WWE Raw Results, Highlights, and Grades: NXT is the main event

Patches Chance

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are expected to show up on the Nov. 4, 2019 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw. Photo: WWE.com

WWE Raw headed to Long Island, NY with an appearance by Brock Lesnar and the furtherance of the NXT invasion that began on SmackDown.

WWE Raw descended upon Long Island, NY for a night that threatened the continuation of SmackDown’s epic NXT invasion. The show also promised further fallout from WWE Crown Jewel, where Seth Rollins lost the Universal Championship to SmackDown’s “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt.

The much-loved NXT invasion on SmackDown was in part due to WWE Crown Jewel, as over 175 personnel, superstars included, were stuck in Saudi Arabia much longer than anticipated. That influx of NXT talent carried SmackDown to a solid ratings boost, and WWE seemed to hint it wasn’t over before the opening video of WWE Raw even aired.

As soon as things came on the air, we saw a line of several black SUVs drive up to the arena. Triple H emerged from the front vehicle, walking back to the second before leaning towards the glass and talking to someone through the window. Without revealing any other passengers, Triple H walked away and towards the arena as the opening video package for WWE Raw began to play.

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman call out Rey Mysterio

First up, we got to hear from Paul Heyman as WWE Champion Brock Lesnar loomed behind him. Heyman first explained how Brock Lesnar was even there, emphasizing that Brock Lesnar is special and WWE can’t fire him because of his contract. He also clarified that only Lesnar has this power, and no one else could simply quit a show to end up on the other brand.

After establishing that reasoning, Heyman talked about Brock Lesnar’s dominant title defense against Cain Velasquez at WWE Crown Jewel. He quickly moved on to Rey Mysterio, calling out the legend for not being “man enough” to defend his son Dominick. Paul Heyman then explicitly threatened the entire arena, declaring that Brock Lesnar would go after the fans themselves if he couldn’t get his hands on Rey Mysterio.

Lesnar’s music hit, and the hunt began. They headed backstage, where Lesnar attacked someone at a table as he screamed about Rey Mysterio. After a commercial break, Lesnar continued his hunt by yanking someone out of a car near the parking lot only to discover it wasn’t Rey Mysterio. They reluctantly walk off, and we get to switch over to the first in-ring action of the night.

Grade: A, This was a really fun way to open Raw. They effectively explained Lesnar’s move from SmackDown and furthered his budding rivalry with Rey Mysterio. Great work by Heyman on the mic, of course.

The Kabuki Warriors vs. Charlotte Flair and Natalya

In our first match of the night, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors were in non-title action against Charlotte Flair and Natalya. Before the match, WWE talked about Natalya’s victory at WWE Crown Jewel over Lacey Evans in the first and only women’s match to ever take place there.

The match itself got off to a fun start, with Natalya gaining some early momentum over Kairi Sane before a tag to Asuka changed the pace. The former champions Asuka and Natalya began to trade some mat wrestling, even swapping several submission holds before ending up at a relative stalemate.

Natalya made the tag to Charlotte Flair, who took control as things went to commercial. As the match continued, Charlotte Flair found herself in the ring with Kairi Sane and started gaining momentum. Flair even nailed Natural Selection, but Asuka put Sane’s foot on the bottom rope at the last second to break up the pinfall.

Charlotte manages to lay out both Asuka and Kairi in the ring a bit later, climbing the turnbuckle before nailing a huge moonsault onto both of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Flair tossed Asuka out of the ring and tried to cover Sane, but Asuka slid back in and helped break up the fall once again.

After another commercial break, Kairi Sane shifted the tide with a huge kick on Flair to set up for two hot tags. Natalya and Asuka were both tagged in and entered the fray, with Nattie gaining the edge after a big clothesline and a german suplex.

Natalya looked to finish it with a sharpshooter, but Asuka countered into an armbar. Natalya powered out and got into the sharpshooter yet again, but Kairi Sane came in with a codebreaker to Natalya that broke it up. Charlotte Flair suddenly entered the ring and speared Kairi.

