If you felt something about the end of the #1 contender’s match for the 4Way Intercontinental Title in raw Last night (November 6), you weren’t alone. And clearly, you and your fellow wrestling fans who feel that way are right – at least according to Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer. Published on X:
Just a note about last night’s Raw. Ricochet wasn’t supposed to hit the Ivar moonsault and it was supposed to be a simultaneous double pin. That’s why it looked so awkward on TV. I think Ricochet got shaken up earlier in the match when his head hit the mat.
You can find evidence to support this in the video. The scene was filmed in the usual manner for double pins in multi-person matches. It seemed like Ivar, the referee, and the announce team of Michael Cole and Wade Barrett were expecting Ricochet to stay down for the entire three count in this situation.
There’s no word on whether Ivar beating up The Miz after the match (who pinned Bronson Reed while kicking out Ricochet) was always part of the plan or overheard. WWE has already announced a singles match between Miz and Ivar for next Monday’s show. We’ll likely learn in the coming days if that will at some point lead to a “tie-breaker” from last night’s 4Way. If the original would set up a three-way defense of the Intercontinental Championship for Gunther at Survivor serieswe may get a non-finish or intervention next week to justify a return to target.
More important than the story’s machinations is Ricochet’s health. While discussing the match with Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio Today, Brian Alvarez said that Ricochet suffered a concussion when his head hit the mat earlier in the match. The flying star will now need to be medically cleared by WWE before wrestling again.
If true, this is the latest example we have of a wrestler continuing in a match after suffering a brain injury. Although Jon Moxley’s proposed solution to deal with concussions during matches may have difficulty dealing with an example like this – especially since… raw She appeared again with a kayfabe knockout by Xia Li, this time against Becky Lynch which led to Adam Pearce informing the man that she I couldn’t participate In a battle royal for the #1 Women’s World Championship – the wrestling industry needs to continue to try to improve the way it handles situations like this before we debate something much worse than a potential botched finish.
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