On December 11, WWE aired their weekly episode of Monday Night Raw from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. We found out which brand will exclusively have CM Punk. Drew McIntyre and Jey Uso looked to settle their score. Cody got his hands on Shinsuke Nakamura, and Becky Lynch called out Nia Jax. Rhea Ripley faced Maxxine Dupri and much more. Let’s review everything that happened on WWE Raw.
Singles Match
Jey Uso vs Drew McIntyre
Jey Uso opened Raw. He was wearing “YEET” merch, as WWE has the right to use it now. He welcomed everyone and said that “YEET” is back. He talked about CM Punk and asked the crowd if they wanted Punk on Raw to say “YEET”. A loud chant picked up. Uso wished Sami Zayn a happy recovery. Jey claimed himself as a “YEET-Master”.
Drew McIntyre cut him off. He said Punk would destroy the Raw locker room and wanted him to go to SmackDown. The crowd was booing Drew. The Scottish Warrior said Sami suffered all this because he mentioned my family. He apologized and said that he still left Zayn on one good leg. Jey has heard enough and asked the crowd if they want a “YEETdown”. The crowd roared, and the match started.
Jey took control early on and sent Drew out of the ring. Later, he delivered a diving crossbody for a two-count. Drew bounced back and powered out Uso into a Vertical Suplex. McIntyre threw some chops, and Jey rolled out of the ring. The Scottish Warrior went for a Claymore Kick but ended up lying on the commentary table as Jey moved out of the way. Uso followed it with a suicide dive, and McIntyre was frustrated. Inside the ring, Drew delivered a belly-to-belly suplex. Jey hit a superkick and followed it with a Samoan Drop for a near fall.
McIntyre escaped the hip attack and connected with a neckbreaker. Uso countered the Claymore Kick with two superkicks of his own. Drew got his knees up on the Uso Splash. It’s a Future Shock DDT by the Scottish Warrior, but Jey was somehow kicked out. An irate Drew removed the turnbuckle pad. Jey delivered a Spear for a near fall. As the referee fixed the turnbuckle pad, McIntyre delivered a thumb attack into Jey’seyes, followed by a Claymore, to achieve victory.
Winner: Jey Uso
Grades: B+
Analysis: It was a great opening segment and match for the show. These two have built great chemistry with each other. McIntyre got the victory necessary for his new character. Jey has lost most of his singles matches on Raw, and WWE surely needs to work on that.
Backstage: In Judgment Day’s clubhouse, Rhea Ripley and Finn Balor were back since they were not here last week. Mami said how things went wrong in her and Finn’s absence. Dom lost the North American title at NXT Deadline. McDonagh and Dominik lost to The Creed Brothers. They also talked about the R-Truth problem. Mami ended the argument by saying that she would defeat Maxxine to show their dominance.
Non Title Match
Rhea Ripley vs Maxxine Dupri
Maxxine made a mistake early on when she slapped Rhea. Also, a hurricane angered Mami. An irate Ripley delivered a Riptide. She caught Maxxine in a Prism Trap and forced her to tap.
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Grades: C-
Analysis: It was a short match. Mami looked dominant. Ivy Nile confronted the champion after the match.
CM Punk’s Big Announcement
Adam Pearce introduced CM Punk, and the Best in the World made his entrance to a roaring crowd. Punk said he had a tough decision to make tonight, and he had to make a tough decision ten years ago. He said that he debuted in the same building. He apologized to the people who were not happy to see him back. Punk said Pearce has a better deal than Aldis and Michaels and signed the Raw contract.
World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins arrived, and we got the much-anticipated confrontation. Rollins grabbed the mic and welcomed Punk to Monday Night Rollins. Seth told CM Punk never to call WWE his home. He claimed that WWE is Rollins’ home. Seth and the people back there made it while Punk tried to tear down this place for the last ten years. Seth said that he wanted to have Punk on Raw. Punk will self-expose himself as he does. The other possibility will be Seth exposing Punk whenever they face each other for this World Heavyweight Title.
Punk told Pearce he will officially enter the Men’s Royal Rumble match. He claimed to win it, and maybe he will go after Seth Rollins.
Grades: B+
Analysis: It was a compelling segment that clarified things for the fans. Rollins mentioned that he hates Punk. Now, interestingly, Punk will be in the Royal Rumble match. Finally, CM Punk can have his WrestleMania main event agains Rollins.
Ivar vs Bronson Reed
The match started with heavy punches, headbutts, and big boots. We saw a double clothesline and a double crossbody block at ringside. Reed delivered a sidekick, but Ivar bounced back with a sit-out spinebuster for a near fall. Reed went for Tsunami, but Ivar cut him on the top rope and sent him to the ringside. Ivarthen delivered a massive cannonball from the top rope. Inside the ring, Ivar went for his Doomsault. Reed cut him off this time and delivered an enormous top-rope suplex for the win.
Winner: Bronson Reed
Grades: A
Analysis: It was a fun, hard-hitting bout with two big men. These two are delivering bangers after bangers. Ivar has shocked everyone with his transformation into a brilliant singles competitor.