Asuka looks to end it with the Asuka Lock on Natalya, but Nattie counters and manages to slap on the sharpshooter one more time. With Kairi still down, Asuka can’t hold it any longer and taps out.

Grade: A, This was a great match with a few believable false finishes. Natalya and Flair looked great as a team, and picked up a non-title win that likely will give them a title shot at a future time.

Brock Lesnar kept looking for Rey Mysterio

After that match, Paul Heyman was back out on the ramp with Brock Lesnar in tow. He approached the commentary table and began asking Jerry Lawler where Rey Mysterio was. Lesnar started shoving Heyman, but former NFL offensive tackle and Reality of Wrestling product Dio Maddin stood up from commentary and got face to face with the WWE Champion.

Maddin towered over him, but Lesnar quickly got him over his shoulders and sent him crashing through the announce table with an F5. As Lesnar is standing near the ramp, Rey Mysterio finally appears with a lead pipe in hand.

Mysterio goes right after Lesnar, hitting him in the knees multiple times with the lead pipe. With Lesnar staggered, Mysterio grabs the WWE Championship and runs down the ramp to gain momentum and slam the title into the face of Brock Lesnar. The crowd was loudly chanting 619 and fully behind Mysterio.

Back from commercial, we saw Lesnar struggling to get up the ramp due to the damage to his knees. Things cut to Rey Mysterio who talked about Brock Lesnar coming after his son, which is what is most important to him. In response, Mysterio said he is going after what is most important to Brock Lesnar, the WWE Championship. Mysterio challenged Lesnar to a title match at Survivor Series.

Grade: A, This was a fantastic furtherance of the foundation the opening segment laid, and a great attack by Rey Mysterio. He’s the ultimate underdog, and he damaged Brock Lesnar. This is such a classic story, and it’s being told really well.

Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander

Our next bit of in-ring action saw two 205 Live alumni face off as Buddy Murphy looked to build on his victory over R-Truth last week on Raw. Cedric Alexander gained some early momentum, but Murphy sent him crashing into a turnbuckle post to turn the tide.

Buddy Murphy began to wear down Alexander with an armbar, pushing him into the ground and trying to keep the high flyer as low to the mat as possible. Cedric Alexander fought back and hit a Neuralyzer that finally put the ball in his court.

Cedric Alexander hit a crisp suicide dive and followed it up immediately with a dive over the top rope onto Murphy, bringing him back in the ring for a Springboard Flatliner that was enough for a near fall.

Cedric Alexander went high risk, but Murphy countered it and looked for Murphy’s Law. Alexander countered into a Michinoku Driver, which got him another near fall. He went for another Neuralyzer, but felt a knee to the back from Buddy Murphy that cut things off. “The Best Kept Secret” hit Murphy’s Law to garner another victory.

Grade: B+, Another great match from two top-notch talents. It’s not surprising they put together a great contest, and it looks like Murphy is getting a solid push with his second straight win on Raw.

Seth Rollins tries to figure out what’s next and gets some company

Next up, we heard from Seth Rollins who lost his WWE Universal Championship to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt at WWE Crown Jewel. He acknowledged that many fans were happy he lost, but said it didn’t concern him. Instead, Rollins said he was more concerned about Brock Lesnar being back on Raw as champion and erasing the work he did to get rid of Lesnar.

Rollins said that though his slogan is “Redesign, Rebuild, Reclaim,” he wasn’t sure if he had the energy for it this time. Rollins said that for the first time in a long time, he doesn’t know what’s next for him. Suddenly, “King of Kings” rang out in the arena.

A large NXT logo went across the screen, and Triple H made his way to the ring. He talked directly to Rollins, bringing him the times he’s worked with Seth and guided him to success. From NXT Champion to WWE Champion, Triple H said he always pulled the best out of Rollins.

