Match Ratings For WWE Raw 2/11/19, Podcast Notes From Sean Ross Sapp Of Fightful.com

The Man

• Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are in the ring and throw to videos from what happened last week.
• Becky Lynch comes out before her introduction. Triple H apologizes to Becky Lynch for how things went down last week.
• Triple H and Stephanie say that Becky Lynch got checked out by her doctors, who confirmed with WWE about her health. Now all she has to do is apologize and the match is on.
• Becky Lynch refuses to apologize and says they’re trying to steal her moment from her. She says she’ll fight either of them or Vince McMahon if she has to. She says to shove the apology up Triple H’s ARSE.

Loser enters the Elimination Chamber first
Samoan Slaughterhouse defeats Boss N’ Hug Connection and Riott Squad (w/ Ruby Riott)
5.5/10

• WWE continues to do a good job adding some stakes to most matches on their TV these days
• Nia and Tamina cut a solid inset promo.
• Sarah Logan sells a headbutt she gives to Nia. Great stuff. Tamina lands a punch that Liv Morgan sells incredibly. 
• Liv gets some offense, but tags out to Bayley, who gets steamrolled by Nia. Ruby attacks Sasha as we go to commercial.
• Sasha Banks is being tended to as we go to a break. 
• Tamina is working one of the best matches of her career. She’s working the big share of this match, but not messing up at all. Riott Squad does a reverse powerbomb combo on her.
• Nia applies a modified Cobra Clutch on Logan but gets posted.Tamina then eats knees on a Superfly Splash attempt.
• Bayley tags herself in and rope Stunners Tamina and Liv. Bayleys apron dropkick will now be called the Pedal-By.
• Tamina takes out Bayley and Liv. Nia wins with a Samoan drop on Bayley. 
• I thought everyone involved in that women’s tag match did great. Why would Tamina break up the Liv Pin? Isn’t not losing the same as winning. Only qualm.

WALK WITH LUCHA

• Elias is interrupted by a backstage Becky/Balor segment, then a video package, then Lucha House Party. Elias plays it perfectly.
• Lucha House Party say they want to Walk With Elias. 
• Elias plays a song, and they give it a thumbs down to no reaction.
• Kalisto starts playing the guitar pretty well and Elias asks to play a duet.
• Instead,  he hilariously busts Kalisto with a guitar and runs away. This was goddamn hilarious.
• WWE didn’t have an idea or a plan for Elias as a face, so at least with him being a heel we can watch him being hilarious all the time.

Finn Balor defeated Drew McIntyre via DQ
N/A (Short)

• Lashley and Lio Rush are out to watch and distract Balor, allowing Drew to attack.
• Balor kicks Drew to the outside, and Lashley trips Balor up. 
• Balor fights them off and has Drew set up for the Coup de Grace, but Lashley interferes for the DQ.
• Drew & Lashley beat down Balor.
• Kurt Angle makes the save and takes everyone out until Corbin attacks from behind. 
• Braun makes the save and the heels retreat.

Finn Balor, Braun Strowman & Kurt Angle defeated Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre & Baron Corbin (w/ Lio Rush)
5.25/10

• Of course we get a six-man tag, because WWE just had to waste 10-15 minutes for nothing when they have a bunch of wrestlers who want to leave. 
• Angle hits a series of suplexes and a garbage missile dropkick to McIntyre. Lashley does a Flatliner behind the ref’s back to turn the tides. 
• The heels work over Angle. It continues through the commercial. We come back to see Drew trash talking him (again). 
• Angle hits him and tags out to Balor. Finn runs wild.
• Strowman is outside and is bullying Corbin around until Drew comes out of nowhere with a Claymore. That can’t be good on Drew. 
• Lashley eats ring post and Balor takes out Drew and Corbin with a Tope Con Hilo. Lio rush gets punched, too. 
• The distraction is enough to lead to Lashley hitting a launching Deposit for the win. Balor’s foot was on the ropes and the blind ref misses it. 
• I haven’t seen refs buried quite as much as they have been in the last three weeks.
• A ref comes out and gets the other to restart the match. It happens. Wow.
• Drew Claymores Braun over the barricade during the break.
• Corbin’s Bossman spot is countered by a Balor Eye of the Hurricane. 
• Balor gets worked over, but Braun claws his way back over to the apron. All of a sudden he gets a hot tag and he’s fine. Huh.
• Braun runs over EVERYONE.
• Angle German suplexes Corbin on the floor. 
• Braun with a Running Powerslam on Lashley, Balor with a Coup de Grace. Pinfall and a win. 
• There are like ten wrestlers who want out of WWE, asked for their releases, aren’t re-signing, or are playing hardball because of creative problems with WWE and for some reason WWE thought this segment needed to be 41 minutes.

