Before we begin we would like to wrap up the happenings of the weekend.
Lilian Garcia announced that her father had passed away on Christmas Day. Our deepest condolences to the bereaved family members. With the passing away of her father, will we see Lilian back in the WWE? Time will only tell.
A fan recently asked Dave Bautista the possibility of having a match between him and the Rock at WWE WrestleMania 33, with actor Vin Diesel as the special guest referee. Obviously, the WWE superstar turned actor did not show much interest in the idea and shot it down. He said that the cheese factor for the idea was way too strong and that it would be along the lines of Limberger. He round it off by saying that it was an awful idea.
Stone Cold Steve Austin spoke on his podcast recently about many fans wanting him to come back to the ring for one final match. He said that he was 52 and that although it is great to see his friends like Bill Goldberg come out of retirement and headline WrestleMania, he has no plans of a comeback. He ended the topic by saying that he is really enjoying what he is doing currently and that he enjoys cheering for everyone making a comeback and roots for them to have great matches, but he is happy with where he is and he is done and that he does not need a comeback.
Rolling Stones recently listed the top 10 WWE superstars for the year 2016. AJ Styles topped the list, followed by Charlotte, Chris Jericho, Sasha Banks, Bill Goldberg, Kevin Owens, Heath Slater, The Miz, Seth Rollins, Enzo Amore and Big Cass.
Tonight’s RAW will be broadcast live from the Allstate Arena, Chicago, IL. As a preview for tonight’s show, WWE posted the following:
- Who would be the next to face Braun Strowman’s wrath?
- Can Chris Jericho deal with his fear of heights before the Royal Rumble?
- Will Bayley be the new WWE RAW Women’s Champion?
- What’s next in store for Neville and how will his callous attitude pay off?
- How will Enzo Amore and Big Cass retaliate against Rusev and Jinder Mahal?
This is the final RAW of 2016 and we are live from the Chicago, IL. It is the hometown of former WWE Superstar, CM Punk. Added to that, Chicago has the reputation of being one of the most rowdy crowds.
Stephanie McMahon is out to kick things off. She starts things off by letting us know that Mick Foley has the night off. The crowd starts chanting for CM Punk. Stephanie asks the crowd to continue their chant for more than two minutes and four seconds, so that it would at least be longer than Punk’s MMA debut. Ouch!!!! Burn!!! She is interrupted by Seth Rollins, who calls out Triple H and says that he knows Triple H is not here.
Even if he is, he will not show up as he is the biggest coward of all time. He says the real reason he came out is because he wants a match against Braun Strowman.
Even before Stephanie can answer, Roman Reigns makes an appearance and he says he wants a shot at Strowman too. Rollins steps into Reigns’ face and asks him to get to the back of the line, since he asked for Strowman first. Stephanie teases that Dean Ambrose might be around to re-unite the Shield but that is not going to happen. She sets up Rollins vs Strowman for later tonight and informs Reigns that he will be defending his United States Championship tonight against an opponent of her choosing.
Sheamus and Cesaro vs The New Day: The tag team championships are on the line for the match. As a part of the Freebirds’ rule, Kofi and Xavier are set to fight it out for the New Day. They take control of the match using frequent tags and stomp on Cesaro. Sheamus tags himself in and connects with a back breaker on Xavier.
Cesaro connects with a knee across Xavier’s face, while Xavier works on Sheamus’ knee. There is plenty of back and forth action till Xavier connects with a DDT on Cesaro.
Kofi connects with the Trouble in Paradise on Sheamus back in the ring for a two count. Cesaro and Xavier are now the legal members of their respective teams. Xavier hits an elbow drop from the top rope. Meanwhile, Cesaro swings Xavier and throws Kofi onto Big E on the outside. Xavier rolls up Cesaro into a small package from behind for a near fall.
Sheamus tags himself in and behind Xavier seeing, drops Xavier with a big boot and picks up the win for his team.
Braun Strowman is shown walking around backstage and he runs into Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho who praise him for beating down Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. Owens informs Strowman that after he successfully defends his Universal title at the Royal Rumble, Strowman will be in line for a title shot. Meanwhile he warns Strowman to be focused on Reigns and Rollins. They try telling Strowman about the things Rollins and Reigns said, but Strowman is not interested and gets into Jericho’s face and walks off eventually.
Goldust and R-Truth are backstage talking about some Christmas movies.
Bayley walks in to give Goldust a Christmas gift. She gives him a teddy bear dressed up as Dusty Rhodes as Bayley always credits him for her training. Goldust thanks her as the crowd chants for Dusty. Gallows and Anderson approach Goldust and Truth next, and call them nerds. Huh? Why but? Anderson destroys the teddy bear and runs off screen with Gallows.
Nia Jax vs Scarlet: Scarlet as usual gives her pre-match interview for jobbers. Nia picks up the win with a Samoa drop in a very short squash match. Post-match, Nia hits a big leg drop.
Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho approach Stephanie to complain about Reigns getting another shot at Owens. Jericho complains about having to be held in the shark cage like a sexy piñata 100 feet in the air. Stephanie listens and informs them that Owens will take on Reigns tonight as well but this time it would be for a shot at Reigns’ US Title. Jericho seems disappointed that he has not been chosen to face Reigns.
