This week’s episode of WWE RAW aired live from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. It was the final episode of RAW before WWE Day 1 this Saturday night. The Miz & Maryse renewed their wedding vows at the end of the show. Eric Bischoff appeared on RAW tonight and officiated the ceremony.
RAW Results
- Riddle def. Chad Gable
- Randy Orton def. Otis
- Dana Brooke & Reggie def. Tamina & R-Truth
- Street Profits def. The Mysterios to earn a shot at the RAW Tag Titles at Day 1
- AJ Styles def. Apollo Crews
- Kevin Owens def. Cedric Alexander
- Damian Priest vs. Dolph Ziggler ended in a disqualification
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Riddle def. Chad Gable
RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro made their way to the ring to begin the show. Riddle had a Christmas card and welcomed everyone to the final RAW of 2021. Orton said he wanted to focus on beating Otis tonight and then successfully defending the tag titles at Day 1 against either Street Profits or the Mysterios. Alpha Academy interrupted and Gable said Orton is no match for Otis. They vowed to take the tag titles from RK-Bro down the line as well. Gable and Riddle then battled in the first match of the night.
Gable controlled the action early and planted Riddle with a Suplex. Gable went for a Moonsault but Riddle countered into a Triangle submission.Gable escaped into an Ankle Lock but Riddle escaped. Riddle caught Gable with a knee to the face and then the Floating Bro for the pinfall victory. After the match, Otis leveled Riddle with a shoulder tackle. Otis will face Randy Orton next.
Randy Orton def. Otis
Otis slammed Orton to the mat and hit him with a headbutt. Otis droves shoulder into Orton’s midsection and went for a Body Slam. Randy escaped and went for the RKO but Otis blocked it and shoved Orton out of the ring. Otis chased after him and wound up running into the steel steps.
Orton rolled back in the ring and booted Otis in the face while he was in the ropes. Randy hit the draping DDT as Riddle celebrated outside the ring. Otis battled back and climbed to the middle turnbuckle. Otis went for a Splash but Orton got out of the way. Randy hit the RKO for the pinfall victory. Riddle and Orton shared a hug after the match and Orton joked about hitting him with an RKO.
Dana Brooke & Reggie Picked Up A Win
24/7 Champion Dana Brooke & Reggie faced Tamina & R-Truth tonight on RAW. R-Truth controlled the action and tagged in Tamina. She hit Reggie with a Superkick and Dana tagged in. R-Truth tagged himself in and wound up getting rolled up by Reggie. After the match, Tamina tried to Clothesline Truth but he avoided it.
RK-Bro Will Defend The RAW Tag Titles Against The Street Profits At Day 1
Street Profits faced Dominik & Rey Mysterio tonight on RAW. The winners of the match will face RK-Bro for the RAW Tag Team Championships at Day 1 this Saturday. RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro were shown watching backstage throughout the match.
The Mysterios isolated Montez Ford in the ring and hit him with a Russian Leg Sweep. Dominik went for the cover but Montez kicked out at two. Rey sent Montez to the apron and hit him with a Dropkick. Dominik hit Montez with a Sunset Flip Bomb into the barricade and Rey connected with a Splash on Angelo as RAW went to a commercial break.
When RAW returned, Rey set up for the 619 but Dawkins countered with an elbow to the face for a near fall. Mysterio connected with a Tornado DDT but Ford broke up the cover at two. Dominik hit Ford with a Neckbreaker but then got knocked out of the ring. Angelo hit the Silencer and tagged in Ford.
Montez hit a Frog Splash and went for the cover but Rey kicked out at two. Dominik flipped onto Dawkins outside the ring as Rey connected with a 619 on Ford. Dominik hit a Splash but Montez somehow kicked out. Street Profits launched Rey out of the ring and hit Dominik with a Blockbuster for the pinfall victory. Street Profits will face RK-Bro for the RAW Tag Team Championships at Day 1.
