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

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Love is in the Air

You know what? I know last week I said I was on board for Nia Jax being a big softie outside the ring but a dominant force in it. But I’m doubling down – I’m loving this Nia-Enzo thing. I mean, who wouldn’t love Gulak’s PowerPoint presentations?

(And as much as I want to see Cedric Alexander as Cruiserweight Champion, Drew Gulak needs to be the one to dethrone Enzo. Let it happen, PLEASE.)

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WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cesaro

Result: Roman Reigns defeated Cesaro via pinfall

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Two matches featuring The Shield vs. The Bar, and two fantastic matches. Man, this one was good. I’m kind of getting tired of saying “Roman Reigns proved once again that he’s one of the best in-ring performers in WWE today,” but Roman Reigns proved once again that he’s one of the best in-ring performers in WWE today.

We all know that Cesaro is in the upper tier of workers in the company, if not the world. But Reigns was right there with him the whole time. And again, it’s a very simple story in this one, much like Rollins-Sheamus earlier. Cesaro knows Reigns relies on his power, so the Swiss Cyborg zeroed in on the right arm. If Roman has to use one arm, his power is severely limited. It’s a great strategy.

And, you know, swinging him into the ringside barricade is a good way to accomplish that.

But Reigns did everything in his ability to work around it. Not only did he sell the arm throughout the match, he changed up his attack. When was the last time you saw Roman Reigns bust out a la magistral cradle? With his power compromised, he needed to go to technique. When that failed, he sucked it up and went for the big power moves, pain be damned.

Major credit to Cesaro, for looking like the world’s greatest submission specialist from bell to bell. Every time you turned around, Cesaro had another submission hold locked in. Fujiwara armbars, crossface – anything to punish the arm.

This one was great all the way through. The Intercontinental Championship open challenge has been terrific thus far, Cesaro really shined here, and Reigns continues to be better than many want to give him credit for. Awesome, awesome match.

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Braun Strowman Is Terrifying

I’ll be honest – most of the time when Braun Strowman speaks, all I hear is “BRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNN.”