Most weeks, we get one real storyline out of Raw and a lot of filler. The Nov 9 show in Greenville handed us three at once, all pointed at Survivor Series: WarGames on Nov 28 in Houston. (WWE has apparently decided that scarcity is for other promotions.) There is a 5-on-5 with a flag on each side, there is CM Punk picking a team, and there is Jacob Fatu coming back to burn something down. I think only one of those three decides what Houston feels like.
What does Team USA vs Team Mexico actually add?
It adds a clean 5-on-5 elimination frame and two captains, Cody Rhodes for Team USA and Rey Mysterio for Team Mexico. CM Punk joined Rhodes, Penta joined Rey, and Je’Von Evans got an invite, which splits the World Tag Team Champions onto opposing sides.
That is a real hook, and the Punk part is the loudest piece of it. He said he could beat five guys in five weeks or in one night to get back into the Undisputed WWE Championship picture, then helped Rhodes and Rey clear house against Dominik and JD McDonagh. (Rhodes and Rey sharing a ring without a punch thrown at each other is its own small event.)
Dominik is the loose thread. He asked to join Team USA and Rhodes declined. He then asked to replace Rey as Team Mexico captain, and Rey refused. Two doors, two slammed shut, and a man with no team.
So the 5-on-5 has two captains, Punk on one side, and a built-in Penta versus Evans problem for two men who hold tag gold together. Each side still has names to fill in before Nov 28, and the speculation about who gets them will run on its own every week between now and Houston. (Fans will supply the lists whether WWE asks or not.) It is a fun puzzle, and a puzzle makes a better undercard than main event.
https://x.com/WWE/status/2119994967686828140
Why does the trailer fire matter more than the 5-on-5?
Because it is the one moment of the night with literal fire in it. The Usos, Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu torched The 946’s trailer, Fatu hit Royce Keys with a Samoan Drop, and Roman Reigns challenged The 946 to a WarGames match.
Think about what led there. Fatu was run over backstage by Jaida Parker on Raw on Sept 28 and had been gone since. Before that, Royce Keys and his crew attacked The Usos back in September. That was the setup, and Raw cashed it in.
Keys came out with police escorts and attacked Roman Reigns from behind. Reigns answered by challenging The 946 to a WarGames match on behalf of The Bloodline, and the match is now set for Nov 28. Then Fatu, back after weeks away, hit Carmelo Hayes with a Frog Splash through the announce desk. WWE put the exclamation points in the caption itself: “JACOB FATU IS BAACK!!!” (Subtlety was not on the call sheet, and nobody missed it.)
This is where the two stories separate. Team USA vs Team Mexico is a match with a card slot and some open roster spots. The trailer fire is a feud with a revenge motive, a burned trailer to prove it, and a WarGames stipulation already attached. A 5-on-5 elimination match can be very good. WarGames needs a reason for everyone to want in, and Fatu supplied one.
There is also a simple matter of who has to answer to whom. Rhodes and Rey can pick teammates all month, but The 946 has a trailer to explain and The Bloodline has a challenge on the table. One of those stories asks for a reply, and the other asks for a roster.
Meanwhile the rest of Raw kept filling the undercard. Oba Femi beat Bron Breakker by DQ after Austin Theory and Logan Paul interfered, with Penta and Evans running out to even the odds. Rey Fenix pinned Chad Gable in a Triple Threat with Big Cass after a splash off the top rope and is now the No. 1 contender for Ethan Page’s Intercontinental title. Good business, all of it, and all of it fits around the edges of a bigger event.
I would put it like this. Punk chasing the Undisputed WWE Championship picture gives the 5-on-5 a headline name, and I think that matters. A headline name gives the match a poster, though, and the Houston show will be remembered for what happens when Fatu, the Usos and Sikoa meet The 946 inside WarGames.
My verdict: Fatu’s return defines Nov 28. Team USA and Team Mexico will get the roster debates and the flags, and Punk will get the chants. The Bloodline and The 946 get the night.
