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Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 12.04.17
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Csonka’s WWE Raw Review 12.04.17
OFFICIAL RESULTS
– WWE IC Title Match: Champion Roman Reigns defeated Jason Jordan @ 20:45 via pin [***½]
– Paige defeated Sasha Banks @ 16:13 via pin [***]
– Cruiserweight Contenders Match: Drew Gulak defeated Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, and Tony Nese @ 12:05 via pin [***½]
– Asuka defeated Alicia Fox @ 2:22 via submission [NR]
– Finn Balor defeated Bo Dallas @ 5:40 via pin [**]
– Raw Tag Team Title Match: Champions Sheamus & Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose @ 19:14 via pin [***½]
– Follow all of my reviews at this link.
– I wrote about the winners in the battle for the Broken Universe at this link.
– I ranked the Raw women’s division from worst to first at this link.
WE START THE SHOW WITH TALKING EVERY WEEK BECAUSE IT’S WHAT WE DO: Kurt Angle welcomes us to the show and hypes the action he has set for us. Before Angle can announce Roman Reigns’ opponent, Jason Jordan is here is here for what about me time, and wants the match with Reigns. He again claims his knee is fine, and tries to make his case for a match, because he can beat Reigns, “I just need a chance dad.” Roman arrives and says he isn’t facing Jordan, because he wants Samoa Joe. He then tells Jordan not to run to his daddy, step up if you want a chance. Jordan laughs it off and says Reigns is the poster boy for what WWE management wants. Reigns says he’s been on a lot of posters because he main evented a lot of shows. And he earned it. Samoa Joe arrives. His patience has worn thin, and he accepts the challenge, and will give Reigns 5 seconds to take back his challenge. Jordan says he doesn’t have to attack people from behind, and now challenges Joe. Jordan duplexes Reigns and is all fired up. Angle yells at Jordan and Reigns tells Joe to wait, because Jordan will get it right now. This was a pretty good opening segment, I like the attitude change in Jordan, which should go a long way towards the heel turn.
IC Champion Roman Reigns vs. Jason Jordan: They brawl at the bell, with Reigns taking control as Joe watches on. Reigns takes it to the floor, and continues to work over Jordan. Reigns then slams Jordan to the steps, and then back in we go. Reigns lays in rights, and clotheslines Jordan to the floor. Reigns hits the drive by, and back in, Reigns covers for 2. Jordan now fights back, slamming Reigns to the corner and again. He does it a third time and then a fourth. Reigns fires up and posts himself. Post break, and Jordan is in control, grounding the action. Reigns fights to his feet, follows with clotheslines and takes Jordan down. The big boot follows and Reigns covers for 2. Reigns sets but Jordan cuts off the superman punch with a dropkick and covers for 2. Reigns fights back with strikes and knees, sending Jordan to the floor. Reigns follows, but Jordan catches him and slams Reigns to the steps. Back in and Jordan covers for 2. Reigns fights off a suplex, but Jordan hits a Saito suplex anyway, covering for 2. Post break, Reigns battles back and hits a DDT for 2. Reigns starts working the knee, applying a half crab. Jordan eventually counters out into a roll up for 2. Reigns then escapes, hits the superman punch for a really good near fall. Reigns fires up, sets and Jordan cuts off the spear and hits rolling northern lights suplexes for 2. Jordan limps over to Reigns, but Reigns counters the suplex and hits the superman punch and spear, and Jordan is done. Champion Roman Reigns defeated Jason Jordan @ 20:45 via pin [***½] Despite the commercials messing with the flow a bit, this was a very good match, better than their last. The issues with Jordan have never been in the ring, it’s been the bad angle he’s been put into. He worked his ass off, they worked well together, he got a lot and this was highly enjoyable.
– Joe hits the ring post match and kicks the shit out of Reigns, but Jordan suplexes Joe, saving Reigns. He eats another superman punch for his troubles.
– Stephanie yells at Kurt on the phone, Jordan arrives and says he wants to face Joe tonight and reigns again next week. He pulls the dad card and Kurt says he’ll think about it; Joe arrives and SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER, be careful what you wish for. He lays Jordan in a pile of tears and talks some shit to Kurt on his way out.
– We look at the path of destruction from Paige and Absolution.
– Alexa Bliss is on commentary.
