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Here’s a look at this week’s Monday Night Raw results for December 30th, 2013 from Richmond, VA…
– Raw opens with a CM Punk promo. Punk discusses his accolades of 2013, but admits it wasn’t his year, but perhaps it was the Shields… Cue the Shield from the crowd… Punk says he knows all 3 members of the Shield can be anyone, but he wants a 1 on 1 match with the best member of the team. Punk mentions Reigns by name, but Seth Rollins steps up and Brad Maddox makes the match for RIGHT NOW!
1. CM Punk over Seth Rollins (w/The Shield) with the GTS in a good match. It looked like Rollins may have had the match won with a standing Sliced Bread (Ultimo Dragon’s old WWE finisher), but the Shield try and interfere. Rollins ends up on the apron and slingshots back into the ring and finds himself on the shoulders of Punk for the GTS.
– Daniel Bryan interrupts a conversation between Maddox, HHH & Stephanie. Bryan wants Bray Wyatt TONIGHT! Maddox informs Bryan if he can beat Harper AND Rowan in singles matches tonight, then he can have Bray Wyatt. Maddox sets up the Gauntlet Match, Bryan vs. the Wyatts for the main event.
– Stephanie McMahon makes her way to the stage for a “big announcement”. We are shown a video package dedicated to the WWE World Champion Randy Orton. Stephanie then announces that Orton will defend his championship against John Cena at the Royal Rumble.
2. Dolph Ziggler vs. Curtis Axel. Both guys get those cute little 80’s interview spots in the corner of the screen going into the match. Ziggler gets the win with the Zig Zag. These guys had a much better match on Main Event a week or two ago.
3. WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E. Langston vs. Fandango (w/Summer Rae). Fandango earns this match by way of a win over Dolph Ziggler last week. Langston is insanely mobile for a guy of his build. Barring any injuries he could be a big player in time. Langston wins here with his “Big Ending” Finisher. The guy needs a new finisher…
– Booker T hosts a New Years Eve toast on stage with multiple WWE Superstars and Divas. Bad News Barrett interrupts by rising above the stage in a cherry picker staged as a podium and does his usual routine, this time about how 2014 will be no better than 2013, in fact far worse.
– Renee Young interviews Damien Sandow backstage. We get to vote ON THE APP foor Sandow’s opponent. Choices are Kofi Kingston, the Great Khali & the Miz. Sandow doesn’t care who he faces, and says he’s sick of the gimmick matches he’s been thrown in. Sandow claims he will quit if he loses tonight!
– Jerry “The King” Lawler reveals that Sandow will face The Great Khali with almost 40% of the votes. REALLY? Khali? Kofi & The Miz have to be pissed.
4. Damien Sandow pins The Great Khali (no Hornswaggle, hopefully that remains a trend) with a school boy. Sandow pulls back so far that Khali has to raise his shoulder in order not to die. The referee counts 3, event with Khali’s shoulder up. The announcers point it out, and it’s even mentioned in a backstage segment with Maddox & HHH. I hope this doesn”t lead to a rematch…
5. “The Main Event Player” Brodus Clay vs. R-Truth. Clay is already in the ring so his new music doesn’t debut on TV until “The Main Event”. We get Xavier Woods on commentary, and he seems lost out there. Not knocking Woods, just sometimes these guys don’t know what to say when they’re forced to ad lib. That’s more WWE’s fault though. Truth is in trouble so Woods calls out the Funkadactyls and they dance on the stage while Woods dances at ringside. Clay becomes distracted with the match and Truth ends up getting the win…
Can someone explain to me exactly how Clay is the heel here? These guys steal his music, his valets, they cheat repeatedly to beat him. If I were Clay I’d be pissed too. Then there’s Tensai, poor old Tensai. Clay beats him down the week prior, and after Truth & Woods save Tensai, they decide to dance with the Funkadactyls while Tensai just lays outside the ring like an afterthought. Again I ask, how are Truth, Woods and the ladies the faces here?
