After putting together a Survivor Series for the ages, WWE was tasked with the job of following it up with a solid episode of RAW. With all eyes on Goldberg and Brock Lesnar apart from the storyline progressions for the respective titles of the RAW brand, the company had to put a strong foot forward and they achieved in doing so.
A huge announcement from Goldberg, two massive titles matches for next week, an insane Universal title match to close out the show and some legendary names returning after the episode, were the highlights from the fall-out RAW for Survivor Series. So here are the results and highlights from the 22nd November edition of RAW:
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Goldberg announces himself for the Royal Rumble match
Goldberg made his entrance to the middle of the ring from backstage to a thunderous ovation and applause from the fans with chants of 'Goldberg' resonating throughout the arena. Goldberg took the mic and begins to talk. Goldberg said he would like to thank everyone for giving him the ability to come into the ring and be 'Goldberg' again and for letting him be in the limelight. Chants of 'you still got it' broke out.
Goldberg then went on to thank his wife for putting up with him and goes on to thank his son as well, for giving him the ability and the desire to be a superhero again. He then reaffirmed that he did what he said he was going to do by conquering the 'Beast' Brock Lesnar. He then began to talk about all good things coming to an end as 'No' chants break out in the crowd. Goldberg then mentioned meeting Stephanie McMahon backstage, with her asking him if he had another title run left in him.
Goldberg asked the crowd what they thought and confirmed that he does have another title run left. Goldberg then went on to reveal that he was going to be a part of the Royal Rumble match and stated that at Royal Rumble, 'everyone' was next.
New Day vs. Sheamus & Cesaro (WWE RAW Tag Team Championship match)
As per Stephanie McMahon’s orders from Survivor Series, Sheamus and Cesaro were granted a shot at the Tag tam titles for seeing their team to the finish line last night on Survivor Series.
New Day was the first to come out as they addressed their early elimination from last night match and said it doesn;t matter as their team won. They went on to finally mention the fact that they are on the cusp of breaking Demolition’s Tag Team Title reign record. They promised to demolish the record and finished their promo with Big E leading the New Day chant.
Big E and Cesaro kicked off the match and the Swiss Superman showed off his raw strength from the get go. The dysfunctional duo worked well in tandem in the initial stages with a double team suplex. Kofi Kingston tipped the scales momentarily in his team’s favour with a cross body, but Cesaro kicked out at two and grabbed his legs for a Cesaro Swing.
Kofi grabbed the ropes and Sheamus in the meantime, tagged himself in. After a brief round of dominance, Kofi created some separation when he caught Sheamus with a dropkick in mid-air. Sheamus asserted control with an Irish Curse Backbreaker. The physicality of the Celtic Warrior was on display as the thunderous strikes echoed around the arena.
The momentum shifted when Kofi ducked from a Sheamus clothesline, who ran into Cesaro. Kofi crawled to his corner and Big E tagged in. The trademark belly-to-belly on Sheamus was followed by a White Noise. It was a stalemate by this time with all the men recuperating. Cesaro and Kofi came in to amp up the pace. An insane spot followed when Cesaro caught Kofi in mid-air to deliver a backbreaker.
The crowd was then given a chance to do the 10 chant with the Cesaro swing transitioned into a Sharpshooter. Big E looked to pull Kofi towards the ropes but gets Brogue kicked in the face. Xabier Woods jumped up to the apron and distracted the referee while Kofi was tapping in the ring. Cesaro broke the hold and looked to be in sheer in disbelief. Kofi took advantage and rolled up Cesaro into a small package for the win. And just like that, New Day retained to continue their pursuit of demolishing New Day’s record. 23 days to go folks!
Result: New Day def. Sheamus and Cesaro via pinfall to retain WE RAW Tag Team Championships
Backstage segment – The reasoning of Jericho
A backstage segment aired next with Chris Jericho roaming with the List of Jericho with a smug look on his face. He is questioned about team RAW’s loss last night and he revealed the reason they lost was because ‘someone’ used the List of Jericho as a weapon and that was the beginning of the end.
He said that he’ll disclose who was responsible for the loss on the Highlight Reel later on in the night.