Paige vs. Sasha Banks: Rose and Deville are out with Paige. James and Bayley are out with Banks. It will be interesting to see how much of an actual match we get here. They start slapping each other right away, Paige hits a head butt, but Banks gets a Thesz pres and follows with rights. Banks tosses Paige around, and then lays the boots and right to Paige. Paige cuts her off, slams her to the corner and follows with a knee strike. Paige then tosses Banks across the ring, and lays the boots to her in the corner. Paige now grounds the action, keeping things aggressive as she has control. Banks gets a desperation roll up for 2, but Paige cuts her off right away. Paige gets to her feet, hits a knee strike and head scissors and then heads up top and follows with a high cross, covering for 2. Banks then grounds the action, working a strangle hold but Paige makes the ropes. Paige gets a double leg, laying in ground and pound but Banks rolls out and slams Paige face first to the match. Paige fights off the Banks statement and they spill to the floor. Post break, they are back in the ring with Paige in control, grounding Banks. Paige now chokes out Banks in the ropes, showing a good and aggressive mean streak. Banks gets a roll up for 2, Paige kicks out and banks connects with clotheslines and a dropkick. Banks hits the double knees, but misses the second time. Paige takes her down, heads up top and Banks cuts her off, but Paige hits the sunset bomb for a good near fall. Paige follows up with forearms, they trade and Paige counters the banks statement and now Banks fights off ramPaige into the Banks statement. Paige fights and makes the ropes. Paige rolls to the floor and all the ladies look ready for a fight, and they brawl as Banks and Paige roll back in, Paige kicks banks in the face and follows with ramPaige for the win. Paige defeated Sasha Banks @ 16:13 via pin [***] This was an overall good match, they worked well together, had some great aggression going and this is a big test passed for Paige, getting through a long TV match and showing nonnegative signs.
– Post match, Absolution beats down Banks as James and Bayley were down and out on the floor.
– I have some bad news guys…
BREAKING NEWS: @machinegunkelly to perform at the 15th annual @WWE @TributeToTroops, airing Thursday, Dec. 14, at 8/7c on @USA_Network! #Troops15 https://t.co/4w5y1CIdkR
— WWE (@WWE) December 5, 2017
– WWE hates the troops…
– The Drifter meets with Kurt, and wants another shot at Reigns and admonishes Kurt for showing favoritism to his son. He will provide a musical performance later. He then says Kurt’s bias towards his bastard son will be his downfall. Kurt will now try to find him an opponent.
– We get highlights of the Kane vs. BRAUN feud.
– Enzo rallies his troops ahead of tonight’s cruiserweight contender’s match, praising Gulak and Nese, but running down Dar and Daivari for losing last week.
– Nia Jax arrives, and looks smitten with Enzo.
Cruiserweight Contenders Match: Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak vs. Tony Nese : The winner faces Rich Swann next week for a short at the Cruiserweight title. Nese and Gulak work together early, but Ali and Alexander fight back and they start going for near falls on each other. Swann watches on as Ali and Alexander work some slick back and forth, Ali starts to favor his knee and get pulled to the floor; Alexander wipes out the pile with a tope. Back in and Gulak and Nese take control, locking Alexander in the tree of WHOA. Nese tries to go up top and Gulak stops him because it’s a no fly zone. This allows Ali to wipe them out with a high cross, covering for 2. Ali quickly gets cut off, but Alexander is back and runs wild and hits a PK on Gulak. The slingshot flatliner follows for 2 as Nese makes the save. It completely breaks down with everyone hitting everyone… Post break, and Alexander works over Gulak, hitting the back handspring kick for 2 as Ali makes the save. Alexander is pissed, Nese returns and works both Alexander and Ali over, but eats a double superkick; Ali and Alexander battle, Alexander hits the back elbow and then Ali hits a spin kick. Alexander then cuts him off with the Spanish fly, but Nese makes the save. Ali up top, Nese crotches him and Alexander takes out Nese and follow Ali up top, Nese up with then and gets knocked to the mat. Ali then hits Alexander with the top rope Spanish fly! Gulak makes the save. Gulak looks to take control, lays in slaps and strikes on Ali, but Ali fights back and hits an enziguri. Ali up top, but Nese pulls Gulak to the floor. Nese knocks Ali to the mat and hits the running knee strike, but Alexander hits him with the lumbar check, and Nese rolls to the floor. Lumbar check to Ali, but Gulak takes out Alexander and steals the pin on Ali. Drew Gulak defeated Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, and Tony Nese @ 12:05 via pin [***½] This was a very good match, with a great use of the multi-man formula, creating some great drama and near falls. We need more of this instead or 5-minute matches filled with fucking headlocks. They were given time and for once it actually felt like they were being featured on Raw instead of filling time.
– Gulak gets the post match interview, and teases the PowerPoint presentation, but gets played off like he went long at the Oscars.
– The Drifter arrives for a special performance. He sings a song until BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUN arrives. The Drifter initially runs and then tries to sneak attack BRAUN and gets killed. The Drifter manages to escape and hits BRAUN with the guitar. BRAUN mad. BRAUN kill puny guitar man. BRAUN then tossed the steps into the ring because he isn’t finished with him yet. Kane’s music hits and he challenges BRAUN to a match next week, and only one monster will be left.
– The Shield meet backstage and it’s all puppies and kittens as they hype tonight’s tag title match and all of them having gold together again.
Asuka vs. Alicia Fox: Fox thinks she can defeat Asuka. Yup. Fox attacks at the bell, and tosses Asuka across the ring. Asuka fires up and hits the flying ass attack. She then tosses Fox around, but Fox hits the big boot for 2. Fox grounds the action, slaps around Asuka and Asuka lights her up with strikes and a dropkick, Asuka avoids the axe kick and lays in kicks, The arm bar finishes Fox. Asuka defeated Alicia Fox @ 2:22 via submission [NR] Fox lasted longer than expected, but she still wasn’t ready for Asuka.