AJ Styles def. Apollo Crews
AJ Styles came to the ring and wondered where Omos was because they were supposed to have a match tonight. Styles poked fun at Omos some more before Grayson Waller was shown in the crowd. AJ told Waller to come into the ring and Grayson did so with a microphone. Grayson hyped up NXT and said you can see the “Grayson Waller Effect” on Tuesday nights. Styles offered to give Grayson a tour before laying him out with a Phenomenal Forearm.
Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez then made their way to the entrance ramp. Crews said that they are a united front, unlike Styles & Omos. Azeez challenged Styles to a fight and AJ accepted as RAW went to a break. When RAW returned, it was Apollo Crews versus Styles with Commander Azeez outside the ring.
Crews controlled the action early and taunted Styles while beating him down. AJ battled back and connected with a Neckbreaker for a near fall. Crews hit a Powerbomb and went for the cover but Styles kicked out at two. Styles climbed up to the middle turnbuckle and hit an inverted DDT on Crews. AJ set up for the Phenomenal Forerarm but Azeez dragged Crews to the apron.
Apollo capitalized with a Death Valley Driver on the apron but Styles somehow kicked out at two and the match continued. Crews went for a Superplex but AJ blocked it. AJ connected with the Styles Clash for the pinfall victory. After the match, Styles hit Commander Azeez with he Phenomenal Forearm.
Kevin Owens Picked Up A Win
Kevin Owens kicked off the final hour of RAW and boasted about main eventing Madison Square Garden last night. Owens claimed that the whole world will rejoice when he wins the title at Day 1. Kevin noted that he’s the only person in the title match that is here tonight and at Day 1 the WWE Universe will finally have a champion they can be proud of. MVP interrupted and told Owens that he made a mistake by Powerbombing Lashley on the apron last week and he will realize that when he is in the Hurt Lock at Day 1. Cedric and Shelton Benjamin joined the party and it led to a match between Cedric and Owens. Kevin got the pinfall victory after connecting with the Stunner.
Damian Priest Attacked Ziggler
Damian Priest defended the United States Championship against Dolph Ziggler. The action started out back and forth. When RAW returned from a commercial break, Dolph hit a Fameasser and went for the cover but Priest kicked out at two. Ziggler unloaded some punches and taunted the Untied States Champion as he stumbled to his feet.
Priest hit some punches off his own and followed it up with a spinning kick to the face. Damian hit a Splash in the corner and then the Broken Arrow for a two count. Dolph hit an elbow to the face and rolled Damian up for a two count.
Ziggler planted Damian with a DDT and went for the cover but the champion powered out at the last moment. Damian got fired up and unloaded some strikes. Priest bashed Ziggler down in the corner until the referee called for the DQ. Ziggler rolled to the outside but Damian followed him out there. Priest hit the Reckoning to end the segment.
Edge Gave Miz & Maryse A Brood Bath
Eric Bischoff made his way to the ring at the end of tonight’s RAW. Bischoff said it was great to be back in a WWE ring for such an amazing moment as we are about to see. Eric stated that we honor and respect the sanctity of marriage in this industry and introduced The Miz.
Miz was wearing a white suit and shook hands with Bischoff. The Miz was booed out of the building but he cleverly reacted as if they were cheering him. Miz thanked Eric for officiating the ceremony and said he was a visionary. Maryse told Miz that he will show the world at Day 1 that he’s a way better superstar than Edge. Miz mocked the fans for willingly living in Detroit and cheering for the Lions. The Miz read his vows in French and Maryse kept correcting him. Miz asked MAryse to continue to be his wife and the crowd booed. Miz told them to shut up and Maryse shouted “yes I will!”.
The Miz and Maryse were about to kiss when Edge’s theme hit. Edge got a great reaction as he entered the ring. Edge told Bischoff that it was good to him and claimed that he was not here to ruin anything. He told Miz that he is going to beat his ass at Day 1.
The Miz told Edge that he wanted him to have a front row seat to show him what true love looks like. They shared a kiss and Edge responded by saying he was going to embarrass them tonight. Edge started looking around the ring and Miz got paranoid. Edge joked that he was just messing with Miz and then the lights turned red. Black liquid poured on Miz, Maryse, and Bischoff as The Brood theme played to end the show.