Photo by WWE’s Twitter
The first-ever WWE Raw on Christmas night aired last night and as the final Raw of 2017 is in the books, the brand has a lot to look forward to heading into the new year.
The Dec. 25 edition of WWE Raw saw a nice blend of Christmas theming and storyline development, which is always a potential issue when it comes to holiday-themed WWE TV.
Storylines are becoming clearer on Monday nights as the Royal Rumble approaches at the end of January and potential big angles are beginning to take shape. With that being said, let’s take a look at five key takeaways from the Dec. 25 edition of WWE Raw.
5. Elias Shows Great Promise in Defeat to a WWE Legend
A superstar that has been stuck in mud over the past several months has been Elias. Since making his main roster debut earlier this year, Elias has been in countless random matches that really don’t mean much.
But when given an opportunity to prove his legitimacy, Elias has passed the test. He had an impressive showing against Roman Reigns for the Intercontinental Championship a few weeks ago, and last night gave Elias another big opportunity against the 16-time world champion John Cena.
Cena kicked off last night’s Raw before Elias joined the fold and eventually led to a match. The match got a good amount of time for a TV match, keeping in mind Raw was commercial-free for the first hour last night. But the match went well for Elias for the majority with him looking very good against one of the best of all-time.
The match got slower towards the end, but Elias proved he could hang with the greats before Cena got the win. Elias probably doesn’t have a Universal Championship match coming anytime in the near future, but he has proven his worth when going against the top dogs such as Reigns and Cena. That is a promising development moving forward.
Elias still has a long way to go, but his worth is being proven in these higher-profiled matches that really help build superstars’ careers.
Photo by WWE.com
4. First Woken Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt In-Arena Interaction Gives Feud Added Dimension
Who would have thought at the beginning of 2017 that Bray Wyatt’s final feud of the year would be against Matt Hardy? Probably very few, but that is the case heading into the new year as two of the most strangely-charismatic superstars in the WWE have been going at it.
Wyatt drove Hardy to bring back the hottest gimmick in pro wrestling from 2016 and ever since Hardy has been “woken,” the promos between the two have been outstanding. These two compliment each other perfectly and it’s been a treat to see and hear this side of Hardy on the biggest stage in sports entertainment.
And after weeks of on-screen promos without doing anything in-arena, last night added that new dimension to the rivalry. As Wyatt made his way to the ring, he was attacked from behind by Woken Matt who chased off the Eater of Worlds. Hardy got the last word by another one of his unorthodox laughs that have greatly entertained the WWE universe.
An in-arena interaction was needed by these two after weeks of promos, and last night saw it come to light. When these two will have a match is still uncertain as the Royal Rumble approaches. But when it comes, it should be a much-anticipated match given how the buildup has been so far.
At the end of the day, the WWE is about wrestling and face-to-face interactions. And the feud between Wyatt and Woken Matt got a needed taste of that last night.
Photo by WWE’s Twitter
3. The Raw Women’s Championship Picture is Nonexistent Right Now
One could make the argument that the women’s superstar of the year in 2017 has been Alexa Bliss. In fact, it’s hard to disagree with that premise if you look back at the year and what all she accomplished.
Bliss has been both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion in 2017 and has proven her position as one of the very best. But as of late, her reign as Raw Women’s Champion has been slow through no fault of her own.
She has had no defenses of her title in weeks and since Absolution came into the fold, she has almost been an afterthought on Raw despite owning the women’s title. Last night teased a future encounter between Bliss and Asuka after a promo by the two, but it didn’t clear up the immediate future of the Raw Women’s Championship.
Little Miss Bliss was interrupted by Asuka last night and the Empress of Tomorrow staked her claim that she would win the first-ever all-women’s Royal Rumble match and challenge Bliss for the title. It’d be hard to find someone who wouldn’t want to see that match, but even if it happens or doesn’t happen, that still doesn’t do much for Bliss and her title in the immediate future.
The Raw Women’s Championship has been a prop as of late and the WWE needs to give Bliss a challenger sometime soon.
Photo by WWE’s Twitter
2. Samoa Joe Needs to Be the Guy to Dethrone Roman Reigns for the Intercontinental Championship
In less than a full year on Monday nights, Samoa Joe has quickly developed into a major threat to anybody on any given night. No matter who lines up against Joe, he has stood toe to toe with them and proven his legitimacy.
However, something that has eluded Joe over the past several months has been championship gold. He was part of a couple matches for the Universal Championship over the summer, but failed to capture the gold. But as the WWE moves from 2017 to 2018, one opportunity for championship gold has arisen.
Last night’s Raw saw Joe challenge Roman Reigns for the Intercontinental Championship, and Joe looked very impressive for much of the match. However, Reigns’ frustrations with Joe for taking out Dean Ambrose the week before led to The Big Dog getting disqualified, but keeping his title. Reigns then attacked the Samoan Submission Machine after the match to take his frustrations even farther.
Despite not winning the gold, Joe will probably be in line for another championship opportunity in the future. And given how Reigns will likely be in the Universal Championship match at WrestleMania 34, Joe seems to be the perfect guy to take the Intercontinental Championship from Reigns as someone that is viewed as being a true threat to Reigns.
Joe needs championship gold and taking the Intercontinental Championship from The Big Dog down the road makes all the sense in the world.
Photo by WWE’s Twitter
1. Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan Winning the Raw Tag Team Championship Changes the Direction of Many
With the injury of Dean Ambrose on the Dec. 18 edition of Raw, the future direction of Ambrose and Seth Rollins’ tag team seemed to be on standby. And while Ambrose is out of the equation now, someone else has joined the fold.
Last night’s Raw saw a backstage promo featuring GM Kurt Angle and Rollins where The Architect wanted a piece of Samoa Joe for his actions the week before. And right on cue, Jason Jordan joined the picture and more obnoxious tendencies followed. Arguing ensued, but Angle said Rollins and Jordan would get a Raw Tag Team Championship match against The Bar later in the night.
The WWE has had success with unlikely duos in the past, but would Rollins and Jordan actually win tag team gold from the most established tag team on Raw? The match main evented the show and after a pretty stellar match, Jordan shockingly got the pin to win the Raw Tag Team Championship for him and Rollins.
In a move that came out of nowhere, it has changed the direction of many on Monday nights. Can Rollins and Jordan coexist? How will Angle play a role with his son involved? How will Sheamus and Cesaro respond? There are many possibilities moving forward involving this situation.
Next: WWE Raw Results for Dec. 25 Show
No matter how long Rollins and Jordan have the tag team titles, it creates the potential for several key storyline developments in the future.