Posted on 12/09/125 by Bob Magee
Show Recap —
Raw started with a video package highlighting the John Cena
tournament, culminating with Gunther beating LA Knight in
the finals on Friday.
Gunther kicks off Monday Night Raw
Gunther entered wearing all black and was roundly booed. The
boos turned into chants for John Cena as Gunther egged them
on.
Gunther said he would be the final opponent for the greatest
sports entertainer of all time, but Cena would be facing the
greatest professional wrestler of all time.
Gunther called Cena the man who never gave up. But beating
Cena wasn’t enough. He would break Cena’s spirit, bully him,
drop him on his head, wrap his arms around his neck, and
squeeze until the last bits of hustle, loyalty, and respect
left his body.
There was only one way out, and Cena would do the one thing
he said he never would: give up.
Gunther dropped the mic and left.
********
Rey Mysterio, Lyra Valkyria & Bayley, AJ Styles & Dragon
Lee, Stephanie Vaquer, and Iyo Sky & Rhea Ripley were shown
arriving earlier today.
Oba Femi was shown in the front row with his NXT
Championship belt, and they plugged his (non-title) match
against Cody Rhodes on Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Iyo Sky (w/ Rhea Ripley) vs. Tag Team Champion Kairi Sane
(w/ Asuka)
Sky was about to go for a dive, but Asuka leaped on the
apron to block it (as Sane distracted the referee). Sky went
after Asuka, but Asuka dropped the rope, and Sky spilled out
of the ring. Ripley confronted Asuka, and Sane used the
distraction to knock down Sky with a leaping forearm off the
apron. (There was another distraction spot during the break,
and Ripley decided not to do anything about it this time.)
Sky fought back when they returned from break and hit a
springboard missile dropkick and corner meteroa for two. Sky
set up for a moonsault, but Sane quickly went up to block it
and followed with a double foot stomp for two (as Sky held
herself upside down in the corner).
Sane tried a back drop on the apron, but Sky landed on her
feet. Sane didn’t notice, so Sky gave her a German suplex on
the apron. Sky followed with an Asai moonsault.
Sky set up for her moonsault in the ring again, but yet
another Sane distraction allowed Asuka to interfere again,
this time by knocking Sky off the top rope. Ripley had
enough and dumped Asuka into the timekeeper’s area.
Sane failed to take advantage of the distraction, and Sky
hit a moonsault for the pinfall win. Sane leaped into
Ripley’s arms to celebrate.
Match result: Iyo Sky defeated Kairi Sane (11:34)
A perfectly good TV match, and the crowd was into Sky (and
Ripley).
********
Logan Paul approached the rest of the Vision backstage. He
asked if they didn’t see Rey Mysterio smack him in the face
last week. Bronson Reed said he didn’t like it. Bron
Breakker seemed unperturbed. Logan wanted something to be
done about it. The Brons stood up and said they would handle
it tonight. Logan was glad.
Logan pulled Paul Heyman aside and said he wanted the
situation handled tonight. Heyman assured him that, for the
first time in his life, he had backup. Logan was cool with
that, but wanted them to know he was their backup if needed.
Heyman was happy to hear that, but handed him brass
knuckles, just in case.
(Normally, it’s stupid when these stablemates seemingly
don’t speak to each other when they’re not on the show, but
it’s believable that the Brons don’t talk to Logan in their
free time.)
********
Mysterio walked through the back and walked by Adam Pearce,
who was off to the side, arguing with The New Day.
There was a Cena video package about the ‘you can’t see me’
hand gesture.
There was a War Raiders video package.
********
Rey Mysterio / Logan Paul / LA Knight segment
Mysterio made his way to the ring (presumably to face Finn
Bálor) but was decked from behind by Logan Paul. Mysterio
fought him off and set up for 619, but was attacked from
behind by the masked man. The man superkicked Mysterio and
hit a curb stomp before being chased away through the crowd
by security.
Mysterio slowly got to his feet, but Logan knocked him out
with the brass knuckles.
LA Knight ran out to his music, and Logan bailed. Knight
said he would have an aneurysm if the masked man really was
Seth Rollins. Knight wanted to stomp his head in. Knight
said he thought the Vision couldn’t suck anymore, but then
Logan joined them.
Knight was pissed off, and it didn’t help watching Logan
attack a legend like Mysterio. Knight said Logan would pay,
not on Friday or Saturday, but tonight in KC. Knight said
“Yeah” over and over as the fans sang along.
The crowd was really into Knight here. Knight vs. Paul was
made official after a break.
********
The announcers congratulated Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on
being nominated for a Golden Globe for best male actor.
Je’Von Evan was shown in the crowd. Evans and Leon Slater
will face AJ Styles and Dragon Lee on SNME.
World Tag Team Championships: AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. The
War Raiders
Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Grayson Waller watched the
match at ringside.
