Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 11.25.19

Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 11.25.19

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Lashley defeated Titus O’Neil @ 1:05 via DQ [NR]
– The AOP defeated Ryder & Hawkins @ 1:20 via pin [NR]
– Andrade defeated Akira Tozawa @ 2:10 via pin [NR]
– Buddy Murphy defeated Matt Hardy @ 2:50 via pin [NR]
– US Title #1 Contender’s Match: Rey Mysterio defeated Ricochet, Randy Orton, & Drew McIntyre @ 14:30 via pin [***½]
– US Title Match: Rey Mysterio defeated Champion AJ Styles @ 15:10 via pin [***½]
– Asuka defeated Charlotte @ 17:20 via pin [***½]
– Erick Rowan defeated Bartholomew Kickpads @ 1:20 via pin [NR]
– Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins @ 14:00 via DQ [***]

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Seth Rollins’ Town Hall Meeting: I hope he apologizes for failing in last night’s Survivor Series tag match, and admits that Keith Lee is his new God. The roster surrounds the ring as commentary hypes him as the locker room leader. He mocks the Punk chants and says he tried to get him to come but Punk wants to sit behind a desk. They then chant NXT so Seth has to admit than NXT won the night at Survivor Series. He hates what Raw has become (ME TOO, BROTHER). Seth tells the roster that they all sucked. They all dropped the ball and they have to fix it, going from the A show to the C show. He believes in Raw and asks if anyone wants to speak. He calls Orton a weak link on the PPV last night, so Orton walks away as Seth keeps saying he’ll fight as the leader. He says Charlotte was supposed to lead the women’s team to victory and dares to call herself a Flair so she leaves. He talks to AOP and says they don’t need them so they bail. He says Rey let them all down, failing with a pipe and his stupid kid while Seth beat Brock twice. They all start leaving as Seth rants about motivation for the roster. Kevin Owens is still there and Seth mocks him, calling him Mr. NXT. Seth loves this place and wants to make it better. What does Kevin do? His lazy ass shows up and does nothing. Well, you’ll never be Seth Rollins. Kevin stuns him and bails. Nice to see that they’ve taken Seth’s Twitter bitch act and used it to turn him heel. Seth Rollins is a slimy, bitching, self-serving heel; Kevin Owens is the people’s champion, so it works. This should set up Seth vs. Kevin, with the roles reversed this time around.

– Seth challenges Kevin to a match later tonight.

– Rusev was served with a restraining order earlier today.

Lashley vs. Titus O’Neil: Lana is at ringside. Titus attacks with strikes and chops until Lashley cuts him off with a spinebuster. Rusev rushes the ring and attacks. Lashley defeated Titus O’Neil @ 1:05 via DQ [NR] This angle must continue.

– Rusev kicks his ass on the ramp and clears off the announce table. Police arrive to arrest Rusev, but Rusev charges and knocks him off the stage and then kicked a lighting rig onto him. While not exactly a glowing endorsement, this was way better than the stuff they’ve done with these two recently.

– We see footage of Lashley being stretchered out.

The AOP vs. Ryder & Hawkins: This is fallout from AOP’s attack last week. AOP runs wild on Hawkins, and then Ryder. Double Blu-rays follow and the super collider connects. The powerbomb/neck breaker finishes it. The AOP defeated Ryder & Hawkins @ 1:20 via pin [NR] This was a good squash to reintroduce AOP.

Andrade vs. Akira Tozawa: Vega is at ringside. Andrade hits a powerbomb right away, lays the boots to him and follows with chops. He grounds the action, and then follows with a suplex until Tozawa cradles him for 2. Tozawa hits a RANA, snap German and heads up top. Andrade cuts him off and the double knees follow. The hammerlock DDT finishes it. Andrade defeated Akira Tozawa @ 2:10 via pin [NR] A fine rebound win for Andrade.

– Alietser Black rants in his little room about Buddy Murphy knocking at his door. He is coming to collect because Buddy picked a fight with him.

Buddy Murphy vs. Matt Hardy: DELIGHTFUL! Murphy attacks and works him over in the corner until Matt fires back. He follows with mounted strikes until Murphy hits Cheeky nandos and then posts him. Murphy then slams him to the barricades and back in, Murphy flies in, leaps over Matt and Matt follows with a side effect. Murphy counters the bulldog, but Matt follows with an elbow off the ropes. The twist of fate is countered and the V trigger connects, Murphy hits another and another knee strike finishes it. Buddy Murphy defeated Matt Hardy @ 2:50 via pin [NR] This was a nice dominant win for Murphy over a name ahead of his feud with Black.

– Black arrives post match and they brawl as Black sends Buddy packing, giving him a bloody nose.

– Charlotte comments on tonight’s match with Asuka. She’s not a team player, and Asuka has to pay tonight. Asuka knows she can’t beat her and will prove that tonight.

