Home News WWE Monday Night Raw Reaction (10/31)

WWE Monday Night Raw Reaction (10/31)

Robert Lentini
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WWE Monday Night Raw Reaction (10/31)

Goldberg opened up the show and came down to the ring to cut a promo. Paul Heyman immediately interrupted Goldberg and the crowd booed him. Heyman stated that his client Brock Lesnar did not like people in the audience chanting “Goldberg”. The crowd actually played along this time and chanted “Goldberg”. Heyman then entered the ring and stated that his client wanted to fight Goldberg right now. Heyman then introduced Lesnar and his music hit but nobody came out. Heyman then stated that he fooled everyone, including Goldberg’s son. The camera then cut to Goldberg’s son and he gave a thumbs down. Goldberg then got pissed off and started walking towards Heyman. Paul was shouting that he was just an advocate when Rusev stormed down to the ring.

Rusev grabbed the microphone and claimed that Goldberg wasn’t as good as he used to be. Rusev stated that he doesn’t believe Goldberg has the strength anymore to pull off the Spear and the Jackhammer. Rusev then questioned Goldberg’s heart and if he has the ability to battle back after being hurt. Rusev then made a huge mistake and punched Goldberg in the face. Goldberg hit Rusev with the Jackhammer and then leveled Heyman with a Spear.

Reaction: It is nice to see Rusev moving on from the Roman Reigns feud and finally be given the oppurtunity to get beat up by a 50 year old.

Trick Or Street Fight: Luke Gallows vs Enzo Amore

Enzo and Cass were dressed as Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. Gallows shoved Enzo’s face into a pumpkin and beat him with a candy corn kendo stick. Enzo hit Anderson a pie and then Big Cass hit him with a boot. Cass then put a pumpkin on Gallows head and hit a DDT for the win.

Winner: Enzo Amore

Reaction: It was very predictable that the win last night didn’t mean anything for Gallows and Anderson. They were already dead in the WWE. There has been far too much damage done to them for anyone to take them seriously. Might as well throw a pie at their face and put a pumpkin over their heads. Maybe next time they will get slimed. Wouldn’t that be a laugh riot?

Cruiserweight Championship: Brian Kendrick (c) vs TJ Perkins

Perkins dominated the match early. TJ had the Knee Bar locked in for a moment but Kendrick got to the bottom rope. Perkins went to the top rope but Kendrick caught him. Kendrick went for a Superplex but Perkins pushed him off. Perkins then hit a Hurricanrana on Kendrick that sent him flying out of the ring. Perkins hit his head off of the ring apron during this and it looked brutal. The referee then started to count both men out. Perkins got back in the ring but Kendrick purposefully did not. Kendrick lost the match via count out but retained his title. After the match, Perkins had finally had enough and attacked Kendrick. Perkins locked in the Knee Bar on the entrance ramp before officials broke it up,

Winner: TJ Perkins

Reaction: I thought this was a good match and Kendrick’s promo before the match was also solid. Kendrick is doing the best he can to make the audience hate him with the limited time he is given. There enlies my biggest issue with every episode of Monday Night Raw. The show is three hours and yet most of the Superstars barely get a chance to try and generate a reaction from the audience. Finally, this feud has a little steam behind it and the crowd reacted a bit when Perkins attacked Kendrick after the match. It would have been nice if the WWE was able to get the audience to care about the feud before their title match last night at Hell in a Cell. Better late than never, I guess.

Braun Strowman confronted Mick Foley backstage and wanted to be a part of team Raw at Survivor Series. Foley stated that there is a Battle Royal tonight and the winner will be added to the Raw team.

Mick Foley came down to the ring and said that Jericho getting involved in the Universal Championship match last night at Hell in a Cell left a bad taste in his mouth. Owens and Jericho interrupted and made their way to the ring. Owens claimed that last night he was the one that made history and that Hell in a Cell was the Kevin Owens show.

Foley stated that Owens and Jericho made a mockery out of Hell in a Cell last night. Foley also claimed that Stephanie McMahon was so angry that she wanted to suspend Jericho but Foley talked her out of it. Foley stated that he needed both Jericho and Owens for team Raw. Mick also claimed that he needed Roman Reigns as well. Reigns then came down to the ring and got booed out of the building. The crowd chanted “Roman sucks”.

