I previously reported that the WWE canceled their initial Christmas Raw taping due to low ticket sales. The rescheduled recording was done following last night’s regularly televised Raw in Des Moines, Iowa. And thanks to the circumstances and those in attendance for sharing details, WWE Raw spoilers & full results are circling the internet. I’m just going to touch on a few of the top points, so check out the rest at wrestlinginc.com (Special thanks to them and Heel Vs Face).
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SPOILERS AHEAD! Last chance to turn back!
In a festively decorated arena, Jimmy Fallon appeared on the titantron. He introduced the WWE superstars and shared a holiday message for everyone. From there, Raw
Most of the night appears to be about setting up or furthering feuds in the coming weeks as Kevin Owens beat Mojo Rawley in a Christmas Street Fight, then called out Set Rollins and the AOP. They came out and beat him down, setting up a future match.
Becky Lynch cut a promo challenging Asuka to a singles match. Asuka then came out and agreed, but no date or time was mentioned.
Aleister Black and Buddy Murphey exchanged beatdowns on local enhancement talent before they faced off and Black knocked Murphey out. A TLC rematch is set for the following week (December 30).
The OC beat the Viking Raiders and Randy Orton
AJ Styles pinned Randy Orton in a six man tag match between the OC and Ortin and the Viking Raiders (Ivan and Erik).
As much as the WWE is pushing the Viking Raiders, the real story here is the feud between Orton and Styles. Since Brock Lesnar is on leave until the Royal Rumble, Styles has been carrying Raw. This can easily became a classic rivalry if their singles match on Raw’s 12/16 show was any indication. It’ll be fun to see where they go with this. I have a feeling after this, Orton will be challenging Lesnar. That could just be my wishful thinking, though.
United States Championship: Rey Mysterio(c) beat Seth Rollins by disqualification
Not much has been leaked about the match except that Rey Mysyterio won due to interference by the AOP. This could mean two things: either Rollins was getting his tail handed to him, which is unlikely, or they jumped in soon after the match started to beat Mysterio down to continue proving how great a leader Rollins is.
What is most significant about this match is how Samoa Joe did a face turn.
After pounding Mysterio into submission, they wanted to put him through the announcer’s table, but Joe refused to move. In what can only be assumed to be him standing up to them until we actually see the match, Joe was then assaulted by the AOP. Rollins then hit a Stomp on Mysterio before he and the AOP closed the show out by posing.
Final thoughts
It’s been a while since I’ve done these, but given the special occasion it feels right to throw it in here.
While next week’s Raw looks more like a space and time eater like this past week, there are a couple f cool to awesome moments that’ll make turning in worthwhile.
My personal favorites are the Orton/Styles feud and Rollins’ heel action and Samoa Joe’s face turn.
After several possibilities, it looks like Rollins has a new Shield with him, but he may have pushed a little too far as rumor has it the WWE is finally going to unleash Samoa Joe. This has the makings of a great rivalry, assuming they allow Samoa Joe to actually do his thing instead of having him lose repeatedly in big matches. Hopefully, he’ll finally get the accolades he deserves.
Maybe even a championship match between him and Drew McIntyre down the road? One can hope.
Given the lack of enthusiasm their programming has given us recently, maybe the WWE raw spoilers & full results are a type of gift for us?
Spoilers aside, which match next week are you looking forward to?
