Welcome to Ringside News’ coverage of WWE Monday Night Raw, less than a week away from WWE Survivor Series!
Tonight’s show is the final run-in to Survivor Series and, as such, will see Alexa Bliss choose her team for the show. Even though Bliss cannot compete at the event, she serves as Raw’s Team Leader. Will Bliss be somewhat neutral and choose the likes of Sasha Banks and Bayley? Or will she be a full heel and choose her besties? We’ll find out soon. We also don’t know the full Raw men’s team for this year’s show, with two spots remaining on Baron Corbin’s team. Who will he choose? Someone like Finn Balor seems unlikely, so let us know who you think the GM will pick!
Elsewhere on tonight’s show, Stephanie McMahon returns to address the controversy surrounding the World Cup Tournament at Crown Jewel – which Shane McMahon won after stepping in for The Miz. Stephanie surely won’t be happy about how things went and maybe she’ll even throw Dolph Ziggler under the bus for losing to Shane. Regardless, it will be entertaining!
And lastly but not leastly, The Beast returns to Monday Night Raw with the Universal Championship around his waist. It’s hard to believe Lesnar is wrestling AJ Styles this Sunday, but that’s because Crown Jewel was only two weeks ago and screwed-up the entire build for Survivor Series. Regardless, Paul Heyman will likely have some choice words for Styles tonight!
That’s the preview for tonight’s Monday Night Raw! Let us know what your thoughts are, follow us on Instagram, and download the Ringside News app! Until then, enjoy the show!

Monday Night Raw opens with a nice video for Remembrance Day.


We go live to the arena in Kansas City, and there’s tag team battle royal about to kick-off with Lucha House Party, The Ascension, The Revival, Rhyno & Heath Slater, and The B-Team. The winners will join the Raw Survivor Series team.

Tag Team Battle Royal

The match kicks-off and the teams begin beating each other around the ring. Nothing eventful happens for a minute until Braun Strowman’s music hits and he means business!
Strowman comes down and starts beating on all the teams on the match; slapping Dash Wilder in the chest, throwing Konor around, catching Lucha’s in mid-air and breaking them, and scaring many of them off. He leaves the ring and brings a chair inside and takes a seat, the match is officially over.

No Contest


Strowman is seated in the middle of the ring with a microphone. He says 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.
Strowman doesn’t get who he wants though, as out comes 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. She says her brother Shane insulted the entire locker room when he stole the WWE World Cup, and asks if Braun he gonna let Shane disrespect…but Braun interrupts her and says he doesn’t give a damn about Shane, or representing Raw at Survivor Series! Stephanie 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, in which Braun leads Team Raw to victory on Sunday night, then 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, to which Stephanie 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 OK 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 then she’s interrupted.

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Ronda Rousey comes out. 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 maybe she doesn’t have to wait? She walks towards Steph but gets cut off by Baron Corbin making his entrance – I guess interrupting is the theme of tonight. He says everybody needs to relax and take a breath. He’s with McMahon and 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 talking, but Ronda quickly grabs the wrist and hits a judo throw!
Ronda leaves, Baron yells after her. He turns around but 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.
Backstage Nia Jax and Tamina are walking, the latter will be in action next!
*Commercial Break*
We’re back and out come Snuka and Jax. Moon is out next.

Tamina Snuka W/Nia Jax Vs. Ember Moon

The bell rings but Moon is distracted by Nia Jax at ringside and Tamina attacks her! Tamina follows-up with a headbutt. Ember responds with some quick strikes but Snuka throws her into the corner. Ember ducks and leap-frog’s Tamina, then lands some kicks that stagger her, then knocks her to a knee with an enziguiri! Ember comes off the ropes with forearm strike.
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 Moon is down and out as we head to the break.
*Commercial Break*
We return to see Tamina keeping Ember grounded in a headlock. Moon fights her way out and they trade punches in the middle of the ring. Moon fires-up and hits a dropkick and an enziguiri. Tamina responds with a big right hand. Ember again knocks Tamina down.
Moon hits a surprise suicide dive to Jax and it barely budges her. She gets back in the ring and scores a two count on Tamina. She sets up for the Eclipse, but Jax distracts her so Tamina can hit the superkick. Tamina takes to the top rope and connects with a big splash for the win!

Winner: Tamina Snuka

Something of a surprise win for Tamina. Nia joins her in the ring afterwards to celebrate. She isn’t done however, as Nia lifts Ember by both arms and slams her back down with her foot. She follows-up with a running slam as the fans boo. They pose over Ember before leaving.


