James said during the interview that she has championship gold on her mind. She was then interrupted by Natalya and Lana. Lana called James delusional and said James may be one of the best in-ring competitors — but Natalya is the best in-ring competitor. Natalya called herself the Serena Williams of WWE.
James responded by accusing Natalya of riding her family’s coattails. James told Natalya she’ll see her next week.
WWE then tweeted after the segment: “#SeeYouNextWeek. Sounds like @MickieJames will return to the ring against @NatbyNature NEXT MONDAY on #WWERaw!”
It was announced prior to last night’s Raw that James would be returning on the show. She suffered a torn ACL during a house show match in June 2019 and underwent surgery last July to repair the injury.
Both matches were very strong again this week as Main Event carried on being an extremely watchable wrestling show. Liv Morgan and Shane Thorne held their own against very experienced hands in Natalya and Shelton Benjamin. Morgan got her first win since April and Benjamin made his experience count in the main event.
**********
Liv Morgan defeated Natalya (5:34)
Liv Morgan was last on Main Event back in April when she defeated Santana Garrett and has been very impressive. With respect to Garrett, here against Natalya, she was taking on a vastly more experienced opponent and the match was even better.
What Morgan does so well, in addition to her in-ring smoothness, is her facial expressions and ability to react in a natural looking way to the situations she faces in the ring. She also has some comic timing and a fantastic look. Like Bianca Belair, Morgan has to be one to watch for the imminent future.
Natalya, composed as ever, started by getting the crowd going before they went at a really fast pace for the entirety of this match. They did a spot where Morgan mimicked Natalya in everything she did, like a child annoying an older sibling, and Natalya did an remarkable surfboard spot.
In the end, the traded inside cradles back and forth, after Natalya had failed to lock in the Sharpshooter. Morgan rolled Natalya through and just managed to hold on for the three count in a finish that could have gone either way. Natalya played up the loss after the bell looking angry and bereft.
This was a good opener to continue the streak of excellent in-ring work that we’ve seen on this show over the last few months. Natalya is always outstanding, but Morgan vs. Belair would be a very intriguing Main Event matchup for the coming weeks.
Shelton Benjamin defeated Shane Thorne (8:02)
Shelton Benjamin has been a joy to watch over the last six months on Main Event, rarely missing a week. Although clearly wasted on a show that is difficult to watch for the casual WWE viewer, he’s given new talent the chance to work with him on a taped TV show, no doubt providing invaluable experience for them.
Shane Thorne is by no means new to this, but he is fairly new to the WWE audience and is one of those who will be benefiting from the experience that Benjamin brings with him. Thorne worked with Ricochet last week, putting on a solid, traditional babyface vs. heel contest.
Here, Thorne, with kinesiology tape on his left shoulder, played an old-school, smug, cowardly heel. He looked for the ropes to break holds at every turn and took cheap shots to gain an advantage wherever he could. He plays this role beautifully.
They paced the match well, speeding up into quick bursts of quick chain wrestling and some explosive moves, like when Thorne did a rolling cannonball to the corner to send Benjamin outside.
But enough was enough for Benjamin, who got the shine with three scoop slams and a running knee to Thorne who was on the top rope. Benjamin then hit him with Paydirt for the win.
***********
Final Thoughts —
Main Event has become a very watchable product over the last few months. Seeing the likes of Liv Morgan and Shane Thorne prove that they’ve got what it takes is fun to witness, but it’s about time Shelton Benjamin got the respect he deserves as an in-ring performer. Maybe the shakeup in creative will mean that happens, but I’m not holding my breath.
The night after Asuka won this year’s women’s Money in the Bank ladder match, it was revealed that — due to Becky Lynch’s pregnancy — Asuka had actually won the Raw Women’s Championship in that match. She had a title celebration on this week’s Raw that was interrupted by Jax.
Shayna Baszler has defeated Natalya on Raw each of the past two weeks. Their match on this week’s show was a submission match.
Charlotte is the current NXT Women’s Champion. She’s defending her title against Rhea Ripley and Io Shirai in a triple threat match at NXT TakeOver: In Your House on June 7
WWE has also announced that Drew McIntyre will be MVP’s guest on the VIP Lounge on Monday’s Raw. Bobby Lashley, who is aligned with MVP, will challenge for McIntyre’s WWE Championship at Backlash. WWE is pushing that the VIP Lounge segment could be MVP and Lashley setting a trap for McIntyre.
Plus, Andrade will defend his United States title against Apollo Crews on Monday’s show.
WWE has announced two matches that will be airing across tonight and tomorrow’s pre-shows for WrestleMania 36.
