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WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Nov. 12, 2018) from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri, featuring the go home show to the Survivor Series pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for this coming Sunday night in Los Angeles.
Advertised for tonight: Stephanie McMahon returns, Brock Lesnar is back, Alexa Bliss chooses her Survivor Series team, and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the Raw live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)
WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR NOV. 12
Let the clergy damn our every emotion until every impulse is a revolution. And will we know to bring good, we’ll let it carry us through, it’s your chance to use your disobedience. We will say we will be free to use our bodies as we please. We will be free to use our bodies as we please! Say hey, there’s no police! Hey, there’s no police between two beating hearts, but there is a liveblog for this here pro wrestling show, and I’m dedicating it to the memory of a man without whom I do not have the voice I write for y’all in, Stan “the Man” Lee. Excelsior!
The show opens with a video package celebrating Veterans Day.
Tag Team Battle Royal (WWE Raw Tag Team Survivor Series Captaincy)
Brawling all around, Lucha House Party working Chad Gable over...
(RRROOOAAARRR!)
Enter Braun Strowman. Konnor leaves the ring to meet him and gets wiped out, same for Viktor, Dorado and Kalisto dive into him and suffer, he takes Bobby Roode out as he enters the ring and teams overwhelm him... until he throws them all aside! Stinger splashes on the Revival and Strowman is fired up! To the floor, he runs over Curtis Axel, Gable, and the Revival a second time before getting a chair!
He heads in the ring, Heath Slater and Roode run away and Braun demands a microphone.
I have no idea if the match is still going or not, folks.
The monster begins, saying tonight’s episode of Raw is brought to you by the monster among men and he takes a seat. He says he’s done chasing Baron Corbin around and he’s not leaving the ring until the acting Raw general manager gets These Hands.
Enter Stephanie McMahon. She heads in the ring and says she understands that Braun is upset after what Baron did at Crown Jewel but he cannot hold Raw hostage. She appreciates the aggression and rage but needs Strowman to channel it for what’s really important, Survivor Series. Her brother Shane insulted the entire locker room when he stole the WWE World Cup, and is he gonna let Shane disrespect--
Braun interjects and says he doesn’t give a damn about Shane or representing Raw at Survivor Series! Steph gets in his face and says he and everybody on the roster better give a damn! Strowman says he knows all the corporate types look at him like a mindless meat castle, but he knows when he’s being manipulated and she needs to bring Corbin out now to take care of it.
McMahon offers a business proposal where they both get what they want-- He leads Team Raw to victory on Sunday night, he can have whatever he wants, money, planes, trains, automobiles, you name it, her word is her bond. Braun says he doesn’t care about planes or trains, he wants another Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar! Steph agrees, but Strowman has more requests-- he wants Baron Corbin, AND he wants to pick the stipulations of both matches.
McMahon agrees. Strowman has one more, he wants a waiver so he’s not responsible for what he might do to Corbin. Steph says that might take time, but it’s doable... as long as he keeps his hands off Baron until after Survivor Series. Braun says he better get what he wants or he’ll go to WWE headquarters and destroy the whole building. McMahon says she’s trying to be transparent and encourage everyone to fight for Raw, men, women, and--
Enter Ronda Rousey. Stephanie tries to give her a big intro but she yanks the mic away! Ronda tells her to save the pep talk, and nothing she can say or offer would make her more motivated than she already is, and she’s been waiting for a challenge like Becky Lynch since she came here. She can’t wait to show The Man how it’s really done... or aybe she doesn’t have to wait?
She advances on Steph but gets cut off by Baron Corbin making his entrance. He says everybody needs to relax and take a breath, and he’s with McMahon-- they need to focus their aggression on SmackDown. And like Stephanie, he’s here to help motivate Raw talent. They can’t afford to be embarrassed again, it’s a must-win situation, and he puts a hand on Rousey’s shoulder as he continues... JUDO THROW!
