Monday 26 October 2020

WWE Raw Full Show 26 October 2020 WWE Raw Highlights 26 October 2020

 

WWE Raw 10/26/20











WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from October 26

 (Sana Ejaz Khan)

    Credit: WWE.com

    Sunday's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view saw Randy Orton defeat Drew McIntyre inside Hell in a Cell to win his 14th world title.

    On the Raw side, we also saw The Hurt Business' Bobby Lashley defeat Retribution's Slapjack and Elias beat Jeff Hardy by disqualification after The Charismatic Enigma hit him with his own guitar.

    The Viper appeared on "A Moment of Bliss" to celebrate his big win at HIAC. Did The Fiend set his sights on the new WWE champion?

    We also heard from McIntyre regarding his loss to Orton and saw three Survivor Series qualifying matches. AJ Styles faced Jeff Hardy, Keith Lee battled Elias and Matt Riddle took on Sheamus.

    Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's WWE Raw.

Opening Segment

1 OF 9

    McIntyre came out at the top of the show to talk about losing to Orton on Sunday at Hell in a Cell. He paraphrased a quote from Rocky and took responsibility for losing.

    The Miz's music hit, and he came out with John Morrison to gloat about winning the Money in the Bank briefcase from Otis. McIntyre told him to be careful with what they said because he was not in a good mood. They said his title reign was impressive but like everything, it had to come to an end at some point.

    The A-Lister talked about how he beat Orton for the WWE title when he had the MITB contract the last time and promised to do it again.

    McIntyre grew tired of their antics and nailed The Miz with a headbutt. Before he could do too much damage to Morrison, The A-Lister made the save and they retreated up the ramp. McIntyre said he would speak to management and make sure Miz and Morrison have a bad night.

                           

    Grade: C+

                             

    Analysis

    McIntyre is decent on the mic, but seeing him with a heel like The Miz definitely showed that he still has a lot of work to do if he wants to be a top babyface again.

    This was a pretty standard segment. McIntyre looked valiant by taking responsibility for his loss, The Miz looked like a jerk for bragging about his win and their fight set up a match for later in the show. It could have been better, it could have been worse.

Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles

2 OF 9

    Styles and his gargantuan bodyguard came to the ring first for a Survivor Series qualifying match against Hardy. Styles gave a quick promo saying he shouldn't have to qualify because he should be the captain of Team Raw.

    They locked up once Hardy got to the ring. Hardy tricked Styles into sliding out of the ring so he could hit a dropkick. He jumped from the middle turnbuckle, but Styles' bodyguard intercepted him in midair as the show went to a break.

    We returned to see The Phenomenal One hit a brainbuster for a two-count. The Charismatic Engima began to mount some offense and hit a pendulum dropkick in the corner for a two-count.

    Styles picked him up in a torture rack and spun him around for a powerbomb. Hardy hit a suplex facebuster, but a slight hesitation climbing to the top rope allowed Styles to recover and take him out.

    Styles knocked him back into the ring and nailed him with a Phenomenal Forearm for the pin. After the match was over, Elias smashed a guitar over Hardy's back.

                        

    Grade: B+

                           

    Analysis

    These two have worked together many times over the years between TNA and WWE, so it should never surprise anyone when they work well together. They know how to complement each other in the ring and used that knowledge to put on a good performance.

    Styles' bodyguard, Jordan Omogbehin, is a unique presence. He is a giant of a man, but he looks like he has a lot more mobility than other men his size. The way he effortlessly caught Hardy was impressive.

    This was a surprisingly clean win for Styles. Omogbehin certainly had an impact on the outcome, but he did not actually attack Hardy at any point. Since he is not on Team Raw, it will be interesting to see if WWE has something else planned for Hardy at the PPV. 

Lucha House Party vs. Drew Gulak and Akira Tozawa

3 OF 9

    After chasing R-Truth and the 24/7 title for the past couple of months, Drew Gulak and Akira Tozawa teamed up to take on Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik.

    Tozawa started with a stiff right hand to Dorado before tagging Gulak for a double-team move. The submission specialist bent Dorado backward over his knee, but The Golden Lynx broke free and hit a facebuster.

