WWE Raw Results, Highlights, And Grades For December 31, 2018

Ronda Rousey And Natalya vs. Nia Jax And Tamina

Nia Jax and Tamina attacked Natalya from behind during a backstage interview, and Ronda Rousey was pissed. She and Natalya immediately went after the heel tag team with fists before the bell rang, and during the official start of the match, Ronda started hitting knees on Tamina.

Rousey begged for Tamina to tag in Nia, and when she did, Ronda started showing off her technical skill against an overmatched Jax, who had to use her strength to try and hold off the Raw Women’s Champion.

As Nia tagged in Tamina, Rousey brought Natalya into the match, and she hit a dropkick on Tamina before nailing a snap vertical suplex. Tamina easily kicked out at two when Nattie went for a pinfall, likely gauging Tamina’s energy levels early in the match.

Once again, Tamina kicked out at two before fighting out of the Sharpshooter, desperately grabbing the ropes. Nia tried to help Tamina out, but Natalya hit both women with a baseball slide before tagging in Ronda, who hit a picture-perfect crossbody to the heels on the outside. A fired-up Rousey started talking trash as we headed to a commercial break.

After the break, Nia was dominating Natalya, headbutting The Queen of Hearts and choking her on the bottom rope. She then threw Nattie into her corner, as Nia and Tamina traded tags to continue delivering pain to the former SmackDown Women’s Champion. Jax then smashed Natalya into the ringpost, talking trash to a waiting Ronda Rousey, later getting a nearfall on a clearly worn-out Natalya.

Nia’s work was done, as she did plenty of damage on Natalya, so Tamina stepped in to continue grounding Nattie in vicious holds. But Nattie fought out of it, countering a Samoan Drop and using her quickness.

Rousey finally came into the match, hitting Nia with frequent strikes in the corner before later getting a nearfall. She started calling for a big move, hitting yet another nearfall after a running elbow on Jax.

There was a close call moments later, as Nia hit a wonderful gorilla press on Rousey, leading to a nearfall for the former Raw Women’s Champion. She won that title with a Samoan Drop off the top rope and tried to hit it on Rousey, who countered. But Tamina subtly tagged in and came into a ring with a superkick that also nearly put Rousey away. Of course, when Rousey is involved, it takes a special move to put her away, and nobody’s done that yet.

Tamina desperately tried to block the Armbar and was successful for long enough, allowing Nia to break things up with a leg drop. Nattie took Nia out of the equation, but Tamina followed that up with a superkick to send Nattie rolling out of the ring.

After another two-count, Tamina went up to the top rope in an attempt to put Rousey away, but Rousey blocked her splash, turning it into an armbar for a quick tap-out, another victory, and some revenge for her good friend Natalya.

WWE announced that John Cena will be live at Raw next week, and Alexa Bliss’s inaugural “Moment of Bliss” show, featuring Rousey, will also air.

Grade: C+, This was a decent match to close the show and featured a happy ending.