After a mediocre showing from the Roadblock: End of the Line PPV on Sunday, Raw looked to bounce back by dealing with the aftermath of the show, as well as laying the groundworks for feuds heading into the Royal Rumble on January 29th.
Nia Jax interrupted and assaulted a wounded Sasha Banks after her loss to Charlotte on Sunday. The tag teams of Raw clashed in an eight-man tag team match after a brawl broke out. Neville explained his actions from Roadblock to the WWE Universe.
Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens clashed with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in the main event, and Strowman made his feelings known by assaulting Reigns and Rollins to close the show. Although some segments were entertaining, this week’s Raw was a poor show, and it did little to entice fans after a weak PPV on Sunday.
So, which segments entertained, and which contributed to another poor showing from the red brand? Let’s find out, as I analyse and grade each segment from the December 19th edition of WWE Raw.
Cesaro, Sheamus and the New Day vs. the Shining Stars and The Club/ Possible plans for New Day
Grade: 6.5/10
The promo before this bout from New Day was solid, but it would’ve been nice to see them angry rather than goofing around with Cesaro, who just beat them for the titles. The new Raw Tag Team Titles are decent, but the old bronze design was better than the new red and silver that has been introduced.
The continuing tension between Cesaro and Sheamus is great, as their issues should never fail to arise on TV. In regards to the actual matchup, it was a fun, fast-paced eight-man tag match, although the winners were incredibly predictable. The Shining Stars and the Club have no momentum to speak of, and they were simply here to lose.
Another New Day and Cesaro and Sheamus clash looks set to occur, but hopefully, the Revival can be called up soon to freshen up the tag division on Raw. Till then, some more New Day vs. Cesaro and Sheamus matches are fine. Overall, a solid pre-match promo and eight-man tag match, but a predictable and insignificant bout nonetheless.
New Day could be heading towards a split, with a possible heel turn to freshen things up also being rumored. Whatever may be the case, the former WWE RAW Tag Team Champions do have a bright future.
Sasha Banks talks Iron Woman match:
Grade: 8/10
While Banks’ babyface promo was nothing special, it finally established the end of her feud with Charlotte, which is something that needed to happen on this edition of Raw from either woman. Banks did well to generate sympathy from fans, especially by excellently selling her leg injury.
Nia Jax interrupting and assaulting a wounded Banks was fantastic, as she generated strong heat from fans with a beatdown on the injured Boss. A feud between the two looks set to occur heading into the Rumble, and it is a perfect use of both women.
It is a fresh and exciting encounter, and Jax’s dominance compared to Banks’ heart should lead to an interesting dynamic. While Jax may end up losing, she will benefit greatly from working with Sasha, and this should be a stellar sub-feud for the Raw women’s division.
Overall, a strong segment that saw Jax and Banks kick-start their rivalry, with Jax drawing significant heat through a beatdown on the injured Banks.
The hilarious opening segment:
Grade: 7/10
Although it was great to see JeriKO back together as best friends, even their entertainment couldn’t save a ridiculously long segment. Had this segment wrapped up ten minutes earlier, this opening promo would have earned a higher grade.
The duo’s antics, however, were still wonderful to see back on our screens after a few weeks of tension, and their implosion seems to have been delayed, which is fine as long as they continue to be this fun to watch as a duo. Mick Foley coming out was necessary, considering Jericho ruined another main event, but it led to a much longer segment than needed.
The announcement that Reigns will get his rematch at the Rumble against Owens for the Universal title was fine, but the shark cage gimmick for the match seems dumb. We saw it in NXT less than a month ago, and it wasn’t very entertaining.
Even if it was humorous to see Jericho stranded in the cage, it is already a weak link for one of the Royal Rumble’s major matches. Reigns’ U.S. title looks set to be ignored once again as well, so I hope he drops the title before the Rumble.
While this was a solid segment, it dragged too long, and the shark cage gimmick is dumb for a major match at the Rumble.
Check out the segment here:
Big Cass vs. Rusev:
Grade: 5/10
This was way too short to be anything significant, with Cass getting himself disqualified after refusing to stop beating down Rusev. The face/heel dynamic is completely backwards here, with Cass refusing to stop assaulting the supposed ‘villain’ in Rusev. Considering Cass’ friend is the one who bad mouthed Rusev’s wife, this story has lacked logic.
If this match was given more time, it could’ve made more sense, but it was rushed. Hopefully, WWE clears up this story soon, as it continues to be confusing. Overall, a short, forgettable match that saw Cass come across as a villain by continuing to assault Rusev.
While Rusev did end up assaulting Enzo Amore viciously later, he still continues to come across as a sympathetic figure in this story, which needs to be changed in future weeks.