Drew Gulak vs. Cesaro and Natalya vs. Liv Morgan are the pre-show matches for this year’s WrestleMania. There’s a pre-show for each night of the event, with both of them starting at 6 p.m. Eastern time. The main cards will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Gulak defeated Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown last week to earn Daniel Bryan an Intercontinental title shot against Sami Zayn at WrestleMania. Cesaro is aligned with Zayn and Nakamura.
Natalya vs. Morgan is the fifth women’s match announced for WrestleMania 36. Becky Lynch is defending her Raw Women’s Championship against Shayna Baszler, Bayley is defending the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Naomi, Lacey Evans, Tamina, and Sasha Banks in a five-way elimination match, Charlotte is challenging Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship, and Asuka & Kairi Sane are defending their Women’s Tag Team titles against Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross.
In addition to the WWE Network and WWE’s social media accounts, the pre-shows for both nights of WrestleMania 36 are airing on FS1.
WWE has revealed how Becky Lynch’s challenger for WrestleMania 36 will be determined.
It was announced via The Wrap this afternoon that Shayna Baszler, Asuka, Ruby Riott, Natalya, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan will be the six participants in next month’s women’s Elimination Chamber match. The winner will challenge Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 36.
Baszler is expected to be Lynch’s challenger for WrestleMania. She appeared on Raw last week and took part in an angle where she bit Lynch after Lynch retained her title against Asuka. Lynch refused to get in an ambulance, drove off in it herself, and then returned later in the show. She cut a promo where she told Baszler that she better find Lynch before Lynch finds her.
This year’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view is taking place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 8. The Wells Fargo Center is also advertising that there will be an Elimination Chamber match to decide who will challenge for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36.
Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida is hosting WrestleMania on April 5.
The Big Takeaway: After submitting Sarah Logan on last week’s show, Natalya pinned her here after a good contest. Mojo Rawley picked up an unlikely win against Cedric Alexander, pinning him in under three minutes.
Byron Saxton and Mickie James were the commentary team this week, with no explanation as to where James has been for the last month or why Vic Joseph was not there.
*********
Natalya defeated Sarah Logan (5:02)
Just like last week, they worked really closely together through this one. There was a ton of mat work between them as they exchanged holds early on and midway through, but Logan played the heel well here and they put on another good match.
They did a spot where Logan was on the apron and hit Natalya with a high knee as she charged at her, but Logan sold it like she was hurt. She went up to the ramp to walk it off. Natalya gave chase, but it was a ruse.
The back and forth was really intricate at times here and it really could have gone either way. Natalya tried to lock in the Sharpshooter that had seen off Logan last week, but she kicked her off. In the end, it was a small package that got Natalya the win.
More of this each week would be welcomed. Logan is clearly learning a lot from working with Natalya, so there has been significant improvement with her in-ring work. She now needs to form a more rounded character.
Mojo Rawley defeated Cedric Alexander (2:36)
Rawley was in rare form here. He was surly and walked around looking like he didn’t want to be there. On the bell he no-sold chops and shouted at Alexander. He continually spread his arms wide and shouted at the fans.
In the time that this went, Rawley caught Alexander in most of his high spots and, despite it going through a commercial break, it was all over very quickly.
Alexander got in some brief offense, trying to roll Rawley up several times and taking him out with an enzuigiri.
When Alexander tried to come off the top rope with a springboard, Rawley caught him on his shoulders and nailed him with the Alabama slam for the win.
This wasn’t a squash, but it might as well have been. You have to wonder where they’re going with Rawley. Some weeks he can lose to No Way Jose, and then here he defeats someone as talented as Cedric Alexander.
The Big Takeaway: Sarah Logan has new ring gear and face paint, but it didn’t help her as she submitted to Natalya’s Sharpshooter. No Way Jose grabbed a rare win against Eric Young, with Young now winless in singles action since July.
Vic Joseph and Byron Saxton were on announcing duties again this week and still no mention of Mickie James or Dio Maddin.
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Natalya defeated Sarah Logan (5:13)
Natalya is a perfect example of a wrestler who just works wherever she is needed. Two weeks ago, she was on Raw facing off against Asuka, while last Sunday she was in the Survivor Series five-on-five-on-five women’s triple threat elimination tag match.
Here she was up against Sarah Logan, a member of the women’s roster who — apart from that appearance at Survivor Series — has become a regular on Main Event with little going on right now.
The pair worked perfectly well together in this one, with Natalya allowing Logan plenty of offense and leading her through five minutes of good back and forth.
The finish was fairly pedestrian. Logan attempted a double knee strike in the corner, but Natalya had it scouted and rolled Logan up for a near fall. Natalya sent Logan into the post and — as she sold it — Natalya locked in the Sharpshooter for the win.
