RAW Results and Recap: Then. Now. Forever.
Monday Night RAW (in Sacramento, CA) kicks off “WWE Holiday Week,” with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon immediately coming out to “shake things up,” as promised. Corey Graves thinks that means appointing Baron Corbin permanent GM, but… That couldn’t be it, right?
Vince says, “tonight, we’re gonna find out” what’s going on with RAW. Because in its 25 years on the air, RAW has always “changed with the times.” (Does that really explain the “guest host” era?) He puts himself over (his vision, his creativity, etc.) real quick, before introducing RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon. Well, that’s nothing different—yet. And Triple H—also not different. And now Shane McMahon—slightly different, because it’s not Tuesday, but nothing’s been shaken up yet.
Stephanie says they haven’t been listening to their audience—because of Baron Corbin, you know—and that starts tonight. “The days of absentee management are over,” says Triple H. All four of them will be handling RAW… as well as SmackDown. (What does this mean for Paige, though?) There will be “something new, something fresh” in the coming weeks and months, Triple H also promises. Because: “As of now, you are the authority.” And with this course of action, Vince promises WWE will continue to be: “Then. Now. Forever.” His music plays, and it’s all good, bab—
Nope, Baron Corbin is here now—to a chorus of boos—claiming he’s excited for “a fresh start.” But first, a commercial break… and once we’re back, the boos continue. The boos always continue. Also, isn’t it funny how Stephanie openly mocks the failure she put in charge?
Corbin tries his best to defend his position and the fact that he should be permanent GM, but none of the four buy into it. Actually, Triple H says they give Corbin the chance to prove his worth: If he can win his match tonight, right now, he can become the permanent GM of RAW. “All you have to do is beat this man.” And that man? It’s Kurt Angle. With a special guest referee: Heath Slater.
Kurt Angle, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, & Apollo Crews def. Baron Corbin
And it’s on. Kurt Angle is immediately on Corbin and in control of this match. But then Baron Corbin remembers he’s a big guy and gets some dominance… until Triple H notes it’s a handicap match, with Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, and Apollo Crews as Kurt Angle’s partners. You can guess how this goes, right down to Corbin trying to run away from all these Superstars. Once they get him back into the ring, Heath Slater conveniently turns his back—fixing a turnbuckle and testing the ropes—while the team gives Corbin a group beatdown. You reap what you sow, Corbin.
And then Shane McMahon comes out, to alert them that this match is No Disqualification. So while the participants in the match get chairs, Heath Slater just stomps Corbin in the center of the ring. But it’s, naturally, Angle who ends up finishing Corbin off. (But does Angle get his GM job back, or is he now just part of the roster?)
Also, post-match—after the crowd chanted “WE WANT TABLES” throughout the match—the team finally brings out a table to put Corbin through. People power!
Finn Balor def. Dolph Ziggler via DQ
Both Balor and Ziggler are pretty much at a stalemate to start off the match, so this will clearly be a matter of who makes the first mistake. But neither man looks like they’re going to do that—until Ziggler can’t help himself and starts getting cocky.
But it’s not what causes the problem: Instead, it’s McIntyre coming out to interfere, Ziggler bringing the fight to him, and Balor getting involved as well. That allows Ziggler to get Balor back into the ring and hit a Fameasser, but it’s only a two-count. Then when he hopes to get the superkick, he’s hit with a
The new Intercontinental Champion, Dean Ambrose, is out here (with his SWAT guys), and he would like some respect. (Or maybe not. He then says, “I don’t need respect,” because he has the IC Championship.) He told us all Rollins would blow it in the fourth quarter, and that’s exactly what happened. So in such a short amount of time, Rollins went from having two championships to zero.
“When I’m done, Seth Rollins will have nothing left! Nothing! I’m gonna take Seth Rollins’ career, his reputation as this great guy you all think he is.”
Ambrose is “the moral compass of the WWE,” after all. He calls out Rollins, and the crowd chants “BURN IT DOWN,” but no dice. Then he issues “an open challenge”—though not for the title—and again, the crowd wants Rollins to “BURN IT DOWN,” but no Rollins. To this, Ambrose says this proves Rollins is “a selfish little whiner,” just like the WWE Universe, who can’t even show his face. Since he doesn’t “have the guts” to come out, now there will be an IC Championship open challenge… for anyone in the back who’s not Seth Rollins. And out comes “Prince Pretty” himself, Tyler Breeze.