Enzo naked backstage
Enzo was seen walking around naked backstage after banging on the Male locker room door, unsuccessfully trying to get Cass to open it from inside for getting his clothes from the locker room. It appeared that someone had taken his towel.He then walked past The Shining Stars and eventually bumped into Lana. Rusev screamed at him and called him out on being naked in front of his wife. Cass walked in and asked if there is a problem. Rusev confirmed there being a problem and challenged Enzo to a match, promising to 'crush' him in the ring. Rusev then Cover's Lana's eyes and walks off with her.
Very PG WWE!
Cedric Alexander vs. Arya Daivari
The cruiserweights were in action up next with
Cedric went for the armbar right from the gate, but the referee broke things up to officially begin the match. Daivari got the early momentum and got the better of Cedric at many occasion when he whiplashed him off the top rope in what looked quite botchy.
Nevertheless, the match continued with Daivari having the upper hand with his powerful strikes and holds before Cedric took control with a springboard flying clothesline. He followed with a head kick, followed by a Lumbar Check, pinfall, and the win.
Result: Cedric Alexander def. Arya Daivari via pinfall
Chris Jericho's autopsy of the Survivor Series match on The Highlight Reel
Chris Jericho slowly walked to the ring, clutching the list. Jericho welcomed everyone to the Highlight Reel and called it a Special edition. Jericho said that the Raw Men's match was the biggest upset in the history of the Survivor Series and that he was going to conduct an autopsy on the match, telling everyone why the defeat happened.Kevin Owens walked out to the ring. Owens said that it's a great question to figure out who was to blame. Jericho said he was going to tell everyone anyway. They got into a small argument about the model of the 'Jeritron'. Kevin Owens then orders the ‘monkeys’ in the truck to show a picture of Chris Jericho during the Survivor Series match, where he was about to get hit by the Styles clash. He then showed a second picture of himself hitting AJ Styles with the list, thereby saving Chris Jericho. Kevin Owens said he did it because he was Chris Jericho's best friend.The two then shared a classic back and forth teaser of a break up with the segment building up to a point where Owens looks like he would just snap and assault his soon to be former best friend. They screamed in each other faces, with the duo pushing each other to reveal the name responsible for their loss last night.The two then screamed 'Roman Reigns' in unison and embraced in the middle of the ring. They then agreed with each other about having each others' back during the match and about Owens recognising the importance of the list. Owens continued to blame the 'Hair conditioner brothers' Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.Seth Rollins walked out to the middle of the ring and said that the only reason he agreed to team up with 'buffoons' Jericho and Owens for Survivor Series was for future opportunities and since the future was now, he wanted a title shot against Kevin Owens tonight. Jericho then calledRollins an architect of lies and a stupid idiot.
Rollins replied by saying that he didn't care what Jericho and Owens thought and started beating them up before getting overpowered by the best friends. Roman Reigns walked out to the ring and hit Jericho with a superman punch at ringside. Reigns and Rollins then proceeded to beat Jericho down further as Kevin Owens slid out. Mick Foley's music hit and Foley told Reigns and Rollins that Jericho and Reigns would be banned from ringside as Seth Rollins will take on Chris Jericho for the Universal Title tonight in a no disqualification match.Seth Rollins looked fired up!
The Authentic Untold Story of ECW
WWE aired videos of the new WWE Network special ‘The Authentic Untold Story of ECW’ that saw special appearances from Taz, Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley. It was good to see Taz mend his strained relations with WWE and make a return to WWE television for the special. The Network exclusive aired after RAW ended with Tommy Dreamer also joining the panel:
Enzo Amore vs. Rusev
The backstage shenanigans led to this match. The match kicked off after both the parties made their trademarked entrances with Enzo and Cass getting the customary pop.
Rusev made quick work of Enzo, as he squashed him under two minutes to pick up the win. Enzo had no option but o tap out to the Accolade and Big Cass had to intervene and force Rusev to break it up. Rusev retreated while staring Cass down. We’ve got ourselves a new feud here! Cass vs. Rusev in the ring, Lana vs. Enzo on the mic!
Result: Rusev def. Enzo Amore via submission
The Club vs. Golden Truth (Winner gets a shot at the Tag Team Titles next week on RAW)\
A tag team title match beckoned both the teams here as the partially buried Club looked to get back to Championship prominence.Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows dominated for most parts of the match with R-Truth being the one as the receiving end of the punishment.
