Raw airs tonight (Oct. 12) with a live show emanating from Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City, Louisiana. This is the first episode of Raw during the four week build to Crown Jewel, which takes place on Nov. 7 in Saudi Arabia (?).
The Bloodline is finally a big underdog in WWE
Roman Reigns retained the world heavyweight championship at Money in the Bank, but The Bloodline is vulnerable heading into tonight’s 6-man tag team match pitting The Usos & Solo Sikoa vs. Royce Keys, Bronco Nima, and Lucien Price of the 946.
The Tribal Chief’s part-time
schedule means he isn’t around for the fight. Jacob Fatu is out of action after Jaida Parker ran him over with a car. And even though they are family, The Usos and Solo Sikoa can’t really trust each other after Solo consistently rejects acknowledging Reigns as his Tribal Chief.
This is 946’s first match on Raw since the faction formed, so they pretty much have to win, or else WWE will be cutting their legs out from under them. Barring a surprise return from Naomi, it’s hard to see any scenario where The Bloodline wins this match.
How badly will The Bloodline fall apart tonight at the hands of 946? Will there be a major angle here that sets up a WarGames match next month at Survivor Series? Tune into Raw to find out.
The rest of the card
WWE Intercontinental Champion Chad Gable defends the gold tonight against AAA World Cruiserweight Champion Rey Fenix. This match is happening because Ethan Page blew it last week in his match against Fenix, proving that he still doesn’t deserve a shot at Gable’s belt. Will Ethan get his title match by ruining this one and pissing off the champ enough until Gable demands they fight each other? On a side note, I find it very amusing that WWE keeps booking Gable to go over all the babyface luchadors on the roster even though he is no longer doing the phony El Grande Americano bit.
Speaking of babyface luchadors, the legendary Rey Mysterio is going one-on-one with Big Cass tonight. Cass beat the shit out of Rey and Dragon Lee last week, so Rey is looking for revenge. Will he instead find himself eating Big’s big boot?
We will hear from Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan, who won the belt back by pinning Stephanie Vaquer in a 3-way title match at Money in the Bank. Becky Lynch didn’t take the fall, so will she argue that she should be next in line for a one-on-one title match against the new champ? Will SmackDown star Tiffany Stratton show up to tease a Money in the Bank cash-in on Morgan?
Finally, it sounds like WWE will have a medical update on Je’Von Evans, who was launched off a ladder (by Bron Breakker) and sent crashing through the mysteriously wooden and/or cardboard roof of an ambulance at Money in the Bank. Assuming all the ambulance splinters are out of his body, will Je’Von find a partner and go right after World Tag Team Champions The Vision?
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– Triple H says LA Knight is in a better position after walking out of Money in the Bank as a loser against Roman Reigns. Will LA’s booking on Raw reflect that assessment going forward, or has the megastar been permanently damaged by failing to deliver on all his recent trash talk about beating a manufactured corporate puppet? Can he even call himself the megastar anymore after Reigns said he’s the real megastar in WWE?
– Will Bronson Reed try to retaliate after his ass belonged to Oba Femi at Money in the Bank? Why did Paul Heyman look so happy after that match was over? Will Femi’s latest tease of a match against Roman Reigns lead to a showdown in the near future?
– Penta might be twiddling his thumbs tonight since there’s no world champion on the show for him to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase on. Will Dirty Dom or some random heel get in Penta’s face about his big win over the weekend?
– Does Lola Vice have Women’s Intercontinental Champion Raquel Rodriguez in her sights? Will Lola and Sol Ruca have to fight over who gets the next title shot?
– As far as the Judgment Day is concerned, does Roxanne Perez’ loss in the Money in the Bank ladder match mean she will be playing Liv Morgan’s henchwoman underling role for quite a bit longer?
– Seth Rollins competed in a dark match at last week’s SmackDown taping, so his return to Raw can’t be that far off. Will he steer clear of the war between The Bloodline and 946 when he is back?
– Where the f*** is Crown Jewel? It’s a really dumb and unsafe idea to travel to Riyadh right now, and WWE didn’t promote this PLE during Money in the Bank. Perhaps WWE is working on that backup plan for a venue change…
What will you be looking for on Raw?
