WWE Raw – October 5, 2020 (Review)

Raw has been an ungodly mess for several weeks, contaminated by incoherent stories, lapsed narratives and painfully flat characters. Even worse, all of those factors have too often converged in a tired rematch of a contest we’d seen countless times before.

The result was that Raw felt stagnant, unable to create clean breaks to the feuds we’ve been sitting through forever. The Mysterios are still clashing with Seth Rollins and Murphy, three months after Rey had his eye separated from his head. Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton remained locked in a bitter rivalry, gearing up for their third Championship match in seven weeks.

It #MustBeMonday, because #WWERaw is LIVE on @USA_Network, and what a night it's gonna be:

🔴 @FightOwensFight invites @WWEBrayWyatt to The #KOShow

🔴 @DMcIntyreWWE @AngeloDawkins & @MontezFordWWE vs. @RandyOrton @HEELZiggler & @RealRobertRoode pic.twitter.com/hGtjXiUd10

— WWE (@WWE) October 6, 2020

But despite that, I felt a hint of optimism last week. A silver lining shimmering around the edges of the eternal Monday night darkness.

Keith Lee still held some potential of being made into a star. RETRIBUTION had become a hilariously awful presence, with scope to become even more ridiculous. (I mean one of them is called Slapjack. It’s impossible not to laugh at the word ‘Slapjack’.) And Aalyah and Dominik Mysterio had suddenly established themselves as the best actors on the show!

So would Raw make good on the seeds it had planted or return to the familiarity of an overlong six-man tag which ends in a DQ? Only time would tell. Let’s get to the review.

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The Best of Raw

A Disciple Loses Faith

Seth Rollins and Murphy experienced a bit of a tense moment ahead of their match against Dominik Mysterio and Humberto Carrillo. I have no idea why Murphy waited all week until they were in front of TV cameras to air his grievances, but I digress.

Murphy wanted Seth to apologise to Aalyah for… suggesting she was flirting with Murphy last week? Claiming she wasn’t Rey’s biological child the week prior? He didn’t specify and I honestly think WWE have lost track of all the lunacy that’s worked its way into this feud.

They're startin' off 🔥 H 🔥 O 🔥 T 🔥#WWERaw @DomMysterio35 @humberto_wwe pic.twitter.com/oJUOJCZyoG

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) October 6, 2020

Rollins was furious that his disciple would dare make demands of him, with that bitterness playing out during the tag match. Murphy scored the pin after catching Carrillo with a knee. He then defiantly walked up the ramp, away from his leader. This adequately furthered the fractures between Murphy and Rollins – Murphy proved his value to the ‘Monday Night Messiah’, while at the same time turning his back on him.

Later in the night, Seth Rollins confronted his protégé, demanding an apology for his earlier actions. He continued to agitate Murphy until the Australian snapped. Murphy battered Rollins with a kendo stick, yelling at him to apologise. Whimpering and begging for a reprieve, Seth cried out an apology to both Murphy and Aalyah.

Now it's a home run derby.#WWERaw @WWERollins pic.twitter.com/cx2hfZVOOt

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) October 6, 2020

This caused Murphy to drop his guard, leaving him unaware when Rollins jumped him. Aalyah ran to Murphy’s aid (I still despise this aspect of the story), followed by the rest of the Mysterio clan, who guided their youngest member away from Murphy and reminded her of all the pain he had caused. This represented actual progression of the narrative as a whole and provided a much-needed dynamic shift. It was always hard to feel sorry for Murphy so long as he was bound to Rollins. Now with the pair split, he may have a chance of engendering some empathy.

Two Gigantic Slabs of Beef

Braun Strowman, visiting from SmackDown, demanded a match on Raw. Adam Pearce offered him an “exhibition”, which turned out to be against Keith Lee. I was excited.

The commentators made it clear that as an “exhibition match”, this would not count against either man’s “official records”. I was concerned. Raw doesn’t maintain any official win / loss records, so what goofiness could they possibly create for a match that didn’t factor into any of that?