Triple H asked what was next for Seth Rollins, further saying that Seth’s decision would influence what Triple H did next. Seconds later, The Undisputed Era emerged through the crowd and swarmed the apron. Triple H said clearly that “you’re either with me, or you’re against me.”

Rollins looked conflicted, but The O.C. suddenly came out to represent Raw and even the odds. Undisputed Era retreated and hopped the railing before The O.C. could get to them, only for Donovan Dijakovic and Damian Priest of NXT to ambush The O.C. A few members of the Raw roster, Zack Ryder, Erick Rowan, R-Truth, and Curt Hawkins, made the save and sent the NXT superstars fleeing.

During this entire segment, Seth Rollins stood in the ring and didn’t budge. After a commercial break, Rollins confronted Triple H backstage and said that if he’s going back to NXT he’s doing so as a top guy. Rollins then challenged Adam Cole to an NXT Championship Match on Raw, claiming he’d do what Daniel Bryan couldn’t on SmackDown.

Grade: A-, This was a really special segment for Rollins, and he hasn’t been this intriguing in a while. Triple H really did pull the best out of him. The NXT attack was interesting, but Raw’s retaliation force felt a bit lackluster. Seth’s challenge of Cole really topped things off.

Mixed Tag Team Match: Andrade and Zelina Vega vs. Sin Cara and Carolina

Next up we got mixed tag team action as Zelina Vega joined forces with Andrade to take on Sin Cara and Carolina. Vega bragged before the match about herself and Andrade being the greatest mixed tag team combination in all of wrestling.

Once things got rolling, Andrade took the fight to Sin Cara only to get tossed over the top rope. Sin Cara tried to follow it with a dive, but Vega grabbed his foot when he went to bound off the ropes. While the ref is distracted by this, Carolina came flying off the apron with a cannonball to Andrade on the outside.

After a commercial break, Sin Cara and Andrade found themselves fighting near the turnbuckle. With Andrade perched, Sin Cara bounded over the ropes and hit a huge sunset flip powerbomb to take down Andrade and bring things to a stalemate. Andrade and Sin Cara managed to both make the tags, bringing the women into the action.

Carolina hits a few strong dropkicks and a second rope crossbody to gain the upper hand. Carolina hoisted Vega onto her shoulders, but Vega clawed at her mask to escape. Zelina tried to built some offense only to get hit with a huge wheelbarrow facebuster. Carolina gets a near fall, but Andrade breaks up the pin.

Carolina followed it up with a huge Gory Bomb, but Vega fought back and managed to climb the turnbuckle. Vega leapt off the top for a hurricanrana, but Carolina caught her. She went for a buckle bomb, but Vega countered at the last second and sent Carolina into the turnbuckle. She followed it with a Basement Rana that finished her off and gave Vega and Andrade the victory.

Grade: B, This was a decent mixed tag match. Carolina had a few jitters, but overall looked solid in a losing effort. Andrade and Sin Cara also looked good. This match could’ve stood out a bit more, but it wasn’t bad.

Rusev calls out Bobby Lashley

Out next was Rusev, who quickly said we all wanted to end this drama, which is true, so he called out “Bob Lashley.” Lana and Lashley came out onto the ramp, but Lashley had crutches and insisted he was not medically cleared to compete. He went on to explain he tore his groin doing things with Lana, and not in a match. Lana also said they had someone who volunteered to fight Rusev, which cued the appearance of Drew McIntyre.

Rusev vs. Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre took control early on, but Rusev powered out and cornered him with a series of shoulder strikes. Both men traded strikes, with Rusev getting McIntyre back into the corner again to deliver several stomps. McIntyre countered, putting Rusev in the same position and driving his boot deep into the throat of Rusev.

Rusev regained control with a superkick, but a stiff elbow by McIntyre knocked him back down. Rusev finally hit a huge fallaway slam, but things went to commercial. By the time they got back, McIntyre was back in control and even screamed “you’re nothing but a b*tch” at Rusev during the match.