Cedric Alexander vs. Noam Dar:
Grade: 5/10
Although it is nice to see WWE focus outside the Cruiserweight title scene, Dar and Alexander’s issues should be about something more substantial than Alicia Fox’s affection. The match here was nothing special, with Dar and Alexander still lacking character direction.
For some reason, Dar is being portrayed as a heel, despite turning babyface a few weeks ago opposing Brian Kendrick. Little nuances like this hurt the Cruiserweights, and this feud is doing little to entice fans. Overall, a weak segment that saw Cruiserweights fighting over the affection of a woman, rather than an actual solid rivalry.
The match was short here as well, meaning this segment had little time to impress.
Neville speaks after his actions at Roadblock:
Grade: 8.5/10
This was a splendid promo and attack from Neville, who looks set to revitalise the Cruiserweight division all by himself. Motivated, angry and cynical, Neville had a clear and defined motivation for his attack on Swann and Perkins at Roadblock, and he looks set to challenge Swann for the title in the coming weeks.
His beatdown alongside Brian Kendrick on the duo again here was excellent, and this was a strong way to set up a tag team match for 205 Live as well. Neville was an obvious heel as well, berating the fans for cheering his attack at Roadblock and criticising the fans for their ‘sympathy’ cheers for him over the past year.
This clear character dynamic is something that has been missing in the Cruiserweights, but it looks set to return with Neville. Overall, a stellar promo and beatdown from Neville, who looks set to take the Cruiserweight division by storm.
Braun Strowman wreaks havoc:
Grade: 8.5/10
Back to back excellent segments on Raw? Well, this is a first!
Immediately after the stellar segment involving Neville, it appeared we would be getting a tedious Sin Cara vs. Titus O’Neill match. Instead, Braun Strowman made his way to the ring, and decimated the two men, eventually throwing Cara off the stage and onto a huge pile of Christmas boxes.
Demanding Mick Foley gives him Sami Zayn, Strowman was booked to perfection here as the out-of-control, relentless monster. His feud with Zayn looks set to continue flourishing, as Strowman was booked extremely well here.
Instead of resting on his laurels after a loss to Zayn at Roadblock, Strowman made a huge statement, and it led to one of the best segments of the night. Overall, a wonderful segment that saw Strowman decimate men on his path to revenge against Sami Zayn.
Charlotte vs. Bayley:
Grade: 7/10
Its baffling that WWE insists on giving away eventual PPV matches on Raw, as Charlotte vs. Bayley could’ve been saved exclusively for the Royal Rumble. Still, at least the title wasn’t on the line here like every Sasha vs. Charlotte match on Raw. This wasn’t Charlotte or Bayley’s best work either, and the match was decent but had a few sloppy moments.
WWE resorts to the ‘challenger beats Champion in a non-title match’ cliché way too often, and this led to a predictable result in Bayley picking up a fluke victory. While their feud should be great, this wasn’t the best start, but it will hopefully improve in the next few weeks heading into the Rumble.
Charlotte’s arrogant, vicious heel character does coincide perfectly with Bayley’s fun, underdog babyface persona, so hopefully that will be emphasised in the build of this rivalry. Still, not their best work in this match, and a predictable outcome.
Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns:
Grade: 7/10
This was a solid tag main event that capitalised on last night’s PPV ending, but this felt more like a house show bout than the kick-start to the build for the Royal Rumble. The only thing that saved this match from a lower grade was Kevin Owens’ trash talk throughout the bout.
His trash talk to his foes mid-match is just one of the little nuances that make him so great, and seeing him and Y2J pair up in a tag team again was fun as well. However, the Rollins/Reigns partnership is lacking, with Rollins in limbo right now without Triple H to feud with.
Until Triple H comes back, Rollins will be similar to Dean Ambrose at this time last year, merely Reigns’ sidekick. The Reigns/Owens feud benefited little from this either, meaning this match lacked significance. Another aspect of this match that saved this from being the same old was Strowman’s interference.
Usually, a Reigns and Rollins win would’ve been a guarantee, but Strowman injecting himself into this main event with a beatdown on the duo was a fresh and exciting finish. The seeds were possibly planted for a Strowman/Reigns feud moving forward, and Strowman continued to look like a monster with more attacks on babyfaces.
However, this meant the Strowman/Zayn feud came across as more intriguing and important than the Reigns/Owens feud, which shouldn’t be the case. Overall, a solid tag team main event with a surprising (but excellent) finish that saw Strowman wreak havoc as he demands a rematch with Sami Zayn, but the Reigns/Owens feud isn’t nearly as interesting, which is troubling for one of the top matches for the Royal Rumble PPV.
Check out the main event here:
Overall Grade for December 19th edition of Raw: 6.5/10
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