At one point, Triple H says "The fans don't matter." That really speaks for itself.
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Becky Lynch is out; Charlotte Flair is in
WWE Raw 2/11/19
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Raw Thoughts (Written as Viewed Live 2/11/19)
- The show starts with Stephanie and Triple H already in the ring. Stephanie flubs her lines in a funny moment. They both go over the card for the show. They discuss the Raw Women's Championship Match and the "original" plan of having Ronda face Becky at WrestleMania. A recap of last week's Becky Lynch segments is shown. Lynch gets a great reaction as she comes out during her introduction. The doctors have cleared her. Triple H and Stephanie reveal that the suspension is lifted and the match is on. Stephanie puts a roadblock in the way of Becky: she has to apologize to Stephanie and Triple H. She refuses to apologize. She'll fight the McMahons, but she will not apologize. She tells them to take the apology and shove it. Stephanie and Becky get in each other's face. Triple H tries to play peacekeeper. He tells her to make a choice: Apologize and go to WrestleMania to fight Rousey. Or she can throw it all away.
(This is another great sign as Becky is being used to bookend the show. This is typically the treatment given to main event talent. So, this makes my fears of a Charlotte interjection somewhat diminished.)
- Sasha and Bayley come out for their match. They are facing The Riott Squad (Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan) and the team of Nia and Tamina. The loser of this match enters the Elimination Chamber first. Poor Liv has to go at it with Nia Jax. (Think about poor Liv. She's had to work with Brie Bella, Ronda Rousey, and Nia Jax. God bless her.) The Samoans team up on Sarah Logan for a moment, but the roughhouse Logan is able to knock Tamina down and tag Liv back into the match. However, the Samoans regain the control by beating down Nia. Bayley tags in on Liv Morgan but runs right into an attack by Nia Jax. Meanwhile, Sasha gets assaulted by Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan on the floor as we go to a commercial break.
We return to see Bayley having to fight in the ring, and Sasha Banks being taking to the backstage area. Bayley is able to tag in Liv Morgan. Morgan and Logan are able to double-team Tamina with frequent tags. Nia gets tagged in and beats down on Sarah Logan. Cobra Clutch on Logan by Jax. Nia runs into the post by accident. Tamina tags herself in. Samoan Drop to Logan. Tamina climbs the corner. She splashes into the knees of Logan by accident. Bayley tags in as does Liv Morgan. Bayley continues to fight even without her partner. She hits a baseball slide under the ropes at Nia and Liv. Bayley jsut runs and attacks everyone at ringside. Bayley climbs up the corner and hits the elbow drop. Sarah Logan breaks up the pin attempt. Bayley almost gets rolled up, but Bayley kicks out. Bayley-to-Belly. Tamina superkicks Bayley down. Tamina drags Liv over to the corner to tag in Nia. Samoan Drop by Nia. 1-2-3.
Nia Jax and Tamina win. Sasha Banks and Bayley must enter the match from the #1 position.
(Good match overall. I enjoyed a lot of the different stories being told her, and I have to wonder if they are going to pull the trigger on a Bayley-Sasha Banks feud or if this is a massive misdirect for their Tag Team Championship win Sunday.)
- Elias is in the ring. But before he can say anything, we go to the back. Finn tells Becky not to allow pride to get the better of her. Do the right thing to get what she deserves.
- Elias is still in the ring. And before he can say anything, we get a video montage of Seth Rollins' 2018-2019 where he earned the name of Monday Night Rollins.
- Elias is in the ring, and Lucha House Party comes out to interrupt him. Elias is livid at this point.
We return from break to hear Elias tell them to cut it out. Elias talks about being the biggest musical act and not being nominated at The Grammys. The Luchas tell Elias they decided they wanted to "Walk with Elias." He asks the audience to be silent. He does his usual local town killing. The Luchas give the song a thumbs down. Kalisto tell Elias that he can do better. Elias gives Kalisto a guitar. He plays the guitar and gets the crowd to pop. Elias asks if he wants to do a duet. Elias grabs the other guitar and SMASHES IT OVER KALISTO'S BACK! He runs off before The Luchas can get any revenge.
Here comes Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush. They are going to be seated for the next match.
(A harmless comedy segment. It's better than seeing Jeff Jarrett and Road Dogg stumble through "With My Baby Tonight" for the third week in a row. There's only so much you can get of that stuff. Elias is so over that, heel or face, he will always get a reaction.)
- The next match is Finn Balor taking on the Scottish Psychopath Drew McIntyre. Balor causes McIntyre to hit the ring post hard. Balor has to deal with outside interference while facing off with McIntyre. Lashley tosses Balor off the top rope to cause the DQ and joins McIntyre in beating down Balor. McIntyre gets the steel steps. Kurt Angle comes out and goes to help Balor. German Suplexes for both McIntyre and Lashley. An ankle lock to Rush allows Baron Corbin to beat down on Angle. BRAUUUUUUN! McIntyre and Lashley get the hands first. Corbin stares at Strowman from the ring. Strowman gets Corbin up for the powerslam, but McIntyre pulls Corbin out of the way.
