Between an underwhelming Survivor Series and a TV effort that at best whelms, November was not a big month for the wrestling part of WWE. Becky Lynch and some inspired TV matches reigned.
1. RAW Women’s Champion vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (Survivor Series 11/21/21)
Given Becky and Charlotte’s longform rivalry and a live audience not yet exhausted by the choices WWE would make on pay-per-view, the opening match of Survivor Series already had an atmosphere going for it. It also just happened to be the match presented by WWE that most resembled an actual professional wrestling match in November. Strikes, stomps, and Scarlet Witch – sometimes that is all you need.
2. RAW Women’s Title: Becky Lynch [c] vs. Bianca Belair (RAW 11/1/21)
This also had the added advantage of resembling good, competitive, and entertaining pro wrestling. It closes with a buzzkill, but until then they were rocking.
3. King Woods vs. Roman Reigns (SmackDown 11/12/21)
Xavier Woods puts his crown on the line against Roman Reigns in a fun TV main event between two guys who have whatever this formula is down to a science. Reigns vs. Big E at Survivor Series had so much working against it and was bad on top of that — this was just good old-fashioned David vs. Goliath with Woods getting in some hot near falls.
4. WarGames Advantage Ladder Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Bron Breakker (NXT 11/30/21)
5. WarGames Advantage Ladder Match: Kay Lee Ray vs. Dakota Kai (NXT 11/30/21)
The boys and girls got in a couple good ones the last day of the month like they were on a deadline or something. This is two matches packed with ACTION~! The sight of Rick Steiner’s kid going full throttle on his first ladder bumps was tremendous, as was the part where he ran through Johnny’s clothesline then immediately hit a powerslam.
6. Nathan Frazer vs. Mark Andrews (NXT UK 11/11/21)
Fun exchange of high-flying between an NXT UK up-and-comer and a guy that feels on his way down even if he’s 29. Either way, cool stuff.
7. Big E vs. Chad Gable w/ Otis (RAW 11/8/21)
8. Finn Balor vs. Chad Gable w/ Otis (RAW 11/1/21)
Chad Gable had himself a couple of weeks, getting a bunch of offense in against Finn Balor and the WWE Champion. Every time Gable has little angles like this it is more than obvious that WWE’s top talents want him to shine, but then he just goes back to not doing that. At least we had this, back-to-back weeks of countering Balor’s Jon Woo dropkick with a jackknife cradle and casually suplexing Big E.
9. Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens (RAW 11/15/21)
Another good solid RAW TV match. Embrace the good times, even if they are starting to seem distant.
10. Triple Threat Match – NXT North American Title: Carmelo Hayes [c] vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Pete Dunne (NXT 11/23/21)
Ultimately just a setup for a big brawl and WarGames announcement, but until then these three were moving.
Honorable Mentions: Fatal 5-Way Match – Winner Earns a RAW Women’s Title Opportunity: Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan vs. Queen Zelina vs. Carmella (RAW 11/8/21), Drew McIntyre vs. Ricochet (SmackDown 11/5/21), Winner Joins Team SmackDown at Survivor Series: Cesaro vs. Sheamus vs. Ricochet vs. Jinder Mahal (SmackDown 11/19/21)
Pete Dunne vs. Carmelo Hayes (NXT 11/9/21), Sasha Banks vs. Shotzi (SmackDown 11/19/21), Mark Andrews vs. Jordan Devlin (NXT UK 11/25/21), Sarray vs. Kay Lee Ray (NXT 11/9/21), Cesaro & Mansoor vs. Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo (SmackDown 11/5/21), RAW Tag Team Champion vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champion: RK-Bro vs. The Usos (Survivor Series 11/21/21)
