It was a night of history on this week’s Monday Night Raw as New Day approached their final hours until cracking the more than two-decade-old Tag Team record held by Demolition. The trio would have to jump through more hoops than they bargained for, but in the end, history was theirs.
The other big development on Raw was the further implosion of Kevin Owens’ and Chris Jericho’s friendship. Their time as best buds was much too short and now that Y2J helped feed KO into a Roman Reigns’ spear, there’s likely nothing left to salvage.
As far as the “botches and slip ups” go, Raw was fairly crisp this time around. That’s always a good thing to report, and it gives this article series more of an opportunity to focus on the “outrageous” side of things – and there were several.
One fan brought in a sketchy sign about a disgraced former Penn St. coach; Xavier Woods got a touching chant for a late family member, and Sami Zayn was given the roast of the year because Mick Foley is simply savage when he wants to be.
So without any further delay, here are 5 of the most outrageous moments from this edition of Monday Night Raw...
#5 Is Santa a Cruiserweight?
Rich Swann faces off against both Brian Kendrick and T.J. Perkins this Sunday at Roadblock, with his Cruiserweight Championship on the line. He was asked about his chances of retaining while backstage and said that he could take them on; as well as the entire cruiserweight division.
Swann also starting to say that he could hold his own against the big man of Chrismas himself, Santa Claus.
It’s such a shame that Kendrick interrupted Swann at this point because I really wanted to see where The Outlandish one was going with this. Can whoever interviews Swann next ask him to complete this sentence?
#4 For Grandma
The biggest story of the night, as well as the year, was New Day’s final push for the all-time record for holding their Tag Team Championships. Due to a champagne mishap with Stephanie McMahon, one Triple Threat Tag Team Championship Match became two, and they were incredibly hard-fought. In the end, New Day hit this historic milestone.
As seen from the beginning of the show, Xavier Woods dedicated this special night to his grandmother. On a night when Philly hilariously chanted “Scoundrel” along with Jack Gallagher, they also showed that they truly are the city of Brotherly Love, when they rooted “Grandma” for Xavier.
That was a surprising moment that turned out to be outrageously heartwarming.
#3 Twisty Bayley
After Bayley gave Cedric Alexander a stuffed bear on Raw last week, Alicia Fox wasn’t too happy and now hates her. Sure, that’s well enough. Actually, Bayley doesn’t seem to harbour any hatred to Fox and if this moment during their match on Raw is any indication, she’s not letting Foxy stop her from having any sort of fun.
Bayley won with her Bayley to Belly finisher in under 3 minutes, which is pretty decisive. It would be really shocking if they were to battle again at this Sunday’s Roadblock PPV.
#2 “Joe Pa Knew”
While Rusev and Lana were in the ring making people think that they might get a chance to see what goes on in their intimate lives, one of the most cringy fan signs in quite a while was seen on camera.
For anybody who might not be familiar, Joe Pa is the shortened name of former Penn St. Football coach Joe Paterno. He was highly regarded in his sport, until the final months of his life when it was revealed that a defensive coordinator was involved in many years of sexual abuse towards children.
He was fired from his job and died shortly thereafter. FBI investigations claimed that Paterno was aware of the abuse and knowingly concealed facts, as well as encouraged others in the university not to report their suspicions, while it continued. That’s some heavy stuff.
With Raw airing live this week from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it’s shocking to see a sign like this, not only make it into the arena but find its way on television.
#1 A talent of equal value
Sami Zayn was fed up with Mick Foley’s refusal to give him another match with Braun Strowman, so he demanded to be traded to SmackDown. This had all been simmering for weeks and honestly, Sami on SmackDown sounded like a great idea. Foley claimed to have made a call to Daniel Bryan and was able to agree to a trade for an equivalent talent.
This set up one of the sickest burns of the year.
Before Foley revealed who Zayn was getting traded for, faint “Ellsworth” chants rumbled in the crowd. Don’t worry Philly, Foley was about to top even him. Mick told Sami that his trade was to be with Eva Marie, which undoubtedly crushed the former NXT Champion. It was quite the insult and he looked totally dejected after hearing it.
In response to this segment, Eva Marie tweeted out that “Negotiations fell through, Raw can’t afford my contract!” At least she was a good sport about the ribbing.
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