Roman then cracked a couple jokes and Jericho flipped out. Jericho claimed that he could take the United States Championship from Reigns any time he wanted to. Foley then made a match between Jericho and Reigns for the United States Championship later tonight.

Battle Royal To Join Team Raw At Survivor Series

Darren Young was dressed like Bob Backlund, suspenders and all. Zayn hit the Helluva Kick on Strowman and it was followed up with a Brogue Kick by Sheamus. Strowman fell threw the second rope and was not eliminated. When Raw returned from a commercial break, Jinder Mahal was eliminated by Cesaro. Strowman got back into the ring and eliminated Curtis Axel. Sami Zayn eliminated Titus O’Neil. Sheamus pretended to work together with Cesaro but then tried to eliminate him. Cesaro reversed it and tossed Sheamus over the top rope. Strowman then eliminated Cesaro and Neville. It was down to Zayn and Strowman.

Braun crushed Zayn in the corner as the crowd chanted “ole'” to try and get behind Zayn. It didn’t work out as Strowman ultimately eliminated Sami Zayn after a struggle on the ropes. Strowman now joins Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho on the Raw team at Survivor Series.

Winner: Braun Strowman

Reaction: This was a decent Battle Royal. It was obvious that Strowman was going to win the match but at least there was a moment where it looked like Zayn would win. I don’t really see the point of continuing the feud between Zayn and Strowman, if there was even a feud to begin with. I sound like a broken record, but I have no idea what Raw is doing with Superstars like Sami Zayn or even Neville for that matter. Maybe they will come up with something for them to do after Survivor Series.
The New Day were named team captains for the tag team match at Survivor Series.

Rich Swann, Lince Dorado & Cedric Alexander vs Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari & Drew Gulak

The match started off slow but things picked up when Rich Swann got into the ring. Alexander and Dorado both hit a Moonsault to the outside of the ring. It was down to Nese and Swann in the ring. Swann hit Nese with a kick to the face for the victory.

Winners: Rich Swann, Lince Dorado & Cedric Alexander

Charlotte came down to ring carried like a queen. It was the same entrance she had last night at Hell in a Cell. Charlotte is now 13-0 at PPVs. Charlotte claimed that she single-handedly made history last night. Charlotte referred to the audience as peasants. Charlotte then warned Nikki Bella, the captain of the Smackdown team at Survivor Series that she will put her on the shelf forever if she gets in her way.

Charlotte then asked Bayley to come down to the ring. Bayley praised Charlotte and Sasha Banks for their match last night and congratulated Charlotte on winning the Women’s Championship. Charlotte then talked down to Bayley and Bayley responded by calling Charlotte a jerk. Charlotte then referred to Bayley as a glorified fan wearing a Halloween costume. Charlotte then put Bayley in a match against Nia Jax.

Bayley vs Nia Jax

Charlotte joined commentary for this match. Nia Jax controlled the match in the beginning. Charlotte claimed that Bayley is great but she needs to be even better. Bayley tried to fight back but Nia whipped her into the corner. Nia got Bayley locked in a Bear Hug. Bayley battled out of the hold and connected with three Dropkicks. Bayley hit a running Bulldog but was then viciously knocked down by Jax. Nia dragged Bayley to the corner by her hair and went to the top rope. Bayley leaped up and went for the Bayley to Belly but Nia Jax knocked her out of the ring. Nia then rammed Bayley into the guardrail surrounding the ring. Nia then hit a Samoan Drop and stumbled around the ring to make sure she faced the camera for the pinfall.

Winner: Nia Jax

Reaction: A Nia Jax sighting on Raw! Can you believe it? Charlotte is superb at cutting promos in my opinion. She speaks in such a way that you cannot help but despise her. This was an effective segment because it both showed that Nia Jax is a dominant force and that Bayley has some work to do to reach the highest level in the Women’s division.

Cesaro & Sheamus vs Shining Stars

Primo and Sheamus started off the match. Primo got in some offense but Sheamus quickly shut him down. Sheamus tagged in Cesaro and he continued the beatdown on Primo. Cesaro knocked Epico off of the ring apron but Primo hit Cesaro with a Dropkick. The Shining Stars took control of the match and isolated Cesaro.

