Reviews by Dave
By David E Houston II
Show air date: November 2, 2021
You Deserve It! No, You Don’t!
Unlike its Monday night counterpart, Tuesday Night Raw started with a very cliché and uninspired in-ring promo from new Women’s champion Mandy Rose, who made sure to do a job to Sexy Walking again. Dueling chants of “You deserve it” and “No, you don’t”. Funny. Some stuff with the rest of Rose’s Off-Brand Toxic Beautiful People and Io Shirai and Zoey Stark. If the only people to save you are Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter, take the ass whooping.
Miss me, all the way, with this Bullshit Bootleg Swinger’s Palace.
Dakota Kai defeated Cora Jade
Thankfully, Dakota Kai was back to get this show on track (never thought I would say it, but I’ve missed Kai). Or so I thought. She beat Cora Jade and it had some nice sequences but man, they had even more rough ones. The aftermatch stuff turned into a whole bunch of nothing.
He’s Just a Sexy Boy!
Xyon Quinn beat the hell out of Robert Stone after a just dreadful singing contest between the two.
A Man Behind a Monster
Finally had a good Joe Gacy segment. Now he looks interesting. A little less “woke heel” and more a man behind a monster in Harland.
Legado del Fantasma defeated Kyle O’Reilly and Von Wagner
Legado del Fantasma beat Kyle O’Reilly and Von Wagner in a good tag match that told a very good story of the more experienced team having to offset O’Reilly’s skill and Wagner’s overwhelming size.
Bron Breakker defeated Andre Chase
Andre Chase is very much an old-school lower-card heel, like an “Iron” Mike Sharpe. Good heel character who makes it easy to boo him and cheer his opponent. They should be careful. This is how you make a guy like him a face. He got mauled by Bron Breakker. A good way to get Breakker back on the winning track after his title match loss last week.
Folks talk bad about Bill Goldberg now (and not without good reason), but I saw quite a few guys busting out some Goldberg classics (Quinn’s Jackhammer, Breakker’s press powerslam).
A nothing much backstage interview with new NXT tag champs, Imperium.
Nothing says “scripted promo” like same time translation.
Fast Forward. Faster.
Lash Legend interviewed Tony D’Angelo. FF. Faster, dammit.
Solo Sikoa defeated Jeet Rama
Solo Sikoa dog walked Jeet Rama. It was too funny hearing commentary talk about how his family abandoned him and he had a feral existence, looking like the third Uso brother. That has to be a thing they do. Not immediately but down the roadways. Have to.
Boa defeated Grayson Waller
More dogs got walked as Boa finally beat somebody and it was that lame ass, goof ass Grayson Waller. Biggest babyface moment of the show for me. I’m getting Boa a little something for Christmas.
A lot of short matches this week but appropriately so.
Don’t Just Say You Have the Top Title
I had no real love for the exchange between NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa and North American champion Carmelo Hayes, but if Hayes is calling himself the “A champion”, he needs to target Ciampa. The goal is always supposed to be the top title, not just say you have the top title.
Main Event: Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams defeated Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis
Hayes and Trick Williams beat Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis in the main event. It was fine. Typical WWE tag match with all the expected beats, spots, and sequences. Williams’ inexperience was clear and he’s on TV way too soon. Nice win for the younger guys but did anyone see all this stuff between these two teams leading to a tag match and then Hayes-Ciampa?
I didn’t. Gargano looks like a perfect guy for Hayes to work a long-term program with before being another young guy fed to Ciampa.
It was okay. NXT 2.0 really is Tuesday Night Raw, and I saw another way it lives up to that nickname: if this was one hour shorter, it would come across a lot better.
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