Backstage: CM Punk had a little altercation with The Judgment Day.
Judgment Day’s Promo
Judgment Day came out and reminded everyone about their achievements. They put everyone, including the Creed Brothers, on notice. Dom tried to talk, but the crowd didn’t let him. R-Truth came down to the ramp with Christmas lights. He said he wanted to decorate the Judgment Day locker room, but there’s a lock. McDonagh looked angry, but Priest called Truth to the ring. Truth shared two ideas. First, he wanted McDonagh out of the faction as nobody liked him. Secondly, he wanted Priest to stop calling himself the boss. Priest was angry, and he delivered a vicious clothesline on Truth.
Everyone started to attack R-Truth. The Creed Brothers made the save and took everyone down. Judgment Day retrieved, and R-Truth stood alongside The Creed Brothers.
Grades: B-
Analysis: R-Truth looked hilarious. WWE could have pulled this thing for a few more weeks. They presented The Creed Brothers as legit threats.
Backstage: CM Punk walked up to Drew McIntyre and Adam Pearce talking backstage. McIntyre said he doesn’t care about Punk or Cody’s story; he will finish his. He walked away after that. Punk said he thought McIntyre would be happy seeing him back. Pearce declared that McIntyre would get a World Heavyweight Championship match on the Day 1 edition of WWE Raw.
Tag Team Match
Katana Chance and Kayden Carter vs. Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell
It was a short match. Katana delivered a beautiful slingshot senton. Candice delivered a step-up senton as well. Natalya and Tegan Nox watched from backstage. Indi hit a spinebuster. In the end, Chance and Carter won with the After Party finisher.
Winners: Kayden Carter and Katana Chance
Becky Lynch called out Nia Jax
The Man came around to Cleveland. A video package was shown of Jax breaking Lynch’s nose back in 2018. Becky said that she went on to the main event of WrestleMania. Then, she had a child, and Nia was fired from the company. Nia came out to say that she was the reason behind Becky’s career. Lynch said she would end this narrative and show everyone that one moment was not the reason behind her career. Becky dared Niato punch her once again. Jax walked off.
Grades: B-
Analysis: It was a short segment. Becky wanted to prove herself. Nia Jax put out a great point in her promo, too. A future match between the two seems to be on the way.
Six Man Tag Team Match
Imperium vs DIY and The Miz
The Miz was the mystery partner for DIY against Imperium. It was the hometown of Gargano, and a loud “Johnny Wrestling” chant picked up early on. Gunther dominated early on and chopped Johnny. He delivered a vicious big boot to Ciampa at ringside. Ciampa suffered a Death Valley Driver from Kaiser. Gargano delivered his signature slingshot spear on Kaiser, but Vinci broke the pinfall.
Miz and Gunther were the legal men, and Miz was fired up. He delivered his corner clotheslines and a springboard crossbody block. Gunther countered a kick into Boston Crab. Ciampa saved Miz. We saw stereo satellite DDTs from Ciampa and Miz. The A-Lister applied a figure-four leglock on The IC Champion. Gargano caught Kaiser in the Gargano Escape. In the end, The Miz pinned Vinci after a Skull Crushing Finale.
Winners: The Miz and DIY
Grades: B+
Analysis: The face team was very over with the crowd. Miz has turned into a great babyface.
Backstage: Gunther was angry with Kaiser and Vinci. Mizwalked up and claimed a rematch for the IC Title. Gunther gave him the match on one condition: he would not challenge for the title again if he lost the match.
Singles Match
Cody Rhodes vs Shinsuke Nakamura
The match started quickly in a traditional style lined with takedowns and headlocks. Nakamura delivered his knee to the ribs, followed by a baseball slide. Nakamura tried Good Vibrations on Cody. The American Nightmare bounced back with a back suplex and an uppercut. Nakamura countered Cross Rhodes and applied the cross-arm breaker. Shin delivered his signature sliding snap German Suplex. Rhodes again came back with a front suplex and a single-leg crab. Nakamura wisely rolled out of the ring, but a suicide dive from Cody took him down.
After the break, Cody delivered a snap power slam and went for the Figure-Four leglock. Instead, Nakamura applied a rear naked choke. Cody got a near fall after a Disaster Kick. Rhodes delivered a Cody Cutter and fired up the crowd. Shin used the poison mist to end the match via disqualification as he went for Cross Rhodes.
Nakamura continued the attack and delivered Kinshasa. The Creed Brothers came out for the save. Shinsuke followed on the ramp and delivered another Kinshasa. The crowd was booing him as we went off the air.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Grades: B+
Analysis: Nakamura’s work is top-notch in this character. He successfully gets as much hate from the crowd. It looks like Cody will be busy around Nakamura until the Royal Rumble.
That was the show. It was a decent edition of WWE Raw. CM Punk officially arrived on Monday Night and declared himself for the Royal Rumble match. We got a much-anticipated face-off between Punk and Rollins.
