5 Biggest Takeaways from Raw (October 11th, 2021)
I like to keep things as positive as possible.
I like WWE.
I like AEW.
- Mr. Money in the Bank… Finn Balor! - November 28, 2023
- A Quick Fix: 3 Changes to Make with AEW Programming - November 4, 2023
- And The DEVIL is….. - November 2, 2023
Boom goes the dynamite, no pun intended. After a 4 week streak of really good episodes of Monday Night Raw, we finally were delivered a show that was “meh” by the recent standards set in previous weeks. We had some storylines moving forward while a few of them got started but the overall flow of the show was off and it never seemed to get out of second gear throughout the entire 3 hours. I would expect next week’s show to be a little more of the same with the Crown Jewel being the focal point right now for a lot of things. After that, the roster from the draft will finally be set in stone and they will be able to move forward and hopefully get back to the show we were getting over the past month.
We saw some interaction between Big E and Drew that showed them friendly and not so friendly. The King of the Ring tournament continued to take shape as well as the Queen’s Crown tournament as Doudrop and Shayna Baszler were both able to advance and are now set to face off against one another next week. We saw one tag team possibly break up while another tag team set the wheels in motion for a break up and the tag champs from Smackdown made their presence felt as they took on Big E and Drew in the main event. So with all that, let us move on to the 5 Biggest Takeaways from last night’s edition of Monday Night Raw.
#5: Ali & Mansoor Split?
This is a pairing that looked great on paper. The veteran Ali who has a chip on his shoulder but is willing to take this young, green talent under his wing to teach him the ropes so that maybe he won’t fall victim to the same things that have held Ali back. While at the same time, maybe Ali can use Mansoor and elevate himself to that next level that he feels he should already be at. Ali came across as very arrogant while Mansoor was just happy to be there.
Judge him on his intentions, and not his actions.@AliWWE has challenged @KSAMANNY to a match at #WWECrownJewel on #RawTalk! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/2bdhtCpWu2
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) October 12, 2021
They haven’t had that much success but they have always come across as an entertaining duo. Over the weeks, you could see the frustration building within Ali as Mansoor continued to have fun and almost came across as starstruck whenever he was in the ring. The flashes of brilliance were there and gave fans high hopes as to what this team could achieve but that might not ever come to be now.
After taking another pinfall last night, Ali lost it. He shoved Mansoor to the ground and left him in the ring. Later in the evening as Mansoor is being interviewed, Ali would run him down with insults that ended with him calling him a loser. When you look at the fact that Ali is taking all the losses, this is great heel work. As Mansoor bit his lip and stuck to his belief that Ali just needed time to cool off, Ali would then attack him and leave Mansoor lying in pain. Is it over or is this just another bump in the road that is engineered to teach Mansoor a valuable lesson? We more than likely won’t find out next week but once they battle at Crown Jewel, you can expect to have a clearer picture of what will become of this team.
#4: Austin Theory
If you follow me on Twitter, you would know how big of a fan I am of Theory and his potential. If you’re not on that same boat, I don’t know what is wrong with you. He is special in that ring, he has the look and last night we saw the attitude. When he was in NXT, we saw his comedic chops as well as his ability to have a match with any style of wrestler. There is no reason to think this man won’t be the future of WWE. He gives me John Cena vibes but much more charisma and talent than John had at this point of his career.
I would have preferred him to stay in NXT for another year but as long as they have long term plans set for him, I won’t complain about him being on the main roster. Last week he attacked Jeff Hardy, so naturally this week he gets a match with him. This was a part of the show that was questionable to me. Austin Theory was in control but then got distracted by the 24/7 Title squad as they ran through the ring during his match. With Austin playing the heel, this doesn’t make much sense. Jeff Hardy would take advantage of this but when he would go for the Swanton Bomb, Theory would move and then get the school boy roll up with a handful of tights to get the win. I have no idea what the producer of this match was thinking but I can’t be completely mad about it because Theory was the winner. Hopefully in 2 weeks when the reset button gets hit, Theory will get more meaningful matches that will allow him to showcase his talents because as I said before, he SHOULD be the future of WWE.
#3: Women PLEASE!!!
Last week I praised the idea that Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair look to be the big attractions on Monday Night Raw after the draft. I still believe that will be the case and I am in no way mad at that. The problem I am seeing though, and this goes for Smackdown as well, is that the rest of the women’s roster isn’t getting the love they deserve. In what is a theme going across Twitter at the moment, the Queen’s Crown tournament has had 4 matches and if you were to total up the time from them all, it wouldn’t even equal 10 minutes.
