The final Raw of 2016 came to us from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois, in front of a packed audience. While last week’s Raw, coming off a lacklustre Roadblock was even worse than the pay-per-view; things did pick up this week.
Far from the perfect show, this episode of Raw just moved things along, although there were some segments that were simply just mediocre. There were few surprises, but we expect a good pay off very soon, and hence we are optimistic. Presenting the best and worst of Raw, live from Chicago.
#1 Best: Stephanie McMahon shuts up a vocal crowd
We’ve been very hard on Stephanie McMahon, for her long, pointless and often annoying Authority segments on Raw, with very little chance of retribution, considering she’s a woman and inter-gender violence is a strict taboo in this era.
As expected, the Chicago crowd drowned her in CM Punk chants but Stephanie McMahon had a retort ready for the audience. In McMahon’s own words, ‘If you keep that up for 2 minutes, 15 seconds, you’d last one second longer than Punk did’.
This was a reference to C.M. Punk’s loss at UFC 203, to Mickey Gall in 2 minutes, 14 seconds only. That was one epic reply, Stephanie McMahon! You still got it and that deserves a slow clap...clap...clap...clap...clap! The loud Chicago crowd did not know what hit them.
#1 Worst: Peach
In the segment with Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Stephanie McMahon, it was surprisingly Rollins who made the botch of the night. Roman Reigns spoke about going backstage and teaching Braun Strowman a lesson. Rollins talked about joining him to ‘peach’ Strowman a lesson like they used to in the glorious days of The Shield!
Ummm, you enjoy fruit, Seth Rollins?
There were many flubs and stumbles by the announce team through the night. Both Corey Graves and Michael Cole stumbled on the name Cesaro. Graves blurted out ‘Cuzaro’ at some point, and Cole went one step further, getting stuck in a tongue twister.
When Xavier Woods scissor kicked Cesaro, Cole grovelled around before he got something like ‘si si si Cesaro’ out.
#2 Best: Booking the giants
Perhaps the only thing that Raw has done well since the brand split is elevating their giants!
Braun Strowman and Nia Jax started out in short squash matches, where they learned how to work in front of packed houses, and both of them look like vicious monsters. Braun Strowman is probably the MVP of Raw outside of Reigns, Rollins, Owens and Jericho and has been built up to look like a credible main eventer.
It was great to see how he was protected in the match against Rollins as well, where he seemed to have the upper hand.
The litmus test for Nia Jax will be how she fares against Sasha Banks in her program. While she was eliminated easily in the Survivor Series Raw vs. Smackdown match, it seems like she’s been built as an indestructible force once more. Only time will tell if Nia gets the same treatment that Braun Strowman does.
#2 Worst: The Club vs. Golden Truth
Remember when you first heard about Gallows and Anderson coming to WWE from New Japan Pro Wrestling and believed this will spice up the Tag Team Division in WWE? Wrong!
Everything you ever wanted them to achieve will forever remain a dream. Not only did they lose all momentum when they were split up from AJ Styles and made jobbers while The New Day chased Demolition’s record but they’ve fallen so far down the hierarchy of WWE, that they are feuding with The Golden Truth. Yes, over a Bayley Bear!
Oh no, we’re not done yet. They have been booked in such a weak manner, that even Goldust was made to look like a certified badass against them. The heels won with a roll up victory! Against the Golden Truth? Like really? Mr Gallows and Anderson, you should have just stayed put in Japan.
#3 Best: Tag Team Championship contest
Everyone impressed in the Tag Team Championship match at the start of the show. For once, Xavier Woods had a chance to shine and delivered a forearm, almost across the whole ring.
Cesaro and Sheamus work very cohesively and it will be exciting to see how they fare against The Revival if they are called up to Raw. We also got to see shades of old Kofi Kingston (not The Old Day), with his high flying moves. Great match with many near falls, really!
#3 Worst: The Enzo/Cass/Rusev/Jinder segment
We also didn't understand most of what Enzo said. In conclusion, this was an okay show but certainly not as good as this segment with Daivari and Gallagher. We do hope 2017 brings better segments to our television screens!
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