– Post match, Absolution arrive and Asuka bails. Paige tells Foxy to relax, because she’s not there to hurt her, because they are friends. Paige says Fox was the only one who liked her when she was here. Paige says she loves Fox… but she just doesn’t think Sonja or Mandy feel the same way. Sonja or Mandy beat Fox down and Absolution stands tall.
Don't miss #TheQueen @MsCharlotteWWE in #PsychTheMovie, THIS THURSDAY at 8/7c on @USA_Network! #RAW @Psych_USA pic.twitter.com/zHDIF7sV9J
— WWE (@WWE) December 5, 2017
Finn Balor vs. Bo Dallas: Axel is out with Dallas. Dallas hits a shoulder tackle for an early pin attempt. Balor fires back, and works over Dallas in the corner, hits s snap mare and kick, covering for 2. Balor follows with a dropkick, but Dallas takes him to the corner. Balor fires back with a kick, heads up top and Axel distracts him and Dallas cuts off Balor. Dallas lays the boots to Balor, hits a gut buster, covering for 2. Dallas grounds the action, working the arm. Dallas continues to control. Balor fights back, hits a standing double stomp but Dallas slams him to the buckles and got a roll up for 2. Balor hits sling blade and the double stomp and finally puts Dallas away. Finn Balor defeated Bo Dallas @ 5:40 via pin [**] This was a great chance to give Balor a dominant rebound win, but instead they made it too competitive and Balor looked like just another guy, which is par for the course. This was only ok.
– We get highlights from last week, where Matt Hardy was becoming broken. We now get a Bray Wyatt/Matt Hardy promo. He says he knows who Matt Hardy is, but Matt doesn’t. Matt interrupts, discussing his soul wondering through space and time. Back to Wyatt, calling him a failure, Matt says he is in tune of the multi-verse and danced with Cleopatra and held symposiums with Plato. Due to his condition, he laid dormant inside Matt Hardy, but due to his condition, he is awoken. Wyatt says his fire grows stronger, and his fire will make sure all of you burn. Matt says he sentences Wyatt to deletion. Wyatt laughs and Matt laughs. Back to the live crowd changing delete as commentary has no clue what to make of this. Delightful! It was a good start for the “Woken” Matt character, and Wyatt as the first feud makes the most sense.
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/937891287016996864
Champions Sheamus & Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose: Ambrose and Cesaro to begin. They work back and forth, Ambrose takes early control until Cesaro cuts him off with a knee and tags in Sheamus. Ambrose quickly fights back, but Cesaro takes Rollins to the floor to stop the tag. The champions work quick tags, isolating Ambrose. Ambrose starts to fight back and gets the tag to Rollins, he runs wild, hits the blockbuster on Sheamus and sling blade for 2. Rollins takes Sheamus to the floor and looks for a plancha, but Cesaro saves Sheamus and then posts Rollins. Post break, the champions continue to work double teams, isolating Rollins as reigns watches on from backstage. Sheamus now works over Rollins in the ropes, tags Cesaro in and he makes sure to cut off the tag, hitting a belly to back suplex for 2. Sheamus back in and hits the clubbing shot off the ropes, covering for 2. Rollins starts fighting back, and hits a DDT on Sheamus. He needs the tag, Cesaro tags in, cuts off Rollins and takes him back to his side of the ring. Cesaro and Sheamus are nothing fancy tonight, just simple, basic and smart heel work. Rollins keeps fighting for a tag, but Cesaro cuts that off and takes Ambrose to the floor. The champions go back to double teams, and pick up a near fall as Ambrose is still down on the floor. Sheamus again grounds Rollins, Rollins manages to hit a superkick, sending Sheamus to the floor. Cesaro tags in but Ambrose also gets the tag and he runs wild. Ambrose tosses him to the floor and takes out Sheamus, but Cesaro cuts off the suicide dive. Cesaro follows with a high cross, but Ambrose rolls through for 2. Cesaro looks for the swing but Ambrose cuts that off and takes out Sheamus again. Sheamus gets in a cheap shot from the apron, allowing Cesaro to get a roll up for 2. The champions look to go doomsday, but Ambrose fights them off and Rollins is back in and hits a superplex and rolls through and does the deal on Sheamus for a great near fall! Sheamus rolls to the floor, Cesaro back in and uppercuts Rollins but Rollins counters the neutralizer and hits the ripcord knee, but Sheamus makes the save. He takes out Sheamus, and Sheamus gets disqualified for kicking too much ass.
Angle restarts the match as a no DQ match. The Shield boys runs wild after the restart and pick up a great near fall almost immediately. Samoa Joe arrives and attacks, helping the champions. Here comes Reigns to even the odds, and he chases Joe away as Sheamus hits a brogue kick, allowing the champions to retain. Champions Sheamus & Cesaro defeated Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose @ 19:14 via pin [***½] Well I guess we can expect a six-man tag next week, playing off of this. This was an overall very good main event, even with all of the extracurriculars tacked on. But I didn’t mind as it would have been very predictable to do tonight, so I like that they held it off.
– End scene.
– Thanks for reading.
~GLORIOUS~
