Of Marks And Men – 11/18/19 RAW

November 18, 2019 Author: Lou Federico

Alright everyone!!! Here we go… the march to Survivor Series continues with the “Go Home Show” for RAW, and it comes with no shortage of backstage controversy, with rumors swirling of talent unhappy with their position in the company and requesting releases from contracts, an apathetic fan base, management (read: Vince) downright ignoring the large majority of the fan base’s displeasure with some high profile angles (Rusev / Lana / Lashey), and the potential end of their “205 Live” program, the WWE NEEDS a home run this Sunday to re-energize everyone.

Now the NXT Invasion has been rather popular, and they would be wise to lean HEAVILY into this tonight, they also need to address the Lesnar / Mysterio feud as not much has been done with it since announcing the match a few weeks back. Personally I’m not a fan of a part time champion which Brock basically is, but apparently he is a “draw” and “sells tickets” so he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but they need to get him in the ring every now and again, to oh I don’t know…. wrestle?? Shock right? I mean if a 49 year old 3/4 broken down Chris Jericho can consistently put shifts in, so can Brock, but then again who am I right??

In any event.. On with the show:

8:02 – It’s ALWAYS a smart move opening your show with Becky Lynch, absolute FACE of the company, hell one of the faces of the damn INDUSTRY.

8:07 – It’s crazy how OVER with the fans Becky is, literally nothing sticks to her, where people have gotten sick with Seth, Roman and their stale angles Becky, has been a face forever and it shows no sign of stopping.

8:08 – Samoa Joe makes an appearance!!! he’s been injured for a while and off TV, but was on “Backstage” last week, glad to have him here, even if it is just on the mic.

8:14 – I’m confused… why have Becky / Charlotte squash the Iconics? what point did that serve???? First off Becky / Charlotte should NOT be challenging for the Tag Belts, it’s useless and does nothing but undermine The Kabuki Warriors, and if the eventual goal was to have the Horsewomen run in, they could have done it 100 different ways.

8:22 – Poor Ryder / Hawkins, they can’t even be bothered to get squashed in the ring, they get demolished by AOP during an interview, oh how the former Tag Champs have fallen.

8:32 – Go Home Shows have become the “4th Preseason NFL Game” of wrestling, sure the starters are “In Uniform” but NO WAY are they touching the field. It’s rather humorous.

8:40 – They have been steadily referring to Seth Rollins as “The Architect” more and more lately, nothing the WWE does is by accident, it is ALL design. Plus he likes Roman’s Tweet earlier about the anniversary of The Shield?? yeah… he’s turning heel.

8:51 – Well thankfully our weekly dose of Lana was short, didn’t really listen, don’t care, hate that fucking angle, Lashley squashed the hell out of No Way Jose….shocker…. I remember when Go Home shows meant something SMH…… this is not a good build up at all…. best part so far has been Baszler…

9:01 – This Andrade / Rollins match could be Incredible if they let it breathe.

Update: so far it is not disappointing, match is good, highlight of the show so far.

Whole lotta missed spots in that match…. ended with a…. Lucha House Party run in?? what?? why??? literally makes ZERO sense… Holy Shit…

9:20 – I found Buddy Murphy knocking on Aleister Black’s door and running rather amusing. “Whelp I guess he isn’t there!!!!”

9:22 – Buddy Murphy / Akira Tozawa, now THIS match has my attention, this shit can be SPECIAL, and I’m glad they they are getting a chance to shine on RAW.

9:29 – Damn that match WAS GOOD!!!!! I honestly hope that this is the future of RAW in a Post-Vince world. If rumor is to be believed Vince will be stepping back in 2020 when the XFL launches, and lord I hope that Heyman gives us more of that!!!!

9:37 – Oh boy… Rowan in a squash match!!!! wooooooo!!!!! That’s some good shit!!!! way to keep the fans interested with some seriously unbalanced booking, for real, the NEXT match is Kevin Owens and Drew McIntyre, why not just have that match go 3 minutes longer??? it would have covered the time.

9:50 – Kevin Owens is just a “Dude” He makes me feel like I could still become a pro wrestler at 40, he’s the “everyman” that the WWE needs.

10:02 – This match has been excellent!!!! I’m 100% surprised they are having them go this hard right before the PPV, but I’m LOVING IT, and well I guess I was wrong earlier, maybe some starters ARE seeing the field tonight!!!

10:05 – WHELP, it’s about to get 1000% more interesting HHH is HERE!!!! The Cerebral Assassin has made his presence known, and who know what’s about to go down.

10:13 – I am such a HHH mark… 25 years and I still love him, dude is INCREDIBLE, always has been, always will be.

10:16 – Obviously someone is going to turn, someone is going to go to NXT, they are pushing it too hard for it not to happen, so the only question is: Who is it gonna be? who is the first Domino to fall??? I REALLY hope it’s Seth, the potential for him in NXT, in programs with Gargano, Cole, Balor among others is TOO much to ignore.

10:19 – And they FINALLY do something with the Brock / Rey match, but it’s only Paul cutting a promo? Brock doesn’t even SHOW??? WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK. He’s the goddamn champ…. It’s his RESPONSIBILITY to be there. Why did they have Kofi lose the belt to him? People LOVED Kofi, Kofi respected the belt, Kofi worked his ASS off for the honor of that belt.

10:33 – Asuka / Natalya, almost dream match level here. One major thing the WWE has over AEW is their Women’s division, and these two are a prime reason why.

10:44 – Whelp I’m at least glad that Raiders are getting a headline booking tonight, it’s been so inconsistent with them one week quality, next week squash match… And I’m pretty damn happy that Orton and Ricochet are teaming, I like this… Gonna be a good match!!!

10:49 – Oh shit… it just crossed my mind… I need SNACKS on SNACKS on SNACKS for this weekend!!!! I’ve got 2 PPV’s and nothing to eat… Tacos Saturday? Pizza Sunday?? that sounds legit… maybe a decent size veggie tray? Definitely a SHITLOAD of Hummus…

10:56 – Otis in a Crop Top is all I need in my life!!!! frigging hillarious….

10:59 – And thank God that they had the decency to color coordinate before rushing the ring, it makes it soooo much easier to see who is who.

Well that was a pretty fun show, they had some REALLY good matches, highlighted by Murphy / Tozawa, KO / McIntyre, and Asuka / Natalya. The ending was a bit obvious but enjoyable. Loved the image of NXT holding the ring with HHH inviting the fight on Wednesday. NXT is going to be pretty damn awesome if they play it right.

Until Next Time Everyone,

Be Good To Your Fellow Nerd,

Lou

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