WWE Raw – Dec 16th 2019: Results & Review
Welcome to this week’s Monday Night Raw review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have the fallout from a lousy TLC PPV. I’ll understand if you want to leave now.
Match #1: The O.C. def. The Viking Raiders
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The O.C. have had two main talking points when it comes to their superiority as a tag team: That shiny Best Tag Team in the World trophy and the fact that they’re the only team to pin The Viking Raiders. And just one night after it was starting to look like that win might have been a fluke, the good brothers did it again. Erik & Ivar now have two losses since coming to Raw, both of which have come at the hands of the official, the original and the only club that matters. And this one was even more demoralizing, as it didn’t come at the end of a Tag Team Turmoil Match. Despite a furious comeback at the tail end of a long, brutal fight, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson dispatched Erik from the apron, hoisted big man Ivar up for the Magic Killer and let ‘er rip, scoring the 1-2-3 with no chicanery and no tricks. The win left the Raiders furious and looking more than a little energized, though they would do well to add a little more strategy to the fight if these teams collide in the future. After all, they’ve suffered two losses, so it can no longer be considered an anomaly. If they want to stay champions, they’ll need to stop it from becoming a trend.
My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was a nice long match that had plenty of good wrestling between two fantastic teams. Mischa Barton sure can kick some ass, can’t she? That that Terry Bradshaw! Catch the damn ball! This was a strong tag team match.
Match #2: Erick Rowan def. Dante Leon
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
One day, we will know what is in Erick Rowan’s cage. But the cost in locals paid to attain that knowledge will be beyond counting. In Rowan’s defense, however, the competitors who get wrangled to fight him seem to be actively courting their own demise, willingly trying to uncover the mysteries of Rowan’s precious cargo before the inevitable. This guy, Dante Leon, created some distance between Rowan and himself by crawling under the ring to get closer to the pen, but the second he approached it, Rowan came running, and it was only a matter of time. Unfortunately for Dante, not much time.
My Opinion: 1.4 out of 5 – The jobber was better than the guy from The Year Without A Santa Claus.
Match #3: R-Truth, Akira Tozawa, Ricochet, Matt Hardy, Humberto Carrillo and Andrade – Gauntlet Match (No Contest)
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The question of who would challenge United States Champion Rey Mysterio was supposed to be answered in a Gauntlet Match featuring 24/7 Champion R-Truth, Akira Tozawa, Ricochet, Matt Hardy, Humberto Carrillo and Andrade. But the match quickly turned from a contest into a bramble patch of grudges and unpaid debts, all of which boiled over into a pair of heinous attacks. The first such assault came at the end of the Gauntlet Match itself. After Tozawa pinned Truth and Ricochet posted consecutive wins over The Stamina Monster and Matt Hardy, Humberto Carrillo pinned the high-flyer to bring it down to himself and Andrade. But Andrade, clearly out for retribution rather than a win after a pair of losses to Carrillo, instead ambushed the up-and-comer before the match, drilling him into the exposed concrete of the arena with a Hammerlock DDT that brought out Mysterio to assist. But just as Humberto was being taken up the ramp in a stretcher, Seth Rollins and AOP appeared. Rollins was brandishing Mysterio’s signature steel pipe, which he gave to Kevin Owens to assist in KO’s pursuit of Rollins and AOP last week. Suddenly, Rollins’ unsettled score became clear, and after Akam & Rezar administered a brief beatdown of The Ultimate Underdog, the former Universal Champion seemingly granted him clemency for just one night … only to turn around at the last second and nail him with a Stomp. The only reason it wasn’t worse, according to Rollins, was then if Rey had been hospitalized, he wouldn’t be able to answer a challenge to defend United States Title against Rollins himself on next week’s show — a challenge that Rey decided to accept, despite his very sore temptation to fight Andrade instead. Rollins’ effectiveness as a “leader” may be a matter of opinion, but clearly, his new strategy is getting results.
My Opinion: 3.9 out of 5 – This went almost an hour, but got screwed over by…a non-finish. What the f—?! Hey, we got almost an hour of quality wrestling out of this, so that works for me.
Match #4: Asuka def. Deonna Purrazzo
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
What happens when Asuka has run out of Raw Superstars to devour? Send ‘em in from NXT! The Empress of Tomorrow flew solo on Raw and made quick work of “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo, who put up a good fight with the help of a pre-match cheap shot, only to be dispatched down the stretch with the Asuka Lock. It was proof that The Empress can switch between singles and tag competition in seamless fashion — something that Becky Lynch seemed to think was forgotten by WWE’s powers that be. In the wake of Asuka’s victory, a sit-down interview with The Man revealed that Lynch saw her recent move to the tag team division as a tactic by WWE management to “protect” her since they now view her as the “golden goose.” But all it did was bring her dirty secret to the forefront: Asuka remains one of the only Superstars that Lynch has yet to beat. And while most of Lynch’s prospective opponents need a match with The Man, she might be approaching a situation where the opposite is true.
My Opinion: 2.6 out of 5 – These guys worked hard to not get very much in return, but both of them looked good enough to warrant putting them together again.
Match #5: (Main Event) Randy Orton def. AJ Styles
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Can you end a night on a loss and a high note at the same time? The O.C. certainly did. True, AJ Styles dropped a grueling one down the stretch to Randy Orton, but the good brothers stood tall all the same in a post-match scrum that roped in The Viking Raiders. That’ll do more than enough to wash out the disappointment of a loss by The Phenomenal One, who pitched a perfect game by targeting Orton’s leg, but still sprang headlong into an RKO in the match’s final moments when he got a little too emboldened by his own success. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson quickly rushed the ring to overwhelm The Apex Predator, and while The Viking Raiders briefly evened the odds in a bid for retribution from earlier in the night, Gallows & Anderson rallied to drop the Raw Tag Team Champions for the second straight time this evening — as solid proof as you’ll need that it doesn’t necessarily matter how you start a night, or even the unfortunate turns it might take. How you finish it is the only thing that matters.
My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was quite good, but it was missing the extra spark you’d want between two of wrestling’s most famous stars. That being said, they need to stop booking AJ as a heel. It never worked before and it isn’t working now. Who wants to boo AJ Styles? They should just let AJ wrestle to the best of his abilities, which he can do as a face. Overall, this was really good, but if AJ had been allowed to go at full-speed, this could have been a classic.
News Of The Night:
- Lana and Bobby Lashley are getting married.
- Seth Rollins fights Rey Mysterio for the US Title, next week.
- Liv Morgan is being reborn into something.
Final Verdict: 3.7/5
There was a lot of wrestling on here, so I’ll give this a higher rating (it was good wrestling too). The booking of certain angles brought the score down, but there was lots of strong wrestling, which is the whole point of this show.
