Monday Night Raw – October 7, 2019: Two In A Row!

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 7, 2019
Location: Rabobank Arena, Bakersfield, California
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Dio Maddin, Jerry Lawler

I don’t think there’s any other way to put it: the ending to last night’s show was a nightmare, with no one coming out of Seth Rollins vs. the Fiend in the Cell looking good. Things need to be put back on track, so tonight we have a singles match to build towards Crown Jewel, a boxer talking to set up a likely match at Crown Jewel, and Lacey Evans vs. Natalya V: Last Viewer Awake loses. Let’s get to it.

Here are last night’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the end of last week’s show with Lana and Bobby Lashley, for lack of a better term, canoodling on the stage right in front of Rusev. This is interspersed with clips of Rusev and Lana’s wedding and marriage.

Opening sequence.

Rusev vs. Randy Orton

Hang on a second as we come straight out of the opening sequence to Orton and Baron Corbin stomping on Rusev. He fights back but Lashley pops up on screen in a robe. That would be Rusev’s robe, because Lashley is in Rusev’s house. Actually he’s in Rusev’s bedroom, which includes a rather comfortable bed.

There is only one thing missing, which would be Lana herself. She comes in and climbs in next to Lashley, while mentioning that everything they own is now in her name, plus they no longer have separate checking accounts. Lana removes some of the little clothing she still has on and the lights go out with more laughter.

We come back to the arena where Rusev is taking this as expected and Orton and Corbin laugh on the floor. Rusev snaps and beats both of them up, including various shots to Corbin with the steps. A jumping superkicks each knocks both of them into the crowd. No match of course.

Lacey Evans vs. Natalya

Last Woman Standing so Lacey brings out a garbage can with Natalya’s name on it. They have reached the end of the line so it’s time to take out the trash. Natalya starts the fight on the floor by driving Lacey back first into the barricade and knocking her around ringside. The Sharpshooter goes on inside but Lacey climbs the ropes for a break. Lacey slams her head first into the mat for a nine so they head outside, with a swing sending Natalya head first into the barricade.

That’s good for another nine so Lacey teases a table, only to whip Natalya into the steps instead. Back from a break with Natalya being whipped into the timekeeper’s area and being hit with a kendo stick for nine. Lacey gets annoyed so she gets creative by putting Natalya in the chair and strapping her in with the stick before turning the chair over.

That’s only good for nine as well and more stick shots get the same. A hard trashcan shot (which actually includes actual trash) and a moonsault off of the barricade get another nine. They head up the ramp with Natalya being sent into the set, followed by a suplex onto the announcers’ table. Natalya gets back up and hits a suplex on the stage, followed by a powerbomb off the stage and through a table for the win at 17:10.

Rating: D. Good grief this was bad with Natalya selling for almost the entire match, which was mainly Lacey doing something and Natalya laying around for a long time before Natalya hit two moves and won. On top of that, NATALYA gets the big blowoff win in the series? They can’t possibly be setting her up as the next challenger again right? They couldn’t possibly think that is a good idea.

Aleister Black is still in his dark room and talks about the calm and collective demeanor on Raw. That is not who he is though because he is as unforgiving as fire and as cold as death. He is forever restless so come knock on his door for a fight.

The Street Profits do their thing. After the regular recap, it’s time for a scouting report for the upcoming Draft. Apollo Crews is a blue chipper, Buddy Murphy is the best kept secret and Drake Maverick is WWE’s Steve Carrell: the forty year old virgin. With that out of the way though, it’s time to talk about Tyson Fury.

We see Braun Strowman and Fury squaring off on Smackdown and Fury accidentally getting knocked down, drawing him over the barricade for a near fight.

Fury says maybe he shouldn’t have jumped the barricade, but he’s not leaving until he gets an apology. If not, Strowman is going to get these hands.