– Styles actually comes out alone. Nope, the Good Brothers attack Carrillo during his entrance. He battles back, fights them off but Gallows chokeslams him to the apron. The magic killer on the steps follows. The OC stands tall. Styles gets the mic Ricochet arrives. Styles looks to leave, and mocks Ricochet for failing to be a superhero. Ricochet runs down Styles for using his goons to save his title once again. Ricochet challenges Styles, but he refuses. Randy Orton arrives and threatens to RKO Styles, and he asks for a match. Styles says he already beat him and did so at WrestleMania. He has nothing to prove here tonight since he already defeated Ricochet. Drew McIntyre now arrives and says he knows a guy he’s never faced, never beaten and hasn’t gotten a shot at him. He pinned WALTER last night and while Chicago doesn’t deserve it, he challenges Styles to a match. Rey Mysterio is here and he wants a shot as well. He won’t let Styles cheat the fans out of a title match. Styles refuses and calls them all entitled, but Ricochet says that they should have a fatal four-way with the winner facing Styles tonight. Styles says it’s stupid, but Gallows & Anderson think it’s a good idea, so Styles reluctantly agrees.

Ricochet vs. Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Drew McIntyre: They brawl at the bell as Rey RANAs Drew to he floor. He and Ricochet double dropkick Orton and Ricochet follows with an enziguri, but Drew cuts him off with a slam on the floor. Orton dumps Rey and back in, he and Drew work over Ricochet. They try to one up each other and start working over Rey as well. They control with ease, dumping Rey but Ricochet battles back, hits a rolling dropkick and then runs into an Orton snap slam. Rey wipes him out and starts to run wild, heads up top with Ricochet and Ricochet slams him to the apron as Drew then looks for a superplex, but Ricochet crotches him in to the tree of WHOA and Rey is back up top as Orton joins in and Ricochet gets dumped to the floor. Orton up with Rey as Drew hits the spider German and sends them crashing to the mat. The OC arrives. Post break and Drew grounds Ricochet with strikes. They trade, Ricochet hits a rewind kick and an enziguri to Orton, but Orton then cuts him off with the draping DDT for 2. He and Drew argue and trade chops as Drew totally lights him up. Orton eye pokes him and attacks, Drew fires back wit ha head butt and Ricochet flies in to wipe him out, hits the standing shooting star press, dumps Rey and cradles Drew for 2. Drew cuts him off, hits a sitout powerbomb and that gets 2. Orton cuts off the claymore with an RKO but the OC pulls him out and attacks. Ricochet counters the Rey RANA, but Rey cradles him for the win. Rey Mysterio defeated Ricochet, Randy Orton, & Drew McIntyre @ 14:30 via pin [***½] This was really good, got nice time, kept a good pace and allowed everyone some time to shine until Rey pulled out the victory’ the best thing on the show so far.

Champion AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio: The Good Brothers are at ringside. Styles attacks at the bell and works over Rey with ease. Rey fires back but Styles cuts him off with a backbreaker. The suplex follows, and Rey spills to the floor. Styles follows and continues his attack with chops and strikes. Back in, Rey heads up top and Styles starts attacking the knee, knocks him into a tree of WHOA and hits a basement dropkick for 2. Rey fires up with strikes, but Styles quickly cuts him off. He chokes him out in the ropes. Rey fights off a suplex, but his knee gives out on a springboard, but counters back and posts Styles. He follows with an enziguri and the 619 is cut off by Karl who trips him. The ref tosses the Good Brothers to the back. Post break and Styles is back in control of things. They workup top, Rey is back in the tree of WHOA and Styles misses a sliding dropkick and posts his balls. Rey follows with the seated senton, RANA and mounted strikes. The bulldog connects and gets 2. Rey heads back up top and Styles cuts him off, follows him up and Rey fires back, head buts him to the mat but Styles counters back with ushigoroshi for 2. Rey counters the clash, hits code red and that gets 2. The springboard RANA and 619 connect but we get a ref bump. The Good Brothers attack and beat Rey down. The magic killer is stopped by Orton and he takes out the Brothers, 619 by Rey and RKO by Orton. The frog splash finishes Styles and we have a new champion. Rey Mysterio defeated Champion AJ Styles @ 15:10 via pin [***½] While overbooked down the stretch, the match was very good and got the crowd into it big time. Rey was really great here and Styles was more motivated than in recent matches. It also felt like time for a tile change and gives Rey new purpose, which he desperately needed.

– Rey & WALTER Dominic celebrate post match.

– Kevin tells Seth he knows who he is and has never tried to be something he’s not, even when some tried to force his hand. Seth tries to be what the company wants him to be but is only a whiney insufferable little prick. There’s another stunner coming and Monday Nigh Rollins will then turn into the Kevin Owens show.

