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WWE's flagship show delivered its final episode before the epic Survivor Series event which will now also see the inclusion of the NXT brand.
This week, the action was tight, but a series of interrupted matches caused some outrage among fans on social media. Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens delivered one of the best performances we’ve seen in quite some time, but an interruption from Triple H did not allow the match to come to a definitive conclusion.
Humberto Carrillo, however, overcame Karl Anderson to earn a shot at AJ Styles and his United States Championship on next week’s show.
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Invasions from SmackDown and NXT highlighted the night and gave fans something to look forward to on the upcoming episodes of NXT and SmackDown before Survivor Series.
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In this article, we will look at five things WWE got right on this week’s RAW.
#5 Samoa Joe on commentary
Samoa Joe has been one of WWE's best heels on the mic for some time now. He has been able to stay on top of the roster by using his superior mic skills, and that has allowed him to become one of the most ruthless forces in the company.
While he’s been out with an injury, WWE has used him well as an analyst. His expertise shows, as he is by far one of the most experienced wrestlers in the company. This week, however, the company did the right thing by adding him to RAW's commentary team to give fans a taste of something completely different.
Joe’s commentary not only gave him the opportunity to stay in the spotlight while recovering from injury, but also allowed him to try out a future career opportunity, as he filled in for Dio Maddin.
While Corey Graves has proved to be the best color commentator in WWE, Joe’s unique approach to the job, along with his distinct voice, gave the audience a new dimension to RAW's commentary team.
#4 A match for The IIconics on RAW
Not too long ago, The IIconics were WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. This, however, still did not ensure that the two women competed frequently and appeared on weekly televised shows.
After the duo lost the championships to Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, the WWE Universe saw the titles defended more frequently, while The IIconics continued to appear less frequently on television.
This week, the company did the right thing by bringing them back and reminding fans that the duo is still one of the top traditional women’s tag teams in the company. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce interrupted Becky Lynch during her promo and took exception to RAW leaving them off the brand's Survivor Series team.
The IIconics had a decent match against Lynch and Charlotte Flair, and even though they ended up on the losing side, the segment did the job of bringing the two back to prominence and WWE Creative can work them up from here onward.
Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir appearing after the match to attack The IIconics added more screen time and story for the two, and the assault can help them come back even stronger.
#3 The Tope Suicida counter
Big stars are built after big spots, and that is exactly what we’ve seen Buddy Murphy do on 205 Live to become the brands premier Superstar. Since his move to the main roster, Murphy has impressed everyone with his in-ring ability, and there is no doubt that he can become the future face of the company.
This week, Murphy took on Akira Tozawa in front of the WWE Universe. After an epic battle, Murphy took the victory by delivering the Murphy's Law on his opponent. Afterward, we saw a brief altercation between he and Aleister Black which could give us some 5-star matches going forward.
The best counter of the night came when Murphy caught Akira Towaza outside the ring as he tried to perform the tope suicida. Murphy caught Towaza perfectly and delivered a suplex to counter the move in the smoothest way possible.
This showed how refined Murphy really is and demonstrated why fans have been cheering for him.
#2 The ‘No Holds Barred’ stipulation
This is something that we were hoping the company would do to take this rivalry to a new level. After Charly Caruso announced AJ Styles will defend his United States Championship against Humberto Carrillo on next week's show, a pre-taped message from Paul Heyman was aired.
Heyman announced that the Survivor Series match between his client Brock Lesnar and Rey Mysterio will no be a No Holds Barred match. He also promised 'The Master of the 619' that the match won’t be a short one, as it will be the massacre of a beloved icon.
Rey Mysterio replied by first wishing Carrillo the best of luck and then accepting Lesnar’s proposed stipulation, reminding the WWE Universe of the pipe he used to attack Lesnar a couple of weeks ago. Mysterio concluded the segment by dedicating the match to his son Dominic.
This was the touch that was required to make the match even grander and give Mysterio a real fighting chance. With the new stipulation, there are numerous ways that Mysterio could come out on top by slaying 'The Beast.'
#1 Triple H’s intensity
Triple H became an icon not just because of his wrestling skills, but also because of his promo skills and the intensity with which he delivers each word. Thanks to him, we’ve seen the birth of many megastars such as Randy Orton and Seth Rollins, and even to this day, he has been seen on television building up the biggest Superstars and matches.
This week, the company used 'The Game' to perfection by having him appear not once, but twice during RAW to provide the Red Brand's final build-up before Survivor Series.
During the match between Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens, Triple H appeared to end the bout and tried to pull Kevin Owens to his side by reminding him how RAW and SmackDown had both fired him in the past.
At the end of the night, the NXT and SmackDown invasion was followed up by a screened message from Triple H who dared anyone and everyone to invade NXT, if they were courageous enough.
These two segments instantaneously hyped the tri-brand Survivor Series matches and fans will likely tune in on Wednesday to see if the RAW and SmackDown Superstars would dare invade NXT.
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