Monday Night Raw Review - October 31, 2016

Luke Gallows decimates Enzo Amore.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Goldberg Attacked Rusev and Paul Heyman

Goldberg cut a pretty great lengthy promo two weeks ago, but I was fine with him barely speaking at all before being interrupted by Paul Heyman. This was a vast improvement over Heyman's promo from last week (though that was entirely Creative's fault and not his for thinking Brock Lesnar would get booed in Minneapolis). Rusev's promo lasted a little longer than it should have considering Goldberg's Jackhammer was only inevitable, but at least he's a good talker. His Jackhammer and Spear came off really well (aside from the trip), so here's hoping he's in ring shape by Survivor Series.


Enzo Amore def. Luke Gallows in a Trick or Street Fight

​I know the general consensus regarding this match was that it was garbage, but I tend to enjoy the holiday campiness when it's done sparingly. I'm a huge Halloween fan, so I was likely in the small minority that loved the hell out of this. Enzo and Big Cass dressing up like Toy Story characters was especially awesome. The match itself was exactly what you would expect it to be and perfect for Enzo and Cass, though it didn't do anything for The Club who are trying to be taken seriously again.

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Goldberg lays out Rusev and Paul Heyman.

T.J. Perkins def. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Brian Kendrick by Count-out

As I mentioned in my Hell in a Cell review, the Cruiserweight division is simply not working. They were smart to hold this match toward the beginning of the show, but it doesn't change how they're suffering from a lack of compelling storytelling. They contested a match similar to the one they had at Hell in a Cell, but the count-out finish was logical in keeping the feud alive for a little while longer.


WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho Interrupted Raw General Manager Mick Foley

After last week's strong performance, it was great to see Foley once again motivated here. It's far better than when he comes across like he's reciting lines from a script. Owens and Jericho have natural chemistry together and Jericho did a solid job of attempting to elicit heat from the crowd. Not only did they set up several members for Team Raw, they also built toward the night's United States Championship main event.


Braun Strowman Won a Battle Royal to Qualify For Team Raw For Survivor Series

As soon as you saw who was competing in this Battle Royal, you had to know either Strowman or Sami Zayn were winning. It was a pretty paint-by-numbers Battle Royal as a result, but the crowd was engaged when it came down to Zayn and Strowman. I'm actually shocked they weren't a part of Hell in a Cell in any form or fashion on Sunday night. Strowman was the right choice to win considering the push he's receiving at the moment, and he'll definitely benefit from being on such a stacked team.

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Rich Swann, Cedric Alexander and Lince Dorado def. Tony Nese, Drew Gulak and Ariya Daivari

I saw someone make this comparison on Twitter tonight and it was scary how accurate it was: WWE's new Cruiserweight division is almost the equivalent to what the Divas Revolution was a year ago. WWE continues to shove it down our throat how different they are, but all we get are multi-man tag team matches with the same eight guys every week. I know it might be a bit before others are introduced, and Swann is one of the more popular fixtures in the division at the moment, but so far it's been disappointing.


Bayley Interrupted Raw Women's Champion Charlotte Flair; Nia Jax def. Bayley

Speaking of people who look good in defeat, Bayley shined here, and I liked her verbal exchange with Charlotte. The subsequent match was even better, and although the in-ring action wasn't the greatest ever, they told an excellent story with Jax looking like an absolute monster and Bayley was the ultimate underdog. I had no problem with Bayley losing here, but I think it's far too soon for her to be going after the gold.


Sheamus and Cesaro def. The Shining Stars

It was cool for them to further the Cesaro and Sheamus stuff in the Battle Royal earlier, but this wasn't all that necessary. Sheamus and Cesaro failed to win the Raw Tag Team Championship at Hell in a Cell, so why are they still teaming together if they can't get along? If we can skip this chapter, that would be wonderful. When they're a cohesive unit, they are actually exceptional partners, but we'll see how long this lasts.


United States Champion Roman Reigns def. Chris Jericho by Disqualification

Reigns and Jericho I believe have had only one other match against each other, so this was a refreshing change of pace and the title did feel like it was in jeopardy at certain points. Reigns retaining his title didn't surprise me, but Seth Rollins making the save for his former Shield stablemate was intriguing and the crowd responded in a major way as well. Of course, you can expect Rollins to be added to Team Raw as soon as next week.


Overall Show

As far as holiday-themed shows go, this edition of Raw wasn't terrible. Then again, I'm the biggest mark you'll ever find for Halloween, so I was one of the few that didn't mind the silliness. The good outweighed the bad I thought, and Goldberg's appearance at the start was newsworthy. It was a fitting follow-up to Hell in a Cell, and I'm glad the build to Survivor Series is already underway and some storylines aren't being completely abandoned. Happy Halloween, folks!

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