Viking Raiders vs. Dolph Ziggler/Robert Roode

Non-title. Ziggler gets beaten up by Erik to start and Ivar gets slammed onto him for a bonus. That sends Ziggler, clutching his chest and ribs, over for the tag so Ivar beats up Roode instead. The knee to Roode’s face has both champs on the floor and Roode gets knocked outside again as we take a break.

Back with Erik being knocked off the barricade and getting caught with Ziggler’s running DDT on the floor. The chinlock goes on to keep Erik in trouble so Ziggler grabs a neckbreaker for two. Roode comes back in for another chinlock but Erik fights up and shrugs off some double teaming. Ziggler misses a splash and the hot tag brings in Ivar to clean house.

The Fameasser cuts Ivar off for two but Erik is back in for the German suplex/springboard clothesline combination for two more. Ivar gets sent outside and it’s a spinebuster/Zig Zag combination for two on Erik. The Glorious DDT is blocked Erik comes back in for the Viking Experience and the pin on Ziggler at 14:50.

Rating: C. When all else fails, go with the booking that is the easiest and least interesting way to get the Raiders to a title match. Why they needed anything more than “the Raiders are unstoppable and deserve a shot” is beyond me but why not beat your not great champions to get there?

Here are the Singh Brothers, who seem to have been left to Raw in the 205 Live will. They call out Aleister Black so they can prove themselves for the Draft.

Aleister Black vs. Singh Brothers

Kick to the head, kick to the chest, jumping knee, Black Mass and something like a dragon sleeper give Black the win at 1:05.

Video on the Smackdown premiere.

It is now 9:15pm and we have not had a single mention of last night’s show, or at least nothing major. Unless I missed some quick reference in passing, it has not been mentioned once.

Strowman says he was having fun with Fury on Friday but if he wants to get serious, tonight Fury can get these hands. We get a quick clip of Strowman knocking AJ Styles out with one punch last night, which is as big of a reference as we have gotten so far.

We look at Brock Lesnar winning the WWE Title from Kofi Kingston and the ensuing beatdown by the debuting Cain Velasquez.

Rey Mysterio is upset about what happened to Dominick but the physical scars will fade. He let himself and his family down though but he was sitting in the hospital when Cain Velasquez, Dominick’s godfather, came in. Cain can brag about beating Lesnar and he’s coming for revenge.

AOP talks about fighting to keep food in front of their families and promise violence.

OC vs. Lucha House Party

Kalisto starts in on Anderson’s arm before handing it off to Dorado for the same. Metalik comes in with the splash off of Dorado’s shoulders for two but it’s off to Gallows to take over. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the House Party hits a triple moonsault (off the same corner) for the big knockdown as we take a break.

Back with Dorado fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a high crossbody for the breather. A roll into the diving tag brings in Kalisto with a slingshot hurricanrana and the rolling kick to the face. The hurricanrana driver gets two on AJ with Anderson making the save. The Pele into the Phenomenal Forearm ends Kalisto at 9:30.

Rating: C. Perfectly watchable six man here with the OC getting back on track after last night’s dumb result. The House Party is perfectly fine for a spot like this as they work well together and have exciting matches, meaning it’s not like a loss is going to hurt them. The OC will be fine, assuming they stay together. They could be fine on their own but they seem to work better together.

Post match the House Party takes another beating, including the super Styles Clash to Dorado.

We recap Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks from last night.

It’s time for MizTV with Miz talking about how awesome Smackdown was with all of the big names coming out. With that out of the way, here are his guests for the week with Becky Lynch and Charlotte taking seats. Miz talks about all of Becky’s accomplishments in the last year, including being on Golden Crisp cereal. Becky is proud of everything she has done but what matters right now is beating Sasha Banks. As for Charlotte, it’s good to be the queen because she is champion again.

They get into an argument over whose reign means more with Charlotte saying she made Becky famous. Becky says her reigns mean more but Charlotte says ten times is ten times. Cue the Kabuki Warriors with Asuka shouting in Japanese. The previously announced fight is on and we get a referee, but it’s a double baseball slide to drop the Warriors as we take a break.

