WWE Raw Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for December 25

Elias vs. John Cena

Result: John Cena defeated Elias via pinfall

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: John Cena faces some sort of adversity. He’s attacked before the match, or he’s facing some kind of handicap, or whatever. Despite the odds, Cena overcomes them. It’s kind of his trademark.

So guess what happens in this opening match? Elias punches Cena in the face with a sneak attack. A match is made while Cena is still lying flat on his back. The bell rings as he staggers to his knees, and Elias takes full advantage of the situation. For much of the match, it was all Elias, who even managed to avoid the infamous Five Moves of Doom sequence.

But wait, those are odds for Cena to overcome! And overcome them he did, just like anyone could have predicted. No matter how worn down Cena was, Elias couldn’t keep the 16-time world champ down for the three count. And STF by Cena worked as a momentum shifter, and eventually an Attitude Adjustment ended things.

Regardless of the outcome, Elias got in the ring with John Cena and looked darn good in doing so. There’s great things on the horizon in 2018 for Elias, and losing to a superstar of Cena’s caliber shouldn’t be seen as a “burial,” as I’m sure I’ll eventually read on Twitter.

Christmastime is Here

Kurt Angle takes some time out from trimming the tree to force his son Jason Jordan to team up with Seth Rollins in a tag title match later in the evening. Two things: What a team, and why is Kurt only decorating his tree right now? The presents get left under the tree on Christmas morning, this should be done already.

Roman Reigns enters, and we learn that he will face Samoa Joe in an Intercontinental Championship match later on.