    For some reason, R-Truth came down looking for Little Jimmy at ringside. Tozawa tried to pin him, but Truth kicked out and threw him into the barricade. The ref did not call for a DQ for some reason. Everyone started trying to pin Truth for the 24/7 title, but in the mayhem, Dorado was able to pin Gulak to win the tag match. After kicking out several times, Truth finally ran away.

                             

    Grade: D

                             

    Analysis

    This segment highlighted the problem with the 24/7 title. R-Truth is awesome in this role, but WWE has been doing the same thing every week for months. It's getting old, and even he can't make it interesting anymore.

    The tag match was meaningless in the end, and since nobody won the belt from Truth, it was a bunch of nonsense that accomplished nothing.

    The sad thing is all five of the guys involved in this segment are talented in different ways. There is nothing wrong with comedy in wrestling as long as it's actually funny. This did not produce the laughs.

Elias vs. Keith Lee

4 OF 9

    Elias was in the ring before his match to give a promo about his brand-new album that dropped today. When the match began, Lee immediately asserted his dominance.

    He ran Elias over with a running crossbody, and the crooner was forced to take a breather at ringside. The Limitless One sent him flying over the announce table as we went to a commercial.

    We returned to see Lee keeping Elias grounded in an armbar. Elias countered a powerbomb with a surprising hurricanrana. He followed up with a knee to the big man's face.

    Hardy's music began to play, and the distraction led to Lee hitting the Spirit Bomb for the win to qualify for the Raw Survivor Series team alongside Styles. Hardy paid Elias back with a guitar shot to the back.

                             

    Grade: B-

                            

    Analysis

    Lee is still focused on Braun Strowman judging from his pre-match interview with Charly Caruso, so it was a little surprising to see him qualify for the team.

    Elias has shown flashes of brilliance many times, but it always feels like he is holding back when he wrestles, especially when he works as a heel because the bad guys aren't supposed to do moves that get pops too often.

    Lee brought out something in Elias that he needs to embrace. The more new things he can show us, the more people will want to see what else he can do.

    This could have been a quick encounter, but it ended up being more enjoyable than expected. WWE might want to consider pairing Elias and Lee up for a feud in the future because they worked well together.

The Hurt Business vs. Retribution (Elimination Match)

5 OF 9

    MVP and Bobby Lashley gave a promo saying they requested this match from management in an effort to rid WWE of Retribution. Lashley and T-Bar started for their teams. They had a very physical exchange of strikes until MVP tagged in. T-Bar took control and brought in Mace.

    Mr. 305 turned things around when Slapjack got involved. Reckoning pretended to be possessed, or something like that, and the distraction led to Slapjack eliminating MVP. The ref booted her from ringside during the break.

    Lashley eliminated Slapjack with a Spear when we returned from a commercial. He and T-Bar fought out of the ring and brawled until the ref counted out both men. Mace overpowered Cedric Alexander as Mustafa Ali called the shots from the apron.

    Shelton Benjamin came in and hit Paydirt to eliminate Mace. Benjamin and Alexander dominated the match for the next few minutes. Ali got himself disqualified by attacking Alexander with a steel chair.

                             

    Grade: C-

                           

    Analysis

    Let's start with the obvious issue. Whatever Mia Yim did obviously worked as a distraction, but it was so random and weird that it stopped all momentum this match had.

    Having T-Bar and Lashley, the two most physically imposing members of their teams, get counted out was also an odd choice.

    On top of all that, Retribution lost yet another match. This group is supposed to be shaking things up in WWE, but all it has accomplished so far is giving The Hurt Business a few victories. The action in this bout had its moments, but the storytelling was subpar.

The Miz vs. Drew McIntyre

6 OF 9

    Morrison tried to provide a distraction, but McIntyre still took control of The Miz and cornered him for a chest chop and some stomps to the body. The A-Lister kicked him in his bad knee, but it barely slowed him down.

    The Miz took control for a few moments, but the former WWE champion started throwing him around the ring with belly-to-belly suplexes. He took out Morrison at ringside before he nailed the Claymore for the pin and the win.