Ronda leaves, Baron yells at her and turns around, whereupon Strowman squares up with him. McMahon tries to get between them and yells at Corbin to shut up and not provoke him. Braun tells him to enjoy his time as Steph’s lapdog, because after Survivor Series, he’s getting neutered.
The tag team battle royal went to a no-contest, I guess.
We cut backstage where Nia Jax and Tamina are walking and scaring crew members off ahead of a match between Snuka and Ember Moon, to send us to break.
Back from commercial in time for entrances.
Ember Moon vs. Tamina
Moon distracted by Nia Jax at ringside and Tamina clobbers her! Headbutt follows, Ember with desperation strikes but Snuka throws her into the corner. Up and over the charge, off the ropes, duck the slam, sunset flip blocked, punch evaded, kicks on kicks, forearms, staggering Tamina and taking her to a knee with an enzuigiri! Off the ropes, forearm strike gets one!
Alexa Bliss is show watching backstage as Snuka resumes control. Moon floats over a slam, off the ropes, snap basement reverse STO and Tamina bails to the floor! Ember with a sliding knee from the apron! Tamina recovers and is in charge as we go to break.
Back from commercial and Tamina’s got a reverse chinlock wrenched in in the middle of the ring but Moon is throwing axhandles to fight back. Snuka clubs her to the mat, follows it up with a knee drop that’s good for two. Ember with body blows, Tamina shoves her into the corner, boot up on the charge, forearms, slugging it out, Moon lands on her feet on a back suplex and hits a single leg dropkick!
Kick combo, Snuka with a slap in return, Ember off the ropes, suicide dive at Nia and she bounces off! Back inside, crossbody off the ropes... NOPE! Letting out a primal scream, handspring back elbow, up top for the Eclipse but Jax runs interference and Tamina hits the superkick! Snuka up top...
Tamina wins by pinfall with the Superfly Splash.
Jax punctuates her partner’s victory with an inverted curb stomp and a leg drop to Moon!
Commentary hypes up Bobby Lashley vs. Elias as a qualifier for Survivor Series and a Seth Rollins interview before sending us to break.
Back from commercial, some sporting men are show in the front row.
We get a video package covering Seth Rollins’ last month or so.
Corey Graves introduces Seth for an in-ring interview. He wants to talk about his champion vs. champion match against Shinsuke Nakamura at Survivor Series, and Rollins says it’s gonna be a hell of a fight but to be honest right now he doesn’t give a damn about Nakamura. Graves puts the danger Shinsuke presents over and Seth says when the bell rings he’s gonna be laser-focused, but that’s Sunday.
And tonight in Kansas City, he wants answers, he wants to know why Dean Ambrose did what he did. Corey reminds him they’ve known Dean for a long time and he doesn’t like to use words but Rollins says he’s not dumb, he’s just not man enough to come out and tell him to his face. Dean appears on the tron, sitting on a car next to a trashfire and contests this idea.
He’s not gonna explain because he doesn’t owe anybody anything. These people wanna come up to him on the street with no manners, call him names and spit on him with their “Why, Dean, why turn your back on your brothers?”, well, guess the Architect doesn’t have all the answers this time. Maybe you’re wondering “I shouldn’t have treated him like an imbecile” or maybe something changed, or maybe Ambrose was the same guy this entire time and Rollins was just too selfish to see it.
Dean tries out admitting that maybe he regrets his actions and is remorseful, and maybe they can forgive him one day, but no, he used to think being in the Shield made him strong, but the truth is the Shield made him weak. SETH made him weak, ROMAN made him weak, the burden of watching their backs made him weak. But every day is a new day, a chance to take the past... he liberally douses his Shield vest in gasoline... AND BURN IT DOWN! HE TOSSES THE VEST INTO THE TRASHFIRE!
Seth throws his microphone down and storms up the ramp as Michael Cole asks Renee Young what’s going on with Dean. She says it’s his story to tell, but to her she’s talking in riddles and not making sense.