No Way Jose defeated Eric Young (6:36)
Another week, another defeat for former SAnitY member Eric Young. And against of all people, perennial Main Event jobber No Way Jose.
You have to go back as far as July to find Young in a singles match where he came out on top and — despite sporadic tag team team victories — he finds himself right at the bottom of a stacked roster with no real direction.
No Way Jose matches are never much to shout about and Young looked streets ahead of Jose in terms of in-ring quality. When he gets going, he moves around with such speed and dominance.
The finish came after a commercial break. Young came off the top turnbuckle for a dive, but Jose dodged it and Young landed on his feet. Jose then hit the pop-up punch for the win.
WWE has revealed all five members of Team Raw for the women’s triple threat elimination tag match at Survivor Series.
Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Asuka, Kairi Sane & Sarah Logan will represent Raw in the match. They’ll face off against teams of five from SmackDown and NXT.
Sasha Banks, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans & Nikki Cross will be on Team SmackDown. WWE hasn’t revealed any of the members of Team NXT.
For the men’s triple threat elimination tag match, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, Ricochet & Drew McIntyre will be on Team Raw, while Roman Reigns, King Corbin, Braun Strowman, Mustafa Ali & Shorty G will be on Team SmackDown. WWE hasn’t revealed any of the members of Team NXT for that match either.
Survivor Series is taking place at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois on Sunday (November 24). Here’s what’s been announced for the pay-per-view:
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Rey Mysterio in a no holds barred, no DQ match
Universal Champion The Fiend defending against Daniel Bryan
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler in a non-title match
United States Champion AJ Styles vs. Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong in a non-title match
Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders (Ivar & Erik) vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) vs. NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) in a non-title match
Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown vs. Team NXT five-on-five-on-five men’s elimination tag match
Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown vs. Team NXT five-on-five-on-five women’s elimination tag match
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair will team together on Monday night, though WWE has yet to reveal their opponents. Asuka vs. Natalya has also been confirmed for the show.
Asuka & Kairi Sane retained their Women’s Tag Team titles against Lynch & Charlotte on Raw this past Monday. Asuka rolled up Lynch after Lynch was distracted by SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley and NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler fighting on the outside.
Lynch will face Bayley and Baszler in a non-title triple threat match at Survivor Series. Lynch & Charlotte challenging for Asuka & Sane’s titles in a tables, ladders, and chairs match is being advertised for WWE’s December 15 TLC pay-per-view.
Ahead of challenging for Brock Lesnar’s WWE Championship at Survivor Series, Rey Mysterio will make an appearance on Monday’s Raw. The episode is taking place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts and will also feature Seth Rollins vs. Andrade and Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders defending their titles against Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins.
Rollins vs. Andrade has a stipulation where — if Andrade wins — he’ll take Rollins’ spot in the men’s triple threat elimination tag match between Raw, SmackDown, and NXT at Survivor Series.
The fourth show in WWE’s partnership with Saudi Arabia will include the first women’s match in the country.
At a media event today, WWE announced that Natalya vs. Lacey Evans will take place at Crown Jewel this Thursday (October 31). The show is being held at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh and will air live on the WWE Network. The pre-show begins at noon Eastern time, with the main card starting an hour later.
Natalya tweeted about the announcement: “The world will be watching. I am so incredibly proud to represent our women’s division tomorrow night at #WWECrownJewel. It’s time to bring your best, Lacey.”
Natalya and Evans had been pictured among the talent that traveled to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel.
WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority began with the Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018. After the show, the General Sports Authority apologized for an “indecent” advertisement that aired and included women in their wrestling gear.
After facing each other on the Hell in a Cell pre-show, Natalya and Lacey Evans are set for a stipulation match on tomorrow’s episode of Raw.
WWE has announced Natalya vs. Evans in a last woman standing match for tomorrow’s show. It comes after Natalya defeated Evans tonight.
Natalya submitted Evans with the Sharpshooter on tonight’s pre-show. After the match, Natalya laid out Evans with a punch.
The post-match angle was retribution for Evans doing the same thing after defeating Natalya on last Monday’s Raw.
The Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, California is hosting tomorrow’s show. It’s the last episode of Raw before the WWE Draft begins on SmackDown this Friday. Night two of the draft will then take place on the October 14 edition of Raw.
An appearance by boxing star Tyson Fury has also been announced for tomorrow’s Raw, with WWE hyping that they’re offering him an open microphone. This past Friday, Fury appeared on SmackDown’s FOX premiere and got into a confrontation with Braun Strowman.