Later tonight, Alexa Bliss will announce the members of Team Raw. Also, Bobby Lashley faces Elias. Up next, we take a look at the rivalry between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins.
*Commercial Break*
We see a replay of 3 weeks ago, when Dean Ambrose turned on Seth Rollins, then 2 weeks ago when Seth talked about the situation with Ambrose in the crowd, and finally last week, when Dean attacked Seth after he lost the Tag Team Championships.
Corey Graves is in the ring and he introduces the Intercontinental Champion, Seth Rollins. Graves asks him about facing Shinsuke Nakamura this Sunday. Rollins says he is excited, but he doesn’t give a damn about Nakamura right now. Graves warns him that if his head isn’t in the game, Nakamura will take his head off. Rollins says he’ll be laser-focused on Sunday. Tonight, he wants answers from Dean Ambrose. Rollins wants to know why Ambrose did that to him and Roman Reigns. Rollins says Ambrose isn’t man enough to come out and tell him why.
Dean Ambrose appears on the titantron sitting on a red car. Ambrose warns Rollins to not ever think he’s not man enough to do something. Ambrose says she could come out of the cold and beat the hell out of him, but the people don’t deserve it. Ambrose doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. Ambrose is tired of people asking why. Ambrose wonders if Rollins is thinking he shouldn’t have treated him like an invalid. Maybe Ambrose has been the same guy the entire time. Rollins was too self-absorbed to see what was going on around him. There is a burning garbage can next to the car. Ambrose says maybe he is remorseful, but that’s not it. Ambrose used to think The Shield was strong together and wearing a vest made him strong. The truth is The Shield made him weak. Rollins and Reigns made him weak. The burden of being their brother and watching their backs made him weak. Everyday is a new day with a chance to be reborn and take the past… and burn it down. Ambrose pours gasoline on the Shield vest and throws it into the fire!


In the ring, Rollins looks disgusted. Rollins throws the microphone down and walks to the back.
After the break, we’ll take a look at the match between Kurt Angle and Drew McIntyre last week.
*Commercial Break*

We’re back and we get a replay of the McIntyre Vs. Kurt Angle match. After the video, Angle’s music hits and Kansas gets to their feet. His music stops after a minute though and out comes Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. Nice troll.


McIntyre and Ziggler make their way to the ring. They will be part of Raw’s Survivor Series team to face SmackDown Live. McIntyre says he told everyone that he would take over WWE. McIntyre broke The Shield and broke Kurt Angle. Angle gave him everything he had, but his will to win faded. Angle realized that he was in the ring with a superior man. Inevitably he was crawling on his hands and knees. Angle then started to cry. It was the most pathetic thing he’s ever seen. McIntyre had no choice but to put him out with his own Ankle Lock. McIntyre has sacrificed more than people realize. RAW is his show now. McIntyre will mold it in his image. He says there is no more room for weakness. There will be no more nostalgia acts.
Finn Balor’s music hits, and he comes out to the ring. McIntyre says Balor has a lot of guts to come out here after what he did to him last week. Balor says McIntyre crossed the line last week. McIntyre could have just beaten Angle. He didn’t have to humiliate him. McIntyre says he could have done worse. Balor is just upset that he kicked his head off. Balor is exactly what is wrong with this place. Balor is too concerned with his feelings. It makes him sick. Balor tells him to shut up. Balor has been dealing with bullies like McIntyre his entire life. Balor challenges him to a match right now. McIntyre agrees… just not with him. Balor will have a match with the man who is the best in the world, no matter what Shane McMahon thinks, Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler looks surprised. If Balor can beat someone like Ziggler, maybe he’ll lower himself to Balor’s level. McIntyre then head-butts Balor, who drops like he was hit by Yair Rodriguez. Dolph laughs at the hit from McIntyre and they stand together. Ziggler takes-on Finn after the break!


*Commercial Break*

Finn Balor Vs. Dolph Ziggler W/Drew McIntyre

We come back to see Finn trying to drag himself to his feet via the ropes. The referee makes sure he’s fine before calling for the bell.
The bell rings, and Ziggler immediately leaps towards Finn and punches him down in the corner. Ziggler soon traps him in a chin lock. Ziggler drops an elbow for a two count before going back to the chin lock. Balor grabs the bottom rope to get out. Ziggler then dropkicks him down. Ziggler punches him down before reapplying the chin lock. Balor fights out and boots him back. Finn punches him before rolling through a sunset flip to dropkick Dolph in the face. Balor jumps over the apron and takes him Dolph out with an enziguiri. Balor goes to the top rope, but Ziggler crotches him. Finn is in trouble as we head to the break.


