WWE Raw Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for December 11

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Finn Balor vs. Curtis Axel (w/ Bo Dallas)

Result: Finn Balor defeated Curtis Axel via pinfall

Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars

After defeating Bo Dallas last week, this week Finn Balor moves up (or down? laterally?) to Curtis Axel, still in a neck brace. BUT IT’S A RUSE, and the neck brace comes off before the match. So much for that Joel Gertner cosplay.

BUT IT’S A DOUBLE RUSE, because as Axel takes off the neck brace Dallas attacks Balor before the bell. A quick double team puts Finn at a serious disadvantage. How can anyone come back from such a devastating onslaught?

Easy, it’s Curtis Axel. Former Intercontinental Champion or not, Axel has sadly been scraping the bottom of the Main Event/Superstars barrel for far too long. So the first ever Universal Champion doesn’t even really have to break much of a sweat to pull out a victory after a Coup de Grace.

One has to wonder what’s going on with Balor. Is he going to feud with The Miz when the A-Lister returns from filming The Marine 6: Tokyo Drift? It’s the only reason I can think of for a pair of matches against The Miztourage. But Balor is pretty clearly creatively treading water right now. It’s a real shame, because he’s capable of doing so much more than he’s gotten over the past few months.