5 Biggest Takeaways from Monday Night Raw(November 8th, 2021)
I like to keep things as positive as possible.
I like WWE.
I like AEW.
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Another Monday Night Raw is in the books and we were yet again treated to a night of fantastic in-ring product from beginning to end. The show mixed in a little bit of the good we have come to expect as of late as well as threw in a nice surprise with the women’s division, giving them a very lengthy match to go out and show out in the squared circle. With only one show left until Survivor Series, we have yet to really get any build towards the show but with the amount of story being built up amongst feuds on the show, I’m not even mad. Focusing on the overall product instead of forcing things for a pay per view that sells itself at this point seems like the right way to go. As long as Raw can continue to ride this current wave of momentum and deliver at Survivor Series, there is no reason to get upset about the lack of build.
So with that said, let’s just jump right into the takeaways from last night’s Raw.
#5: Congratulations Corey Graves
Back in 2014, the unfortunate reality set in for Corey Graves as he was forced to retire due to concussion problems. He never made it to the main roster prior to the injuries that would sideline him for good, but he was impressive and looked to have a bright future ahead of him. Since then, Corey has been able to carve out quite the second career as he has become a staple amongst the commentary teams in WWE and is even considered by some to be the best within the company.
Last night, he was given a small chance at reliving the glory days. During the ever so hectic 24/7 Title segment, Corey Graves found himself a victory when he rolled up Drake Maverick to be crowned 24/7 Champion for the first time. Albeit, the reign only lasted a few moments, it was nice to see Corey hold that title in the air. His first singles gold in WWE was a very bittersweet moment. It can’t help fans think of what might have been had things gone differently for him, but that’s all “what if” and we’ll leave that for another day. For now, we can just congratulate Corey Graves for his brief run as 24/7 Champ and hope that the embarrassment of losing to Byron Saxton isn’t too much for him to handle.
#4: Doudrop-alution
Doudrop burst onto the scene just a few months ago in a manner that a lot of fans were not too thrilled with. Not only were they unhappy with the name change but her alliance with Eva Marie was abysmal in their eyes. Now, here we are months later and Doudrop is riding solo. After making it to the finals in the Queen’s Crown tournament, she is trying to find herself amongst the women’s division on Raw.
A formula WWE likes to run into the ground is giving people title shot after title shot after title shot, no matter how many times they have come up short or looked bad in defeat. Doudrop took notice of this last night when the girls that make up the Survivor Series team were given a 5 way match in which the winner would get a shot at Becky Lynch’s title. Doudrop, who was not included on that team(for reasons I will never understand) and she took offense to this. “Why does Bianca get another chance?” Good question Doudrop but you have made it very clear that you are new here. That’s just the way she goes in WWE.
.@DoudropWWE addresses her shocking actions from #WWERaw right now on #RAWTalk!@peacockTV pic.twitter.com/Xl1qb0ekZn
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) November 9, 2021
What would come next is something that I think will be very important for Doudrop to become a main fixture in the women’s division. During the match, when it looked like Bianca was about to secure herself another chance at Big Time Becks, Doudrop pulled her out of the ring and attacked her. A heel turn should do wonders for her and going after the biggest babyface in the division, maybe on the whole show is sure fire way to get the fans on board with it. You’d have to think that with Nia Jax gone, WWE wanted to find someone to fill the role of monster heel and Doudrop is the perfect choice if for no other reason than she is infinitely better a performer than Nia was. I wish her luck in this new role and hopefully it will result in her dropping that ridiculous name and bringing back the Piper name that is far less insulting.
#3: Big E Over His Head?
Gables’ and Otis’ and Rollins’ OH MY! Big E has what seems to be a never ending list of people who are gunning after him. In his first run as the top guy, Big E has become the hunted and you have to wonder if he will be up for this task. We all know the threat that Seth Rollins presents as one of, if not the best in the world. With that contract firmly in his grasp, it’s only a matter of time before he strikes and gives Big E his toughest opponent on the roster. If that isn’t enough, Chad Gable and Otis have now locked their attention on Big E and even though E was able to dispatch of Gable last night, his confrontation with Otis afterwards is very telling of the fact that the Alpha Academy is far from done with this story. You can expect Otis to take his shot at E in the very near future and that is a match up that will not only be fresh but present one hell of a test for the WWE Champion.