*Commercial Break*
We come back from the break to see Ziggler posing for the crowd. Ziggler connects with a neckbreaker on Balor. Finn boots him back, but Dolph quickly cuts him off. Ziggler hits the ropes, but Balor chops the chest. Balor blocks a superkick, but Dolph quickly elbows him. Balor then hits a desperation overhead kick. Finn starts to make a comeback and chops him. Balor takes him down and hits a double stomp to the midsection for a near fall.
McIntyre is looking worried at ringside. Balor waits for Ziggler to get up, and he connects with a Sling Blade. Balor sizes him up, but Ziggler kicks him before hitting a spike DDT for a near fall. Balor gets to his feet and blocks a superkick, but Dolph comes back with a Fameasser for a near fall. Ziggler goes for the Zig-Zag, but Balor holds the ropes and shakes him off. Finn hits a dropkick to the corner and goes to the top rope. Ziggler gets up, so Balor jumps over him. Balor throws Ziggler out of the ring and dropkicks McIntyre at ringside. Balor then gives Dolph a back body drop out of the ring. Balor then wipes out McIntyre and Ziggler with a summersault senton. Finn gets Ziggler in the ring and goes for the Coup de Grace, but Ziggler moves. Dolph rolls him up, but Balor turns it around and picks up the win.

Winner: Finn Balor

McIntyre storms the ring as soon as the bell rings but Finn rolls out and lays on the ramp.


Still to come, Brock Lesnar, and Alexa Bliss announces the Raw Survivor Series team.
*Commercial Break*
Stephanie McMahon and Baron Corbin are walking backstage when they bump into Finn Balor. McMahon commends him for standing up for his convictions and puts him on the RAW Men’s Survivor Series team. Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler run up, and McMahon tells them to stand down. She says McIntyre can’t attack his teammate. McMahon also said she heard what McIntyre said. Make no mistake, RAW is her show. McMahon wants McIntyre to do to Smackdown what he did to Kurt Angle. After Survivor Series, they can tear each other apart.
A replays is shown of Becky Lynch’s promo on Ronda Rousey from Smackdown. Charly Caruso interviews Ronda Rousey backstage. Rousey says Lynch can dish it out, but she wasn’t trying to offend her path to becoming champion. Rousey just wanted to let her know how ridiculous her threats are. Lynch can dish it out, but she can’t take it. Rousey says Lynch is not just “The Man”… she is a Millennial Man. She’s the avocado toast eating Millennial. Lynch is not Oliver Twist, and she’s not a trust fund baby. Every fan of hers has watched her sweat to change the meaning of “fight like a girl.” Nia Jax and Tamina walk up and wish her luck at Survivor Series.


Ruby Riott makes her way to the ring with The Riott Squad, but we make our way to a break!
*Commercial Break*
The Riott Squad is in the ring. Ruby Riott says she wants to address her actions from last week, but first she has to show what she did. A replay is shown of Riott breaking Jim Neidhart’s glasses in front of Natalya. Ruby says when she broke Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart’s glasses, she struck a nerve not only with Natalya, but the entire WWE Universe. She’s had a week to think about her actions and completely understands why she’s received the backlash she has. Jim was a future WWE Hall of Famer. He was a badass powerhouse with the most infectious laugh. In a moment, she took all those happy memories and turned them into nightmares. Not only that, she humiliated Natalya in front of a worldwide audience. Riott smiles and says she enjoyed every second of it. Ruby says she didn’t take it too far. She didn’t take it far enough. Ruby, along with Logan and Morgan, have had to scratch and claw for everything they’ve got. She wanted Natalya to feel real emotion and bawl like a baby. In that moment, it all made sense as to why Neidhart wore the glasses. Jim was ashamed to look at his own daughter.


