My WWE RAW Overview (December 4, 2017)

RAW opens with footage of Roman Reigns defending his WWE Intercontinental Championship against Elias last week on RAW followed by Samoa Joe's attack from behind on "The Big Dog". Joe would leave Reigns laying with a coquina clutch as RAW went off the air.

My Take: For as long as I watched pro wrestling, I always hated having to sit through recaps especially in the 3-hour RAW era since they have to show a lot of them to fill time. However, I've started to realize that video recaps do work in moderation. It's a lesson taught to me by wrestling video games. If you pit two random wrestlers against each other, it gets meh after a while but you give them a little storyline, angle or stipulation behind their match and all of a sudden there's an investment. I totally understand why WWE spams recaps (to fill time and to educate a casual viewer tuning in late) and I have hated them for a long time but I think I'll start letting them play instead of forwarding through them. Recaps of what happened earlier in the show? That's a different story.

RAW General Manager, Kurt Angle comes out and is about to make a WWE Intercontinental Championship match when he is interrupted by his storyline son, Jason Jordan as Booker cannot contain his disdain for this young man. Jordan tells Kurt that he wants Roman Reigns and uses the dad card on him. Roman pretty much tells Kurt that Jordan is beneath him and says that he wants Samoa Joe. He gives Jordan advice and tells him stop going to his father when he wants something. If he wants something then come to Roman like a man and take it. (Or something to that effect)

Samoa Joe comes out to the stage and accepts Reigns' challenge as Jordan interrupts and starts calling out Joe. Reigns AND Joe both give Jason a look like "who the fook is that guy?". Jason challenges Joe to a match also as Roman backs him up and tells him to stay in his lane. Reigns turns around to finish addressing Joe and is suddenly suplexed (the belly to belly variety) by Jordan. Reigns stands back up and says that Joe can get it later but right now Reigns wants Jordan. He tells Kurt to make the match and Kurt obliges.

My Take: I hate how they book their GMs, whether it's Angle or Mick Foley. They're always being pushed around and manipulated. That's just me nitpicking though.

Match #1

WWE Intercontinental Championship

Normal Match

Roman Reigns (c) vs Jason Jordan

Roman and Jordan have a fine match. Although I wasn't crazy about the father/son angle, I never really minded it. However, they're doing good by booking to the fans and turning Jordan into a heelish figure. There was this one spot where Roman leaped off of the steel steps and was caught in mid-air by Jordan which made MY back hurt just watching. There's no doubt that JJ is has talent. Don't get me started on the northern lights suplex (my favorite of all plexes) that happened later.

Winner by pinfall: Roman Reigns (Spear)

Samoa Joe gets into the ring and goes to choke out Roman but is warded off by Jason Jordan . Roman shows his thanks by superman punching Jordan.

Backstage, whiny Jason Jordan is at it again. Even Angle basically tells him to eff off. Samoa Joe runs in and lays out Jordan. There's your answer to your challenge, JJ. Joe tells Kurt "like father, like son" as I sit there wondering what that meant or if I'm overthinking it. Memories of Joe headbutting Angle in TNA come rushing back to me. Do you think there's a Joe/Angle match happening in the future?

They show a video package of Paige's return and her faction, Absolution coming and roughing up everybody. It's a cool storyline and it's good to see new/returning blood in the women's division. However, there's something about their presentation that just un-excites me. Lately, whenever there's a stable ready to attack someone inside of the ring, each member positions themselves on one side of the ring. I can only think of one thing when I see this and that is The Nexus. So whatever is done following that I'm like "Ugh, Nexus did it!". (I'm still a bit bitter that the Nexus debut was quite literally the peak of their run.)

A commercial airs promoting Total Divas. Brie wants to return to the ring. I simply shrug.

Match #2

Normal Match

Paige (w/Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville) vs Sasha Banks (w/Mickie James & Bayley)

No ring rust here. These two had a good match. Alexa Bliss was on commentary and called Paige the Christopher Columbus of the WWE. I laughed because every wrestler has to be the "X of the WWE". Paige hits a sunset flip powerbomb and Sasha has a very rough landing. My neck and shoulder started to hurt just looking at the replay.

