WWE Raw Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for November 20

Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter

Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe

Result: Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor via ref stoppage/TKO

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

After putting their intense rivalry on hold for (most of) Survivor Series, Balor and Joe went back at it tonight on Raw. And it didn’t take long for them to pick up where they left off. Joe was in an especially aggressive mood, wasting no time in just beating up Balor. Not fighting, mind you – Joe literally beat him up.

Balor did what would be expected of him, too. He absorbed Joe’s onslaught, regrouped enough to stagger his bigger opponent, and followed up with a huge tope con giro to send us into the commercial break.

Of course, even though Balor was in command heading into the break, once we’re back it’s all Joe because WWE doesn’t always feel the need to show their work. It’s like they know the best thing about non-painted Finn is his comebacks, so they just create opportunities for him to do that. Whether we the audience see how we get from point A to B is irrelevant.

But if we’re going to keep getting Samoa Joe doing suicide dives that look like Mjolnir flying through the air, I’ll take whatever weird pacing his matches have. I know he was out due to injury, but Joe looks like a brand new man after that few weeks off. It’s like the perfect argument for a WWE off-season, or at least rotating, built-in “vacations” for the superstars.

There were some great spots towards the end. Joe just sidestepping Finn’s dropkick and obliterating him with the senton was perfect. I liked Finn’s third (at least) comeback, and Joe’s avoidance of the Coup de Grace into the Coquina Clutch. The “opponent passes out” finish is starting to get overplayed, though – let a superstar or two tap out, you know? It doesn’t make them look weak, it makes Joe look like the most dangerous force on the roster.