Commentary promises a look at Drew McIntyre vs. Kurt Angle, which they’re billing may have been Angle’s last, after the break.
Back from commercial we get some hype for WrestleMania tickets going on sale.
The promised video package recapping Drew McIntyre’s dominant victory over Kurt Angle from last week follows.
Kurt Angle’s theme plays for a few bars before the record scratch hits and Dolph Ziggler makes his entrance, followed shortly behind by McIntyre. They get in the ring and take in the atmosphere a moment before Drew begins. He says when he first showed up he told us he was going to take over-- do we believe him now? First he broke the Shield, and then he broke Kurt Angle.
Last week, Angle came in an icon and a national treasure and when he finished he was nothing more than an embarrassment. Kurt gave him everything he had, but you know what he say in Angle’s eyes? He saw his will to win fading, his realization that he was in the ring with a superior man and he tried to fight and fight, crawling on his hands and knees, and what happened next?
He started crying. Crying! Drew’s never been more disgusted in his entire life. He was more than happy to humiliate him and put him down with his own ankle lock, and he’s worked for eighteen long years to earn this moment, the highest of highs and lowest of lows, and look into his eyes-- Raw is his show now, it belongs to him and he’ll mold it in his image.
No more room for weakness, no more nostalgia acts, it’s the rule of the jungle as far--
Enter Finn Balor. He gets in the ring and grins at them but McIntyre starts in, saying he’s got a lot of guts coming out here. Balor says that’s right but listening to talk about what he did to Kurt was too much for him to sit back and listen to. Last week, Drew crossed a line. He could have just beaten Angle, he didn’t need to humiliate him. McIntyre mock apologizes and bends down to look Finn in the eyes and tell him dignity isn’t a right.
Drew says he didn’t save him from Lashley out of some kind of European pride, Finn’s so concerned about his emotions it makes him sick, so go cry to the Balor Club and maybe Too Swe-- Balor tells him to shut up! He’s been dealing with bullies like him his whole life, so why not have a match right here, right now! (Van Halen’s kicking ass in America?)
McIntyre says he doesn’t know if Finn’s feelings or body are more fragile, but if he wants a match, he’s got it! ...only not with him. No, he’s gonna have a match with the man who is the true best in the world, Dolph Ziggler! Dolph has a slightly confused face as Drew continues, saying he’ll consider lowering himself to Balor’s level if he beats Dolph.
Ziggle jaws at Finn... AND MCINTYRE HEADBUTTS BALOR!
We get a hype reel for tomorrow night’s episode of Mixed Match Challenge that sends us to break.
Back from commercial in time for the bell!
Dolph Ziggler vs. Finn Balor
Ziggler puts boots to Balor in the corner and chokes him before scraping his face across the top rope! Reverse chinlock, initially with a chickenwing applied, Finn rises to his feet but Dolph takes him right back down, shifting to a rear chinlock as he struggles to the ropes, clawing at his face before the break! Right hand, back to the reverse chinlock, sitting on Balor’s back.
Wrestling him to the mat, into the bodyscissors sleeper hold, breaking with a kick to the knee when Finn struggles loose. Right hands get a front kick, whip reversed, sunset flip, roll through into the basement dropkick and both guys are down and out! Ziggler ducks a chop, schoolboy gets two, corner body avalanche, neckbreaker blocked, slingshot to the apron feeds into a gamengiri!
Finn up top, he gets crotched and knocked to the mat and we go to break.
Back from commercial and Ziggler is in control as referee Rod Zapata checks on Balor. Neckbraker connects, Finn gasping, boots up in the corner, front kick blocks, right hand, boot, off the ropes, Balor cracks him with a backhand! Catch a boot, eat a back elbow but the Pele kick connects and both men are down and out! Finn rises, fired up, more chops, whip reversed and again, up and over, enzuigiri in the corner!