Eventually, Cesaro tagged in Sheamus and he took out both Epico and Primo. Sheamus applied the Cloverleaf on Epico and Cesaro hit an uppercut on Primo. Epico had no choice but to tap out.

Winners: Cesaro & Sheamus

Golden Truth visited a haunted house.

Chris Jericho was shown backstage listing off his past championships. Jericho claimed that he was going to get the only title he has never had, the United States Championship. Kevin Owens and Jericho then stated that they were going to turn the United States Championship into the Canadian Championship. Jericho then asked Owens to have his back tonight and Owens agreed and accompanied him to the ring.

United States Championship Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs Chris Jericho

Jericho started off this match in control. The announcer’s made sure to point out that Reigns was in a hellacious match last night against Rusev. Reigns battled back and Clotheslined Jericho out of the ring. The referee wasn’t looking and Kevin Owens pushed Reigns head first into the LED ring post. Monday Night Raw then went to a commercial break.

When Raw returned, Jericho was back in control. Jericho connected with a Suplex on Reigns. Owens was wearing Jericho’s ridiculous scarf outside the ring. Jericho went for a Bulldog but Reigns tossed him into the turnbuckle. Reigns then landed a big Clothesline and Jericho fell hard to the mat. Reigns continued the assault and hit Jericho with a big boot. Jericho leaped from the top rope but Reigns caught him with a right hand. Reigns followed that up with a Samoan Drop.

Reigns went for the Superman Punch but Jericho avoided it and went for the Walls of Jericho. Reigns battled out of it, but Jericho knocked him down again. Jericho went for the Lionsault but Reigns got his knees up. Jericho then went for the Codebreaker but Reigns once again caught him. Finally, Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho on Reigns in the center of the ring. Reigns was able to roll through and punch his way out of the hold.

Reigns hit a Powerbomb on Jericho but Jericho kicked out at two. Reigns went for the Superman Punch but Owens hopped up on the apron. Reigns punched Owens off the apron. Roman then connected with a Superman Punch on Jericho and followed it with a Spear. Owens broke up the pinfall and the referee disqualified Jericho.

After the match, Owens and Jericho beatdown Reigns. The crowd began to chant “we want Rollins!”. Owens lifted Reigns up and Jericho hit a Codebreaker. Finally, Rollins came down to the ring. Rollins laid out Owens outside the ring. Seth then knocked down Jericho outside the ring and then hit two Suicide Dives onto Owens outside the ring. Rollins then went for the Pedigree on Jericho but Owens dragged Jericho out of the ring. Owens and Jericho retreated as Rollins stood tall in the ring. Rollins then stared at Reigns as the crowd chanted “Shield!”. Rollins and Reigns stared at each other and the show ended.

Winner via DQ: Roman Reigns

Reaction: I’ve spent the past few weeks bashing every episode of Monday Night Raw. Tonight was a decent show when it comes to Raw standards.. There was still plenty of filler. I still don’t understand why anyone would be invested in the six man tag match featuring the Cruiserweights tonight. Yet, the show overall was decent. The main event was solid and what happened after the match caught my attention. I’m sure Raw will return to being tedious next week, but there wasn’t all that much I hated on this week’s episode. That honestly is the best thing I’ve said at the conclusion on an episode of Raw in awhile.

I didn’t hate anything. I’ve become numb to idiotic use of Gallows and Anderson. The entire Trick or Street Fight match was an abomination to television and wrestling but I didn’t hate it. I’ve just become numb to it all. This is the 2016 version of the WWE. When a show is awful week after week after week after week, just a plain old bad episode of Raw is worth celebrating. Maybe stuffing my face with candy and Pumpkin Ale just made everything okay. Maybe I’ve zoomed past the level of madness and am now delusional. Maybe I wasn’t even watching Monday Night Raw but was staring at a wall for three hours shouting “this is awesome!” over and over again. Did you see when Golden Truth walked through the haunted house and got frightened by things? After all it is Halloween. Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Dickens, J.R.R. Tolkein and the folks writing for the WWE are some of the greatest writers our species has ever known. I cannot wait to work on my “Top 100 Greatest Moments of Monday Night Raw 10/31/2016”. It will be out sometime next year.

What did you think of this week’s Monday Night Raw? Let us know in the comments below.

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