WrestleTalk Roundtable – WWE Raw – November 19, 2018

People often ask me what I love about wrestling. Sometimes the answer is hard to articulate. Other times Ricochet will have done something truly insane over the weekend.

Thankfully, this is one of those weeks.

It remains an interesting question though, and one that I thought we could address for a minute before delving into the ins and outs of the most recent edition of Raw.

Why do you love wrestling?

The answer will almost certainly be different for every one of us, being informed – at least to some extent – by personal preference. Regardless of whether you enjoy technical mat work, dramatic twists or circus-style acrobatics however, I believe there is one area on which we can find common ground.

Nothing embodied the essence of professional wrestling quite like NXT TakeOver: WarGames II did on Saturday night. In short, whatever attracts you to wrestling, this show had it. It delivered brawls, flips and chaos. It gave us spectacle, emotion and “Mama effing Mias!”

The quarterly NXT showpieces invariably produce some of the best brand of grappling found on the WWE calendar. And one doesn’t have to look too closely to find out why.

NXT capitalises on the inverse relationship between the frequency of events and their quality. When pay-per-views happen less often, they tend to feel more special. Imagine if we were forced to sit through a Christmas every month. Sure, the gifts are great, but is it really worth the awkward family gatherings, drunk uncles, borderline racist grandparents and the unavoidable turkey-fuelled indigestion?

There are, of course, other factors at play. TakeOvers only feature the brand’s top stars, meaning that we aren’t subjected to jobber tag teams or forgotten mid-carders. The three month incubation time between events also allows stories to develop at a more natural pace.

And, most crucially of all, NXT has perfected the art of building stars, even in defeat. To illustrate the point, consider Dave Meltzer’s views on the best wrestlers currently on the WWE roster:

Technically, Gargano & Roderick Strong are in the conversation as well. Seth & AJ as well. Ricochet, O'Reilly proven top tier major leaguers https://t.co/9QjJOas9Dr

— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) November 18, 2018

That’s right. In ‘Big Daddy’ Dave’s view, four of the six best current WWE talents are found on the developmental brand. And of those four, three lost on Saturday night! The key was that none of them were damaged in the slightest. If anything, Velveteen Dream and Gargano delivered performances that only served to enhance their status in most fans’ eyes.

Coming out of WarGames, I’ll remember Dream’s entrance, Ricochet’s double moonsault off the cage, Aleister Black supporting Gargano’s limp body while absolving him of his sins and Ciampa repeatedly yelling “ME!” after his cracking title retention. Each of them either remarkable feats of athleticism or subtle character building moments designed to play into events down the line.

By contrast, WWE struggles to build stars on the main roster, with one of the more memorable aspects of a decent Survivor Series being Drake Maverick pissing himself. Not as successful a recipe, some might argue.

Nowhere was WWE‘s general ambivalence more apparent than on the Survivor Series pre-show and the tag team elimination match which it featured. And you don’t have to take my word for it, I consulted a qualified doctor for his take.

*Finishes watching #SurvivorSeries…*

My Brain:
Don't do it
Don't do it
Don't do it
Don't do it
Don't do it
Don't do it

Me: HEY @WWE! RESPECT THE TAG DIVISION OF BOTH SHOWS AND LET THE PEOPLE KNOW THAT SMACKDOWN GOT A WIN TONIGHT. THE SCORE WAS 6 – 1 #PreshowCounts pic.twitter.com/Uc5NbyVwtO

— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) November 19, 2018

In one foul, Michael Cole inspired swoop, the entire tag division was disappointingly buried on Sunday night.

And that brings us, in the most roundabout way imaginable, to Raw. The main narrative heading into the episode was the red brand’s utter dominance over its blue counterpart at Survivor Series.

Raw whitewashed SmackDown Live in the battle for brand supremacy, which we all knew could only mean one thing. Stephanie McMahon was going to be completely unbearable last night. And while reports are that Raw‘s dominance was indeed designed to promote another McMahon storyline, the younger Commissioner didn’t miss a chance to rub salt into our wounds.

In a rather dramatic episode of ‘the A-show’ addressing the Survivor Series fallout, we were treated to the next chapter in the festering tension between Corbin and the ‘Monster Among Men’, further build to the Intercontinental Championship clash between former brothers Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, as well as a gloating Stephanie McMahon in her natural habitat. It also gave us Lucha House Parties, Revival recalls and piss-poor jokes. So all in all, a mixed bag.

If that all seems a little overwhelming, our WrestleTalk writers are here to guide you through the seminal moments. Read on to see which segments we enjoyed and which arguably should have received the WWE ‘pre-show treatment’. And drop us a comment to let us know what you love about wrestling.

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