It has become very obvious that if your name is not Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Beliar or Sasha Banks that you are not going to be given the kind of television time needed to have meaningful matches. We are so far past this kind of disrespect that it kills me to know that there is so much talent on that women’s roster that could contribute to the division and the shows in general. The Queen’s Crown tournament was supposed to show equality across the board, but all it has done is highlight how many steps back they have taken with women’s wrestling. I really hope that the winner of this tournament not only gets a respectable push but is allowed a seat at this exclusive table.
#2: RK-NO
What once was the best thing on Raw has now taken a backseat of sorts. Whereas the segments are still entertaining and the team is still very loved by the fans, they have cooled down quite a bit due to the team just not competing together. They have been involved with a feud with AJ Styles & Omos for what seems like forever and the tag division that was doing so great just a month ago now seems to be hostage to this act.
Since Randy and Riddle got together, most have expected Randy to be the one to eventually turn on Riddle. Riddle is the lovable goof that just wants to be Randy’s friend, willing to go to whatever lengths he needs to win Randy over. Randy has come across as a guy that is cool with Riddle but all the extra nonsense is a bit annoying and the success of this group is the only thing keeping him around. Riddle has always been there for Randy but as we saw last night, that’s not always the case when the shoes are on the other foot. And this isn’t the first instance in which this has happened.
🥰 🐍 🥰 🐍 🥰 🐍 🥰 🐍 🥰 🐍 🥰 🐍 🥰 🐍 🥰 🐍 #WWERaw @RandyOrton @SuperKingofBros pic.twitter.com/xXB4pyrTyt
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) October 12, 2021
We appear to be heading down a path that sees Riddle growing tired of Randy rejecting his friendship and will be the one to eventually turn. As a huge fan of the Riddle character, this breaks my heart. I am not against anything that will push Riddle to the next level as I think he is a guy that can be the face of the company right now but I’d rather see that happen as his current self and not as a heel. But I do get it. We all expect it to be Orton so the shock value will get people talking and with Randy doing some of the best work of his career, it might not be a bad thing to see what he can do as a singles babyface. This team was never meant to be long term but that won’t make the blow of the eventual turn that is on the horizon any less heart breaking.
#1: It’s a New King, Yes It Is?
Xavier Woods has been EXTREMELY vocal about the love he has for the King of the Ring tournament. He has been pushing for them to have another tourney for a long time and for the past few months has been on a warpath of letting people know he wants to be a King. Well the tournament has started and Xavier Woods has found himself as the clear front runner in the eyes of the fans.
This year, Xavier Woods has shown everybody how great he really is inside the ring. The entertainment aspect has always been there but for whatever reason, not many people were sold on his ability in the squared circle. After another great match(an ongoing theme for Woods) with Ricochet last night, he now sees himself in the second round. There was a tease of a Woods versus Kofi second round matchup but unfortunately that didn’t end up happening as Jinder Mahal was able to sneak out a victory over Kingston.
#HailKingWoods pic.twitter.com/hCORSg5oSn
— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) October 9, 2021
I am all for Xavier Woods becoming King of the Ring. He’s been my favorite member of the New Day for awhile and to see him have his own accolade would be fantastic. Here’s the problem. It’s too obvious. With all the campaigning he has done and all the fans getting behind him, it’s a very “WWE” move to get our hopes up and have then crush them in the finals. And that is where things get interesting.
We have Xavier versus Jinder on one side of the bracket where I’m sure Xavier will be victorious. On the other side we have Finn Balor taking on Sami Zayn. Do we get a face vs face finals with Balor taking on Xavier? That would probably put some heat on Balor which might not be the direction they want to go. And if that’s the case, the only other option would be a Sami Zayn versus Xavier Woods finals(which is what I predicted last week) but all signs and rumors point to Sami not being welcome/allowed in Saudi Arabia. So if he’s not and they want a face versus a heel, that would mean Jinder would get the win over Xavier which would anger A LOT of fans.
I am very much looking forward to how these semi finals matches come about because I wouldn’t mind seeing any of the remaining 4 win. They could all use the crown to boost themselves up to the next level, maybe not Finn as much but it wouldn’t be a bad achievement to add to his resume. My pick is and has been Sami Zayn ever since he didn’t qualify for Money in the Bank. So here is to hoping he is allowed and will appear at Crown Jewel so that he can not only win King of the Ring but also get that nuclear heat from robbing Xavier Woods of his dream.
Agree? Disagree? As always, leave a comment, I love interacting with people about the shows. See you next week.
About Author
