WWE Raw Results and Review for February 11, 2019

On the final episode of WWE Raw before Elimination Chamber, we saw things heat up headed into one of WWE’s most brutal pay-per-view events. High stakes were at play in deciding which teams will start the Women’s Tag Team Elimination Chamber Match, and we also saw the Raw Tag Team Champions defend against The Revival. Despite a great final match and some other solid moments, WWE Raw fell far short of being a good show tonight.

The tone was set right from the beginning of WWE Raw, as Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were already in the ring when the show went live. They began to hype up Elimination Chamber, but it didn’t take long for the recently suspended Becky Lynch to make her way to the ring. Becky’s back and forth with them led to questions that lingered all throughout the night, but even the consistent presence of The Man couldn’t save this show.

The Revival of Tag Team Wrestling

Before we get to what WWE did wrong this week on Raw, it’s important to talk about the highlight of the night. Without a doubt, that came when The Revival challenged Chad Gable and Bobby Roode for the Raw Tag Team Titles. On top of solid outings on WWE Raw in recent weeks, these two teams have been lighting it up at WWE live events seemingly every chance they get. Then it’s no surprise that they continued that trend tonight, having arguably the best tag team match WWE Raw has seen in months.

Odd pacing throughout the night left the crowd relatively uninterested when this match began, and it wasn’t helped by a complete lack of promotion. The match was barely acknowledged before it happened, and the crowd just didn’t seem ready to be excited. It put these two spectacular tag teams in a tough spot, but they turned things around and had the crowd on their feet shouting “this is awesome” before the match was over.

The Revival were in true form as the “Top Guys” they proclaim to be, exhibiting classic tag team fundamentals and showing their skill at isolating opponents. As the match progressed, things looked close to ending on more than one occasion. With each near fall, tension seemed to build and the crowd was on edge wanting to see how it would play out. After as impactful a Shatter Machine as they’ve ever delivered, The Revival picked up the win to become the new Raw Tag Team Champions. It was the highlight of the night, and it’s a must-see match for fans.

WWE Raw in One Word: Disappointing

That turned out to be the theme of the night. There were so many things that held potential, but WWE Raw just failed to deliver over and over again. Perhaps the only thing they did consistently ws show their inconsistency. The first sign of cracks in this show’s foundation were in the night’s first match. They held a triple threat tag team match featuring Raw’s three teams for the Women’s Tag Team Elimination Chamber Match.

According to the stipulation on the match, the losing team would be forced to start the Elimination Chamber. The first flaw being that two teams would lose if one team won, but instead the “losing team” would be the team that took the fall. In an otherwise solid matchup, Sasha Banks went down after a stiff knee from Sarah Logan on the outside.

With Sasha helped to the back by trainers, Bayley was left to compete all by herself. Of course, WWE neglected the flaw in this logic. Had Bayley chosen to leave the match and simply accompany Sasha backstage, she wouldn’t have had the chance of being tagged in and thus wouldn’t have been able to take the fall and be part of the “losing team.” Instead, WWE ignored that issue. Bayley continued to fight, eventually taking a Samoan Drop that let Nia Jax pin her and land Bayley and Sasha Banks a starting spot at Elimination Chamber.

Elias tried multiple times to do his song this week, but was interrupted so frequently that it wasn’t clear if WWE was making mistakes or intentionally messing with him. When Lucha House Party made their way out, an entertaining although pointless segment saw Kalisto eat a devastating guitar shot from Elias. After that, we got the beginning of the night’s longest and most meaningless segment.

For a period of over 40 minutes, we saw the most complicated and least entertaining way to build a few matches for this Sunday. First, we got Finn Balor taking on Drew McIntyre with Bobby Lashley at ringside. The match was great until Bobby Lashley blatantly shoved Finn off the top rope, forcing a disqualification. McIntyre and Lashley began a beatdown on Balor, but Kurt Angle made the save. Moments later, Baron Corbin arrived to join the fray.