Referee, you've made @BraunStrowman VERY mad with that count-out.#WWERaw @RealKeithLee pic.twitter.com/KStLoqLjzQ

— WWE (@WWE) October 6, 2020

Well, it turned out that it just meant Strowman and Lee would beat the hell out of one another. Bruan drove Keith through the barricade. Lee responded by driving his opponent into the LED boards, before tackling him off the ramp. It was delightful violence perfectly suited to these two giant behemoths. And it got me a bit excited for what might happen if these two man-trucks ever ended up on the same brand… like post next Monday perhaps?

The Champion Gets Bit

Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre again crossed paths in the night’s main event, this time in six-man action. Randy reverted to past alliances in teaming with Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler, while the champion recruited The Street Profits.

For the most part the match was precisely what you’d expect from a six-man tag – which is to say it was entertaining. All six men engaged in various chaotic ways, with the exception of Drew and Randy. The ‘Viper’ had no interest in clashing with the Scotsman.

Chalk one up for @RandyOrton on the road to @WWE #HIAC! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/QNBJs1DK8w

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) October 6, 2020

That was until the final phase. Drew landed a Claymore on Roode, but didn’t spot Randy slithering into the ring behind him. Orton hit an RKO and pinned the WWE Champion, upping the steaks ahead of their title clash. It was a decent end to a wobbly Raw.

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The Worst of Raw

For Every Action, There is an Equal and Opposite Reaction

The night started with a rambling promo from Randall Orton, providing a lengthy (and entirely unnecessary) account of his attack on Ric Flair, Big Show, Christian and Shawn Michaels last week. He took us through events blow-by-blow, which was rather inexplicable. Why does WWE think a verbal recital would be more interesting than the already bland visual attack? Although Randy did use the phrase “when I put on my night vision goggles”, which is just objectively hilarious.

He remembers.@RandyOrton is taking a trip down memory lane to kick off #WWERaw… pic.twitter.com/5vFIBBI3bb

— WWE (@WWE) October 6, 2020

Before repeating his challenge to Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, Orton explain his assault as being an equal and opposite reaction to the legends’ actions. Except their actions at Clash of Champions were the reactions to getting punted in the head by Orton… this is the problem inherent in Raw letting feuds run on for months. We lose track of what constitute initial affronts and what constitutes “getting even”. It’s just a never-ending series of actions, back and forth.

Regardless, Drew McIntyre entered the room Randy was delivering his promo from and attacked him. So presumably we remain set for ANOTHER rematch at Hell in a Cell. I’m so tired of this program.

All the Women in One Segment

Raw featured a fairly bland six-woman tag match, with little of import to report. My first thought was “why is Asuka teaming with Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke? And why is Zelina Vega uniting with Lana and Natalya?” My second and prevailing thought was “when will this match end?”

After a brief chaotic period, Mandy Rose pinned Lana after a pump kick. Then Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler came out, so that Nia could drive Lana through the announce table. Why did this happen, when the tag champs were most recently feuding with the Riott Squad? Who are the babyfaces in this dynamic? Are Natalya and Lana forever going to just be punching bags? All valid questions.

Savage.#WWERaw #WomensTagTitles @QoSBaszler pic.twitter.com/l1YaWYAJou

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) October 6, 2020

Rendering all of these events even more purposeless, we got the match we were presumably meant to see at Clash of Champions later on Raw. Nia and Shayna fairly easily dispatched of Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan. The match itself was actually pretty good – I just can’t summon the strength to care, given all the nonsensical context surrounding it.

Another Janitor Attack

R-Truth was working on his draft board backstage. His predicted brand switches included Akira Tozawa’s ninjas, Sister Abigail and Mercy The Buzzard. Before he could go into any detail on his picks, Truth was jumped by Drew Gulak dressed as a janitor. Apparently everyone at Raw has access to disguises.

During his scrambling escape, R-Truth tripped over a bucket next to Gulak’s cart. This was enough to allow Gulak to score the pinfall and claim the 24/7 Championship.

I imagine this will be revisited later in the evening, but this entire segment was unfunny, boring and sadly, typical of the 24/7 Title picture.

A new contender emerges.#WWERaw @TozawaAkira @DrewGulak pic.twitter.com/S8H1OzZi2B

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) October 6, 2020

A few segments later, R-Truth won the belt back by pinning Gulak in a dumpster. I couldn’t think of a setting more appropriate.