Erik and Ivar blocked early dive attempts by Styles and
Dragon Lee. Erik drove Dragon into the barricade, and Ivar
squished Styles into the side of the ring ahead of a break.
They worked over Styles until Dragon Lee got a hot tag and
ran wild after a break. With Erik hanging upside down in the
ropes (holding himself up), Dragon Lee hit a double foot
stomp—a spot we saw in the opening match. (It’s ok to repeat
spots, but not that one.)
There was an ill-advised spot where Dragon Lee hoisted Ivar
up on his shoulders for something, but he collapsed. The
crowd cheered as Lee hoisted Ivar up again on his shoulders.
He stumbled again, and Ivar tried to make up for it by
pretending to counter. Dragon Lee tried it a third time and
hit an accidental DVD that didn’t look like much. (The crowd
was very forgiving.)
Lee continued to fight off both men on his own until Ivar
powerslammed him outside the ring. Ivar followed with a
moonsault, but Styles just barely broke up the cover. Erik
got a two count on Styles with a knee strike.
Moments later, Styles used a hurricanrana to bring Ivar off
the top rope, and Ivar collided with Erik on the way down.
Dragon Lee wiped out Erik with a dive, and Styles hit Ivar
with a Phenomenal Forearm for the pinfall win.
(This wasn’t the smoothest match you’ll ever see. It
certainly wasn’t boring.)
Match result: AJ Styles & Dragon Lee defeated The War
Raiders to retain the World Tag Team Championships (11:22)
The New Day and Waller approached Styles and Lee in the ring
when Jey Uso’s music hit. The Usos entered together, and
they ran the music back as the other men in the ring
patiently waited.
Jimmy Uso had a big announcement: The Usos were back in the
tag division. They’ve been getting hit hard the past few
months. They lost at WarGames and Wrestlepalooza. Jey lost
his world title and lost in the Cena tournament. Jimmy saw
his brother crashing out and knew he had to do something. He
called Jey in the middle of the night and asked him what
they would do about it.
Jey said they would get back to us. They would block the
noise, body them all, and put the tag team on notice. The
best damn tag team was now in your city. “We need gold. We
need gold, Uce.”
The Usos meant no disrespect to the current champs, but said
Styles and Lee didn’t know the Usos. But the New Day did.
The Usos got in the faces of Kingston and Woods and compared
their rivalry to Ali vs. Frazier and The Rock vs. Stone
Cold. (This confrontation might’ve meant more if New Day
weren’t ice cold.)
The Usos turned their attention to Styles and Lee until New
Day tried to attack them from behind. The Usos decked
Kingston and Woods. (Waller bailed.)
The Usos faced off with Styles and Lee as the segment ended.
********
There was a Cena video package on his feud with The Rock.
SNME card (start time 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT):
John Cena vs. Gunther — Cena’s retirement match
Bayley vs. Sol Ruca
World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. Je’Von
Evans & Leon Slater (non-title)
WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. NXT Champion Oba Femi (non-
title)
********
Stephanie Vaquer segment
Jackie Redmond interviewed Stephanie Vaquer in the ring,
although Vaquer quickly took the mic to speak on her own.
Vaquer said she wanted to face everyone. She didn’t talk
much, but she spoke with her actions. She was the best—and
not because of Devil’s Kiss.
Vaquer said Nikki Bella was a legend, but the women’s
division was different than what it was 15 years ago. They
had Ripley, Bayley, Natalya, Iyo Sky, and they were all
amazing. Vaquer asked Bella if she knew who was on top.
Bella interrupted. Bella called herself a legend, a Hall of
Famer and a celebrity, and she was not done with Vaquer.
Bella demanded a rematch.
Raquel Rodriguez suddenly hopped the apron, effortlessly
yanked Bella off the apron, and lawn darted her into the
ring post. (That was a great spot, but Rodriguez didn’t get
much of a reaction.)
Rodriguez confronted Vaquer. She told her to name the time
and place so she could kick her ass and take the title.
********
Byron Saxton interviewed Ivy Nile during a break, and she
appeared with the Creed Brothers. Nile has an IC title shot
against Maxxine Dupri next week. Nile didn’t care that
Natayla, her old friend, was training Dupri. She said Dupri
would drop the ball just like the KC Chiefs did yesterday
(the crowd booed).
(Nile hasn’t wrestled on Raw since June, and her last
televised win was over a year ago.)
********
The Judgment Day met backstage. Bálor was happy he had an
easy night after Mysterio got laid out.
Morgan was surprised that Rodriguez didn’t run her plan by
her. Rodriguez said she didn’t realize she needed to. Morgan
played it down and said it was cool. She wanted to see
Rodriguez become world champion. Rodriguez was content and
left to talk with Pearce.
Morgan turned her attention to Roxanne Perez and said they
could be the next tag team champions.
********
Sol Ruca was shown in the crowd. It’s been almost 30 minutes
since the previous match ended.