Natalya’s music hits, and she comes through the crowd to attack Riott. The Riott Squad soon overtakes her. Logan holds Natalya up while Riott hits the ropes to hit The Hart Attack. The Riott Squad stands over Natalya. What a cheap segment, through no fault Ruby or the talent involved.
Bobby Roode and Chad Gable make their entrance. Apparently they’re going to do the tag team battle royal again, next.
*Commercial Break*

Tag Team Battle Royal

The bell rings and Heath Slater practically eliminates going for a big boot; Dawson simply pushes him out. That means Rhyno is forced to leave the match. Kalisto, Lince Dorado, and Dawson come to a head. Dawson is thrown onto the apron, then clocked with a bkick and eliminated. The B-Team throws out Dash Wilder, even though they didn’t have to.
Next, The Ascension eliminates Kalisto, taking The Lucha House Party out of the match. The B-Team is also eliminated. Gable and Roode and The Ascension are the last teams. Roode hits a neckbreaker on Viktor while Gable hits a top rope moonsault! Wow! Roode and Gable then eliminate The Ascension to win. They’ll captain the RAW Tag Team Survivor Series Elimination match.

Winners: Bobby Roode & Chad Gable

At least the match didn’t last long. And I guess we should have seen their win coming, seeing as they were the only team to get an actual entrance.


Backstage, we see Paul Heyman knock Brock Lesnar’s door and off to a break. Brock will be out next!
*Commercial Break*
We’re back and out come Brock and Heyman. They come to the ring and Heyman does his usual shtick, while Brock says he has goosebumps. Heyman congratulates Strowman for proving at Crown Jewel that he is the almost-unbeatable monster. Because at Crown Jewel it took five F5’s to defeat him. He also congratulates Braun for worming his way back into the title picture tonight.
Heyman moves on to this Sunday and congratulates AJ Styles for getting to face Brock on Sunday. A light “AJ Styles” chant picks-up and Heyman says the reason people are chanting his name, is because last year, Styles came close to beating Brock last year. However, this year he will fly into Suplex City and feel the wrath of Lesnar. Based on how close Styles came to beating Brock last year, there is no-one on Raw, Smackdown, NXT, UFC, or anywhere else that Lesnar wants to take to Suplex City and F-5 more than AJ Styles. The champion of all champions, Brock Lesnar, will win. That’s not a predition, that’s…
Jinder Mahal’s music hits, and he comes out with The Singh Brothers. Mahal respects Heyman for trying to make his client a two sport champion. Mahal tells them to not underestimate Styles. Last year, Mahal was focused on facing Lesnar at Survivor Series, but Styles stole the match from him. Mahal wants to offer his services to show his client how to focus. Mahal wants to show his mantra. Lesnar says, “Come on in. You’ll want to hear this. After all, you are Jewish.”
Heyman looks confused. Mahal enters the ring. Mahal starts doing his breathing and Lesnar plays along. Well, he does for a minute, then Lesnar takes Mahal’s head off with a clothesline. Lesnar takes Sunil Singh and gives him a German Suplex onto his head! Lesnar wipes out the second Singh brother and hits Sunil with another German Suplex onto his head. Lesnar is smiling as he stalks his prey. The Champion then press slams him out of the ring onto Mahal. Lesnar goes outside and gives Mahal an F-5 on the floor! Lesnar and Heyman then leave the ringside area.


We see Alexa Bliss backstage, talking to Stephanie. She will reveal her team members, later tonight Up next though, Elias Vs. Bobby Lashley for a spot on Team Raw.
*Commercial Break*
We return and Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush are in the ring. Rush says Lashley’s body is a work of art that Michelangelo couldn’t have even sculpted. Rush has Lashley do some poses. Rush then has Lashley bend over and show his rear end to the crowd.
Elisa suddenly introduces himself and the lights go out. Elias is sitting on a stool at the top of the stage. The crowd sings, “Oh walk with Elias.” Elias is on the phone. Elias is pretending he’s calling Child Protective Services. Elias says Lashley is in the ring with a child he believes he kidnapped weeks ago. Rush can’t be no more than 10. Lashley has the child pointing at his pecs and butt. Lashley bent over… he has no idea why. Elias says he’ll try to hold him. The longer they’re out there, the more prone he is to falling asleep. Lashley challenges Elias to get in the ring and say it to his face. Elias says Lashley sucks, so he’ll do what he has to do. Before he does that though; he starts to play a guitar riff. Elias has a question for everyone here tonight, “Who wants to walk with Elias?” This match is next.
*Commercial Break*

Elias Vs. Bobby Lashley W/Lio Rush

We return from the break to see Lashley grounding Elias with a headlock – Elias still in his shirt. Elias starts to his feet but Lashley lifts him high and throws him to the mat. Lashley hits the ropes and looks for an elbow drop but nobody’s home.
Lashley whips Elias to the corner, but the drifter kicks him back. Elias follows-up with a big clothesline. Elias attacks Bobby in the corner with some right hands. Rush then jumps onto the apron but Elias punches him off. Elias then flips Lashley over the top rope, before going to the apron and hitting a running knee to the floor.
Elias throws Lashley into the ring post. He looks to throw Bobby into the steel steps but Lashley reverses it and Elias eats the steel. Lashley gets back in the ring as Elias gets to his feet with the referee counting. Lio Rush sticks his head out of the ring apron and grabs hold of Elias’ feet, not letting him get into the ring, and the referee counts him out!