                        

    Grade: C

                            

    Analysis

    Some people might think losing right after he defeated Otis makes The Miz look weak, but that tends to happen with Money in the Bank holders. WWE makes them lose a few times before they cash in so we don't see it coming from a mile away.

    This match was short, but they did a good job making it competitive. Morrison has apparently turned into The Miz's comedic sidekick. We will have to see if he continues supporting The Miz or if he gets jealous down the line like Tucker did.

Nikki Cross vs. Lacey Evans vs. Lana vs. Peyton Royce

7 OF 9

    Adam Pearce announced the Raw women's Survivor Series team would include Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke and the winner of a Fatal 4-Way with Lana, Peyton Royce, Nikki Cross and Lacey Evans.

    This was a typical Fatal 4-Way contest. There were a lot of moving parts and everyone was fighting everyone else without trying to focus on just one person.

    Lana was able to swoop in and take advantage of a downed Evans to get the pin and earn a spot on the Survivor Series team. Jax offered her a hug to welcome her to the team but then decided to put her through a table once again.

                            

    Grade: C-

                            

    Analysis

    Other than a couple of sloppy moments, this match wasn't as bad as it could have been. Everyone did a good job calling their spots and not getting in each other's way.

    The ongoing treatment of Lana is baffling. Why does WWE keep having Jax put her through tables? Is it to build up sympathy, or does Vince McMahon just find it funny? Who knows?

    The Raw team is a mixed bag. We will have to see how SmackDown's team looks to determine which brand has the advantage heading into the PPV.

Matt Riddle vs. Sheamus

8 OF 9

    They locked up, and Riddle took Sheamus to the mat with a double leg takedown. The Celtic Warrior rolled out of the ring to regroup.

    Sheamus planted him with a takedown of his own and applied a modified kimura lock. The Bro countered with a gut-wrench suplex. Sheamus put him on the apron for the Beats of the Bodhran.

    We returned from a break to see Sheamus keeping Riddle grounded. The Bro made a comeback and hit the Broton for a two-count. He hit an exploder suplex from the top rope but still couldn't get the pin.

    Sheamus blocked the Floating Bro with his knees and began focusing on Riddle's back. The former MMA fighter applied a sleeper, but Sheamus broke the hold and kicked out of a German suplex.

    After a short exchange, Sheamus drilled him with the Brogue Kick for the win.

                           

    Grade: B

                           

    Analysis

    Sheamus is classified by many as a powerhouse brawler, but people often forget that he is a good technical wrestler. He showed some of those skills in this bout.

    WWE overdid it with the crowd noise and fake chants in this one, but the match itself was good. It was actually one of the best bouts Riddle has had since coming to the main roster.

    Sheamus was the right choice for Team Raw. He joins Styles and Lee to represent the red brand at Survivor Series. The final two members will be chosen at a later date.

'A Moment of Bliss'

9 OF 9

    Earlier in the show, Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss hosted another weird episode of "Firefly Fun House." Bliss hyped her interview with Orton, but Wyatt seemed to be thinking about when The Viper burned down his cabin in the woods.

    The Goddess welcomed The Legend Killer to her show, "A Moment of Bliss." She asked him some basic questions, but he did not want to let his guard down because he knew The Fiend was lurking nearby. He asked her point-blank if she had any surprises planned for him, and she made a reference to when he burned Wyatt's cabin.

    Orton asked where The Fiend was, and she just smiled maniacally until McIntyre's music hit. The former champion ran to the ring, and they started to brawl while Bliss laughed in the background.

    The lights dropped out, and when they came back on, Bliss was gone, Orton was on the ramp and McIntyre was in the ring by himself. The Viper knew The Fiend was behind him but still went back after McIntyre.

                          

    Grade: C+

                             

    Analysis

    Every week, Bliss gets better and better as the character she is playing. She has mastered the facial expressions and mannerisms to be both creepy and intriguing.

    Having The Fiend appear only not to end up attacking anyone was a strange choice, especially considering Orton is not going to face Wyatt or McIntyre at Survivor Series.

    This segment was kind of all over the place, but everyone did a good job with what they had to work with

Find more