5 Biggest Takeaways from Monday Night Raw(November 15th, 2021)
I like to keep things as positive as possible.
I like WWE.
I like AEW.
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Well folks, with less than a week to go before Survivor Series, here we are. The go home show from Monday Night Raw was anything but a go home show as it failed to deliver in the big way it needed to for the build to be salvaged in any kind of way. Outside of announcing the two elimination matches, Becky versus Charlotte and the Roman versus Big E match, nothing else had been announced and we could only speculate that the other champions would be included in the festivities. Myself, along with many others were expecting an eventful evening that would get us pumped for the final big four pay per view of the year, and it fell flat.
Not to say this was a terrible show but for a go home show, we needed more. The one thing I will say about this week’s Raw is that it showcased almost every woman on the roster in some way, shape or form and that is a nice breath of fresh air from what we get on WWE’s other show on Friday night. Besides that, it seems as if they have adopted a new pace on Monday Night’s where the viewer doesn’t have to wait to see what they will be getting into next. Matches and segments flow together much better now with most segments starting before a commercial break so that when we return from break, we’re ready to go. We had a few other good matches to go along with a ridiculous squash of the Dirty Dawgs by AJ & Omos and a very fun main event between Bobby Lashley and Rey Mysterio Jr.
So with all that, let us move on to the 5 biggest takeaways from this week’s show:
5. Survivor Series Build?
I remember a time when Survivor Series was special. Hell, 2 years ago we were treated to one of my personal favorite pay per views of all time when NXT invaded. But outside of that year, for a while now the show has been on a decline. Brand supremacy doesn’t strike the fans as a legitimate reason for the wrestlers to be invested and the interest has dwindled. Instead of trying to fix that, what did WWE decide to do? Announce teams on Twitter and then do absolutely no build for the show until a week prior to the event.
But we’ll step away from that and focus on what we have got. The Uso’s were the first(and probably only) talents to “invade” the enemy when they decided to attack Big E. It would result in a match that would also see The Uso’s opponents for Survivor Series, RKBRO, that would kick off the show. The whole segment did make sense as it tied into the beatdown Roman gave Xavier and Kingston on Smackdown and it would also finally lead into the announcement of RKBRO vs The Uso’s. We all thought it would happen, but being made official so late seems like a let down. But, that’s it. There was no other build and I am absolutely shocked at the lack of effort put into trying to sell this show. With Smackdown still having a go home show, they have miles upon miles of catching up to do to make this year’s Survivor Series feel any kind of importance. Let us hope they do the very bare minimum and at least try.
4. Nikki is Almost a… Villain?
Nikki debuted her new character to very mixed reactions. She had a very short and disappointing run as Women’s Champion which then sent her into a make-shift tag team with Rhea Ripley where they would quickly become tag champs. During this run, it has been very clear who the heavy lifter is though. Ripley has been booked to be the saving grace here as she has always been the driving force behind each victory.
"#QueenZelina & @CarmellaWWE will lead #TeamRAW to victory and @WWENikkiASH will be home with all the LOSERS!"
— WWE (@WWE) November 16, 2021
Ouch…… pic.twitter.com/ll9UPY9iwH
When you take that and add it to the fact that Nikki wasn’t included in the Survivor Series team, you had to wonder how that would affect Nikki. The chinks in the armor weren’t showing yet but after this week, they were as visible as the stars on a clear sky night. Nikki was on the losing end to Queen Zelina in a singles match, and when Rhea beat Carmella you could visibly see the look on Nikki’s face. To make matters worse, Zelina berated her on the microphone and you could almost sense the tears were about to start rolling down Nikki’s face. What happened next? Rhea Ripley would stand up for her friend and be the savior once again.
With how fast the WWE likes to break up these tag teams that get thrown together, you have to wonder how much longer this team will last. With the seeds of resentment and jealousy now being firmly planted, it doesn’t seem like it will be much longer. I will say that they have done a good job of building up a story that could go one of two ways, as opposed to having just one straight line from finish to end. Rhea could turn on Nikki due to frustration of having to deal with a weak link or Nikki could turn on Rhea for the reason stated above. With Rhea already having a failed run as a heel earlier this year, you would have to think the latter is coming. Only question is, how much longer before it happens?
