Monday Night Raw Review - November 25, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Damian Priest Attacked World Heavyweight Champion Gunther

There hasn't been anything out of the ordinary about the build to this bout at Survivor Series, but I appreciate that it's been simple storytelling with Priest bringing up how Gunther has lost a little bit of his aura since becoming World Heavyweight Champion and that he intends to take full advantage of that. Gunther attempted to attack Priest here, but Priest ultimately stood tall. This was a solid final segment heading into the pay-per-view.

The Creed Brothers def. The LWO (Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee) in a Tornado Tag Team Match

Tornado tag team matches must be a specialty for the Creeds at this point as I believe they also beat Alpha Academy in a Tornado tag match a few months back. This was an enjoyable outing and I'm glad they made the most of the stipulation in the time they were given. American Made have lost a majority of their matches together, so this was very much a necessary victory for the Creeds. I continue to look forward to the eventual Mysterio vs. Chad Gable matchup.

Ludwig Kaiser def. Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker by Disqualification (Non-Title)

This was a logical follow-up to Kaiser interrupting Breakker vs. Sheamus last week and attacking both men. This was essentially the same thing with Sheamus getting involved and causing the contest to be thrown out, but what we got prior to that point was good with Breakker playing the babyface role. It was subsequently announced that they'll all fight in a Triple Threat for the Intercontinental Championship at Survivor Series, which is an excellent addi

World Tag Team Champions The Judgment Day (JD McDonagh and Finn Balor) def. War Raiders

It's weird that this wasn't advertised ahead of time despite War Raiders earning the opportunity weeks ago. I also hated the outcome since Judgment Day have done absolutely nothing to elevate the tag team division as champions. They've actually actively hurt it by barely defending the belts over a five-month stretch. At least this was a well-wrestled match, and perhaps the other members of Judgment Day costing War Raiders the win means the feud isn't over yet.

Alpha Academy (Akira Tozawa and Otis) def. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods)

New Day seemed to be back on the same page before they went out for their entrance but quickly fell apart and got squashed by Alpha Academy. I'm fine with there not being much to the match because it was all about the argument New Day had backstage afterward. Both men delivered some strong lines and really rippled into each other. That was a hell of a hook for their big 10-year anniversary episode next week.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Bianca Belair def. WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax to Earn the WarGames Advantage (Non-Title)

I realize WarGames is co-branded this year (much like it was last year), but it's funny that this headlined Raw with both women being SmackDown Superstars. They had a nice match, but the crowd sounded quiet for a majority of it, probably because they were waiting for the fifth member of the babyface WarGames team to be revealed afterward. Bayley was a logical choice if not a tad underwhelming. The ending to the show felt rushed and anticlimactic.

Overall Show

I was really digging this show up until the main event. There was nothing wrong with it from an in-ring standpoint, but it was a flat final sell for Survivor Series. That's a shame because the rest of the show was highly entertaining and left me looking forward to Saturday night (as well as next week's episode with that terrific New Day segment). What I'm not looking forward to, however, Raw returning to the three-hour format in January. The two-hour format has been perfect and this above-average edition of Raw was an example of that, but hopefully they can maintain the momentum heading into the Netflix premiere. The introduction of the Women's Intercontinental Championship (which was apparently revealed prior to the show going live) should make some of the women's matches more meaningful until then.

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