Friends Stick Together

Continuing his un-accredited role as company counsellor, Kevin Owens welcomed Bray Wyatt onto the KO Show. He was so irate after being attacked by The Fiend last week, so beside himself with rage… that he professionally cued up a video package recapped last week’s events. I hate this narrative crutch that Raw so often relies on.

What do ya say, @FightOwensFight?!#WWERaw #KOShow #FireflyFunHouse @WWEBrayWyatt pic.twitter.com/d9UffWGwbR

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) October 6, 2020

Anyway, Bray showed up on the Titantron, broadcasting from his Firefly Fun House. Bray spoke about the upcoming draft, sang a song about friends and prattled on about The Fiend’s relationship with Alexa Bliss. Then he warned Owens about what awaited him on Friday.

As KO stormed up the ramp, he was ambushed by Aleister Black. This entire segment was so incredibly nothing.

Bianca Belair is the Irritating-EST

Bianca Belair was playing some form of quiz game during a ladies night with three of her dearest friends. She proceeded to answer every single question, as her friends grew increasingly annoyed.

S 👏 M 👏 A 👏 R 👏 T 👏 E 👏 S 👏 T#WWERaw @BiancaBelairWWE pic.twitter.com/mAtLsMW23Z

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) October 6, 2020

This was supposedly an effort to showcase Belair’s genius. But in reality it just made her look like an arrogant know-it-all with poor social skills. These inserts are getting less and less flattering.

Business is Not Booming

Because everything must go on forever, Ricochet and Apollo Crews took on Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley. Two things happened prior to the match – neither having any effect on proceedings. MVP invited Ricochet to join the Hurt Business (which Ricochet refused). And MVP called out RETRIBUTION in an in-ring promo (they didn’t show up).

Lashley sealed the win for his team by making Apollo Crews tap out. We’ll likely get more of this next week on Raw…

… or just later in the same show. MVP clashed with Mustafa Ali in a one-on-one contest. Midway through this pile of nothing, RETRIBUTION decided to show up. At first Ali looked to side with the Hurt Business in defence. But then he jumped to the outside, stood face-to-face with T-Bar and Mace… and turned to order them to attack the three men in the ring.

⬇️ GIF REPLIES ONLY ⬇️#WWERaw #RETRIBUTION @AliWWE pic.twitter.com/u53ILfok0l

— WWE (@WWE) October 6, 2020

Mustafa Ali is the leader of RETRIBUTION and we should’ve seen it all along! Shouldn’t we? I mean, I have no idea. If anyone has motivation to rage against the corporate machine, it’s Ali. It wasn’t that long ago he looked set to be on course to challenge for the WWE Championship only to lose out to Kofi Kingston. But at the same time the act feels destined to fail and it would be particularly cruel to tie Ali to that sinking ship.

Also, as an aside, is there any reason for RETRIBUTION – a group set on dismantling WWE – to attack The Hurt Business as opposed to the company’s top babyfaces?

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Overall Rating for the Show (From best to worst: RAWsome, Cor, AvRAWge, Poor and RAWful)

I said last week that the outlook for Raw looked bright, despite the suffocating, interminable awfulness of the product in recent weeks. And you know what? This week made good (somewhat) to that rosey prediction.

Raw was largely decent throughout its three-hour runtime, relegating the normally pervasive insufferable moments to minor features. Sure, Randy Orton is still the worst and his title rematch set for the pay-per-view is nauseating. The women’s division has returned to being a heap of nothing. And The Hurt Business are incompetent goofs.

But we weren’t forced to dwell on it. Instead Raw focused on the continuation of the Seth / Murphy / Mysterio dynamic, the head-on collision between Braun Strowman and Keith Lee, and the shocking reveal of the leader of RETRIBUTION. It was, by and large, alright. So, for that reason, Raw this week was AvRAWge… which is a minor victory given recent weeks.

Share your thoughts on Raw with us on Twitter and stay tuned to Wrestletalk to keep up-to-date on all the latest wrestling news.

• review
• RAW
• October 5 2020
• wwe

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