3. Enter Austin Theory
When the Raw team for Survivor Series was announced, there was a glaring omission from the team to me. Austin Theory. These matches are supposed to create new stars and with how he has been booked thus far, it’s clear that he is one of the guys of their future. The look, the skill and the charisma to take WWE into the next era. Instead, we got Dominik Mysterio as the final member.
That wouldn’t last long though because 2 nights later, Dom would be replaced by Bobby Lashley after Adam Pearce decided he wasn’t worthy of the opportunity. He would have the chance to keep his spot on the team if he could beat Lashley, but that didn’t happen. Not even close. And then this week, after getting in Adam Pearce’s face, Rey would be the next man fed to Lashley. And even though Rey fared much better than his son Dom, he would fall to the almighty one as well. After the match, Pearce would inform Rey that he has been removed as well. So who would be the final member of Team Raw now?
I MADE THE TEAM!!! #WWERaw #SurvivorSeries pic.twitter.com/i61OZZBYiu
— Austin Theory (@_Theory1) November 16, 2021
Austin Theory. There isn’t much left to say about it other than order has been restored. Justice has been served, and now Austin Theory will have his moment to show the universe that he belongs with the big boys and his ascent to the top will now begin.
2. It’s Not Kevin Owens Fault
Why did Kevin Owens turn heel? Was it just something that was bound to happen because that is who Kevin Owens is? Or was he pushed back into his old ways due to others failing to give him a second chance to be the good guy, even though he has been proving himself for the past year that he was in fact that guy? It’s obvious that the entire Raw roster’s inability to look past KO’s past actions drove Kevin Owens back towards the darkside. And who better to point the finger at than the leader of that show, Big E.
It all started with a misunderstanding from the matchup between Kevin and Big E. After the match, Kevin’s apology was rejected and he was left to ponder that throughout the whole week. Then, the very next week, his apology still goes unaccepted and even though Kevin Owens would plead to be trusted, Big E would tell him he’ll never change. The rest of the roster in the back would share that sentiment, which in Kevin’s eyes was them following suit. A night of rejections would lead Kevin to snap and take his frustrations out on Big E, which brings us to now.
😬😬😬@FightOwensFight#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/Ef5pFrOX6P
— WWE (@WWE) November 16, 2021
Kevin let it be known that he blames Big E, we all should. He then told Big E that it would be him that would have to answer for Kevin’s actions moving forward. If they want him to be the bad guy, he’ll be the bad guy. And everyone will pay the price for it. And Kevin Owens would start his run as a heel off on a high note when he beat Finn Balor cleanly in the middle of the ring this week. A mad Kevin Owens is bad news for the rest of the roster. No man is safe and it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see KO holding the WWE Championship in the very near future.
1. Liv Morgan Failed
It is the belief of myself and many others that the best storylines always bring in real life situations. With Liv becoming the #1 contender last week, we were left to wonder if this would be a one off match in which Liv Morgan would be cast off to the side, as she normally is. Or would they make something of this. Would the WWE finally get behind a fan favorite and give us an interesting story to build up a feud that could lead to a rewarding payoff? Thankfully, they declined the first option and looks like they might be making an attempt to give the fans a real feud that has a fresh face attached to it.
When Becky Lynch left last year, she took Liv to the side and gave her a goal. “Go get that title while I’m gone.” How do we know this? Becky showed us a clip on Raw to showcase Liv’s failure, thus bringing reality to the story. Becky would then inform her that she gave her that mission because once she was back, it wasn’t going to happen. Becky then continued to run down Liv’s failures as she tried to fill her with self doubt. Liv herself even said she had failed during the video which should really strike her hard, further pushing the self realization of all her failures.
Don't underestimate @YaOnlyLivvOnce, @BeckyLynchWWE!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/sNldhQMZUZ
— WWE (@WWE) November 16, 2021
Becky is a superstar that elevates anyone that gets in the ring with her. Adding an intriguing, real story to the mix can only do wonders for Liv Morgan here. At this point, she just has to deliver a believable performance so the fans can become truly invested in her. She says she is ready for the moment. She says that she’s been waiting for this moment. Now she needs to go out and prove that she can deliver in this moment, because the stage may never be brighter for her than right now.
Agree? Disagree? As usual, let me know in the comments. Would love to hear from you and discuss what you think. If not, I’ll see you here next week with more Takeaways. And if you haven’t watched already, look for my Raw Recap video every Tuesday morning bright and early. It runs the show down for you so that you can be in the know if you didn’t get a chance to watch it or if you just don’t want to watch it all.
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