Raw airs tonight (Nov. 10) with a live show from TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. This is the fifth episode of Raw during the seven week build to Survivor Series, which takes place on November 29.
WWE filled John Cena’s tournament with a bunch of guys who can’t beat John Cena
The
Last Time Is Now tournament officially begins with two opening round matches on tonight’s episode of Raw. The winner of this 16-man tourney goes on to face John Cena in the final match of his WWE career next month at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
The two tournament matches on tonight’s schedule are Sheamus vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Damian Priest vs. Rusev. When these four names were announced last week, the first thought that immediately came to mind was, “These guys have no chance to win.”
Here’s why I say that. Sheamus recently lost a feud against mid-card guy Rusev. Mid-card guy Rusev just lost a feud against Dominik Mysterio. Shinsuke Nakamura has been a punching bag for the MFTs on SmackDown. Damian Priest is currently losing his feud against Aleister Black. These guys are essentially all struggling to get the job done in kayfabe right now, so they don’t exactly stand out as amazing candidates to end Cena’s legendary career next month, especially when we know there are far more interesting surprises planned for the tournament.
Many of the top stars in WWE are tied up in their own feuds and stories with Survivor Series coming up, so when you take them and the part-timers out of the mix, several wrestlers who don’t have a chance to win find their way into the tournament bracket. WWE explained this away in kayfabe by announcing that the 16 wrestlers in the tournament were chosen at random.
That being said, Priest has a leg up on the other three men tonight by the fact that WWE more recently positioned him at a world title level. Sheamus is probably next in line after that, as he has a lot of history with John (including beating Cena for his first world title in 2009) and is also the guy who wrestled Edge’s final career match in WWE. I’d say they are the favorites tonight to advance to the next round.
Tune into Raw to see if The Last Time Is Now tournament starts off with a bang(er).
The rest of the card
Speaking of Cena, he’s finally back on Raw tonight to kick off the show and say goodbye to his hometown fans in Boston. One of John’s remaining dates with WWE happens to be at Survivor Series, in what will likely be the penultimate match of his WWE farewell tour. Which star will emerge from the locker room to confront John for a match in San Diego?
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair put the titles on the line tonight against Asuka & Kairi Sane. Will Rhea Ripley and/or IYO SKY return to Raw tonight to screw over the Kabuki Warriors and shoot an angle for War Games?
Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer defends her belt tonight against Raquel Rodriguez. Will Hall of Famer Nikki Bella stab Vaquer in the back afterwards, or does Nikki plan to wait a little while longer?
Finally, World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk is in the building and will address the end of last week’s show, where YouTube douchebag Logan Paul turned on him in an attempt to align with The Vision. Jey Uso says he has Punk’s back, but they still need more help to deal with the numbers game of The Brons and Paul. Will LA Knight, Jimmy Uso, or even Roman Reigns show up tonight to join the babyfaces and get the train rolling on a potential men’s War Games match?
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– Rey Mysterio returned to Raw last week to confront that little shithead son of his, Dominik, and announce that he’s medically cleared. Are we getting Rey vs. Dom for the Intercontinental title at Survivor Series in their hometown?
– If Maxxine Dupri isn’t quite ready yet for her rematch against Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch, is there still time for AJ Lee to return to WWE to take that spot for a title match at Survivor Series?
– WWE World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Dragon Lee need new challengers. Will they spend some time beating up on guys like the New Day and Grayson Waller before The Vision inevitably comes after their gold?
– The Judgment Day has a big problem with Sheamus. Will they do something tonight to ensure he is eliminated in The Last Time Is Now tournament?
– What’s next for Bayley & Lyra Valkyria after losing in consecutive weeks to the top teams in the women’s tag division?
– How do Los Americanos plan to get revenge on Penta after he got the better of them last week?
– Does Triple H have any more bold claims to make about the “new landscape” on Raw?
– Where the f*** is GUNTHER? Will he be LA Knight’s surprise opponent on SmackDown in The Last Time Is Now tournament?
What will you be looking for on Raw?