(Can you say 6-man tag probably after commercial break? Let's find out...)
And as predicted, we get the match. McIntyre gets worked over in the face corner by Strowman, Balor, and Angle. Finn Balor takes his turn getting beaten up in the heel corner. Angle gets tagged in and gets some German Suplexes on McIntyre. Dropkick off the corner by Angle. Angle Slam. Corbin saves the match by breaking it up. Flatliner by Lashley takes Angle to the mat. Heels take back over on the match. Angle continues to be beaten down as we go to commercial break.
We return to see Angle get the tag to Finn Balor, but it is not too long before Balor ends up beaten down. Likewise, Strowman gets knocked down with a Claymore Kick on the floor. Lashley charges Balor, but he rams his shoulder into the ring post. Balor dives out onto Corbin and McIntyre. Lashley takes advantage of a distraction by Lio Rush. Lashley hits his Dominator style finisher on Balor. 1-2-3. Balor had his foot on the rope, but Lashley pushed it off. Another referee comes out and explains what happened. The match is restarted.
Balor continues to be beaten down when we return from commercial break. He gets a double stomp on Lashley. Balor has no one to tag right now. Enziguri by Balor to Lashley. Strowman's hands start emerging from the barricade, and he gets over it. He's on the corner. BRAUN IS LEGAL! Lashley gets clobbered by Braun. Corbin and McIntyre gets some as well. The ringside shoulder tackles come next, and Rush gets one for the bonus! Corbin tries to stop Braun, but Angle gets the German Suplex in on Corbin. McIntyre gets dumped to the floor. Lashley runs into the Powerslam. Tag to Balor. Coup de Grace! 1-2-3! Balor has pinned Bobby Lashley. The winners are Angle, Strowman, and Balor.
(A very entertaining match, but that was long for the sake of being long. This is what the benefit and the harm that a 3 hour show can do though. This match could have accomplished the same thing in half the time and without the false finish. However, I was entertained. So, I can't complain too much.)
- KEVIN OWENS is on a video promo. He talks about Raw and SmackDown Live being hard to watch. Owens talks about coming back in one month. He is at a bowling alley and throws a gutter ball. (So, we know what to expect from the writers when he returns. Kevin Owens: Gutter Ball. Lol.)
- Becky Lynch is interviewed backstage. She's asked how she'll explain this to her fans if she refuses to apologize. Becky refuses to answer that question.
- NIKKI CROSS IS HERE! She's taking on Ruby Riott next! Nikki does what Nikki does: Attack. Make faces. Attack. Go crazy. And she's awesome while doing it. Ruby uses her legs to put Nikki into the turnbuckle. A double screen happens during the match.
ROUSEY IS FACING OFF WITH LYNCH! Rousey tells Lynch that this is bigger than her. She tells her to "Man Up." She tells her to do the right thing to save the match at WrestleMania. Otherwise, she will be admitting that she is a coward.
Back to the match as Riott continues to dominate Cross in the ring. Ruby kicks her in the ribs and sends her on the apron. Nikki blocks an attack on the apron and drops Ruby with a Reverse DDT on the ring frame. Running Crossbody on Riott off the frame on the floor. Ruby tries to run away, but Cross unloads on Ruby using the ring skirt to hold Riott in place. Nikki gets kicked off the top rope. Riott Kick ends the match. Ruby Riott wins.
(I'm not a fan of interrupting a match with an interview in the backstage area. It is a bit disrespectful to the talent in the ring. In fact, doing this with a championship contender in the ring just shows how little anyone should buy Riott winning Sunday. As for Nikki Cross, this is not a good sign to be taking losses already on TV.)
- Seth Rollins comes out next and recaps the last year of his career. That high of all the accomplishments was met with the bottom falling out when Brock hit him with 6 F5s. He's in a lot of pain, but he's still there. He's still standing. He tells the audience that he can beat Brock Lesnar. He goes on to talk about his family and friends asking him how much the match means to him....
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.... Here comes Paul Heyman. He fakes out a Brock Lesnar appearance. Heyman is there to educate everyone, especially Seth Rollins. Rollins' DNA does not match up to Brock Lesnar's DNA. Brock is "a career killer, a merciless sadist with an unrepentent soul." Seth going into WrestleMania might as well be a suicide mission. If Rollins tries to take Lesnar's championship, Rollins will be "The Architect" of his own demise. That's not a prediction. That's a spoiler. Rollins tells Heyman that he doesn't care. Rollins says Lesnar has held the industry hostage for 2 years, and it comes to an end at WrestleMania. Rollins will sell his soul to the devil to make sure Lesnar does not leave WrestleMania as Universal Champion. That's a spoiler.
(Are we going to get a heel turn at WrestleMania then? Will Rollins sell his soul to The Authority or some other heel faction? Interesting choice of words here.)
Dean Ambrose comes out next while Rollins is still in the ring. Ambrose asks for the mic. Ambrose tells Rollins to "slay the beast." And then Ambrose walks away and sits at a chair at ringside. Ambrose is in action next.