Winner by pinfall: Paige (Rampaige)

Absolution beat down Sasha before they leave.

Kurt is backstage texting with both hands and looking like anyone over 50 with a smart phone. Elias comes in strumming away on his guitar. He does his usual shtick in front of Kurt and tells him that "some by sin rise and some by virtue fall". What else can Kurt say but "That's Shakespeare, right?". Elias refers to Jason Jordan as a bastard and Kurt visibly gets hot ( I don't know why. Game of Thrones made that word cool) and puts Elias in a match against someone that is probably tall and heavy. Big Show? Braun Strowman? You could just tell.

They announce that Machinegun Kelly is doing some things at Tribute to the Troops and show him in the front row. If he isn't getting powerbombed by Kevin Owens then I don't care.

WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Enzo Amore is backstage giving a pep talk to the 'Zo Train when Noa Jax comes in and asks Enzo how HE'S doing. She raises her eyebrows a few times and winks like it was 1963 and walks off. Enzo looks rather perplexed but I caught him stealing glances at her chest a few times so he ain't slick. Some people may have groaned at this but I'm a fan of this brand of goofy WWE when done right. Are they going to bring in Nia to 205 Live much like Alicia Fox did with Noam Dar a while back? I suppose they're trying to increase the 205 Live starpower as much as they can. Of course, I don't see Nia actually leaving the RAW roster to do this.

SPEAKING OF 205 Live...earlier on Monday they announced a couple of live events featuring the stars of 205 Live. As Bad Luck Fale would say (and as I said when I first read this) "Get dafuq outta here". Here's a show that is not very heavily viewed on the WWE Network. The fans sit on their hands and apparently even some company staff even refer to the show as "205 Leave". Needless for me to continue, this show has not been lighting the world on fire like it could. It looks like 205 matches get agented to death. They're told to tone down their style and work like heavyweights do. I suppose they do this for concern of the wrestler's health. I remember in the early 2000s when Billy Kidman, Juventud Guerrera and Paul London were all doing 450s and shooting star presses and guys were getting hurt, Vince laid down a new directive that the cruiserweights were to tone down their style and work like the heavyweights.

My point here is that if you just give these guys free reign and let them do what they want to do within reason (much like how the matches in the CWC were), there's a chance the 205 Live product could be perceived much differently. When I think of cruiserweights I think of ROH, the NJPW Junior Heavyweight division or even the X Division. I don't think WWE chin locks. If they actually want to make people drop what they're doing and pay attention to 205 Live then things have to start drastically changing and I just don't see that happening. When guys like Kota Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr. pass on your contract and guys like Neville and Austin Aries bounce then you know something has to be done.

As for the 205 Live house shows, one of the shows is going to be coming to my backyard of Lowell, MA. Do you think I should check it out?

Match #3

Winner faces Rich Swann next week

Fatal 4-Way Match

Cedric Alexander vs Drew Gulak vs Mustafa Ali vs Tony Nese

These guys absolutely killed it and they were in a position were they really needed to be given the green light to do so if this 205 Live Live (that's what I'm going to start calling it) is going to do well. It's not too often that the crowds give the cruiserweight matches this much attention. I'm glad they paid attention and enjoyed themselves.

Winner by pinfall: Drew Gulak (Alexander lays Ali out with the Lumbar Check and Gulak steals the pin)

Charlie Caruso interviews Gulak after the match who says that there is only one way to provide a response and that is via Powerpoint presentation. They "run out of time" for Gulak but give time to show Elias walking backstage. Drew Gulak is a national treasure.

Another ad for Total Divas. Lana is shaming Rusev for wanting kids as Rusev tells her not to talk to him about this in front of Sheamus, Nia and Alexa. I would normally and sarcastically call this riveting but I just so happen to think that Rusev is a Bulgarian national treasure. Maybe there's potential for a sequel to The League of Nations. I call it The National Treasures with Rusev and Drew Gulak! No? Okay, let's move on.

