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5 Takeaways From WWE RAW (12/25)

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Written by

Robert Lentini

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The Christmas 2017 episode of WWE RAW aired live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL on December 25th, 2017.

Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s RAW:

Cena Was Victorious In His Return

Free agent John Cena kicked off this week’s episode of RAW. Cena gave his shirt and hat to a fan in the crowd. Cena wished the crowd Merry Christmas and the Chicago crowd chanted “Merry Christmas!”. Cena said that WWE is his home and that the WWE Universe is his family. Elias strummed his guitar and interrupted Cena. Elias came down to the entrance ramp and stated that WWE stands for “Walk With Elias”.

Elias joined Cena in the ring and asked the crowd if they wanted to walk with Elias and the crowd cheered. Cena said that he’ll walk with Elias as well. Elias added that he has had enough of people interrupting him and the crowd started chanting “CM Punk!”. Elias said that he is damn sure that CM Punk isn’t going to interrupt him.

John tried to give Elias some advice but Elias shushed him. Cena then brought in Elias’ stool and then leaned up against the ropes. The spotlight then came down on Elias as Elias told the crowd to shut their mouths because he had a special Christmas song for everyone. The crowd once again chanted “CM Punk!” and Elias performed a song about Chicago being the worst place to spend his holiday.

Cena quickly interrupted and said that he was trying to tell Elias not to say anything bad about Chicago. Cena added that the crowd are not jerks, it was Elias who was being a jerk. Elias stated that maybe he was being a jerk and then asked for a second chance from the Chicago crowd. Cena said that it was Christmas and told Elias to give it another shot. Elias said in the song that he can’t imagine a better place than Chicago to spend the holidays.

Elias asked Cena to take it away and Cena started singing. Elias then hit a cheap shot on Cena and knocked him to the canvas. Elias stated that Christmas is overrated and so is Chicago. Elias then attacked Cena once again and beat him down on the canvas. Elias challenged Cena to a match and demanded that a referee come down to the ring.

Elias started off the match in control and hit an Elbow Drop to Cena. Elias brought Cena to the corner and connected with a boot to the midsection. Elias then blasted Cena in the fae with a right hand and Cena fell to the mat. Cena battled back and locked in a Chin Lock. Elias broke free and kneed Cena in the face on the ring apron. Elias followed it up with a chop while Cena was against the barricade. Elias brought Cena back into the ring and went for a cover but Cena kicked out at two.

Elias slammed Cena to the mat and went for another cover but Cena kicked out at one. Elias tied up Cena in the corner and then stomped on his chest for a two count. Cena finally connected with a Clothesline but Elias responded with a Backbreaker for a two count. Elias controlled the match for the next few minutes and applied a Chin Lock. Cena used his strength to break free and then leveled Elias with a couple of shoulder tackles. Elias rolled out of the ring and Cena chased after him. John threw Elias back into the ring but Elias connected with a Clothesline for a two count.

Cena was planted with another Backbreaker from Elias for a two count. Cena locked in the STF out of nowhere in the middle of the ring. Elias fought through the pain and slowly made his way towards the bottom rope. Elias got out of the hold and connected with a knee to Cena’s face and Cena fell out of the ring. Cena got back into the ring and once again locked in the STF in the center of the ring. Elias reached the bottom rope to break hold and then planted Cena face-first on the mat for a two count. Elias hit a couple more Elbow Drops but Cena wouldn’t stay down. Cena hit a couple of shoulder tackles and followed it up with the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena lifted Elias up onto his shoulders and planted him with the AA for the pinfall victory.

Elias gave Cena everything he could handle tonight on RAW but Cena wound up victorious in the end. This match was very solid and I think Elias has a lot of potential in WWE. He is one of the only Superstars that can legitimately get the crowd to hate him.

Roman Reigns Got Revenge On Samoa Joe For Injuring Ambrose

Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns

RAW GM Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe and Jason Jordan were shown backstage. Rollins demanded a match with Samoa Joe because of what he did to Dean Ambrose last week. It was revealed that Ambrose will be out for around 9 months. Jordan said that he has been waiting patiently for his match with Samoa Joe. Angle stated that they need to figure out how to get by The Bar first. Angle announced that Rollins and Jordan will face Sheamus and Cesaro tonight for the RAW Tag Team Championships. Roman Reigns showed up and Angle informed Reigns that he will be defending his Intercontinental Championship against Samoa Joe later tonight.

