Raw airs tonight (Oct. 20) with a live show from Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. This is the second episode of Raw during the seven week build to Survivor Series, which takes place on November 29.
It’s time for WWE to vacate the world championship
Last week’s episode of Raw ended with a shocking angle where Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed turned on World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. They took him out with a spear and a Tsunami splash, before Paul Heyman raised their hands in triumph over Seth’s fallen body. Just like that, it looks
Rollins is gone from The Vision, or perhaps the group will get a new name from here.
Subsequent reporting indicates that Rollins suffered a legitimate shoulder injury at Crown Jewel and needs surgery that will likely put him on the shelf for a long time. However, plenty of fans remember Seth’s fake injury from this summer, creating something of a Boy Who Cried Wolf vibe here. Is Seth’s latest injury also fake and somehow part of a convoluted plan to retain the belt against number one contender CM Punk?
General Manager Adam Pearce will address Seth’s status tonight. If Pearce vacates the title, that will put to bed any uncertainty about whether Seth’s latest injury is another work. If Pearce doesn’t vacate the belt, then more fans will become skeptical about what’s really happening here.
In addition to Pearce’s update on Seth, Breakker and Reed will speak tonight to presumably explain why they betrayed their leader. Will Punk, LA Knight, and/or The Usos interrupt these guys and try to get some payback for all the recent attacks? Do Reed and Breakker have a new leader lurking in the shadows? Could Paul Heyman try to replace Seth with Brock Lesnar?
Tune into Raw tonight to find out what’s the deal with Seth Rollins and the world title, and why The Brons turned on him.
The rest of the card
Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch somehow lost a match against Maxxine Dupri a couple of weeks ago. Can Dupri beat The Man again tonight when they have a rematch with the title on the line? If not, will AJ Lee return to Raw and challenge Lynch to a title match at either Saturday Night’s Main Event or Survivor Series?
Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio defends the belt tonight against Rusev. This is a rematch from last month when Dirty Dom lied and cheated his way to victory. Keep an eye out for interference from Penta, whose IC title match last week was interrupted by Rusev.
Finn Balor & JD McDonagh defend the world tag team championship tonight for the first time since July. Is AJ Styles good enough to become a champion in the final year of his career when he teams up with Dragon Lee to go after The Judgment Day? Will El Grande Americano and his lackeys show up to ruin the finish?
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– It looks like Rhea Ripley suffered a broken nose in Japan, which gives Asuka an injury to target going forward. Can IYO SKY convince Kairi Sane to stop putting up with Asuka’s abuse and finally stand up for herself, or this feud inevitably leading to War Games?
– Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez now have a problem with Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer. Which member of The Judgment Day is doing the job first for the champ?
– Lyra Valkyria slapped Bayley in the face last week to bring out her Role Model persona. Will she need to find a way to flip the switch and turn Bayley into The Hugger tonight?
– What can Jimmy Uso do to slow down or reverse Jey’s transformation into the next Tribal Chief?
– Is GUNTHER on the cusp of returning so he can win a tournament to be John Cena’s final opponent?
– Which teams gets to beat the New Day tonight?
What will you be looking for on Raw?