The exclamation seemed to only fire Rusev up, who fought back and hit a big spinning heel kick. Both men got to their feet and collided in the ring with a double crossbody, essentially resetting things. Both men struggled to their feet and started trading strikes before Rusev hit a big kick that sent McIntyre out of the ring.

Rusev hopped out of the ring and began slamming McIntyre into the steel steps, only to be ambushed from behind as Lashley slammed the crutch into his back and showed Lashley wasn’t really injured. The action went into the ring, where Rusev fought back only to be struck with an RKO out of nowhere.

Randy Orton had appeared for some reason to fight alongside McIntyre and Lashley, but Ricochet hit the ring to make the save and sent the trio into retreat. Don’t ask me why Randy Orton and Ricochet showed up, because it wasn’t clear at all.

Grade: C-, This whole thing was a mess. The match itself was slow and didn’t feel very special. Tack onto that the weird finish and nonsensical attack by Randy Orton, and this whole thing somehow got less logical. Ricochet too, because babyface? I guess?

Becky Lynch’s interview with Charly Caruso is interrupted

Backstage, Charly Caruso sat down to interview Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. At the beginning of the interview, Caruso announced that Lynch would be in action at Survivor Series in a triple threat match with SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley and NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler. Lynch talked about how much she was looking forward to it, but the interview was quickly interrupted.

A voice from behind Charly Caruso and asked for her chair, which was revealed moments later to be NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler. She took her set and stared across the room at Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. Baszler said she’d been waiting a long time to meet Lynch face to face.

Shayna then brought up her friendship with Ronda Rousey, but was quick to plainly state “I’m not Ronda Rousey.” Baszler said that while she won’t take her eyes off Bayley, she intends to pin Becky Lynch or make her tap out at Survivor Series.

Becky Lynch seemed quite amused by the words, remarking about Baszler being face to face with the champ. “Warring with me will change you,” Lynch explained. She also said she wouldn’t take her eyes off Bayley, but was coming directly for Baszler. Both women stood up and faced off for a moment, with Becky endings things by saying “bring your best, I’ll show you who the real baddest woman on the planet is.”

Grade: A+, This was such a great segment. Both Becky Lynch and Shayna Baszler came off like legit badasses here, which is absolutely what they are. I am hyped to see their triple threat and to see who Bayley pins to steal the win.

The O.C. vs. Street Profits and Humberto Carrillo

The O.C. came out first, with AJ Styles quickly berating the crowd and reminding them of Gallows and Anderson winning the gauntlet at WWE Crown Jewel to earn a superfluous trophy and be deemed “The Best Tag Team in the World.” AJ also pointed out his own status as US Champion and emphasized that The O.C. “don’t give a damn about NXT.”

Street Profits and Humberto Carrillo came out onto the ramp, and went on to remind people multiple times that they’d beaten The O.C. in their debut match on Raw two weeks ago. Humberto Carrillo even said it, and then said it again in spanish.

Back from a commercial break, the match was underway with Humberto Carrillo and AJ Styles getting things started. Carrillo tagged in Dawkins a few moments later, which led to some more quick tags and back and forth. Dawkins and Ford hit some tandem offense on Karl Anderson, with Ford then working to wear down Anderson.

Karl Anderson slipped out of it, sending Ford to the outside where he ate a stiff clothesline by Luke Gallows. Anderson slid out, slamming Ford into the apron before tossing him back in the ring to score a near fall. Ford regained some momentum with a big dropkick, but Montez quickly found himself isolated.

The O.C. exchanged several quick tags and began to tear into Montez Ford and keep him away from his partners as they headed to commercial. Once things were back, Montez Ford was finally fighting back and got a big hot tag to Humberto Carrillo at the same time that AJ Styles got tagged into the match.

Humberto Carrillo led with a flurry of offense, hitting a standing moonsault on Styles that earned him a near fall. Carrillo also hit a springboard kick and a huge top-rope moonsault, but Karl Anderson broke up the pinfall attempt. Dawkins came into the ring and pounced Anderson, only to have Gallows take out Dawkins with a superkick.

