Monday Night Raw Review - November 1, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch def. Bianca Belair

It's rare Raw opens with a match, and if it does, it's even rarer that it has a clean finish and doesn't lead to something in the main event. Kudos to WWE for actually going through it and giving them plenty of time. As expected, this was a great match. It felt like they were finally given the chance to go all out and the crowd was into all of it. It could have easily happened on a pay-per-view. Belair winning would an awesome way to start the show, but I'm fine with Belair losing again if the plan is for her to get her big win over Lynch at some point. I'm skeptical that's still the endgame, but I won't give up hope until both women move in different directions.

Austin Theory def. Rey Mysterio by Disqualification

Theory beat Dominik in a really short match last week, so I expected more of the same this week from Theory and Rey. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when it ended up being a competitive contest and an enjoyable one at that.​ This disqualification finish was wisely executed with Dominik slapping Theory and the referee catching it (finally, a wrestling ref that isn't a moron!). It further builds tension between the Mysterios. Theory is off to a really good start on Raw with the wins he's already scored.

WWE Champion Big E Confronted Seth Rollins Before Agreeing to Face Kevin Owens

The mic work from Rollins and Big E was solid stuff. They effectively furthered their feud and built toward their eventual championship clash. It would have been dumb to do it on this show without any prior advertisement, so I'm happy they held off. That's pay-per-view worthy. Owens played his role well and set the stage for the night's main event between himself and Big E. I totally forgot they've never gone one-on-one before until Owens brought it up.

Queen Zelina and Carmella def. WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley in a Championship Contender's Match

While it was nice to see a women's match go longer than five minutes for a change, this was easily the weakest thing up to this point in the show. I just can't bring myself to care about the duo of Vega and Carmella after all the losing they did over the summer on SmackDown, but I knew they were winning here because WWE has no other women's tag teams on the main roster. The match was fine, but this a dead division and Ripley deserves better.

Finn Balor def. Chad Gable

This was a really random match for Balor, but you'll get no complaints out of me. Not only was it entertaining, I also appreciated seeing Gable on WWE TV for a change. Congrats to him for obtaining his Master's degree recently. That's no small feat, especially for someone in his position. I wish this could have gone longer, but it was a lot of fun in the five minutes it lasted. The finish was well done and I can't say I've ever seen that before (though I'm sure it's been done).

The Dirty Dawgs def. The Street Profits

I know it's easy to forget now that they're on Raw, but these teams had about a million matches against each other over on SmackDown. They have quality chemistry together, but I'm beyond ready to move on from it. The focus was more so on RK-Bro on commentary and Omos coming out at the end to cost Street Profits the end. Omos roughed up Riddle afterward, which means the RK-Bro vs. AJ Styles and Omos rivalry apparently isn't over yet. It never ends!

United States Champion Damian Priest def. T-Bar in a No Disqualification Match (Non-Title)

This stemmed from T-Bar getting himself intentionally disqualified against Priest last week. The stipulation played into whatever this new gimmick is for Priest where he snaps halfway through and starts unleashing hell. This was a vast improvement over the short-lived outing they had last week and T-Bar looked credible in defeat. It's just a shame he still has the stupid name and face paint. Meanwhile, Priest's roll continues. Apollo Crews is a fine filler opponent for him before he gets back to beating bigger names.

WWE Champion Big E def. Kevin Owens (Non-Title)

Rollins' words to Owens backstage beforehand added an interesting layer to this match, leaving viewers with the thought that Owens might reach his breaking point after all the losing he's been doing lately. That factored into the finish as well with Rollins interfering and Owens seemingly capitalizing on it. Big E still managed to win, but he wasn't happy about it afterward, laying out Owens with the Big Ending. It was a well-worked main event, but I'm more so intrigued about what it might mean for Owens.

Overall Show

That first hour was one of the best I've seen on Raw in a long, long time. The emphasis on the in-ring action was really refreshing and the sole talking segment we got actually meant something. Matches received more time than usual and the three hours didn't drag as badly as they normally do. This was a thumbs-up show by recent Raw standards, though I continue to wonder what the hell is going on with Survivor Series.  The pay-per-view is in less than three weeks and there hasn't been a single match announcement or even a mention of the brand supremacy stuff. Strange.

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