Gallows gets tagged in and connects with a big clothesline on R-Truth. He then put Truth in a headlock, Truth punched Gallows and powers out of it, connected with a dropkick as the two men tagged their respective partners in.Goldust initially got the upper hand on Anderson but Goldust smartly turned things around and also punched a ringside Gallows. Goldust then proceeded to connect with a spine buster onto Anderson followed by a big boot on Gallows. Goldust gets onto the top rope and connected with a cross body on both Gallows and Anderson. He then got a pinfall attempt on Anderson but Gallows broke it up by interfering. Goldust went to the top rope again but got distracted by Gallows, causing Anderson to kick him.Anderson tagged Gallows in and the two go for a Magic Killer which connected successfully. Gallows pins Goldust for the win.
Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman
Sami Zayn made hs way to the ring, which seemed more like a punishment for his failure to bring the Intercontinental title back to RAW. Strowman bum-rushed Zayn from the back and takes him down even before the match got underway. He went on to toss him around at ringside and eventually rammed him into the barricade. Strowman got back into the ring and the referee officially called for the bell.
Zayn didn’t back down from a fight and made it back into the ring before the ten-count. What followed was complete annihilation. Strowman showed why he is one of the scariest dudes in all of pro wrestling. From splashes on to the corner to some nasty chops and strikes; it seemed he wanted to kill Zayn. The fans were of the same opinion, who chanted ‘please don’t kill him’ during the match.
There was just one moment in the match where Zayn seemed to have had something going for him when he retracted from the ropes in a bid to take the behemoth down with some elbows and strikes. As expected, he was unsuccessful.
Strowman continued his destruction and placed Zayn upside down on the turnbuckle. Mick Foley had seen enough and the RAW GM came out and called for the bell. He cited Zayn’s inability to defend the reason to stop the match.And Strowman’s invincible aura just got that much bigger!
Result: Braun Strowman def. Sami Zayn via TKO (General Manager’s stoppage)
The Queen addressed her attack on Bayley
Charlotte made her entrance to the ring with Dana Brooke by her side and a video package is shown, chronicling her actions at Survivor Series where she beat Bayley down after their victory at Survivor Series.
Charlotte said that she'll be watching the footage of her beating Bayley down on the WWE Network for years to come. She called herself the Wayne Gretzky of the WWE and then went on to said that she's even better. She then called the rest of the Raw women peasants as Sasha Banks interrupted.
Charlotte mockingly asked Sasha Banks how she was doing. Sasha Banks reminded Charlotte about her rematch clause. She then said that she wanted her rematch 'right here, right now', Charlotte then asked the crowd if they wanted to see a rematch. The crowd emphatically responded affirmatively and Charlotte teased the match happening but then said that it wasn't going to happen tonight. Charlotte then called the crowd 'Dumb Canadians" and said that because Raw was in her hometown next week, she'd beat her there instead. Nia Jax was the next to come out.
Nia Jax said that she wasn't there for Charlotte but for Sasha Banks instead. She called Sasha an overrated, purple headed Barbie Doll who was overrated. Sasha then says that she was going to show Nia who was overrated. Charlotte coaxed Nia Jax on.
Jax told her that she was not the boss when Nia Jax was standing next to her. Sasha Banks punched Dana Brooke who was screaming at her, which prompted Nia Jax to start beating her down. Charlotte and Nia Jax ambushed Sasha Banks, with Jax holding her by the arms and Charlotte hitting her with chops. Bayley came out to make the save as Jax tossed Banks out and punched Bayley to the ringside as well.
Bayley held onto Sasha, staring back at Charlotte, Dana Brooke and Nia Jax as the commercials roll out
Nia Jax and Charlotte vs. Bayley and Sasha Banks
Back from the commercials, we discovered that Mick Foley had made this match during the commercial break. Charlotte was getting beaten down in the middle of the ring by Bayley. Sasha Banks got tagged in, who put in some of her own offence before Bayley tagged herself in again and Irish whipped Charlotte, Charlotte reversed the momentum and connected with an elbow.
Nia Jax got tagged in and immediately took Bayley down with a Body block and proceeded to connect with a clothesline. She pinned Bayley but Bayley kicked out. Bayley then gets tossed outside the ring by Nia Jax, where Dana Brooke wiped her out with a clothesline of her own as Nia Jax distracted the referee. Charlotte gets tagged in and puts Bayley in a headlock as Bayley attempts to power out of the hold, only to get slammed to the mat by Charlotte instead.
