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With less than a week to go for WWE TLC, several major segments were planned for this week’s RAW. AJ Styles and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre were part of the 'Ascension Ceremony' ahead of their TLC match for the title.
Lana faced Nia Jax before her big WWE Women’s Championship match with Asuka on Sunday Night. Bray Wyatt brought out his friends from the Firefly Fun House for a little field trip to the Thunderdome during RAW.
Jeff Hardy teamed up with The New Day to take on The Hurt Business just days before The New Day’s RAW Tag Team Championship defense against Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin.
Elias found a new bodyguard in Jaxson Ryker during this week’s RAW, while RETRIBUTION looked to make Ricochet pay and join them after his match against Mace.
There was a lot more drama and surprises during this week’s RAW, and we will look at the five things WWE got right just before TLC.
#5 Lana walks all over Nia Jax on WWE RAW, has her leg injured
After weeks of going through the announce table, Lana looked to get one over on Nia Jax this week on WWE RAW. RAW Women’s Champion Asuka offered Lana some advice before her big match against the biggest athlete in the women’s locker room.
While Lana came into the match with a lot of hope, she was easily taken down by The Irresistible Force early on. The Ravishing Superstar managed to counter a move into a head-scissors takedown to stun Jax.
Jax attempted a Samoan Drop from the top rope soon after, but Lana managed to break out from Jax’s hold. She targeted her opponent’s leg and then delivered a double-stomp to the former RAW Women’s Champion. Lana completed the upset by pinning Jax to pick up one of the biggest victories of her career.
However, things did not end too well for Lana as Shayna Baszler and Jax delivered a two-on-one beatdown of Lana following the match. The WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions targeted Lana’s left leg and injured her badly before Asuka could make the save.
Lana will now be unable to compete in the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match alongside Asuka at WWE TLC. It will be interesting to see who’ll take her place for Sunday night’s big match.
#4 Sheamus and AJ Styles put on a good show on WWE RAW
WWE RAW kicked off with “The Nightmare before TLC” segment where The Miz read out a brilliant story to the WWE Universe. Acted out by John Morrison and AJ Styles, we saw Styles become the WWE Champion. However, he was surprised when The Miz carried on and revealed that he could cash in his Money in the Bank contract on the Superstar following the match.
Sheamus walked out to end The Dirt Sheet segment and give way to a match between himself and Styles. The Celtic Warrior was physical from the start and assaulted The Phenomenal One to put him on the back foot.
However, Styles tied him up in the ring ropes and managed to get in some offense to get even in the contest. The two men managed to trade, and Styles decided to go after Sheamus’ leg late in the match.
Omos helped The Phenomenal One stay on top, and Styles was able to roll up The Celtic Warrior to pick up the victory. This was a decent match between two veterans to kick off Monday Night RAW.
After the match, Styles and Omos hung Sheamus upside down on the ropes and attacked him with a steel chair. Surprisingly, Sheamus’ buddy Drew McIntyre did not come to his aide. RAW did well to show Styles’ heelish side just six days before his WWE Championship match against McIntyre.
#3 The Hurt Business take down The New Day and Jeff Hardy on WWE RAW
Jeff Hardy teamed up with the RAW Tag Team Champions to take on The Hurt Business this week. Riddle accompanied Hardy, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods to the ring on WWE RAW.
Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin, and United States Champion Bobby Lashley were accompanied by MVP. The babyfaces took control of the match after Lashley's early onslaught.
However, Lashley got his team back in the game and The Hurt Business got right down to business. Alexander came in with a renewed energy that helped him impress against the babyfaces who got on the back foot soon after.
The New Day and Hardy tried to take down their opponents with some dives, but they were once against neutralized by Lashley. The Charismatic Enigma missed a blind tag from Alexander to Lashley and hit Alexander with the Twist of Fate. The All-Mighty applied The Hurt Lock to Hardy to pick up the victory for his team.
While Lashley does not have an opponent for Sunday’s TLC event, it seems like the RAW Superstar will likely have a long program with Hardy. RAW did well to keep The New Day, Alexander, and Benjamin out of the result as all four men will compete on Sunday for the RAW Tag Team Championships.
#2 The WWE Championship Ascension Ceremony ends in utter chaos on WWE RAW
The ring was decorated with steel ladders as AJ Styles and Drew McIntyre came out on WWE RAW for the WWE Championship Ascension Ceremony. Tom Phillips hosted the segment ahead of the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match for the WWE Championship.
The Phenomenal One quickly attacked McIntyre with his words, claiming that he’d never competed in a TLC match before. He also brought up McIntyre’s loss to Randy Orton at Hell in a Cell and claimed that McIntyre could not handle the pressure.
Soon after, The Miz and John Morrison arrived to attack the WWE Champion on RAW. McIntyre managed to fend off the attack and hit Claymores to wipe out MizMorrison. Omos helped with a distraction, and Styles targeted McIntyre’s leg.
He then delivered a Phenomenal Forearm to McIntyre, and then beat him down with a ladder and chair. Styles finally put down McIntyre with an elbow through a table. He stood atop the ladder with the WWE Championship to end RAW.
This segment put Styles ahead of McIntyre before the big match on Sunday. Will McIntyre be able to overcome the numbers game?
#1 ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt stays one step ahead of Randy Orton on WWE RAW
The Firefly Fun House took over the Thunderdome on WWE RAW as Bray Wyatt brought out his minions for a field trip. Wyatt promised that the fun and games would end at WWE TLC and that he would teach Randy Orton a lesson.
The Viper wasn’t just going to sit back and watch, as he decided to make an appearance on the live video screen. He invited Wyatt to play a game of hide-and-seek during RAW. Wyatt accepted the invitation and exclaimed, “Let the games begin!”
Later on, Wyatt looked for Orton backstage and discovered a rocking chair. The Viper watched as Wyatt rocked in it, and then attacked him from behind. He trapped Wyatt in a wooden crate and lit it on fire.
Orton watched as his opponent for Sunday night went up in flames, only to be stunned when ‘The Fiend’ popped out and attacked him. The RAW segment ended with The Fiend taking down Orton with the Mandible Claw.
Once again, Wyatt proved to be too smart for Orton who tried to play mind games with his TLC opponent. This was a great segment that helped make the match between the two men even more anticipated.
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