The following editorial was written by Tyler Treese and does not reflect the views of WrestleZone as a whole. Feel free to chime in on our WWE RAW review in the comments below.

WWE RAW Review

Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW was a jam packed one full of interesting events after Survivor Series. To help you digest the episode, check out our five takeaways from the latest episode that showcased the red brand in our WWE RAW review for the November 19, 2018 episode.

Baron Is Going To Get These Hands

RAW opened up with a couple of big match announcements from Stephanie McMahon, who has been acting more like a face authority figure as of late. She revealed that Braun Strowman will go up against acting RAW General Manager Baron Corbin at WWE TLC next month, and that if Braun won then Corbin would no longer be GM. If that wasn’t enough of a stipulation, Strowman will also get a shot at the Universal Championship if he wins the match. Stakes are high, and it’s good to establish some meaning for TLC, which is starting to look like a really solid pay-per-view event.

McIntyre, Lashley & Corbin Assault Strowman

No male roster member looks like more of a star at the moment than Drew McIntyre. He’s been looking incredible in the ring, and he looked absolutely monstrous after teaming up with Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin to viciously attack Strowman with a chair after a lengthy six-man tag. His Claymore Kick finisher is absolutely brutal, and I hope he gets a Universal Championship match sooner rather than later.

Clearly WWE sees that they have a star with McIntyre and he deserves every ounce of this current push. Assaulting Strowman and injuring his arm also makes the upcoming TLC match all the more interesting.

WWE Continues To Use Leukemia As Storyline Fodder

I was really enjoying the Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins feud, but constantly bringing up Roman Reigns’ battle with cancer seems in bad taste. I get we’re supposed to hate Dean Ambrose, but him saying that Roman Reigns “deserved” what happened to him just makes me annoyed at the writers backstage. They might think this is getting heat on him, but I’m not sure it’s really helping. All it did was make me uncomfortable with the story as cancer has taken so many lives, and I don’t see how putting the attention on someone who won’t be at the match really helps long-term. Just because there is cheap heat available doesn’t mean you have to go for it especially when the main focus of Rollins and Ambrose’s broken relationship is far more interesting.

Rousey Takes On Mickie James

It’s awfully rare to get a Ronda Rousey match on WWE RAW, but that’s just what fans were treated to tonight. The former UFC powerhouse went up against WWE veteran Mickie James. It was a cool match-up to see (even if it wasn’t much of a match), but what was more telling was how the crowd responded to Rousey. Despite being heavily booed at the end of Survivor Series, she was heavily cheered during RAW. It goes to show you that one night’s reaction isn’t a huge deal, and Rousey is still largely liked by the audience.

It’s Hard To Care About The Riott Squad

The Riott Squad are supposed to be nefarious heels, but considering they’ve lost every main feud they’ve had since they were called up from NXT they mostly just look incompetent. It’s really too bad since Ruby Riott is a wonderful wrestler, but I haven’t found myself caring about any of their feuds so far. Natalya was able to get a win tonight, and avenge the memory of her father, but it’s just hard to really care about. So many women are firing on all cylinders at the moment in WWE, and yet the Riott Squad is simply there, doing their job to be evil every other week and losing matches.

Feel free to give your own WWE RAW review in the comments below!

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