The recentTLC 2019 pay-per-view eventfeatured a number of high profile matches, but even so, some of the biggest ongoing rivalries on Raw were left off the program. This includes the ongoing rivalry between AJ Styles and Randy Orton, which has so far seen Orton cost Styles the United States Championship and more. While their match wasn’t featured on the pay-per-view, Styles and Orton will be going head-to-head on Raw tonight.
Another feud that wasn’t featured at TLC is the one brewing between Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins. Onlast week’s episode of Raw, Rollins was revealed to have been the leader of the Authors of Pain, who have been attacking Owens. This week, we will find out what’s next when it comes to Owens and Rollins.
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It should also be noted that WWE is actually filming an extra episode of Raw tonight, as next week’s edition of the show won’t be live, giving the wrestlers some time off for the holidays. It should be noted that this post willnothave spoilers for next week’s show.
1. Authors of Pain and Seth Rollins
WithSeth Rollinsbeing from Iowa, it’s not surprising that the reaction to him during his opening promo was still mostly positive despite his recent heel turn. There wasn’t much to this promo, though, just an ominous warning about something bad happening later tonight.
2. The OC vs. The Viking Raiders
Winners:The OC. With their match at TLC ending in a count-out, it’s a bit weird that this match wasn’t for the titles. In any case, The OC won fairly easily, and there wasn’t any KFC involved this time.
Grade:C
3. Erick Rowan vs. Local Competitor
Winner:Erick Rowan. The mystery of what’s inside Erick Rowan’s pen continues. This was another quick match, just a squash against a local competitor. The local competitor had a bit more to do than others that have faced Rowan lately, crawling under the ring and attempting to see what’s inside his pen. That earned him a devastating crossbody on the floor and a few faceslams.
4. Lana and Lashley Got Engaged
Rusev lost to Bobby Lashley in a Tables Match at TLC 2019, and now he got some salt rubbed in the wound. Lashley proposed to Lana in a segment that, while a bit awkwardly delivered, managed to generate nuclear heat. Maybe this means that we will get to see Rusev and Lashley have that Last Man Standing Match that was promised forStarrcade 2019, but whatever the case may be, it’s obvious that this feud is far from over.
5. Gauntlet Match
Winner:N/A. This match went on forever, and there wasn’t even a decisive victor. It started with R-Truth and Akira Tozawa, with Tozawa getting an early roll-up victory over Truth. Ricochet was the next entrant, and he and Tozawa put on a short wrestling clinic. Ricochet ended up eliminating Tozawa, and then he had to face off against Matt Hardy. Matt Hardy is a weird combination of his various gimmicks. He’s dressed like a 90s Hardyz Boy, but he is doing the Version 1 and “Delete!” taunts. Broken Matt Hardy may be more suitable of a gimmick for Matt at this stage of his career, but it seems WWE wants to cash in on Attitude Era nostalgia while using Matt as enhancement talent.
Ricochet eventually eliminated Matt, which earned some serious boos from the crowd. It seems Matt is much more over than WWE is giving him credit for. Rising star Humberto Carillo was next in the ring, and he Ricochet wrestled for what seemed like forever. There were plenty of high-flying moves, many of which were picture-perfect, but this thing just went on forever. Eventually, Zelina Vega came out onto the stage to distract them, and then the match continued.
Carillo finally eliminated Ricochet, only to get jumped by Andrade. Instead of trying to win the match, Andrade brutalized Humberto, giving him a DDT on exposed concrete. So despite this match lasting what may have literally been an hour, we didn’t even get a result. There was enough good wrestling on display here that it wasn’t a complete waste of time, but the ending was poorly executed.
Grade:C+
6. Seth Rollins and The Authors of Pain Attacked Rey Mysterio
Last week’s episode of Raw saw Rey Mysterio loan his “equalizer” to Kevin Owens in the form of the lead pipe he used against Brock Lesnar atSurvivor Series. Seth Rollins and The Authors of Pain got their hands on the pipe when they attacked Owens, and they attempted to “return” it to Mysterio. They attacked Rey and Rollins laid him out with a Curb Stomp for good measure. Afterward, Rollins challenged Rey to a United States Championship match “next week” on Raw (aka later tonight when WWE films the next episode). It seems the US title is going to be elevated as the main singles title on Raw while Lesnar is off with the proper WWE Championship.
7. Asuka w/ Kairi Sane vs. Deonna Purrazzo
Winner:Asuka. Even thoughAsukais currently one half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, she is also getting a big singles push and looks to be entering a program with Becky Lynch. Considering this, it wasn’t exactly surprising when Asuka managed to pick up the submission victory over Deonna Purrazzo. However, the narrative WWE is going with is that Asuka is some unbeatable force, but that clashes with the way she’s been booked since her undefeated streak ended at WrestleMania a couple of years ago.
Grade:B-
8. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton
Winner:Randy Orton. Definitely the best match of the night, but it felt like it ended too quickly. The match was interrupted at the top of the hour by a “sneak peak” at an upcoming USA original series, and then it was clear that Orton and Styles were told to go to the finish.Randy Ortondid a great job of selling his leg throughout the match, with Styles focusing on it in an attempt to get a Calf Crusher submission. Near the end, Styles went for a Phenomenal Forearm, only to fake out when Randy went for the RKO. Styles then followed that up with a legitimate Phenomenal Forearm attempt, but Orton caught him in the RKO to get the pinfall victory.
After the match, The OC ran down to the ring to attack Orton. Orton was briefly saved by The Viking Raiders, but then Styles and The OC got the advantage over him and came out on top by the time it was all said and done.
Grade:B
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