Charlotte dragged Bayley to her corner and tagged Nia Jax in. Nia Jax put Bayley into a hold and proceeded to body slam her to the mat. Bayley got out of the way of an elbow drop by Nia Jax and Charlotte gets tagged in. Bayley managed to connect with a monkey flip on to Charlotte and tagged Sasha Banks in. Banks started beating down Charlotte and connected with a Lateral press off the top rope as well as a further series of offensive moves. Nia Jax interfered a pin attempt on Charlotte by Sasha Banks.
Jax attempted to go for a double chokeslam on both Bayley and Sasha Banks but the two managed to suplex her instead. Charlotte rolled Sasha up, taking advantage of the distraction, for a pin attempt but Sasha kicked out. Sasha then locked Charlotte into a Cross-face Submission hold and Charlotte, almost immediately, tapped out.Result: Sasha Banks and Bayley defeat Nia Jax and Charlotte (with Dana Brooke)
TJ Perkins vs. Noam Dar vs. Rich Swan (Triple Threat match for #1 Contendership)
The triple threat match got underway in frantic fashion with the three uberly talented stars jockeying for early advantage. Perkins avoids falling out of the ring by holding onto to the middle rope, but Noam Dar drop kicked him onto the floor. Rich Swann took advantage of the situation and sent Dar outside.
Perkins got back into the ring to end Swann's smooth moves. An insane spot followed when Swann suplexed and bridged Dar for the pin while he had Swann locked into a knee hold. Perkins caught Dar with a sweet spinning heel kick right to the temple. Dar recuperated and got Perkins into an Ankle Lock.
Perkins reversed it into a knee bar. Meanwhile, Swann delivered the five-star frog splash to both men in the ring. Perkins got back up to his feet and walked into an overhead kick from Swann. 1-2-3! Rich Swann picked up the win and guaranteed a shot at the Cruiserweight title while the Champion Brian Kendrick stared him down from the commentators’ area.
Result: Rich Swann def, Noam Dar and TJ Perkins via pinfall to become the no.1 contender for the Cruiserweight title
Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins (No DQ match for the WWE Universal title)
After the customary in-ring introductions, the match began with Rollins getting the better of Owens. A quick pinfall is followed by Rollins going out for a table. The hometown crowd of Canada, Toronto is hot for Owens. KO prevented a table spot and floors Rollins with a small package slam for a two count.
Owens continued to dominate the proceedings and the chairs are introduced into the match. Rollins went head first into the chair courtesy of a KO DDT. KO hoisted Rollins on his shoulders, but Rollins pushed out of it and takes Owens down. He used the stationary chair as leverage to for an elbow on KO’s face. He followed it by slamming the champion’s face onto the chair.
Back from the commercial break, both men are seen exchanging rights and lefts in the middle of the ring. What was dumbfounding as that three epic spots were missed during the commercial break. A blockbuster from Rollins, KO suplexing Rollins through the table and a cannon ball on Rollins on te outside. What the heck?
Anyway, the action picked up some pace in the ring as both men exchanged a flurry of their signature moves and yielded close near falls before Rollins flipped KO onto two chairs. He went out of the ring and grabbed a fresh table. This is awesome chants broke out by this time.
KO rolled up Rollins while he was setting the table. but Rollins passed through and super kicked KO or a close fall. He goes to the top rope for a frog splash, but KO stopped him in his tracks Bothe men perch themselves on the top rope, but what followed was an amazing spot. Rollins picked Owens up and takes him across the ring to powerbomb him through the table on the other side.
KO rolled outside and Rollins went after the Champion. He sent KO over the barricade and an epic brawl ensued. Both men were taking things to the next level with the brawl spilling into the crowd. At one moment Owens was set to powerbomb Rollins onto to the floor, but Rollins held on to the railings of the steps. He launched himself onto Owens with a flying axehandle. This is indeed awesome!
The action returned to ringside with a masked man attacking Rollins. No prizes for guessing who it was. Yes, Y2J himself. Jericho went for the axehandle on Rollins, who kicked him in the gut and nailed him with the pedigree. Owens took advantage of this situation and hit Rollins with a superkick. He then finished Rollins up with a powerbomb onto the ring apron, rolled him into the ring and finished him off with the pinfall. What.A.Match! A PPV quality bout for sure.
Result: Kevin Owens def. Seth Rollins via pinfall to retain the WWE Universal title