Elias is in the ring with his guitar and introduces himself like usual. He makes fun of the L.A. crowd like only he can and receives Braun Strowman as a thank you from Kurt Angle and by extension, this L.A. crowd.

Match #4

Normal Match

Braun Strowman vs Elias

This is less of a match and more Elias just running from Strowman. There's a great spot where Elias wacks Braun in the back with the guitar but Braun no-sells it like a G. Braun flattens Elias with the running powerslam and starts throwing steel steps into the ring when he is interrupted...

Result: No contest

Kane appears on the tron and is holding his hand to his neck. I immediately get excited because I think that Kane's voicebox is about to make a grand return...but then Kane puts his hand down and begins to talk like only he can. He delights in pain and horror and says that next week he will take delight in stepping into the ring with Braun and together they will descend into the abyss. (daaaww, that kind of sounded sweet). He says only one monster will emerge before commencing with the Kane cackle.

The Shield are backstage. I know they did a great job telling the story of the reunion but I still can't forget these guys just wanting to tear each other apart not too long ago. I suppose I won't have to wait too much longer for things to be like that again but for now...it's cringy acting time. Watch this segment back and try not to cringe. At this point, I welcome a heel turn and I hope it's Ambrose. I think he could absolutely crush it.

Match #5

Normal

Asuka vs Alicia Fox
Winner by submission: Asuka (Armbar)

My Take: It's good to see them at least attempt to continue with Asuka's streak but this company certainly has a knack for taking mega buzzworthy talent like Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby  Roode (for starters) and making them feel like "just another guy on the roster". Also, I think that's two weeks in a row now where Asuka's theme sounds different (clearer vocals) and she used the armbar finished instead of the Asuka Lock. I can only picture Vince McMahon going like " God dammit, we can't have two people on this show doing Samoa Joe's finish! And what's the deal with her theme music? I can't hear what the singer's wailing about!"

Absolution comes out and surround Asuka who once again exits the ring and backs away from the group. A usual pro wrestling trope is that when guy #1 runs into the ring and and confronts guy #2 but doesn't attack then that means that they're in cahoots. Asuka joining Absolution sounds dreadful at first but I figure that they could use the stable to cut promos on Asuka's behalf and it also creates a break-up scenario where Asuka has three programs coming out of this alignment. On the other hand, I could totally see Asuka's exodus from Absolution being built around her first loss. Whoa...fantasy tangent!

Paige gets into the ring and tells Fox to relax because she's not going to attack her. Paige talks about how much of a friend Fox is and how much she loves her. Deville and Rose then beat down Alicia in the attack that everyone saw coming. Mandy hits Alicia with a kick about as powerful as a friendship finish in Mortal Kombat. They all pose to end the segment.

An ad airs promoting Charlotte guest starring on Psych. As a Scrubs fan, a friend once told me that if I love Scrubs then I'd like Psych. I have yet to get into it and this ad didn't do much to sway me. However, I do have an open mind and if I'm ever in the mood for a new comedy to watch then I might give Psych a go. Also, good to see Kurt Fuller still doing things. I remember him from Wayne's World and a ton of other movies in that era.

Match #6

Normal Match

Finn Balor vs Bo Dallas (w/Curtis Axel)

Corey Graves calls Finn the "Extraordinary man who does extraordinary things" like job to Kane and face off against guys like Bo Dallas. Finn wins with the Coup de Grace. If you're really trying to rebuild Balor then Bo got in way too much offense here. If you're trying to build up Bo then honestly, this didn't do much either even though you can tell that they did try by putting Bo over on commentary after the match.

Winner by pinfall: Finn Balor (Coup de Grace)

My Take: Over the years in the WWE there are always guys that are just another name on the roster. Finn Balor was never one of those guys but the way that they present him as of late really paves the way for Balor to become just another guy. It's a damn shame. There's still the option of turning him and aligning him with Gallows and Anderson. That way all of those guys get a shot in the arm. Trust me, Balor can be great in a heel role. He needs a Bad Luck Fale though. Is there anyone on the roster that can fit that role?