Double leg into the double stomp gets a deep two! Bidding him rise, charging in, Sling Blade connects but the shotgun dropkick is cut off by a superkick, big DDT... NOPE! Kick to the knee, Fameasser... STILL NO! Zig Zag blocked, the shotgun dropkick finds its mark, Balor up top, nobody home, leap over, pass Ziggler to the floor and clear McIntyre away with a dropkick!
Back body drop puts Dolph next to his partner... TOPE CON GIRO! Back inside, headed up top...Ziggler dodges! Oklahoma roll reversed...
Finn Balor wins by pinfall, reversing the Oklahoma roll into a pinning predicament of his own.
Drew McIntyre stares a hole in Balor as he celebrates on the ramp.
Commentary promises us Brock Lesnar and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Stephanie McMahon and Baron Corbin roll up on Finn Balor.
Steph congratulates him for standing up for what he believes in, and says she wants him on the Survivor Series team. Finn thanks her, Corbin wants to discuss it in private, and an angry Drew McIntyre rolls up to accost Balor. McMahon tells him he can’t hurt his teammate and gives both him and Dolph Ziggler a pep talk, saying she wants Drew to do to Shane what he did to Angle.
They don’t have to like each other, but they do have to respect each other. After they win, however, they can feel free to tear each other apart.
We get a recap of Becky Lynch’s promo from last week followed by a backstage Ronda Rousey interview.
She says she wasn’t trying to mock, she was just trying to point out how ridiculous her threats are. Ronda can’t believe she has to point all this out and says Lynch is better at dishing it out than taking it, and she’s not just The Man, but the Millennial Man, at which point she busts out a lot of stereotypes and says being offended doesn’t make Becky right.
Every fan she got has watched her sweat for every ounce of her respect, and she didn’t pour her heart and soul into changing the meaning of “fight like a girl” so the leader of the women’s evolution could call herself the Man. Nia Jax and Tamina roll up to wish her luck at this point.
The Riott Squad make their entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, the Riott Squad cut a promo in the ring.
Ruby Riott says she wants to address her actions from last week, but first she rolls tape on what she did, namely breaking the late, great Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart’s sunglasses last week. She says when she broke them she struck a nerve with not just Natalya but the entire WWE Universe, and having a week to think about it, she completely understands the backlash she’s gotten.
Let’s face it, Jim was a future Hall of Famer, this badass powerhouse with the most infectious laugh... and in a moment, she took all those happy memories and turned ‘em into nightmares. Not only that, but she humiliated Nattie in front of a worldwide audience... and she enjoyed every second of it! She didn’t take it far enough! Sarah, Liv, and her have scratched and clawed for everything, and last week she wanted Neidhart to feel real emotion and bawl like a baby.
And that’s exactly what happened. In that moment it all made sense, it clicked as to why Jim wore the glasses... it was because he was ashamed to look at his own daughter! He had to shade himself from--
Enter Natalya... FROM BEHIND! DOUBLE LEG INTO MOUNTED PUNCHES! Morgan and Logan make the save! Sarah gets the bear hug... HART ATTACK!
Commentary hypes up Survivor Series and shills for the WWE Network.
Chad Gable & Bobby Roode make their entrance, and we’ll be having the tag team battle royal for real after the break.
Beauty and the Man-Beast (Heath Slater & Rhyno) vs. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable vs. Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik, Kalisto, & Lince Dorado) vs. the Ascension (Konnor & Viktor) vs. the B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel) vs. the Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) (WWE Raw Tag Team Survivor Series Team Captaincy Battle Royal)
All-out brawling, Heath Slater gets dumped by the Revival after getting hung up on the ropes on a kick! Brawling with Lucha House Party, Kalisto fighting back hard, gamengiri from the apron, LHP hanging in there, Lince Dorado Frankensteiners Scott Dawson to the apron! Gran Metalik eliminates the Revival! The B-Team dump Dash Wilder after him!
B-Team and lucha lads square off but the Ascension poop their party! Swarming Konnor, he bowls them over and dumps Kalisto to eliminate them! Back body drop puts Bo Dallas over the top and Curtis Axel gets thrown into him to eliminate them! Roode with a neckbreaker into a moonsault from Gable on Viktor but they can’t dump him before Konnor runs Chad over!