The Monster Among Men wasn’t far behind, and after a commercial break we suddenly had a six-man tag team match. The match itself seemed to drag on, but Bobby Lashley managed to pin Finn Balor despite Finn’s foot being on the bottom rope. The bell sounded and the decision was made, until a second referee came in to explain the issue, and suddenly the match was restarted. In what already felt like a long segment, things just kept rolling.

Ultimately, Finn Balor pinned Bobby Lashley in a match that had a few good moments overshadowed by the disappointing time management and bad writing of it all. WWE Raw continued to disappoint as we saw EC3 take on Dean Ambrose again, but EC3 still never got a chance to talk. We also got a fun match between Ruby Riott and Nikki Cross, which WWE completely devalued by interjecting a backstage segment in the middle of the match for no reason at all.

Did Becky’s Decision Ever Matter?

At the beginning of WWE Raw, we saw a confrontation where Becky Lynch once again got in the face of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Lynch was spectacular with every word, but was given a tough decision by the duo. Lynch had apparently been cleared by her own doctors, so all she had to do to make the match at WrestleMania against Ronda Rousey happen was apologize to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

It set an interesting tone for the night, and one of the things WWE did well was continuing this story all night long. In several moments, we saw Becky Lynch backstage wrestling with this decision. She got advice from her former teacher Finn Balor, and complimented his awesome abs. Lynch spoke to Alexa Bliss, who told her not to apologize, but may have had some ulterior motives. We even saw Rousey confront Lynch, telling her to just apologize so the match could happen.

This was all building to the night’s final segment, essentially the main event of WWE Raw, as Becky Lynch made her way to the ring. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon joined, and got straight to the point in asking her for a decision. The Man looked frustrated and went back and forth, but reluctantly uttered an “I’m sorry.” Triple H and Stephanie McMahon accepted, said the match was on, and went to leave.

It looked like that was it. Even Becky Lynch was surprised things had gone so smoothly, and she began to get on the microphone and talk about WrestleMania when Ronda Rousey’s music hit. The reigning Raw Women’s Champion made her way to the ring and was about to stare down Lynch when we heard the familiar voice of Vince McMahon. In the last minute of WWE Raw, all the work that had been done to build to Lynch’s answer was rendered completely pointless.

Vince McMahon got on the microphone and said that even if Triple H and Stephanie McMahon accepted Lynch’s apology, he wouldn’t. Vince McMahon then suspended Becky Lynch for 60 days, pointing out that would mean her suspension would end five days after WrestleMania 35. Finally, Vince introduced Charlotte Flair as the replacement to face Ronda Rousey for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania.

It’s unlikely that the “suspension” of Becky Lynch stays intact, and this seems to have put us on a collision course for a triple threat between Lynch, Flair, and Rousey. That alone isn’t really a problem, but the path that WWE took to get to it is. The final segment felt rushed, and rendered much of the storytelling in the rest of the night null and void. It’s not clear what led to the night’s struggles, but this episode of WWE Raw fell far short of what it could have been.

Quick Hits

• While the anti-authority figure in WWE isn’t new, it being a woman is. Becky Lynch is so much fun tow atch in that role.
• Elias swings a guitar like he genuinely wants to kill people.
• Finn Balor faces Lashley and Rush in a Handicap Match for the IC Title now at Elimination Chamber, which feels unnecessarily complicated.
• WWE’s inconsistency with referee calls being final or not is very frustrating.
• Pual Heyman was fire on the mic as always, and Seth Rollins seems extra dangerous right now.
• If WWE isn’t going to let EC3 talk, why in the world did they hire him?
• The Revival vs Chad Gable & Bobby Roode is must-see. Yes, it needed to be said again.
• The path they’re taking is a complete mess, but a triple threat between Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania will be amazing.

Match Results

• Nia Jax & Tamina def. Bayley & Sasha Banks and The Riott Squad, Nia pinned Bayley
• Finn Balor def. Drew McIntyre via disqualification
• Finn Balor, Braun Strowman, and Kurt Angle def. Bobby Lashley, Baron Corbin, and Drew McIntyre
• Ruby Riott def. Nikki Cross
• Dean Ambrose def. EC3
• The Revival def. Chad Gable & Bobby Roode to become the new Raw Tag Team Champions