Lyra Valkyria (w/ Bayley) vs. Roxanne Perez (w/ Liv Morgan)
Morgan distracted the referee so Perez could rake Valkyria’s
eyes as she set up for her finisher. Bayley knocked Morgan
down, so Perez kicked Bayley down.
Perez countered a roll-up attempt and shoved Valkyria into
the ropes. Morgan was still down on the apron, but alert
enough to kick Valkyria in the face (and the ref just simply
wasn’t watching).
Perez took advantage of the interference and hit Pop Rox for
the pinfall win.
Match result: Roxanne Perez defeated Lyra Valkyria (10:15)
They were having a nice match until the finishing
interference sequence, which looked pretty bad. We also saw
tons of interference in the first match, but the heel
happened to win this time.
********
Kingston and Woods cut a promo during commercials. Kingston
mocked Jey for losing his smile, and Woods said they would
bury the Usos under their own penitentiary next week.
There were clips from a John Cena interview. He spoke about
the ‘you can’t wrestle’ chants. They were spawned from him
winning matches with the same five moves every night. He
seemed to take it to heart and decided to do more stuff.
Over time, he worked with the likes of Sami Zayn, Kevin
Owens and AJ Styles to teach him stuff and do better. He
didn’t resist the audience’s chants; he used them to get
better. (Full interview is on WWE.com.)
They aired the Dupri/Natalya training video again. Or maybe
it was a new one. Joe Tessitore said he was impressed with
Dupri’s level of training based on this dimly lit video.
********
LA Knight vs. Logan Paul (w/ Paul Heyman)
Logan gave Knight a cheap shot as he entered the ring, and
the ref decided this was a good time to start the match.
Knight fought back anyway and cleared the announce table
before bouncing Logan’s head off of it repeatedly. Knight
was in control until Logan hit a Zig-Zag for two.
Logan maintained control through a break and hit an alley-
oop facebuster when they returned. Knight fought back with a
leaping clothesline, Russian leg sweep, and neckbreaker for
two.
Breakker and Reed marched out as Knight set up on the top
rope. Logan used the distraction to knock Knight off the top
and hit a clunky-looking flying crossbody for two. Knight
countered a gut-wrench slam and hit a reverse DDT, followed
by a flying elbow drop.
Knight knocked Breakker off the apron, but was knocked down
instead by Reed. The referee eventually figured out what
happened and ejected the Brons from ringside, but they
didn’t immediately leave.
Knight attacked Logan by the announce desk as the referee
tried getting rid of the Brons. The distraction allowed the
masked man to fly in and give Knight a curb stomp on the
announce desk.
Logan followed with a frog splash in the ring for the
pinfall win.
— The Brons attacked Knight after the match. Breakker
speared Knight, and Reed hit consecutive Tsunamis.
Match result: Logan Paul defeated LA Knight (12:44)
Officials and medical staff rolled Knight out of the ring as
the Vision stood tall.
Heyman grabbed a mic and started his promo as they went to a
commercial break. (Heyman told a stagehand that he would
still be talking when they returned, and he was.)
Heyman put over his guys before stating that Bron Breakker
would beat CM Punk for the world title on the anniversary of
Raw’s debut on Netflix. The crowd chanted for Punk.
Breakker grabbed the mic. He wondered where Punk was. He
wasn’t wondering where Punk was physically—he wondered where
the CM Punk was. He didn’t buy this new, nice guy CM Punk.
All of a sudden, Punk returned and was the nicest guy ever.
He followed the rules and took pictures with the young
talent just to post them on social media for people to see
what a nice guy he was.
Breakker repeated a joke we’ve heard before, saying Punk
preached about being straight edge, but still looked like
the biggest crackhead anyone has ever seen.
Breakker didn’t want to face the nice guy because he could
beat that guy easily. He wanted the old Punk. The guy from
2011-2013. The guy who walked the halls as a feared man. The
guy who beat The Rock. (Punk never beat The Rock.) The guy
who held the world title for over 400 days. The guy who was
one of the greatest wrestlers to lace up a pair of boots.
Breakker was on his hands and knees, begging for the old
Punk. He wanted to beat the greatest superstar ever to lace
up a pair of boots. Otherwise, he would destroy Punk and
send him to the hospital. He would break Punk, take his
championship, and while he was at it, take his wife, too.
Breakker wanted to keep it simple for Punk: it would be
spear, one-two-three. Spear, one-two-three. Spear, one-two-
three. Spear, one-two-three.
A camera showed Knight in the back getting to his feet, so
Logan and Reed ran back to deal with him. Knight fought them
off and punched a security guard, too. It was all too much
for Knight, so Reed slammed him through a table.
Reed and Logan were about to leave, but Knight wouldn’t stay
down. They slammed Knight into a car and placed him on the
roof. Reed climbed atop some stacked-up equipment boxes and
gave him a Tsunami onto the roof of the car. Pearce appeared
with officials and screamed for medics as the show ended.