Renee Young interviewed Samoa Joe later on and asked Joe if he had any remorse for what he did to Dean and Joe said no. Joe went on a rant about Roman Reigns and vowed to become the new Intercontinental Champion tonight.

Roman Reigns defended his IC Title against Samoa Joe later on RAW. Reigns controlled the match early and a flurry of right hands. Joe battled back and the two Superstars started trading shots in the middle of the ring. Reigns hung up Joe between the ropes and then connected with the Drive By outside the ring. The action returned to the ring and Joe bounced Roman’s face off the turnbuckle and connected with a Suplex for a two count.

Reigns knocked Joe to the corner and hit a series of Clotheslines. Reigns went for the Superman Punch but Joe was ready and knocked Reigns to the corner. Joe hit a Pele Kick and then stomped on Roman in the corner. Roman fought back and hit a Samoan Drop for a two count. Joe responded with a knee to the face and a Suplex. Joe went for a Senton but Reigns moved and then hit the Superman Punch. Reigns went for the cover but Joe was able to kick out at two.

Joe planted Reigns with a Uranage and then locked in the Coquina Clutch shortly after. Roman was able to make his way to the bottom rope to break the hold. Reigns tried to regroup outside the ring but Joe greeted him with a Suicide Dive through the ropes. Reigns grabbed his arm and sold an injury as the action returned to the ring. Reigns lost it and beatdown Joe in the corner. Reigns would not stop stomping on Joe in the corner and the referee had no choice but to disqualify Roman. After the match, Reigns continued the beatdown and hit a Superman Punch. Joe rolled out of the ring and Reigns connected with another Superman Punch off the steel steps. Reigns grabbed the steel steps and slammed them into Joe’s shoulder. Roman then launched Joe into the steel ring post outside the ring and Joe clutched his shoulder in pain.

Tonight wasn’t about defending the title for Roman Reigns, it was about getting revenge on Samoa Joe for injuring Dean Ambrose. Reigns accomplished that tonight, but there is no doubt that Joe will challenge Reigns for the IC Title again in the near future.

Absolution Continued Their Dominance On RAW

Absolution faced Bayley, Mickie James and Sasha Banks tonight on RAW. Paige and Banks started off the match but Paige quickly tagged in Mandy Rose after she hit Banks with a right hand. Sasha went for a roll-up on Mandy but Rose kicked out. Mandy then posed for the crowd and Sasha connected with a Dropkick.

Banks tagged in Mickie James and Mickie hit a series of kicks and followed it up with a Clothesline for a two count. Bayley was tagged in and she leveled Rose with another Clothesline. The Chicago crowd started chanting for Bayley as Sonya Deville was tagged in. Deville slammed Bayley to the mat but Bayley got back up and drove Deville into the turnbuckle.

Sasha tagged in and kneed Deville in the face for a two count. Deville rolled out of the ring and Sasha followed her. Sonya connected with a massive Clothesline that knocked Banks to the floor outside the ring. Deville brought Banks to the corner and tagged in Paige. Paige stomped on Sasha a few times and quickly tagged Mandy Rose back into the match.

Mandy continued to beatdown Sasha before taking a break to pose for the crowd. Mandy prevented Banks from tagging out and delivered an elbow to her face for a two count. Paige got back into the match and applied a Chin Lock to Sasha Banks in the middle of the ring. Sasha broke free but Paige hit a Clothesline for a two count.

Mandy Rose was tagged in and she booted Sasha in the face for another two count. Mandy hit Mickie with a cheap shot and knocked her off the ring apron. Banks finally tagged out of the match and Bayley got in the ring with Paige. Bayley hit a Suplex to Paige and then knocked Deville off the ring apron. Bayley connected with the Bayley to Belly to Paige but Rose and Deville dragged Paige out of the ring. A brawl broke out outside the ring as Paige and Bayley were back in the ring. Bayley climbed up to the top rope but Paige booted her down and hit the RamPaige for the pinfall victory.

I was skeptical about Absolution when they made their RAW debut but the group works well together. It still feels like it is only a matter of time before Paige breaks apart from the group and makes a run at the RAW Women’s Championship.

Asuka Will Be In The Women’s Royal Rumble

Last week on RAW, Stephanie McMahon made a historic announcement that there will be a women’s Royal Rumble on January 28th.

Tonight on RAW, Alexa Bliss made her way down to the ring with the RAW Women’s Championship around her waist. Alexa wished everyone a “Merry Bliss-mas” and boasted about ending 2017 as the RAW Women’s Champion. Bliss rolled the footage of Stephanie’s announcement and stated that she has watched the clip a hundred times already.

