WWE Raw matches ranked from worst to best: Ricochet rules, Garza debuts

2. Kevin Owens and Viking Raiders vs. Buddy Murphy and Authors of Pain – Elimination Match

While there was just one match tonight that was better than this contest, I was almost tempted to give this Elimination Match the number one spot based on the story alone.

As most of us may know by now, Samoa Joe suffered a legit injury during last week’s episode, bringing Kevin Owens’ army to counterattack Seth Rollins down to three against The Monday Night Messiah’s team of four.

Now, WWE seem to be running with that storyline. Tonight, Ivar of the Viking Raiders showcased an injury of his own that took him out of the match right after Erik’s elimination. Not only did this bring Owens’ team down to two men for the foreseeable future, it left Owens as the sole man on his team trying to fend off three hounds by himself.

This story of Kevin Owens constantly losing troops on the battlefield every week, but still finding the urge to fight is captivating story to tell. It makes Owens look like the ultimate fighting underdog and it’s hard not to root for a guy who keeps swinging when he knows the odds are stacked against him.

Even better, he fought hard enough that he almost won the match by himself, eliminating Buddy Murphy and Akam.

But thanks to a flurry of desperate spinebusters from Rezar, Team Rollins was able to pick up the victory without pulling a Golden State Warriors in 2016 by blowing a 3-1 lead.