Winner Via Count-Out: Bobby Lashley


Elias is angry after the fact and he drags Rush out from under the ring. Lashley runs at him but Elias throws him into the steps. Lashley is then launched into the barricade. Rush tries to escape over the barricade but Elias brings him back and into the ring. He throws Rush out of the ring, through the middle ropes, and into Lashley!
Up next, Bliss reveals the Raw women’s team for Survivor Series!
*Commercial Break*
We return from the break Alexa Bliss makes her way to the ring, followed by Nia Jax, Tamina Snuka, and Mickie James, while the announcers break down the Survivor Series card.
Alexa says Sunday is all about proving that Raw is the main show, and SmackDown Live will always be a B-show. She says that’s why she has put together the greatest team in Survivor Series history. Alexa says a key member of her team, Natalya, was under duress tonight, so she sent her home to regroup. She then introduces Mickie, Nia, and Tamina, as the first members of her team. And that leaves one spot, which will be decided by the winner of the next match: Sasha Banks and Bayley!


*Commercial Break*

Sasha Banks Vs. Bayley

The bell rings, and they circle the ring. Bayley wrenches the arm, but Banks chops the chest. Banks hits an arm drag, but Bayley quickly rolls her up for a two count. Bayley holds the ropes to get Sasha away before hitting a low clothesline for a two count. Banks sends Bayley to the corner, but Bayley sidesteps her. Banks knees her in the face and tries for a baseball slide, but Bayley blocks it. Bayley tries to put her in the ring, but Banks counters into a hurricanrana on the floor.
Sasha gets Bayley in the ring and hits a meteora off the top rope for a near fall. Bayley quickly puts Banks on the apron and elbows her. Bayley tries to hit a running dropkick, but Banks blocks it and sends her ribs-first into the ring post. Banks hits a double knee to the face against the ring post, which the announcers skip over entirely. Bayley avoids a second double knee and rolls Banks up for a near fall. Bayley quickly snaps her off the middle rope. They’re fighting it out on the apron. Sasha knees her, but Bayley comes back with Bayley-To-Belly on the apron! Both women are down on the floor as we take the final commercial break of the night.
*Commercial Break*
We return to see Bayley hit an elbow drop only for Sasha to put her in the Bank Statement. Suddenly, Tamina and Nia Jax rush into the ring and beat up both women while Bliss laughs on the mic!

No Contest

Bliss then says she had no intention of letting either of these two on her team. In fact, Ruby Riott will actually be the fifth member of Team Raw. Ruby Riott comes out ad Ruby shakes Alexa’s hand. The heels all pose together in the ring.
The camera cuts backstage, where we see Becky Lynch holding Ronda Rousey in the Dis-Arm-Her in the locker room. Ronda is screaming in pain and Lynch won’t let go. Finally she releases as officials rush in.


Becky’s music then hits in the arena and she saunters down to the ring while Team Raw stands within. The SmackDown women’s team run in from the crowd and a huge brawl breaks out. Somewhere in the brawl, Becky got a crack on the nose and it bust wide open, perhaps even broken. SmackDown is winning the fight until Ronda’s music hits ad Rousey storms the ring like a bat out of hell. She sells the arm as she does one-armed Judo throws and clotheslines. Lynch rolls back in from behind Ronda and hits her in the back with a chair! SmackDown then clears the ring, while Lynch beats Ronda with the chair a few more times. Charlotte hits Nia Jax with a spear on the outside.
Lynch and Team SmackDown Live leave the ring, through the crowd. Lynch looks at Ronda from the steel steps, and poses with her arms out, face covered in blood. The fans love it. She then makes her way up through the crowd and does the same on the stairs as Raw comes to a close.


That’s it for tonight’s show! Let us know what you thought of that awesome beatdown! Until next time, safe travels!

Curtis Dillion

Curtis does our weekly live match-by-match coverage of WWE RAW and SmackDown for Ringside News. In addition to SmackDown, Curtis also does WWE & NXT special event coverage as well. He has been helping out at for Ringside News for many years.

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