Introspective Becky

• There is a super awkward conversation backstage between Finn Balor and Becky about what Becky should do. Balor keeps comparing it to his own situation and tells Becky to swallow her pride.
• Ronda Rousey tells Becky Lynch much of the same, saying they have a chance to break ground. She grabs Becky’s arm and tells her to man up and swallow her pride. Becky isn’t happy. 
• Alexa Bliss tries to talk some sense into Becky, but Becky says she doesn’t believe Alexa has a genuine bone in her body.

Ruby Riott defeated Nikki Cross
5.75/10

• This is a great matchup that we haven’t seen a hundred times, and I’m excited to check it out. 
• The headscissors turnbuckle smash hits for Riott. 
• The Rousey/Becky promo being in the middle of a Ruby Riott/Nikki Cross match was really weird considering there was a 41 minute segment that preceded it.
• There is zero heat for this match, but they have to get Riott a win badly. 
• I love that the drop down from Ruby Riott worked as an offensive tactic as intended.
• Nikki does the falling reverse DDT on the apron. This is followed by a body press to the floor and an apron attack.
• Riott Kick wins it. This would have been rated higher, but ZERO HEAT. 

Backstage Crappenings

• We got an odd, cell phone update from Kevin Owens at a bowling alley. He’s back next month.

Rollins and Heyman

• Seth Rollins comes out and says this was the year that the fans were going on the journey with him, but he took six F5s.
• Rollins honestly says a whole lot of nothing and acts like WrestleMania could be his last match.
• Paul Heyman comes out without Lesnar and runs down Rollins’ chances. Rollins cuts him off and steals Heyman’s promo style and says it’s a “spoiler.”
• Dean Ambrose comes out and tells Rollins to slay the Beast. 

Dean Ambrose defeated EC3
4.75/10

• EC3 and Ambrose are running this one back. EC3 flattens him with a big clothesline.
• I get the feeling there isn’t much heat because THEY HAVEN’T LET EC3 TALK.
• A second rope dropkick gets the crowd going a little. 
• A chop battle gets them popping, too, but EC3 stops things with a body slam.
• Ambrose counters the TKO by running EC3 into the post. 
• A small package wins it for Ambrose.
• This was really basic, no heat, and 50/50 booking. These two deserve more. 

WWE Raw Tag Team Titles
The Revival defeated Roode & Gable (c)
7/10

• These two team have been tearing it up on the live events. 
• Gable bridges and rolls out of a wristlock, and ends up hitting a moonsault to the outside onto both Dawson & Wilder. 
• Dash ends up diving into the ropes, and Gable gets tagged in. The crowd is dead and has been all night.
• Gable RUNS WILD and gets a two on a German suplex. 
• Revival hit a Shatter Stun Gun for two. Dawson has such a great belly-to-back suplex. 
• The Revival land a nice Decaptiation Elbow. 
• Gable tosses German suplexes out all day long.
• We come back from a break to see Roode running wild and hitting a big spinebuster on Dash.
• The Revival get a two count on a GREAT Gory Special facebuster. 
• Gable SCMACKS Dawson hard with a body press. 
• Dash avoids a Roodesault, but instead eats a Glorious German Blockbuster. Dawson breaks up the pin!
• A Powerbomb/body press gets two for The Revival! A Shatter Machine wins it off the second rope. The Revival win the titles!
• Look at that. Crowd was DEAD at the beginning of this match, and good tag team wrestling changed it.
• A hot crowd would have pushed this a lot higher.

BEX

• Triple H and Stephanie tell Becky Lynch they want this to work out.
• Becky teases apologizing, but then says she’s sorry. 
• Triple H shakes Becky Lynch’s hand. 
• Ronda Rousey comes out, but Vince McMahon comes out.
• Vince McMahon says Becky Lynch is suspended for 60 days, and WWE needs Charlotte Flair. Vince just wasn’t good there. 
• Vince is always like “let’s get this shit over with” when he’s out there now.
•  

Rating guide

10- Perfect, 9- MOTY Territory, 8- Excellent, 7- Great, 6- Good, 5- Average to above average, 4- Slightly below average, 3 or below: Poor

Each match starts at a 5 and slides up and down based on entertainment, execution, time, environment, reaction and stakes. The ratings are in no way an indication of a “star rating,” which is a completely different system. A standard, non-offensive “TV match” lands at a 5.The gap between 5.75-6 is generally the largest, with anything reaching 6 being recommended viewing.
These are opinions, and incredibly inconsistent ones. Don’t take them too seriously, and have (and share) your own!