Charlotte vs. Asuka: Sane is at ringside. Charlotte attacks right away and follows with ground and pound. She then shoots her to the barricade, and back in, Charlotte takes out Sane, allowing Asuka to attack. Charlotte cuts her off and they trade until Asuka slams her down by the hair. They trade from their knees, Charlotte hits elbows but Asuka cuts off the figure eight. Sane distracts Charlotte and Asuka attacks. She grounds the action. Lays the boots to Charlotte and then works the arm. Asuka follow with grounded kicks, strikes and Charlotte hits the big boot for 2. Asuka powders, but Charlotte follows her out and chases Sane into the crowd. Post break and Charlotte hits a dropkick on the floor. Back in and Asuka locks on an arm bar until Charlotte powers up and escapes. Asuka follows with kicks, but Charlotte cuts her off and is then caught with a German. Asuka lays in Kawada kicks, but Charlotte cradles her for 2, Charlotte follows with rights, clotheslines and chops. Charlotte hits a fall away slam and heads up top. The moonsault misses, she lands on her feet and hits a rolling senton for 2. Asuka fires back and cradles Charlotte for 2. Charlotte hits a belly to back suplex and follows with strikes, attacks the knee but Asuka then counters the spear into a DDT for 2. Asuka heads up top and misses the missile dropkick, but counters natural selection into a triangle, but Charlotte powers up and locks on the crab. Asuka fights and makes the ropes. Charlotte kicks her in the face, targets the knee and Asuka fires back until Charlotte hits the spear for 2. Sane returns, Charlotte chases her and cuts her off. She posts Sane, back in and San takes the ref, mist to Charlotte and Asuka cradles her for the win. Asuka defeated Charlotte @ 17:20 via pin [***½] This was very good, they know how to wok with each other, played off of their history well, and got plenty of time to work. I also loved that they didn’t immediately give Charlotte her revenge and have her win, which felt like the WWE play, but they thankfully didn’t go that way. I would have loved a cleaner finish, but again, it played off of last night well as Asuka misted and screwed her again.

Erick Rowan vs. Bartholomew Kickpads: Kickpads tries to look at Rowan’s pet and gets wrecked on the floor for his troubles. The powerbomb to the post connects and back in, the claw slam finishes it. Erick Rowan defeated Bartholomew Kickpads @ 1:20 via pin [NR] Squash.

– Styles is upset over losing the US Title, and when interviewed, just says, “Randy Orton.”

– Lana is interviewed and is angry at Rusev and calls him a danger to society, which is why she got restraining orders. WWE should fire Rusev, but says she’s handling Lashley and she will be ok, “thank you for asking.”

Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins: Kevin teases the stunner, Seth powders and they brawl on the floor. Seth looks for a dive, cut off and Kevin hits chops and a missile dropkick; the senton gets 2. Seth cuts off the cannonball and dragon screws the knee. The half crab follows, but Kevin escapes and runs into sling blade. Seth knocks him to the floor, hits a suicide dive and another. Back in and Kevin hits a superkick and Seth spills to the floor. Seth gets a chair. Post break and they are up top, Kevin dumps him off and the swanton eats knees as Seth covers for 2. He lays the boots to Kevin and follows with grounded strikes. Kicks follow and Kevin fires back with chops and Seth answers back. Kevin cuts him off with a DDT, Seth misses a charge and Kevin hits the cannonball. He heads up top but Seth powders only for Kevin to hit an apron senton to the floor. Back in and Kevin hits the frog splash for 2. Seth counters the pop up powerbomb, and hits the blockbuster for 2. Seth then does the deal with a falcon arrow for 2. He sets, and blackout is countered and the pop up powerbomb follows for 2. They trade superkicks and Seth is cut off with the stunner. The AOP arrive, and attack Kevin for the DQ. Kevin Owens defeated Seth Rollins @ 14:00 via DQ [***]

They beat down Kevin and repeatedly post him to bullshit chants. Seth fires up and the AOP walk. Seth then hits blackout twice on Kevin to stand tall. The match was good and really going places until the finish, which looks to setup a rematch at TLC. I appreciate trying to make AOP into something but it wasn’t well received. It will be interesting to se if they end up as heavies for Seth down the line.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 69. On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka & Jeremy Lambert break down & review the 2019 WWE Survivor Series & NXT WarGames events. The show is approximately 102-minutes long.

* Intro
* NXT WarGames 2019 Review: 5:40
* WWE Survivor Series 2019 Review: 36:53

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

6.9

The final score: review Average

The 411

Hour one was highlighted by the Seth heel turn and angle with Owens and followed by squash matches to re-position people and felt really solid overall. Hour two was very good, built around the US Title angle and title change. Hour three was also good, with two quality matches. Overall, tonight’s episode of Raw, which was the fallout from Survivor Series, felt like an attempt to reset the table of the show so to speak now that the brand supremacy bullshit is over. The show felt like it had some purpose this week, and felt like an improvement, and actually made me curious to see where they go next week.