WWE RAW
Episode 1381
#RAW
Original Air Date: November 11, 2019
Event Date: November 11, 2019
(aired live)
City: Manchester, England, UK
Venue: Manchester Arena
Commentary: Vic Joseph, Jerry Lawler
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Intro Video
“Legendary” by Skillet
Ring Area
Becky Lynch heads to the ring. Becky says RAW is getting more dangerous. The fights are getting tougher, and the line of contenders for her title is getting longer. Becky will fight, and she will keep fighting. That’s what makes her The Man. Right now, she’s ready to once again become Becky Two-Belts.
Match 1
Women’s Tag Team Title Match
Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch(RAW Women’s Champ) vs The Kabuki Warriors (Women’s Tag Champs)
(referee: Darrick Moore)
Result: Asuka pins Becky Lynch with a schoolboy (after a distraction from Shayna Baszler and Bayley at ringside)
Time: 14:16 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. The match was basically a handicap match with Becky followed by a handicap match with Charlotte. Becky took on Asuka and Kairi to start. She started strong but began to get overwhelmed by the champs. Then Charlotte tagged in, did well for a while, then she too got overwhelmed. By the time Charlotte tagged out, Shayna Baszler had arrived at ringside, and Shayna started to get more actively involved when Becky was legal in the ring. I liked the match, though I was very nervous about a title change.
Ring Area
After the match, Becky Lynch goes over and yells at Shayna Baszler who has retreated to the crowd. Bayley then attacks Becky from behind. Shayna walks away as Bayley looks at Becky on the ground.
Backstage
Ricochet and Randy Orton have a conversation, but their talk is interrupted when The OC tells Humberto Carrillo to get lost. Ricochet tells The OC to stop pestering Carrillo, but The OC doesn’t want to. They tell Ricochet to mind his own business. Ricochet gets mad, so Styles challenges Ricochet and Carrillo to find a friend if they want a match. Orton walks over and suggests he joins Ricochet and Carrillo.
Match 2
Drew McIntyre vs Sin Cara
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Drew McIntyre wins via pinfall after the Claymore Kick
Time: 3:57
Match Thoughts
Sin Cara didn’t get a ton of offense here, and McIntyre had no real issues tonight. This wasn’t a squash, but it was close.
Backstage
Erick Rowan does baby-talk into a screen. It’s odd.
Match 3
Two on One Handicap 24/7 Title Match
R-Truth vs Sunil Singh & Samir Singh (24/7 Champ)
(referee: Chad Patton)
Result: the match ends in a No Contest when everyone runs backstage and Erick Rowan beats up the Singhs
Time: 2:25
Match Thoughts
This wasn’t much of a match. It was a fine handicap match for a couple of minutes, but the Singh Brothers rant to the back during the match. When they tried to find a place to hide, they ended up in a room with Erick Rowan. Rowan destroyed them both, then when R-Truth saw what had happened, Truth decided to leave the three of them alone.
Backstage
Seth Rollins walks.
Ring Area
Seth Rollins heads to the ring. He talks about the NXT takeover. He says that Triple H tried to get him to rejoin NXT, but RAW is Rollins’ home now. He says NXT started this fight, but RAW will finish it.
Tonight though, Rollins wants a fight with the UK’s best. He issues an open challenge to anyone in the back. Imperium comes out to the stage, and Walter introduces himself. Rollins appreciates the challenge, and he accepts it.
Match 4
Seth Rollins vs Walter (WWE UK Champ) w/ Alexander Wolfe, Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel
(referee: Rod Zapata)
Result: Seth Rollins wins via DQ when Imperium attacks him
Time: 4:41
Match Thoughts
This was pretty good. I liked seeing Walter in the ring with Rollins, but not for a second did I think Rollins was going to lose the match. Sure enough, the match was short and Rollins started to get an advantage. The match ended in the tired shtick of having Rollins set up for his finisher then having someone attack him before he could do it. That way the commentators can say that Rollins would have beaten Walter if not for the rest of Imperium interfering. This was the same way Rollins’ match with Adam Cole ended last week. I’d prefer they didn’t even have a match if this is what we’re going to get. Just have Imperium attack Rollins and be done with it.
Ring Area
After the match as Imperium attacks Rollins, the Street Profits head to the ring. Dawkins and Ford struggle a bit, so Kevin Owens joins the brawl. With it being four on four, the RAW team quickly clears Imperium from the ring.