Kabuki Warriors vs. Charlotte/Becky Lynch

Non-title. Becky and Asuka start things off with a cheap shot from the apron allowing Asuka to send her outside. Becky fights up and brings Charlotte in to take over on Asuka, including Natural Selection to send Asuka outside. Sane gets sent outside as well and Charlotte busts out the moonsault to the floor to put them both down again. A Figure Eight attempt is broken up and Asuka kicks a diving Charlotte out of the air as we take a break.

Back with Charlotte taking Sane down and bringing Lynch back in to clean house. Asuka gets in a distraction though and Sane hits Becky in the face to take over again. Becky fights back but Charlotte is down and holding her knee. The Disarm-Her has Sane in trouble but Asuka hits the mist, allowing Sane to roll Lynch up for the pin at 11:25.

Rating: C. I’ll give them some rather nice points here for getting out of what could have been a messy ending without screwing things up. None of the new champions took the fall and Becky was protected in the loss. Given that they had other champs lose clean earlier tonight, it’s at least a step in the right direction.

Post match the beatdown is on until Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross make the save.

Roman Reigns talks about the impact children with cancer had on him.

We look back at Lana and Lashley from earlier.

Apollo Crews is ready for Ricochet tonight and is ready to showcase himself.

The Viking Raiders get a Tag Team Title shot next week.

Ricochet is ready for what could be his last night on Raw. This is a showcase, not a swan song.

Ricochet vs. Apollo Crews

Ricochet flips out of a German suplex attempt to start but Crews cartwheels his way out of a hurricanrana as well. They both miss moonsaults to the floor before heading back in for a dropkick from Crews. Ricochet rolls away again and heads to the apron for the kick to the face in the corner. The springboard clothesline sets up a running shooting star press for two. It’s too early for the 450 though and Crews hits an enziguri into the standing moonsault for his own near fall. Not that it matters as Ricochet is right back with the Recoil for the pin at 4:02.

Rating: C+. They packed a lot into a four minute match and that’s exactly what you would want from these two. Don’t leave them out there long enough to let them overstay their welcome and leave you wanting more from them. Crews is his usual self and Ricochet looks more and more like a star every time he’s out there.

We actually look at Rollins vs. Wyatt in the Cell and Rollins not being able to end him. The DQ is included, as I still see no referee stoppage. There is no announcement or conclusion, as they just air clips and move on.

Jerry Lawler brings Fury to the ring for a chat. He didn’t like Strowman making him look like a fool last week and he is here to demand an apology. Cue Strowman to say he was just giving Fury a present last week and then he told security to let Fury go. If Fury wants to get in Strowman’s ring, he’ll eat him for lunch.

Fury says he would have knocked Strowman out but Strowman says he would do the same. How man titles has Strowman won? They go into the corner and here’s security to break it up in a hurry. That doesn’t last long though and the fight is on again but here is the locker room for the save. They keep breaking it up and the fight starts up over and over again.

In the back, Strowman says Fury is tough but there will be no apology. Strowman comes charging back out and the brawl ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I came into this show hoping that WWE could find something to start a new path towards fixing last night. What I got was WWE taking the night off after a horrible pay per view and basically saying none of what you’re seeing here matters. It was nowhere near as bad as last night and there were some interesting moments here, but this show felt like they just weren’t interested in trying until the Draft, as everything changes again. That’s not a good sign two nights in a row, no matter how much effort you put in last week.

Results

Natalya b. Lacey Evans – Powerbomb off of the stage

Viking Raiders b. Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler – Viking Experience to Ziggler

Aleister Black b. Singh Brothers – Dragon sleeper to Sunil

OC b. Lucha House Party – Phenomenal Forearm to Kalisto

Kabuki Warriors b. Charlotte/Becky Lynch – Rollup to Lynch

Ricochet b. Apollo Crews – Recoil

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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