Dean Ambrose (c) def. Tyler Breeze, in an Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge match for the Intercontinental Championship
This is coming off of Breeze’s terrific NXT North American Championship match against Ricochet on last week’s NXT. And Breeze goes right after Ambrose, not playing around. (He definitely shuts down those “WE WANT ROLLINS” chants pretty damn quick.)
Like last night at TLC, Ambrose’s game plan is to slow things down and ground his opponent. But Tyler Breeze is out here to remind everyone just how good he is. He hits the Beauty Shot, but he doesn’t try to cover Ambrose or finish him off with that. But maybe he should have, as the follow-up crossbody only leads to a two-count. “LET’S GO TYLER,” chants the crowd. And unfortunately—after Ambrose hits a counter with a fistful of Breeze’s hair—Ambrose hits a Dirty Deeds on Breeze to survive and win the match.
Post-match, Ambrose tries to cut a promo about how a champion defends their championship and—BURN IT DOWN! Rollins’ music plays, and where is he? As the SWAT team gets in formation, Rollins reveals himself from behind to be one of them and jumps Ambrose. Ambrose is only able to retreat as Rollins has to deal with the SWAT team, but Rollins just beats those men up too.
Charly Caruso interviews Shane McMahon about the new freshness of WWE, to which he talks about new faces. He’s interrupted by Drake Maverick, who introduces him to the AOP and says their RAW Tag Team Championship was “stolen.” He brings up the “mandatory rematch clause,” which Shane calls “antiquated,” especially when they were basically gifted the titles by Corbin.
Shane will give them an “opportunity” though: A Fatal 4-Way match against the B-Team, The Revival, and the Lucha House Party, with the winning team getting a shot at the tag titles.
Ronda Rousey “Apex” Signature Series Scoop Neck Women’s T-Shirt
SHOP HEREAs for those new faces, it looks like there are some Superstars we can expect to come to WWE (but will they be coming to RAW?) from NXT in the coming weeks: Lars Sullivan (he will no longer be lurking), Lacey Evans (as Dakota Kai had to die for her sins), EC3, Heavy Machinery (Tucker Knight & Otis Dozovic), and Nikki Cross.
Oh great, Bobby Lashley is going to do a concert of his own (with the broken guitar from TLC). Actually, no, after all Lio Rush says, he just does his poses again. I thought the McMahons and Triple H said things would be different once we got past Baron Corbin’s RAW? “How many times do we gotta see Lashley’s butt like that,” ask Renee Young. “ It’s weird.” She clearly speaks for all of us. And then Jojo announces Elias, and he cracks Lashley with a guitar from behind. Thank you, Elias.
Also, in terms of fresh faces: Sami Zayn is returning soon. Let’s go!
Later in the show, a promo for Kevin Owens’ return also airs. This is still The Kevin Owens Show.
AOP (Akam & Rezar) def. Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado & Kalisto), The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder), & The B-Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas)
Well, only the AOP get a televised entrance, so that might be a sign of things… Corey Graves notes the McMahons got rid of Lucha House Rules, so at least something has changed. First up, is a “B-Team, GO GO GO” vs. “LUCHA” chant-off, which only ends once Scott Dawson tags in and faces off against Kalisto. Get you some revenge, Dawson—you deserve it.
Given the Fatal 4-Way rules of this match, Dallas and Dawson even end up working together at one point… and they actually make a pretty good team. But Dawson turns on Dallas, and one can only hope The B-Team isn’t still The Revival’s kryptonite. Looks like they’re not, as The Revival hit a Shatter Machine on Bo Dallas for the win.
In a backstage interview with Charly Caruso, Seth Rollins calls last night “a disaster.” Both personally and professionally for him. He even brings up the crowd—they chanted “THIS IS BORING”—and said that reaction was all on him. He knows he needs to step it up in the ring, and he’s going to “right this ship,” by first “ending Dean Ambrose.”