Match 5
Imperium vs Seth Rollins & The Street Profits & Kevin Owens
(referee: Rod Zapata)
Result: Seth Rollins pins Alexander Wolfe after curb stomp
Time: 6:41
Match Thoughts
This as fun. The match broke down pretty quickly, so the action was mostly chaotic and energetic. I would have preferred one match of decent length as opposed to a singles match that turned into a tag match, but regardless, this was an entertaining match.
Match 6
Cedric Alexander vs Andrade w/ Zelina Vega
(referee: Chad Patton)
Result: Andrade wins via pinfall after a hammerlock DDT
Time: 3:34
Match Thoughts
This match was way too short, but what we got to see was very good. Cedric looked very strong tonight, and Andrade had to survive and find a spot to strike. These two need to wrestle again, and it needs to be a longer match.
Backstage
Aleister Black speaks in prophecies. He knows what “you” have done, so knock on his door and pick a fight.
Video
Today we honor our veterans.
Ring Area
Lana heads to the ring. She has come out here to confess her sins, even though Bobby Lashley didn’t want her to do it. She admits to cheating on Rusev, but Rusev cheated on her first. Then she talks about sex and being serially monogamous and being hit by Richochet and falling to the ground and being embarrassed but she has so much support from Lashley and she’s fine. She’s also pregnant with Rusev’s baby.
Rusev heads to the ring. Lana talks some more and says Rusev is calling her a liar and a manipulator and then she slaps him over and over and over and then Bobby Lashley comes out. Lashley attacks Rusev. Lana smiles. Lashley and Lana leave together. By the way, Lana isn’t pregnant.
This segment was terrible and I hated it.
Backstage
Erick Rowan carries a cage or something as he walks.
Match 7
Erick Rowan vs Soner Dursun
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Erick Rowan wins via pinfall after an iron claw slam
Time: 1:09
Match Thoughts
Squash.
Ring Area
After the match, Rowan takes his covered cage off the commentary table and walks away.
Video
A look at Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews.
Backstage
Erik fumes as Ivar paces in their red room.
Match 8
Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster vs The Viking Raiders (RAW Tag Champs)
(referee: Eddie Orengo)
Result: Ivar pins Mark Andrews after the Viking Experience
Time: 3:07
Match Thoughts
This was another short yet pretty fun match. Andrews and Webster got off to a strong start by being smart and using the Raiders’ size against them, but once the match slowed down the Raiders took over. I’d like to see a real match between these two teams, and I’d like to see NXT UK not get rolled over on RAW.
Backstage
Ricochet tells Orton that he knows Orton just wants to RKO him again tonight. Orton tells Ricochet to relax. The last thing Ricochet needs right now is to let Orton get in his head.
Match 9
Randy Orton & Ricochet & Humberto Carrillo vs Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows & AJ Styles (US Champ)
(referee: Rod Zapata)
Result: Humberto Carrillo pins AJ Styles after a diving moonsault (and an RKO)
Time: 11:31 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
I liked the action in the match, but I wasn’t very happy with the finish. The main point of this match was to put over the tension between Ricochet and Randy Orton. Still, despite the problems Orton and Ricochet had throughout the match, apparently the best tag team in the world and the United States Champ were still no match for them. Orton or Ricochet could have easily lost and it wouldn’t have hurt either of them. Carrillo could have lost because of the arguing between Orton and Ricochet and it wouldn’t have hurt any of them. But that’s not what happened. That’s disappointing.
Show Impressions
This was a pretty good show, but I did have some issues with it. I hated the Rusev/Lana/Lashley segment, and I hope it all just goes away. I’m not looking forward to a match coming out of this, and I don’t want to see any more segments like this. Don’t give Lana a microphone like that anymore, because it’s real bad when that happens.
I like a lot of the in-ring action tonight, but a lot of the matches were way too short. I would prefer to have fewer matches so they could give them all more time. Also, I’m not happy with a lot of the finishes tonight. NXT UK should have won something, but they didn’t. The Kabuki Warriors should be able to beat Becky and Charlotte without help, but they couldn’t. The OC should be dominant against a fractured team, but they weren’t. Rollins can cleanly lose a match to a dominant champion without hurting his status, but they won’t let that happen. I just don’t understand the booking on RAW a lot of the time.
Match of the Night
Imperium vs Rollins & Street Profits & Kevin Owens
I didn’t like the finish so much, but the action was fast and fun.
Official Results: https://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/wwe-raw-nov-11-2019