Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: Raw, recaps, wrestling, wwe

WWE Raw – The Lana Era of WWE Raw Has Begun… And It Just Ended.

In the second part of our WWE Raw report, Lana faces Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship after main-eventing last week's show and boosting ratings, but she loses in under a minute and gets put through a table again. Welcome to Bleeding Cool's WWE Raw Report. We watch Raw… for three goddamn hours… so you don't have to. You're welcome!

WWE Raw Report for October 19th, 2020 Part 2

AJ Styles and Matt Riddle are about to have a match, now that Styles' new bodyguard, Jordan Omogbehen (the Raw Underground bouncer), has graciously agreed to leave the ring. It's a good thing he did because he's gigantic, and no one could make him if he didn't want to.

AJ Styles vs. Matt Riddle

• The match barely gets started when Riddle clotheslines Styles out of the ring. He tries to follow up, but Omogbehen steps in the way and Riddle backs off. Raw takes a commercial break.
• Riddle and Styles have a back-and-forth match here. I think. It's hard to concentrate on anything other than Omogbehen.
• Apparently, Omogbehen is 7'3". I know when Braun Strowman was standing next to him Raw Underground a few weeks ago, he was considerably shorter.
• At one point, Riddle and Styles are battling on the turnbuckles, and Riddle tumbles to the floor. Omohbehen slowly walks up to him, and Riddle runs away into the ring, allowing Styles to get the Styles Clash for the pin.

I want to see this guy inflict some violence. Styles and Omogbehen celebrate in the ring. Commentary talks about the Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton feud, and then we see a video package about it. Then Raw takes another commercial break.

Charly Caruso talks to Drew McIntyre backstage. She asks about the experience difference at Hell in a Cell. Drew talks to Orton directly. From the first moment he met Randy, it was obvious he was the most evil, sadistic, selfish, entitled individual in WWE. McIntyre says he should have been done with Orton after their last match, but then Orton took out Drew's legend friends. Drew recognizes this was part of Orton's plan to get another match. He talks up the brutality of the Hell in a Cell match. He says it would give Orton an advantage against any other superstar, but not Drew McIntyre. McIntyre's been through hell before, and he'll put Orton through hell to remain champion. He says he may interrupt Orton's interview later.

Lana, the greatest wrestler and biggest draw in WWE, heads to the ring. We see a video of Natalya breaking up their tag team last week. Lana getting put through the announce table by Nia Jax, and then Lana coming back at the end of the Battle Royal to eliminate Natalya and win a shot at Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship tonight. Asuka comes out.

Lana vs. Asuka – Raw Women's Championship Match

• As you can probably expect, this is a five-star classic match. And I'm not saying that Asuka isn't pretty good, but Lana is obviously carrying her here.
• Just kidding. Lana taps out in about one minute.

Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler come out and level Asuka after the match. Then Nia puts Lana through the announce table like she's done every week since Miro showed up on AEW. Shayna tries to beat up Asuka, but Asuka kicks her ass and then leaves with the belt before she can be double-teamed. Raw takes a commercial break.

Nia and Shayna cut a promo after the break; Nia says she and Shayna are a real team, even if they don't braid each other's hair or follow each other on Instagram. Shayna says their actions are what's important, and what they do each week is dominate. Well, each week that they're not absent because of COVID. They own the Women's tag team titles, which means they own both Raw and Smackdown. Nia dares anyone to come out and do something about it.

Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke come out. Then Lacey Evans comes out. Then Peyton Royce comes out. Is she with Lacey? I guess so? They fight with each other a little bit, competing for attention during their entrance. There's a ref in the ring, so I guess this is a match? Now Riott Squad come out, taking advantage of their last night on Raw, according to Tom Phillips. It's a four-way? I guess?

Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke vs. Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce vs. Riott Squad, vs. Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax

• Byron Saxton believes this is a title match, but Phillips corrects him. It's a non-title open challenge. Okay then.
• It takes about five seconds for the match to devolve into complete chaos with everyone laid out on the floor from top rope dives by Riott Squad as Raw takes a commercial break. I like to think all the good wrestling occurs during the commercial breaks. It's better than thinking no good wrestling happens at all in these three-hour shows.
• This is one of those fatal four-way tag matches where only two women are allowed in the ring at once, so lots of contrivances must be made so that all four teams can actually get tagged into this thing.
• Everybody gets to get a little offense. This is one of those harmless, nobody looks bad, nobody looks good sort of WWE tag matches. The wrestling equivalent of a Mcdonald's cheeseburger.
• Ruby Riott nearly has Lacey beat, but Shayna yanks her out of the ring, chokes her out, and rolls her back in so Nia can tag in. Nia hits a Samoan Drop on Lacey to get the pin.

Meh.

For more of this sort of excitement, be sure to click through to part three of our WWE Raw Report. Apparently, there's an Elias concert coming up. Yeah.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!