But for some reason, Baron Corbin is here. And he thinks everyone thought he was doing a good job as GM until Rollins said anything about it—he blames Rollins for all of his current misfortunes, saying Ambrose is absolutely right about him. Rollins’ response? Just punching Corbin out.
You can read more about Ronda Rousey explaining her actions in the main event of TLC, as well as the lead-up to the eight-woman gauntlet match, here.
Natalya won the an Eight-Woman Gauntlet match (to challenge Ronda Rousey for the RAW Women’s Championship)
First up? Alicia Fox vs. Bayley. Bayley tries to put Alicia Fox away quickly—the proper strategy—but Fox, of course, wants to take her time. (Also, apropos of nothing, Fox has apparently changed from the short platinum blonde hair to the long, more yellow blonde. Just an observation.) Bayley ends up getting the against Fox, but it’s after tweaking her knee badly and getting kicked in the head.
So, of course, Dana Brooke rushes to the ring and immediately hits Bayley with an enzuigiri to that same head. “It’s my opportunity,” Dana yells, and even Renee Young knows “playtime is over.” Dana is fired up and she wants to win. The referee even offers to stop the match for Bayley, but Bayley never says die, even if her knee does. And with that, she beats Dana Brooke too.
Next up for Bayley is Mickie James, and if anyone can capitalize on Bayley’s weakness right now, it’s Mickie freakin’ James. (Also: Ronda Rousey watches on from a screen from backstage.) But Bayley might just be a smarter wrestler than Mickie, a point which eventually frustrates Mickie and allows Bayley to rally in some form.
But Bayley’s also fighting on one leg at this point, as much as adrenaline is helping her out. She’s still able to get up to the top rope for the elbow drop, and the only reason she doesn’t win is that Mickie grabs the rope (she definitely doesn’t kick out). But despite all the heart and back and forth, Mickie James hits the Mickie-DDT, and that’s the end of the line for Bayley.
Then it’s Ember Moon, and Mickie is on her as soon as she gets into the ring. But this isn’t going to be an easy match for Mickie, and it’s only a matter of time before Ember hits the Eclipse. And once she does—sorry, Mickie. Also: R.I.P. Mickie?
But now it’s Natalya’s turn, and she has some momentum from last night’s Tables match win. But it was still a Tables match, and Ember Moon, on the other hand, is completely fresh in comparison. The WWE Universe in Sacramento seems to be torn 50/50 between these two, and the match is just that as well. While Natalya can’t quite outwrestle Ember Moon, she is able to outmaneuver her with a very tight O’Connor Roll.
Then out comes The Riott Squad, but which member will it be? (It’s Ruby Riott.) And during the commercial, Liv Morgan managed to get in a cheap shot, after the Squad played coy about who Natalya would be facing. These two women hate each other, and their strikes tell that story. Also: Damn, Natalya’s snap suplexes are brutal. But it’s actually her defense that wins her this one, as she capitalizes when Ruby Riott misses a back senton.
Then out comes Sasha Banks—rocking the Wonder Woman gear—and while Natalya tries to bring the fight to her, “The Boss” has her number. This is the final match-up in the gauntlet, so will it be Rousey’s best friend or a possible casualty of Rousey’s current rivalries? As stiff as Natalya was with Ruby—who she actually hates—she might be even stiffer with Sasha Banks—who I thought was also her friend. A Sharpshooter attempt from Natalya then turns into a single leg Boston Crab from Sasha, which Sasha then turns into a Banks Statement. But Natalya powers out and then she German Suplexes the hell out of Sasha. This is… awesome. A huge Meteora looks like Sasha will win this one, but Natalya kicks out at 2.9.
Natalya counters another attempt from Sasha to hit an amazingly impactful DDT (the first one landed), and then she gets her into the Sharpshooter again. As much as you don’t want this match to be over, with this, Sasha Banks taps out and Natalya wins. And then Ronda Rousey comes back out, as Natalya shows the fallen Sasha some respect.
Rousey enters the ring and raises Natalya’s arm, before hugging her. It’s friend vs. friend next week, on the Christmas Eve edition of RAW. And just to seal the deal, Rousey puts her hand out for Natalya to shake, which she does (after a moment). One more hug, and it’s back to it being Natalya’s time in this ring. The two friends head backstage together—to Natalya’s music—and that’s Monday Night RAW.
