WWE Survivor Series Build Bores, Ricochet Deserves Better and More Raw Fallout

The November 9 edition of WWE Raw featured much of nothing. This empty event mostly tried to build Survivor Series 2020.

The attempts fell flat. AJ Styles cannot get the rowdy bunch of Braun Strowman, Keith Lee, Sheamus and Riddle to work together, while Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler care more about embarrassing Lana than winning.

At every turn, Raw has been falling apart, and it begins with the Survivor Series build. No one is putting in enough work to sell the stagnant brand-warfare storyline.

Elsewhere on the card, Ricochet continued to make an impact in spite of WWE. His ridiculous moves can rival anyone, including Mustafa Ali. The two are building toward a rivalry, but they deserve more.

The Money in the Bank briefcase as well as the 24/7 Championship have also disappointed with flat delivery. The Miz and John Morrison lost again. R-Truth added two more title reigns to his one-sided story as champion with gold that needs to be retired.

It was not a great night, but certain fallout stands above the rest. WWE always has a plan, even if it can be a long road to get there.

Survivor Series Build Has Brought All of Raw to a Screeching Halt

At this point, it is fully clear what stories Raw is telling heading into Survivor Series, and none of it is good. Despite a talented roster that has more overall stars than SmackDown, the show has lagged weekly to the point of boredom.

The main culprit is the pay-per-view focus as once again brand loyalty is supposed to bring together rivals. The Raw men's team cannot get on the same page as makes complete sense, but the antics to get them there have grown sour.

The Raw women's division is two tag teams and Lana, and the teams have just parked themselves on opposite sides. The storytelling is bland, highlighted by the repeated spot of Lana going through the announce table thanks to Nia Jax.

Asuka has been such an afterthought to Shayna Baszler and Jax's antics. Bobby Lashley has barely thought about Sami Zayn so far. Randy Orton has been ducking Drew McIntyre and Bray Wyatt too much to even utter Roman Reigns' name.

It's all so flat. Nothing about this brand rivalry makes sense. This was true in other years, but at least the talent had momentum. Every story has ground to a halt while every angle is the same nonsense about putting everything aside to stand as the one true great brand.

No one even wants to admit that last year NXT stomped both Raw and SmackDown, and the yellow-and-black brand got nothing out of it.

The 24/7 Championship Has Become a Crutch for Excusing Underused Talent

The 24/7 Championship cannot fall any further. After an embarrassing series of pinfalls where seven different men held the title within the same minute, it truly feels like the title has lost all appeal.

Set up as a way to highlight underused talent, the belt has become an excuse for keeping stars like Drew Gulak, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik down. Even Tucker's supposed rivalry with Otis has been put on the back burner so that he can win an empty title.

R-Truth has been the only one to truly benefit from the gold. He is a 44-time champion, a record no champion will ever break, and it only grows weekly. He has solidified his veteran run as worthy of a Hall of Fame induction upon retiring.

While Truth benefits, no one else does. No other wrestler has gone beyond seven reigns, and Rob Gronkowski holds the longest run at 67 days because he chose to rejoin the NFL. Nothing about the title is prestigious.

The entire brand is in shambles, and it is leading to some of the most talented men in WWE doing nothing but the same comedy segment every week. If WWE just changed the concept a bit, an undercard title could be useful, but that is likely never happening.

Ricochet Deserves So Much Better (And So Does Mustafa Ali)

Ricochet and Mustafa Ali put on the best show of Monday night, but that should not be a surprise. Two of the most talented multi-dimensional performers in wrestling, they deserve so much better.

This feels especially appropriate for Ricochet, who has the athletic ability to match anyone in the business. His ability to rotate in the air is on another level. He has had ups and downs in the last year, but it feels like he is close to rock bottom.

To his credit, Ali has taken the ball and run with it as the leader of Retribution. However, the ball has been deflated from the start. He was left with little to work with. This was the group's first win since debuting.

Ali and Ricochet are cut from a similar cloth. They are smaller guys who can do more in the ring than WWE's true heavyweights could ever dream of. Ali has the benefit of cutting promos that resonate while The One and Only can lay claim to being one of the absolute best in the world at what he does.

Neither man should be in a position where an incredible match between them is a shock to casual audiences. Ali and Ricochet bring it all every time, and it is time to fully accept that.

Money in the Bank Has Rewarded The Miz and John Morrison with Losing Streak

Once again, The Miz and John Morrison inserted themselves into the WWE Championship picture and lost. It was a big spotlight in the main event. However, The Shaman of Sexy and The A-Lister cannot seem to catch a break.

It is a ridiculous time-honored tradition that the Money in the Bank winner loses until cashing in. This was another chance to embarrass and slow the momentum of two of WWE's most charismatic stars.

At this point, it is hard to imagine Miz as WWE champion. He has been there before but on a weaker card and with more momentum. The A-Lister was one of the top rising heels in the business. He and Morrison are has-beens given recent work.

While Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre and Bray Wyatt all make a case to be the titleholder, Miz and Morrison have not gotten remotely close. If Otis doesn't win back the case, The A-Lister will lose on his cash-in.

This is all a waste of charismatic talent as always. It would be appreciated if Miz at least built momentum first.