Montez Ford then went flying over the top rope with a dive that took out both Gallows and Anderson on the outside. AJ Styles went for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Humberto was able to dodge it. Carrillo tried to mount a comeback, but AJ hit a powerbomb on him out of nowhere and got his feet on the ropes for leverage without the referee seeing to steal the victory.

Grade: B, This was a decent match. The promos beforehand were uninspiring, and even Styles’ heel victory fell a little flat. This wasn’t bad, it just felt like it could’ve been better.

The Viking Raiders vs. East Hampton Polo Boys

Next up we saw Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders, and WWE took that moment to announce a triple threat tag team match at Survivor Series that pit them against NXT Tag Team Champions Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival in a battle for brand supremacy.

The Viking Raiders were up against a pair of local talents dubbed “East Hampton Polo Boys” that looked like knockoff versions of MJF or the illegitimate sons of the Mean Street Posse. The Viking Raiders absolutely destroyed them with relative ease, with a gutwrench powerbomb by Erik and top rope splash by Ivar giving them the victory.

After the match, The Viking Raiders acknowledged their loss in the gauntlet at WWE Crown Jewel and said while The O.C. may have won one battle, nothing can stop the riad.

Grade: B, Basic little squash match, and a solid promo by The O.C. It was refreshing to see the faces acknowledge their loss while still looking forward to their next challenge.

NXT Championship Match: Adam Cole (c) vs. Seth Rollins

It was finally time for the night’s main event, as Adam Cole defended his NXT Championship against Seth Rollins. Cole, of course, had Triple H by his side, and the father of NXT grabbed a seat at ringside to observe the action.

In the early back and forth, Rollins managed to send Cole to the outside and launch himself over the ropes and into the champion. Back in the ring, Rollins tried to close it out with an early stomp, but Cole slipped away and out of the ring. Rollins followed him, grabbing Cole and sending him crashing into the barricade as things went to commercial.

Back from commercial, Adam Cole was in control of things only for Seth Rollins to begin fighting back with a flurry of strikes. After several exchanged strikes and dodged strikes, Rollins nailed a superkick for the near fall.

Rollins tried to follow it with a springboard knee, but Adam Cole caught him with a big superkick counter that earned a near fall. Cole then went for the Panama Sunrise, but Rollins countered and lifted Cole up off the mat for a buckle bomb that dumped him into the corner.

Adam Cole fought back with a suplex before dropping Rollins head-first into his knee. He followed it with a running knee that earned another near fall, and at this point Cole was looking to end it. He went for The Last Shot, but Rollins ducked.

Rollins rolled up Cole for a near fall, before both men got to their feet and crashed into one another with a double clothesline attempt that leveled the playing field. Cole climbed the turnbuckle, only for Rollins to quickly ascend as well to hit a superplex into a falcon arrow.

It earned “The Beast Slayer” a near fall, and he began calling for the Stomp to finish things. Before he could hit it, Rollins was attacked by Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish. The Undisputed Era started beating down on Rollins, and it didn’t take long for both Raw and NXT superstars to spill out and a brawl to begin.

The brawl included Seth Rollins, The Undisputed Era, Matt Riddle, Donovan Dijakovic, Damian Priest, Keith Lee, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, Pete Dunne, Ricochet, Erick Rowan, Tommaso Ciampa, and probably someone else I missed.

As the brawl continued, Ricochet hit a springboard shooting star press to the outside onto a pile of superstars. A few moments later, Keith Lee went sailing out of the ring to take out an even larger group of superstars as WWE Raw went off the air.

Grade: B+, I’ve got mixed feelings about this one. This was largely a great match, but things didn’t quite hit like they could’ve at the end. Undisputed Era’s interference wasn’t surprising, but seemed to dampen things, and the brawl afterward just turned into a mess.

WWE Raw Quick Results and Grades

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman called out Rey Mysterio (Grade: A)

Charlotte Flair and Natalya def. The Kabuki Warriors (Grade: A)