WWE Raw Match Ratings, Analysis, Podcast Notes 10/16/17 From Sean Ross Sapp

Sierra Hotel India Echo Lima Delta SHIELD
5.5/10

• The Shield is back with their old gear and music. 
• Dean Ambrose's stuff doesn't fit very well.
• Here's to hoping Reigns gets an overhaul after this. Put him in Aaron Aguilera's old getup for all I care. Just something different.
• They challenge their four opponents, but Angle prevents it. Aw, Kurt.
• A harmless and effective opening segment. Note that we'll start rating some segments. Not all of them, but some.

Titus Worldwide & Jason Jordan defeated Elias & The Good Brothers
4.75/10

• Elias and The Good Brothers are out. These guys have great chemistry and Elias has great command of the crowd. 
• The Good Brothers warm up by singing Honky Tonk Man's theme to great heat.
• They sing a song about Jason Jordan being a nerd. It's great.
• Michael Cole puts over that a female Indy Car driver joined Titus Worldwide. That's pretty cool.
• How is this Elias/Titus Worldwide thing a feud? Elias always beats them. This is stalking.
• Apollo does beat Karl Anderson, though. Well I'll shut up now.

Backstage crappenings

• Alexa Bliss asks Emma to team with her against Mickie and whatever partner she can find. Why isn't Alexa teaming with Nia Jax? Aren't they friends again? Zero continuity. They say Asuka has done nothing, which I think is dumb to do for a new audience.

Cedric Alexander (w/ Rich Swann) defeated Jack Gallagher (w/ The Brian Kendrick)

4.75/10

• Rich Swann comes out to even the odds ahead of this match. They gave us a bit of a primer for this, which I hope they showed to the live crowd, too.
• Seated crossface headlocks aren't how I'd get these guys over.
• Cedric's Lumbar Check is, though. What a cool move.

Miz TV

• Why is Cesaro talking with his mouth guard in? There's a lot of nothing in the first few minutes of this.
• Braun is the guest. He says "The announcement table." It has a new name now. That's the name. 
• The Miz says that he's adding a fifth member. The crowd chant for Curtis Axel and he's doing the Birdman hand rub.
• Angle says that if Braun Strowman defeats Roman Reigns tonight, TLC is a 5 on 3 match. If he loses, it's back to a 3 on 3. Awesome way to add stakes to the main event.
• Everyone banned from ringside for all Shield matches tonight.

Sasha Banks defeated Alicia Fox
4.75/10

• Alicia Fox is shown complaining about not having a t-shirt, even though she has one now.
• Alicia is really committed to the character, which I appreciate. 
• The "it's boss time" line always makes me groan. WWE can't think that's a good thing to shove.
• The usual spots. A great backbreaker, Banks Statment, Sasha wins.
• Sasha Banks was good and marked up after this match. Alicia goes off. She's great.
• After the match, Alicia attacks Sasha backstage.

Enzo Amore
5/10

• Enzo is out in a Canadian Tuxedo. He has to lamely throw to a video from last week. These should be shown ahead of the segment.
• More fart noises when Kalisto comes out. He unloads some really shitty lines.
• Enzo kills him on a promo. Then Drew Gulak, Noam Dar, Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese attack him.
• Mustafa Ali comes out to a little more of a reaction. He has no build and can't get over because he's jumped. Great. What everyone wants to cheer — someone getting their ass kicked after making a dumb decision.
• Another Rey Mysterio reference. 

Raw Tag Team Championships
The Shield (c) defeated The Bar to retain the championships
6.5/10

• Standard stuff until a pop-up uppercut that hits hard.
• The crowd is heated up for the Ambrose tag.
• The match gets cooked in a hurry. Nothing that would stand out from a note perspective, just some really great tag team wrestling.
• Sheamus steals Alicia Fox's backbreaker.
• Dirty Deeds gets the win. This was exceptional. Fundamentals and drama. 
• Curtis Axel is giving The Bar and Braun Strowman a pep talk. Curtis Axel says he wants to fight Roman Reigns right now. 

The Demon

• Why are we supposed to care about this Balor angle? Because he's the Demon? Neat. I can't think of a single hot feud Balor has had in years. That's not good.

Mickie James & Bayley defeated Alexa Bliss & Emma
4.25/10

• Bayley has been getting nice reactions the last few weeks.
• We get a good amount of your standard "doesn't mean anything women's tag" match. Complete with breakdown spot that leads to a commercial.
• Emma is the best tag wrestler on the women's main roster. 
• Sad looking flying Thesz Press from Mickie James.
• Mick Kick gets the win. This wasn't too hot. It was just there.
• Charly Caruso tiptoes around Mickie James' age. Tamina is older than Mickie James, btw. She calls Alexa "biscut butt."

Steel Cage Match
Braun Strowman defeated Roman Reigns
6.5/10

• Axel is shown hung upside down backstage before the match. Wow. He was creeping on the Shield backstage.
• Miz says he was never the fifth man. Uh oh.
• Braun Strowman scores a nice delayed spinebuster. Still adding to his arsenal.
• The Shield, The Bar both interfere despite being banned from ringside.
• Strowman drags in Reigns by his vest to hit an ugly, awesome superplex.
• A big brawl involving those not in the match spills into the backstage area, and Miz locks them all out.
• One of the biggest Superman Punches ever gets a two. That was awe-inspiring. 
• KANE returns and comes through the ring. Wonder if he's mad about his bro. 
• So uh….who did Daniel Bryan get for Kane? He kicks Reigns' ass real proper. 
• Strowman wins. Pretty well done I thought.