Chokebomb lift... COUNTERED TO THE ARMBAR IN THE ROPES AND ROODE DUMPS HIM!
Bobby Roode & Chad Gable win, last eliminating the Ascension to become captains of the Raw Tag Team Survivor Series Team!
Paul Heyman is shown knocking on Brock’s door backstage to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Brock Lesnar makes his entrance, flanked by Paul Heyman.
Paul does his usual intro schtick and says no one deserves congratulations more than Lesnar, but they’ll dole some out anyway. He congratulates Braun Strowman for proving that he’s an almost-unbeatable monster, except when he gets hit by five F-5s. Also congratulations to Braun for worming his way right back into the title picture with hardball negotiations, well done.
Congratulations to the entire SmackDown roster for avoiding the beating that will be handed out to WWE Champion AJ Styles on Sunday. And congratulations to AJ Styles, who the fans believe has a fighting chance based on what he did last year at Survivor Series. Well, this Sunday, AJ’s gonna fly into Los Angeles, check in, go up to the top to the suite marked Suplex City and take the beating coming his way.
Based on how close he came to winning last year, there’s no one in WWE or UFC Brock wants to get his hands on more, no one he wants to take to Suplex City more, no one he wants to F-5 more, no one Lesnar wants to beat more than Styles, which means this Sunday, Suplex City, F-5, one, two, three. Your winner, the champion of all champions, Brock Lesnar. And that’s no prediction, that’s--
Enter Jinder Mahal, flanked by the Singh Brothers as ever. He gets on the mic and addresses Mr. Heyman, saying he respects his goal in making his client a two-sport champion, but offers some advice-- do not underestimate AJ Styles. Last year at Survivor Series he was focused on the dream match against Brock, and that focus gave AJ a chance to steal his title and his match.
So he’s here as a friend to show the Beast his mantra so he can focus. Paul is doubtful and mocking but gives Lesnar the decision. Brock waves Mahal in and says Heyman should really hear this because he’s Jewish. (I... what?) Jinder approaches and tells Lesnar to breathe in and repeat after him. Brock plays along for a second... LARIAT! GERMAN SUPLEX FOR ONE SINGH! HE SENDS JINDER TO THE FLOOR WITH A LARIAT AND GERMANS THE OTHER SINGH!
A third German suplex, a fourth... AND HE PRESS SLAMS A SINGH OVER THE ROPES AND ONTO MAHAL! Following after, he draws Jinder up and hits the F-5!
We cut backstage and see Alexa Bliss talking to Stephanie McMahon in a corridor.
Commentary hypes up Bobby Lashley vs. Elias, and that’s next after the break.
Back from commercial, Lio Rush is in the ring with a mic as Bobby Lashley poses in the turnbuckles.
He puts Lashley’s body over as the most magnificent in the world, one Michelangelo couldn’t imagine better, his genetic makeup pure art. Rush runs him through a number of muscle poses before busting out Cain A. Knight’s favorite, the butt.
Elias interrupts the butt stuff from the stage, where he’s armed and ready to play us a song on his guitar. He fiddles with his phone for a moment before picking it up. It’s Child Protective Services, and he proceeds as if Lio is a child that Lashley has kidnapped. Bob’s had enough and dares him to come down and say his “little funny stuff” to his face.
The Drifter gets up and drifts towards the ring, saying that Lashley sucks and he’s gonna shut the toddler’s mouth up, but first he plays a few bars at the base of the ramp, asks who wants to walk with him, and we go to break.
Bobby Lashley vs. Elias (WWE Raw Men’s Survivor Series Team Qualifying Match)
Whoops, I had to step away from a moment and missed that entire segment. Sorry about that, folks!
That being said, the internet tells me that Lashley put Elias into some steps, Lio held his legs down and...