(I'm still getting the feeling that the "Ambrose is leaving" news may be a red herring.)
- Dean Ambrose is facing EC3 in a rematch from last week. Ambrose charges him as the bell rings. EC3 runs around the ring and catches Ambrose running into the ring to get the jump on him. EC3 gets some good moves in, including a 2nd rope dropkick out of the corner. After a few more moments, Ambrose starts fighting back. Ambrose sends EC3 into the ring post to get a break. Sideslam by Ambrose gets a 2. He climbs the corner, but EC3 uses the ropes to saddle Ambrose down on the corner. Roll-up. 1-2-3. Ambrose wins!
(It would be easy for me to say "So much for the NXT call ups, huh?" But there may be too much truth in that thought to be completely ignored. Let's be honest: This wasn't a great night for Cross or for EC3. As for Ambrose, I'm still not convinced he's leaving.)
- Lynch is backstage. Alexa Bliss tells her NOT to apologize. Lynch explains that she knows that if she doesn't apologize, Alexa would love to have her position at WrestleMania. Alexa Bliss doesn't have a genuine bone in her body, according to Becky Lynch. Lynch says that if she apologizes, the only thing she'll be "selling out" is WrestleMania.
- The Raw Tag Team Championships are on the line next (to no fanfare or mention at all on this show) as The Revival challenge Gable and Roode for the belts. Gable and Roode get the advantage early on, with Gable getting a top rope moonsault on The Revival on the floor. We return from break to see Roode be worked on by The Revival. He eventually gets the tag to Gable. Gable gets caught in a double team using the top rope. Dawson picks up on the offense against Gable and tags in Wilder. The Revival now work over Gable. Wilder drags Roode away from the tag and beat him up outside the ring. The Revival hit the Demolition finisher for a 2 count. Gable fights off The Revival again. Gable reaches for the tag, but Roode is still on the floor. Commercial break.
Gable continues to fight off The Revival as we return from break. Roode and Wilder get the tags for their teams. Roode fights off The Revival. Wilder gets suplexed onto Wilder. Roode hits the Spinebuster on Wilder for the 2 count. Wilder almost gets a roll-up. Tag to Dawson. Gory Special into a Facebuster Combo by The Revival. 2 count only. The referee is slow to count a roll-up by Roode. A Blockbuster/German Suplex Combo by Roode and Gable only gets a 2 count as Dawson breaks up the pin. Rollup by Gable gets a 2 count. Wilder and Gable are on the corner. Dawson gets the tag. Powerbomb Clothesline Combo ALMOST gets a 3, but Roode breaks it up.
"This is awesome" chants. This is very good. Dawson and Wilder get smashed into each other. Sunset Flip by Gable into a Jackknife cover gets a 2. Wilder gets a blind tag. SHATTER MACHINE! 1-2-3!!!!
THE REVIVAL HAVE FINALLY DONE IT!
They are interviewed in the Gorilla Position. They celebrate their victory and state that there are no better teams on the planet.
(Really good work here down the stretch by both teams. The Revival have been too good for too long for them NOT to have had a title run by now on the main roster. Thankfully, that has been fixed tonight. Now, the question is whether this will lead to a new emphasis on Tag Team Wrestling on Raw or if The Revival will be lucky enough to show up in a couple months to drop the belts. Very good match overall here.)
- Becky Lynch comes out next to render her decision on whether to apologize or not. Stephanie and Triple H come out to "King of Kings." Stephanie asks if cooler heads are going to prevail or not. Triple H tells Becky to shut out the fans. Their opinions don't matter. (And that about sums up WWE in a nutshell.) Becky still doesn't trust The McMahons. Becky teases saying "I'm sorry." Becky says "I'm sorry." She tells them that now that that nonsense is out of the way, NO ONE STANDS IN HER WAY OF HER DREAM. Triple H congratulates her and tells her that she's going to WrestleMania. Becky says "That's it?" Becky starts cutting a promo, and here comes Ronda Rousey! Here comes Vince McMahon! Vince goes on about Becky and Ronda having bad attitudes. Vince calls himself "The Man." Becky is suspended for 60 days! Vince doesn't accept the apology. The suspension runs out after WrestleMania. Vince says we need someone with charisma to take her spot. Charlotte Flair is introduced. Vince tells Ronda to get used to this image. He raises Charlotte's hand in the air.
(I'm speechless. Completely speechless. I want to believe that this is leading to Becky facing Charlotte to get her removed from the main event match, but I have my doubts. They just had to throw Charlotte into this match, and I think that's probably going to stick one way or another. I withhold judgment until we get closer to WrestleMania, but that ending just sucked.)
Overall, this was a good edition of Raw. The women's match at the beginning of the show was good. The focus on Becky Lynch overall was nice, even if I hated the setup for Charlotte's insertion into the match. The Raw Tag Team Title Match was very good. The six-man tag was long but very well done as well. I could have done without the NXT call-ups losing their matches, but that's really nitpicking here. Raw overcame some creative hiccups to deliver a good, entertaining show overall.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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