While SmackDown Live has three title matches on their card tomorrow, Monday Night Raw has a lot to offer as well. The New Day cash in their Tag Team Championship rematch clause, Bayley gets a rematch with Charlotte, and Roman Reigns defends the United States Championship.
Opening Segment
After being off of television for a little while, Stephanie McMahon returns to kick off the show. She addresses the Chicago crowd, makes a great dig at CM Punk, and immediately gets interrupted by Seth Rollins. Rollins insults Triple H in hopes to get a match with him, and changes topics to more recent happenings.
Last week, Braun Strowman interrupted the main event of Raw, surprisingly manhandling Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Rollins asks for demands a match against Braun Strowman, and Reigns has unfinished business as well. Tonight, Rollins gets his match against Strowman, and Reigns has to defend his United States Championship against an opponent of McMahon’s choosing.
Cesaro & Sheamus (c) vs. The New Day – Raw Tag Team Championships
The New Day broke the longest reigning Tag Team Championship record right before Roadblock: End of the Line. By the time of the Pay-Per-View, they defended the belts against Sheamus and Cesaro, but their reign would come to an end. Tonight, they cash in their rematch clause in hopes to become 3-time tag team champs.
Cesaro throws Kofi Kingston onto Big E so he couldn’t interfere, and Sheamus hits Xavier Woods with a Brogue Kick out of nowhere to retain the titles, and knock the New Day out of the tag team title picture for the first time since mid-2015. Winners, and STILL Raw Tag Team Champions: Cesaro & Sheamus
Nia Jax vs. Scarlett
Last week, Nia Jax attacked an injured Sasha Banks, and she returns to squash matches tonight. Scarlett (known for her work in Ring of Honor among other companies as Scarlett Bordeaux) was wearing a Sasha Banks shirt, saying that Banks was her idol. Jax didn’t take to kindly to this, and destroyed her in under a minute. Winner: Nia Jax
Charlotte vs. Bayley – Special Guest Referee (Dana Brooke)
Last week, Bayley defeated Charlotte in a non-title match, or so we thought. The referee didn’t see that Charlotte’s shoulder was up and counted the pinfall to 3. Charlotte wants a rematch with a referee that would call it down the line, so she obviously chose Dana Brooke, who would call the match in her favor.
After some unfair calls, Bayley hits Dana Brooke with a Bayley-to-Belly, then a new referee enters the match to make it fair again. After laying out Charlotte with another Bayley-to-Belly, Dana Brooke pulls the second referee out of the ring, then helps Charlotte cheat to steal the win. Winner: Charlotte
Announcement
Next week, Braun Strowman gets his match against Sami Zayn, in a Last Man Standing match.
Neville vs. TJ Perkins
After Rich Swann successfully defended his Cruiserweight Championship against Brian Kendrick and TJ Perkins, Neville would return from his hiatus and attack Swann and Perkins. On 205 Live two nights later, Neville then teamed up with Kendrick to defeat Swann and Perkins in a tag team match. Perkins now has a chance to defeat Neville in singles competition.
Perkins looks to roll Neville into the kneebar, but The Man That Gravity Forgot sits on Perkins and grabs his tights to get a cheap pinfall victory. Winner: Neville
After the match, Neville issues a challenge to Rich Swann for a match tomorrow night on 205 Live.
Bo Dallas & Darren Young (w/Bob Backlund) vs. The Shining Stars
Like most Shining Stars matches, Primo and Epico tried to sell a timeshare scam to Bob Backlund, so this tag match was made. This doesn’t matter though, because Braun Strowman interrupts the match and lays everybody out. Result: No Contest
Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins
Since Strowman is in the ring anyway, Rollins joins him for their scheduled match. While Rollins may have held multiple championships in WWE, he has never faced anyone like Strowman (although Brock Lesnar is close).
Strowman seems to have the upper hand, and Sami Zayn interferes by attacking Strowman from out of nowhere. Strowman chases Zayn to the back, and Chris Jericho shows up to hit Rollins with a Codebreaker. Result: No Contest
Golden Truth vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Earlier tonight, Bayley gave Goldust a teddy bear stylized as Dusty Rhodes as a Chrismas gift. Gallows and Anderson called them “nerds,” ripped up the teddy bear, and here we are in a match.
Goldust clotheslines Gallows out of the ring, and Anderson rolls Goldust up to steal the win. Winners: Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Rich Swann vs. Ariya Daivari
Rich Swann needs to prepare for an inevitable match with Neville down the line, and tonight he faces Ariya Daivari. Daivari has been on a roll as of late, giving great performances throughout the past few weeks against Jack Gallagher and Lince Dorado. However, Swann is at the top of his game.
Swann hits Daivari with a swift spinning back kick to lay him out and get the pinfall. After the match, Swann accepts Neville’s challenge for 205 Live tomorrow night, and immediately gets ambushed by Neville. Winner: Rich Swann
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens (w/Chris Jericho) – United States Championship
Before Kevin Owens defends the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns has to defend his United States Championship against the Universal Champion. While Chris Jericho will be suspended above the ring for the Universal title match, he is free to be at ringside tonight.
Seth Rollins fights Jericho at ringside, and Owens leaves the ring to hit Rollins with a superkick. This gives Reigns enough time to recover, and when Owens enters the ring, he gets hit with a spear. Winner, and STILL United States Champion: Roman Reigns