Bayley is out in the ring to talk about beating Charlotte last week for the third time in a row. Charlotte comes out to interrupt and they argue about last week’s finish where the slow motion replay showed that Charlotte’s shoulder was raised from the mat before the three count. Charlotte says that due to the referee’s error, Bayley’s victory had been expunged from the record books. Charlotte adds that Bayley can have her rematch tonight but this time, the referee will be Dana Brooke.
Charlotte vs Bayley: As expected, Dana Brooke’s bias is shown towards Charlotte as she gains control of the match in the very early moments. Dana pulls back Bayley whenever she tries to get some offense, and Bayley hits a belly to belly suplex to Dana.
Charlotte meanwhile takes the opportunity to beat down Bayley from behind, till a real referee comes down to the ring. Charlotte meanwhile works on Bayley in the corner, but Bayley retaliates by slamming Charlotte’s head ten times into the top turnbuckle.
Bayley follows this up with a cross body off the top rope for a two count. Bayley connects with a superplex on Charlotte, but Dana pulls the new referee out the ring. Bayley grabs Dana, but Charlotte rolls her up from behind into a small package and uses the ropes for leverage and Dana makes a quick three count.
Backstage, Stephanie stops Strowman from beating up some random person. He says he wants Sami Zayn in addition to Seth Rollins. Stephanie says that she cannot find Zayn tonight, but gives Strowman a last man standing match against Zayn tomorrow night. Stephanie says Strowman should take out his aggression towards Zayn tonight on Seth Rollins.
Neville vs TJ Perkins: Austin Aries is on commentary for the match. Perkins gains control of the match initially with a knee to the face and follows it up with a suicide dive. Perkins connects with a cross body off the top rope for a two count. He hangs up Neville in a tree of woe in the corner, but Neville escapes and sends Perkins to the outside with a kick to the head.
Perkins meanwhile comes back with a missile drop kick, and a gut buster for a two count. He connects with a detonation kick on Neville, and goes for a knee bar, but Neville rolls out and pins Perkins by holding his tights. Neville scores the win.
Post-match, Neville does an interview, where he says it’s so funny that the only time someone wants to talk to him is when he leaves a trail of bodies behind him. He cuts a promo about how he is not being appreciated by the American fans, and says that they will not have any other choice but to appreciate him after he defeats Rich Swann for the cruiserweight championship on 205 Live.
Enzo and Cass are out next. Enzo is in a wheel chair following the vicious attack on him by Rusev and Jinder Mahal. Enzo and Cass cut a promo and Cass gets into the ring to call out Rusev, who comes out but is accompanied by Jinder Mahal again. They try to double team Cass, but Enzo hops out of the wheel chair and drops Jinder. Cass lays out Rusev in the ring. They sit Jinder down in the wheel chair and double team on him with the Bada-Boom at ring-side.
The Shining Stars vs Darren Young and Bo Dallas: Braun Strowman interrupts the match and lays out all the competitors in the match. Epico hits Strowman from behind with a steel chair, but there is no effect on Strowman, who hits a clothesline on Epico. Strowman throws Darren Young into Bob Backlund. He throws the ring steps into the other participants in the ring. The crowd chants Thank you Strowman. The match ends in a no-contest.
Braun Strowman vs Seth Rollins: Strowman is in control in the initial few moments of the match. He misses a spear in the corner and goes shoulder first into the ring-post. Rollins comes back with two flying knees and goes for the third but Strowman catches him and slams him into the turnbuckle. Rollins comes back with a blockbuster off the middle rope and goes for the pedigree, but Strowman connects with a back drop to the outside.
Strowman follows him to the outside and drops him with a clothesline, and throws him back into the ring. Suddenly, Sami Zayn’s music is played and Zayn attacks Strowman from behind. He throws Strowman into the ring post but Strowman chases Zayn all the way to the back. Meanwhile, Chris Jericho hits the codebreaker on Rollins. Referees try to pull him off Rollins, but he comes back with another codebreaker.
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. the Golden Truth: Goldust starts things off with lots of offense on Anderson. Gallows and Truth tag themselves in and Gallows drops him with a kick to the head. Goldust tags himself in and lays out both Gallows and Anderson and beats him down at ring side.
Goldust connects with his patented spinning power slam and follows it up with a bull dog. Gallows distracts and Anderson slowly rolls up Goldust from behind into a small package for the win.
Rich Swann vs Ariya Daivari: Daivari gets lot of offense early on and misses a frog splash off the top rope. Swann comes back with a kick to the head and gets the win in a very short match.
Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens: As announced, the United States Championship is on the line for the match. Owens connects with a boot and locks in the side headlock. Reigns shoulder blocks Owens to the outside. They exchange their strikes till Jericho comes out and distracts Reigns.
Owens hits a DDT after the distraction and a senton splash for a two count. Reigns comes back with clotheslines, but Owens stops the third clothesline with a super kick and cannonball in the corner. Owens takes things to the outside, but Reigns counters with the Drive By. Jericho gets on the apron to distract Reigns again, and he turns into a codebreaker by Owens. Rollins comes out and pedigrees Jericho and Owens drops Rollins with a super kick. Owens gets speared by Reigns and he pins Owens for the win.
Rollins and Reigns shake hands, and Rollins connects with the pedigree on Owens. Reigns spears Jericho as we go to close of show.
- Updated card for the WWE Royal Rumble pay per view - January 28, 2017
- WWE SmackDown Results – 01/24/2017 - January 26, 2017
- WWE RAW Results – 01/23/2017 - January 24, 2017