Alexa then proceeded to take credit for the women’s Royal Rumble becoming a reality and told everyone “you’re welcome”. Bliss added that the rest of the Superstars in the back walk in her shadow. Asuka interrupted and made her way down to the ring. Asuka announced that she will be in the women’s Royal Rumble. Asuka added that she will win because “nobody is ready for Asuka”. Asuka then booted Bliss in the face out of nowhere and danced a bit before exiting the ring.

Asuka seems to be one of the favorites heading into next month’s PPV. Paige doesn’t think so as she posted the following on Twitter shortly after Asuka’s announcement:

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/945500954690015232

Jordan & Rollins Won The RAW Tag Team Championships

Rollins and Jordan had a brief conversation earlier on RAW. Rollins told Jordan to listen to him tonight and to bring his A game. Jordan claimed that he was a good replacement for Dean Ambrose and Rollins responded that Jordan will never be Dean Ambrose. Jordan said that he will be better than Ambrose and walked away.

Sheamus and Cesaro defended their RAW Tag Team Championships in the RAW main event against Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan. Sheamus and Jordan started off the match and Jordan slammed him to the canvas. Jordan didn’t let go of Sheamus and attempted a cover for a one count. Cesaro hit Jordan with a cheap shot while the referee wasn’t looking. Rollins tagged himself in and leaped onto both Sheamus and Cesaro in the ring. Rollins hit Cesaro with a Slingblade and followed it up with a Suicide Dive through the ropes onto both Sheamus and Cesaro. Rollins extended his hand to Jordan and lifted him up out of the corner as RAW went to a commercial break.

When RAW returned, Sheamus and Cesaro were back in control and had Rollins isolated in the corner. Cesaro applied a Chin Lock to Rollins in the middle of the ring. Cesaro slammed Rollins into the turnbuckle and tagged in Sheamus. Sheamus continued the beatdown of Rollins for the next few minutes. Cesaro tagged back in and delivered a Leg Drop to Rollins for a two count.

Booker T kept blasting Jason Jordan on commentary for sitting in the corner and watching Rollins get his ass kicked in the ring. Sheamus knocked Rollins out of the ring and Cesaro attacked him outside the ring. Jordan leveled Cesaro with a Clothesline, but was quickly launched into the barricade by Sheamus. Back in the ring, Rollins hit a DDT on Sheamus and went for the tag but Jordan was still laid out by the barricade.

Cesaro tagged in and continued to beat the hell out of Rollins. Jordan got back in the ring and leveled Sheamus with a shoulder tackle. Jordan went back to the corner and started stomping on the steel steps while he waited for Rollins to tag him in. Seth booted Cesaro out of the way and was finally able to tag in Jordan. Sheamus tagged in as well.

Jordan cleaned house and slammed Sheamus into the turnbuckle several times. Jordan planted Sheamus with a Belly to Belly Suplex for a two count. Jordan knocked Cesaro off the ring apron but Sheamus capitalized and hit Jordan with a massive Clothesline. Cesaro was tagged back in and applied the Sharpshooter in the center of the ring. Rollins pulled Sheamus off the apron and then got into the ring. Cesaro broke the hold and knocked Rollins back out of the ring.

Sheamus was tagged in and he slammed Jordan to the canvas. Rollins leaped onto Cesaro but Cesaro caught him but wound up falling to the mat anyway. Rollins hit Cesaro with a Superkick but Sheamus connected with a Brogue Kick to Rollins. Sheamus locked in the Texas Cloverleaf in the middle of the ring. Jordan battled through the pain and reached the bottom rope to break the hold.

Cesaro was tagged in as Sheamus lifted Jordan up onto his shoulders. Sheamus delivered White Noise to Jordan and then got out of the ring and charged at Rollins. Seth got out of the way and Sheamus slammed into the steel steps. Cesaro connected with an uppercut to Rollins outside the ring. Back in the ring, Jordan slammed Cesaro to the canvas for the pinfall victory. Jason Jordan and Seth Rollins are your new RAW Tag Team Champions.

Jason Jordan is once again a tag champion even though he was brought to RAW to be a singles star. Rollins and Jordan are excellent in-ring performers so I’m sure that they can grow to be a very entertaining team if WWE allows it. I’m not sure if WWE is going to give them an actual run with the titles or we are going to see this team fall apart quickly. Both Jordan and Rollins still have issues with Samoa Joe and will have to defend their titles against The Bar when they invoke their rematch clause.

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