And if that wasn’t enough, Kevin Owens has emerged as a guy that might be the most dangerous threat of all of them. He may have lost in the first match with E last week but after the ending of this week’s show, it appears as if KO has some unfinished business to tend to and a motivated Owens is the last thing Big E wants to be worrying about when he has so many other people breathing down his neck. It’s great to see that they have lined Big E up with all this story surrounding him. It would have been a shame to throw the title on him with zero direction and let his first reign become his only reign had it failed to live up to the crowning moment. Hopefully Big E can outlast these challengers for as long as possible and is able to deliver a lengthy run that takes him all the way to Wrestlemania. Oh, and by the way. With all this going down on his own show, Big E has to worry about his upcoming battle with Roman Reigns at Survivor Series. And with Roman putting the hurt on Kofi and Xavier, you know that has to be weighing down on E mentally as well.
#2: Liv for the Moment
The fans have been begging for this moment for quite some time. After Liv failed to win Money in the Bank, fans immediately set their sights on the Royal Rumble for Liv Morgan to win. Yes, it is that serious for her fans. But Monday Night gave us something that the fans have been waiting for and that is a Liv Morgan victory that will earn her a title shot. It was teased last week when she came face to face with The Man and if you listened to Becky on commentary during the women’s match you could have predicted the winner fairly easily.
I would feel terrible if I didn’t take a quick second to give credit to all the ladies involved in this match. Queen Zelina, Bianca, Rhea Ripley, Carmella and Liv all put on a show last night. If it hadn’t been for the tease the week prior, this match would have been up in the air for any of them to win. I’m happy for Liv to get the opportunity, I just wish this wasn’t the way it happened. With losses piling up week after week, Liv comes across as a girl who is lucky and not good. And if we all go back a few months and remember what happened to Nikki A.S.H. you will realize that this formula does not work. Liv should have been built up for this moment so that the fans could look at her as a real threat to Becky Lynch. But that’s not the case. She is just another talent getting a chance to become champion but nobody is going to believe she has a real chance. And even if she does pull out the miracle, I don’t see anything special happening with her run.
EXCLUSIVE: It's been an amazing and emotional week for @YaOnlyLivvOnce and now WATCH HER message for #WWERaw Women's Champion @BeckyLynchWWE! pic.twitter.com/8Oxy7r9xge
— WWE (@WWE) November 9, 2021
WWE, prove me wrong. Liv Morgan, prove me wrong. I don’t want this to be the case, but reality is a bitch sometimes and that’s what this is.
#1: Kill Owens Kill
If you believe the rumor mills, Kevin Owens has less than 3 months to go in the WWE. If that is the case, it looks like he is going to make the most of that time. Did he turn heel? The story of the night was just that. Spending the evening trying to convince anybody that would listen to him, Kevin wanted everyone to believe him. He didn’t mean to try and take advantage of Seth helping him last week. You could see it on his face and hear it in his voice, he needed people to believe him. Rey Jr. blew him off. Big E blew him off. R-Truth believed him… but then he talked about believing in a flat earth, round earth and Bigfoot.
Seth would take everybody’s hesitant nature towards Owens and use it to try and whip up some more deceit by trying to convince the world that he and Owens were working together to take down Big E. Owens made his way to the ring with purpose and was about to fight for life to prove to the world that was not the case. After a long, grueling battle, Seth was able to escape with a victory by count out when Big E had inadvertently got in KO’s way to cause him to miss the count by one second. As Rollins left laughing, Owens stood on the apron in utter disbelief. As Big E started to approach him, the pressures had become too much for Kevin Owens to handle and he finally snapped.
EXCLUSIVE: Witness the chilling scene between @FightOwensFight and #WWEChampion @WWEBigE immediately following #WWERaw tonight. pic.twitter.com/ngHEFC7adq
— WWE (@WWE) November 9, 2021
Kevin would bury his foot into Big E’s face before slamming him against the steel steps and finishing him off with his trademark apron powerbomb. Owens then began to tear apart the announcers table before finally being pulled away by the refs. The long walk to the back with the defeated expression was a very telling story. Kevin Owens is a lost man and that is very dangerous for the rest of the roster. If this will be his last hurrah’ it needs to be as a heel. Owens is a great babyface but as a heel, he is vicious and it will be a great test for Big E down the line.
There you have it folks! Agree? Disagree? Let me hear it. Comment and let me know what you think. I love the interaction and talking about wrestling with everyone. If not, I guess I’ll see you all next week for more Takeaways from Monday Night Raw!
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