Bobby Lashley wins by count-out, qualifying for the WWE Raw Men’s Survivor Series Team.
Off to break.
Back from commercial we get a Veterans Day roundup of a visit to the Kansas City VA.
Alexa Bliss is in the ring with Tamina, Nia Jax, and Mickie James to announce the Raw Women’s Survivor Series Team.
She doesn’t expect victory, she demands it, and that’s why she put together the most talented team in Survivor Series history. She sent Natalya, a key member of her team, home to focus her rage, and she introduces the rest of her team, the three women arrayed in the ring, in glowing terms and lampshading her issues with Nia along the way. But wait, she’s not competing, so there’s one more woman, who’d risk anything to win, even friendship.
Baron Corbin agrees with her, so they came to a joint decision on a qualifying match between the two women making their entrance now...
Sasha Banks and Bayley! But first we’ll go to break.
Back from commercial in time for the bell!
Bayley vs. Sasha Banks (WWE Raw Women’s Survivor Series Team Qualifying Match)
Bayley with a wristlock, Banks breaks with a forearm, step-up lucha arm drag, the Hugger with a series of pins but none get to two! Sliding lariat, another fruitless cover, Sasha puts her in the corner but she sidesteps, Stunner over the middle rope blocked and the Boss breaks a knee across her bow! Baseball slide countered into a knee to the face and both women are down and out on the floor!
Banks with a Frankensteiner off the apron! Back in, up top, Meteora... NOPE! Jockeying for position in the corner, Sasha to the floor, Bayley comes screaming with the dropkick through the corner but Banks blocks and puts her arm into the ringpost hard! Running knee on the apron, the Hugger staggered but able to dodge a second and the Boss puts her knee hard into the steel!
Schoolboy pin for two, Bayley lines her up but Sasha passes her to the apron. Stunner over the middle connects this time, Sasha gets a knee in but the Hugger is ready... BAYLEY-TO-BELLY ON THE APRON SENDS US TO BREAK!
Back from commercial, Bayley off the top with the diving elbow... THE KNEES ARE UP AND THE CROSSFACE IS ON! TAMINA AND MICKIE JAMES HIT THE RING AND BEAT THEM DOWN! Nia Jax joins the fun and Alexa Bliss gets on the mic. She says Bayley didn’t win the match and Sasha didn’t win the match...
The match goes to a no-contest, presumably.
Bliss continues, saying her fifth member of Team Raw is RUBY RIOTT!
Backstage, the sounds of chaos are heard... BECKY LYNCH HAS DIS-ARM-HER LOCKED ON RONDA ROUSEY! REFEREE CHAD PATTON AND FIVE-TIME NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION ADAM PEARCE BREAK IT UP!
Becky heads to ringside to address the Raw women’s team! She strides with confidence to the bottom of the ramp and says this is her show... THE REST OF THE SMACKDOWN WOMEN ATTACK FROM BEHIND! LYNCH AND CHARLOTTE FLAIR COEXIST AS THEY BEAT ON THE RAW WOMEN! CHAOS!
The SmackDown women have everybody beat down except for Tamina and Nia when a one-armed Ronda Rousey comes rushing to the ring! She manages to get a few staggering licks in before Becky comes back, chair in hand and rams it into her midsection! Naomi and Carmella put Tamina into the steel steps! Jax goes into the post and gets speared by Charlotte!
BECKY LYNCH IS COVERED IN BLOOD FROM HER NOSE TO THE TIPS OF HER FINGERS AS SHE BEATS ROUSEY WITH A CHAIR!
The SmackDown women leave through the crowd as Ronda stares on, burning with anger.
We get a recap of what we just saw because Raw is three hours long, and also we don’t have an overrun anymore so timing is a little weird at the end of the show now.
Backstage, Stephanie McMahon reams Baron Corbin out over SmackDown invading, telling him he’s not doing a good job and clearly doesn’t know anything. She demands a solution and he promises to find a way.
That’s the show, folks.