WWE Raw: 2 things that went right on the Nov. 15 episode

This week’s episode of WWE Raw — which broadcasted from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis — was the company’s last chance (at least on the Raw side of things) to incentivize fans to watch this Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view.

On that front, WWE accomplished more than they did throughout the previous weeks, but given how nonexistent the build was during those weeks, that’s not saying much, as their efforts were analogous to a college student rushing to finish a paper at the last minute.

Despite WWE failing to generate any buzz for the second-oldest supercard in the company’s history, it still managed to get some things right on its flagship show. So, let’s take a look at those positives.

These are two of the things that went right on the Nov. 15 episode of WWE Raw.

Kevin Owens explains his actions from last week.

When most babyfaces turn heel in WWE, you can more or less guess many of the points they will make when they address the audience for the first time as a villain. Usually, they blame the fans for their change of heart (with plenty of “You people” lines sprinkled throughout), but Kevin Owens avoided most of those traps on this week’s Raw.

Instead, Owens cut a believable promo where he blamed Big E for perpetuating Owens’ less-than-stellar reputation to the point where no one answered his pleas for trust. Him pointing out how Big E caused him to lose his third match since moving back to Raw (which Big E did; who stands in the way like that when two wrestlers are trying to get back in the ring?) also put over his frustration over his lack of recent success while adding needed weight to wins and losses in WWE.

None of this makes up for them turning Owens again (basically an admission that the company squandered his babyface run) or doing so at an unnecessarily quick pace, but since they’re committed to this, KO got this off to a good start (the clean win over Finn Balor helped, too).

Becky Lynch cooks Charlotte Flair and Liv Morgan on the microphone

If nothing else, WWE knew that it could count on Becky Lynch to sell one of its big PPV matches, and the Raw Women’s Champion did just that when she uncorked a great promo on her Survivor Series opponent, SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.

Lynch’s remarks toward Flair reminded fans of what made “The Man” such a beloved babyface. Her outlining their history (while deriding the dumb “uh oh” stuff Flair peddled on SmackDown) before highlighting how personal their upcoming bout will be added some intrigue to a match that many fans, aside from the Lynch and Flair diehards, grew tired of.

As for the Lynch/Liv Morgan portion of the segment…well, it’s a good thing Morgan got to counter the Manhandle Slam at the end because Lynch cooked her on the stick. It was awfully telling that WWE had Lynch’s number one contender resort to emphasizing some profanity to “one-up” the champ, as Morgan had no answer for Lynch’s accurate points on Morgan’s lack of success in WWE.

The segment didn’t do too much to convince fans that Morgan has a chance to beat Lynch for the championship (gotta love WWE’s “underdog booking”), but it was a reminder of how good Lynch is and how quickly she can flip from unapologetic folk hero to jerk who has bought into her own hype.