LAST week the superstars of SmackDown drew the battle lines for Survivor Series by invading Raw – so how would Kurt Angle and the red team respond?
With four big returns and the first member of Team Raw confirmed for Survivor Series, here are five things we learnt from Raw last night.
Kurt Angle is getting back in the ring at Survivor Series
After Kurt’s impromptu return at TLC, fans were left speculating about whether the Olympic Hero would wrestle again.
And it didn’t take long for WWE to confirm his next match.
Stephanie McMahon interrupted Kurt in the show’s opening promo, berating his managerial skills for letting SmackDown invade Raw last week.
Steph announced that Kurt would make up for his mistake by captaining the Raw team SmackDown at Survivor Series. But which superstars from Raw will join Kurt to take on SmackDown?
Matt Hardy’s prospects are broken
Kurt Angle made Miz defend his Intercontinental Championship against a mystery opponent, later revealed as Matt Hardy.
With Matt’s brother Jeff out of action, winning the IC belt would have been a good opportunity to give Matt a new direction.
The pair had an exciting matchup (check out Matt’s moonsault – a flashback to his daredevil days) but Miz retained with the Skull Crushing Finale.
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Where does this leave Matt Hardy? At the start of this year he was the hottest commodity in wrestling, but has slipped down the card since returning to WWE.
Has the innovator of “Broken Brilliance” been relegated to a glorified jobber?
Kane was back on the warpath
“The Big Red Monster” demolished another slew of younger talent backstage and in the ring.
First he attacked former tag partner Daniel Bryan backstage (Bryan had dropped by to speak with Kurt about last week’s invasion) and sent him to the hospital with a chokeslam.
Then Kane came out to attack Finn Bálor – who’d just defeated Cesaro – and hit him with dreadful looking Tombstone on the steel stage.
Not content with that, he then defeated Seth Rollins in singles competition and laid out Rollins and Ambrose with more Tombstones.
Where’s WWE going with this? Will Roman Reigns return next week to avenge his pals and topple the Demon?
It was a night of big returns
There’s nothing really on the line for the Raw v SmackDown feud at Survivor Series, so credit to WWE for making last night’s show action-packed and packed with returns.
Steph returned at the start of the night, followed by Nia Jax, who defeated Bayley to earn a spot on the women’s Survivor Series team.
Samoa Joe then made his return and cut a heel promo on the crowd – then annihilated poor Apollo Crews.
But the most monstrous return was saved for the end of the show…
Braun is back… and he’s been living in garbage a week
The big story of the night was Miz’s paranoia about Braun Strowman returning to get revenge on his teammates for stuffing him in a dumpster at TLC.
Miz tried to get help from TLC partners Kane and Sheamus and Cesaro, who all told him he was on his own.
He even tried to scarper from Raw, but Kurt Angle told Miz he had to stay until the end of the show “or else”.
As Miz was finally about to leave, a dumpster blocked his limo and – in a genuine laugh out loud moment – Braun emerged from the rubbish like a horror movie monster.
(So, we’re meant to believe he’s been lying in this garbage since TLC over a week ago? Or did he just clamber back in for dramatic effect?)
Braun then laid waste to Miz and his Miztourage in a fun beatdown – including a power slam through the announce table on Curtis Axel.
First the ambulance and now the garbage truck. Is there no vehicle Braun Strowman can’t emerge from to get the fans excited?
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