Home News 6 Takeaways From WWE RAW (12/17)

6 Takeaways From WWE RAW (12/17)

Robert Lentini
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6 Takeaways From WWE RAW (12/17)
Photo Credit: WWE.com

The December 17th episode of WWE RAW aired live from the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Here are 6 takeaways from this week’s show:

The McMahons Are Taking Back RAW & SmackDown

Vince McMahon kicked off this week’s episode of RAW. Vince noted that RAW has been on the air for 25 years and the reason for their success is that they have changed with the times. McMahon admitted that he cannot do it all himself anymore and introduced Commissioner Stephanie McMahon down to the ring.

COO Triple H joined the party and shared a hug with Vince and Stephanie. SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon then came down to the ring to a great reaction from the crowd. Stephanie told the crowd that they have been doing a terrible job at listening to their audience.

Stephanie claimed that they are off to a fresh start. Triple H announced that the four of them will be taking back WWE RAW. Shane said that the same goes for SmackDown and that they are going to empower their Superstars. Triple H claimed that they were going to give the fans what they want. Triple H stated that the crowd was now “The Authority”.

https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/1074833932342976512

I’m skeptical that they will actually change the show but we will see how this goes. I’m not interested in seeing more of the McMahons on RAW or SmackDown at all.  At the end of the day, this was just 20-minutes of empty promises with very little detail on how RAW and SmackDown are actually going to change going forward.

The New Era Of RAW Began With The Same Thing We Saw Last Night

Baron Corbin interrupted The McMahons and the crowd booed every single time he tried to speak. Corbin claimed that he should still be the permanent GM of RAW. Triple H said that Corbin can become the RAW GM if he defeats Kurt Angle right now. Stephanie announced that Heath Slater will be the special referee for the match.

Corbin controlled the match early but Triple H announced that it was now a Handicap match. Gable, Roode, and Crews came down to the ring and beat the hell out of Corbin. Heath Slater removed the padding from the turnbuckle as Shane McMahon interrupted. Shane announced that this match was now No DQ. Everyone then beat the hell out Corbin with chairs and then Kurt hit the Angle Slam for the pinfall victory.

Triple H stated at the beginning of the show that fans will now see new superstars and new matchups. WWE then started off this “new era” of new Superstars and exciting matchups with the same Corbin segment we saw last night at TLC. Brilliant.

Seth Rollins Attacked Dean Ambrose

Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose came down to the ring and boasted about his victory last night at TLC. Ambrose claimed that Rollins choked last night and failed all of his fans. Ambrose claimed that he was just getting started and vowed to take Rollins’ career and throw it in the gutter where it belongs.

Dean demanded that Rollins come down to the ring and tell everyone that he was right and Seth was wrong. Seth didn’t show up and Ambrose called him a coward. Ambrose issued an open challenge for the IC Title and Tyler Breeze accepted. Breeze controlled the match early and connected with a Superkick for a near fall. Dean Ambrose then quickly hit the Dirty Deeds for the pinfall victory.

After the match, Ambrose went on another rant about Seth Rollins and how he didn’t show up tonight. Seth Rollins was dressed as one of Ambrose’s security team and attacked him from behind.

Rollins was later interviewed backstage and called last night a disaster. Rollins added that he heard the crowd last night and that he has to own that. Seth stated that he is going to right the ship and that starts with him ending Dean Ambrose.

It was nice to see Tyler Breeze on RAW, even though this match didn’t really do anything for him. I simply do not enjoy this version of Dean Ambrose at all and I’ve completely lost interest in this storyline. I wish that Rollins would invoke his rematch clause next week and end this feud.

Cross, Sullivan, Evans, EC3 & Heavy Machinery Are Coming To The Main Roster

During tonight’s episode of RAW, Lacey Evans, Lars Sullivan, Heavy Machinery, Nikki Cross, and EC3 were announced as “on their way to WWE” in a vignette.

If you haven’t been watching NXT, you have really been missing out. It is the best show that WWE airs on a weekly basis. However, one of the best talents from NXT, Andrade “Cien” Almas, has been completely wasted on SmackDown since joining the main roster.

Heavy Machinery is an awesome tag team and could be a great addition to either RAW or SmackDown’s tag team division. I thought the same would have been true about SAnitY, but they have barely been featured on SmackDown since getting called. I just hope that every one of them gets an actual chance to succeed on the main roster when they arrive.

The Revival Earned A Title Shot

Lucha House Party, The B-Team, The Revival, and The Authors of Pain battled in a Fatal 4-Way tag team match tonight on RAW. The winner of the match would be guaranteed a future shot at the RAW Tag Team Championships. The Revival won the match after hitting the Shatter Machine on Bo Dallas.

The Revival is one of the best teams WWE has to offer and hopefully, they finally get a chance on the main roster. They’ve lost a couple of matches to Lucha House Party recently because they were distracted by pinatas, so it is difficult to take them seriously right away.

The fan that only watches the main roster views them as a joke and it probably seems random that they are suddenly vying for the RAW Tag Team Championships. It makes sense to people that watched their run in NXT and know how great they are.

Natalya Will Face Rousey Next Week For The Title

Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey came down to the ring to a mixed reaction. Rousey interfered in the women’s TLC match last night and cost Charlotte and Becky Lynch the match. Rousey said that she wasn’t here to explain her actions last night, she was here to define what a real champion is.

Ronda stated that a real champion is the best that the human race has to offer and lives for the challenge. The crowd chanted “Becky!” as Rousey smirked in the ring. Rousey offered up an open challenge for the RAW Women’s Championship. The entire women’s locker room was then shown arguing backstage.

Stephanie McMahon interrupted and brought the women’s division down to the entrance ramp. Stephanie announced an 8-woman Gauntlet Match and the winner would earn a shot at the RAW Women’s Championship next week. The final two Superstars in the match were Natalya and Sasha Banks. Natalya locked in the Sharpshooter for the submission victory. After the match, Rousey came down to the ring and shook Natalya’s hand.

The Gauntlet Match pretty much took up the final hour of tonight’s RAW. It was an entertaining match and Rousey vs. Natalya next week should be solid. I would have liked to see Banks square off against Rousey next week. Tonight’s RAW was bizarre to watch and it is impossible to judge if WWE is actually listening to their audience now after one show. If you just look at what is being advertised for next week’s show, it is hard to believe that RAW has changed.

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