As far as Bo Dallas goes, I've never been a huge fan of his matches but in NXT he was presented as a championship caliber performer, putting on great matches with guys like Sami Zayn and Neville. Granted I've never really seen him at a world championship caliber level, but I always thought he could be great at an IC or US Title level. Maybe even give him a world title shot here and there to see if that can play. However, I don't think endless squash matches against jobbers are the way for Bo. I'd book him in competitive matches and build him up to an eventual and substantial high mid-card match.

Next up is the BRILLIANT segment featuring the true debut of BROKEN...I'm sorry...WOKEN Matt Hardy in the form of a vignette that shows Hardy and Bray Wyatt each cutting their promos with the footage intercut with each other. Bray says that everyone knows you Matt Hardy is but he doesn;t think that Hardy himself knows. It cuts to Matt Hardy smiling like a goon and saying "YEEEEEEESS" as if he were speaking like a lamb would only instead of "BAAAAAHHH" he's going "YEEEEEESS". The crowd cheers vociferously at this and I'm sitting there with a giant smile on my face because this is incredibly refreshing.

Hardy goes all out with his Broken Matt-speak. All I can tell you is that whenever Matt was on the screen I (as well as the L.A. crowd) loved every second of it. I had a big dumb grin on my face that only got larger whenever the crowd popped big for whatever Hardy said or did. However, whenever it would cut back to Bray, me (and everyone else in the L.A. crowd) would all roll our eyes and wait for Matt to re-appear. I hope that the chemistry between these two characters can gel well enough that a House of Horrors or a match like that could actually be pulled off. Perhaps working with Matt is what Bray needs to freshen up his character? It will be interesting because Wyatt has always been portrayed as a serious type of character and Broken Matt has always been a tongue in cheek type of character. In my view, what has hurt Bray over the years has been any instance where they have him look strong throughout a program but then have him lose the big match to guys like John Cena, Randy Orton or The Undertaker who are all established guys. The fans stopped taking him seriously and stopped taking whatever he said seriously. It's gone beyond Ultimate Warrior levels of insanity at this point and anyone that I talk to always says the same thing. They can't understand what the hell Bray is saying so they tune right out.

The WWE have never booked Matt Hardy at a serious solo high-card level. Remember how they did him dirty in 2005 by punking him out to Edge and then shipping him off to SmackDown where he'd languish in the mid-card? However, he doesn't really have to be a world beater. If you keep him at a level of a Chris Jericho where he's never a world champion but he's always in a mid to high level then it could work. At any rate, this was head and shoulders my favorite thing on this show tonight and I cannot wait to see what else goes down next week. I haven't felt that way about RAW in a very long time and even when Matt was doing the Broken character in TNA, I wasn't at this level of excitement.

Match #7

WWE Tag Team Championship Match

Tag Team Match

The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro)(c) vs The Shield (Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose)

They brought back the "BURN IT DOOOWWWNNN" to Seth's theme song. These guys had a good 15 minute match that ended in a DQ. This led Kurt Angle to come out and restart the match and make it a No DQ match. Joe then interferes but is chased off by Roman as Sheamus Brogue Kicks Ambrose and drapes Cesaro on top of Ambrose for the pin.

Winners and STILL WWE Tag Team Champions: The Bar

Overall a really fun show. Usually these 3-hour RAWs never cease to drag on by this edition really flew by tonight. There were two and a half really great matches on this show and the delicious cherry on top was the true arrival of BROKEN...I'm sorry...WOKEN Matt Hardy. SmackDown Live has a lot to top tomorrow! Give me three great matches tomorrow night and heat up a fan favorite character and I'll call it a better show. Can it be done?

Straight to the Source

Episode 1

Not much to say here. Just a standard WWE interview show. Roman breaks down the recent occurrences such as the viral breakouts that put him on the shelf, The Shield reunion, Kurt Angle filling in for him and other thoughts and topics. These shows and interviews really do a good job of presenting these characters and making the casual fan think "I'd love to get a beer with this guy". Not a must watch but it was fine.