– Triple H comes out and says 2013 was a banner year under “The Authority”, but 2014 will be unlike anything we’ve seen before and asks everyone to welcome back Brock Lesnar, accompanied by Paul Heyman. The beast is back and that’s what’s best for business… Triple H shakes hands with both Heyman and Lesnar and leaves. Well that’s a plus! Heyman says that Lesnar is not back to settle old scores because he has no old scores. He says that whoever emerges from the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble will lose to the “self-declared No. 1 Contender” Brock Lesnar. If people can self declare themselves the number 1 contender, shouldn’t we have a line of challengers in the wait?
Lesnar takes the mic and says he does not care who wins and he does not have to win the Royal Rumble because the line starts with him. He dares anyone to try to stop him. Heyman says no one would try to do that, but Mark Henry’s music hits and he makes his way toward the ring. Lesnar assaults The World’s Strongest Man before he even gets into the ring, but Henry tosses him over the barricade. Lesnar recovers and smashes Henry right through the barricade. He picks up Henry and plants him with an F5 on the floor in front of the announce table. Heyman tells him that is enough, they’ve made their point, and they leave as trainers check on Henry.
A. You’d think Henry would have gotten word not to show up based on the Smackdown Spoilers from Sunday, and B. That F5 looked dangerous, it could have ended really bad. Good segment for Lesnar though. Would make a fine Royal Rumble match. I could see Henry getting in some good shots and Lesnar taking it home. Wouldn’t need to go very long to serve it’s purpose.
6. 10-Diva Tag. The Bellas, Funkadactyls & Eva Marie vs. Kaitlin, Summer Rae, Aksana, Alicia Fox & Rose Mendes. The Divas division was all bus extinct earlier this year, so we can all thank Total Divas for all of these multiple person tag matches these days. Kaitlyn looks far better with normal hair now, but she’s beyond lost in the shuffle. Any Total Divas show that doesn’t have Summer Rae on it isn’t worth watching if you ask me. Anyway, Cameron takes a nasty bump on her face in the corner, but she troops on. Surprising finish with AKSANA of all people pinning Nikki Bella. The “Non-Total Divas” get the win and Aksana’s music plays. Wow, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard it, guess she doesn’t win often.
– Brad Maddox tells Triple H and Stephanie that the referee situation from the Sandow/Kahli match has been handled. Stephanie says she has been impressed with Maddox tonight but is looking forward to next week when Old School Raw takes place. Maddox says he has a few of her favorites lined up to appear, but she asks about Triple H’s favorites. Maddox responds with a few “Woo!” but HHH tells him not to do that. Maddox leaves the screen, returns with another “Woo!” and leaves again.
Daniel Bryan prepares to run the Wyatt Gauntlet… NEXT!
7. Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper. Great match, some dangerous and surprising spots are done for it to be in a WWE ring. Really good stuff, back and forth, Harper counters a rana with a Superbomb from the ropes. Harper attempts a German Suplex but Bryan flips over top and lands on his feet. Harper turns around and gets nailed with the running knee. Bryan wins match #1!
8. Daniel Bryan vs. Erick Rowan. Rowan rushes right in and tosses Bryan outside and into the announce table. Rowan hits a fallaway slam from off the top turnbuckle, but Bryan is able to cradle Rowan in the end for the pin.
Rowan beats on Bryan after the fall, until Bray Wyatt enters the ring.
9. Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt. Bray Wyatt turns his back on Bryan but Harper and Rowan immediately rush the ring and attack Daniel. Bray grabs a microphone and starts to sing. He says this is where their story ends and says things could have been different. He tells Bryan to open his eyes and that this is the end. Bryan says “you’re right” and Bray hands him the mic. Bryan replies “You were right, you were always right.”
The crowd begins to chant “No, No, No!”.
Bryan says no matter how many matches he won and no matter how loud the people cheered for him, Bray was always right that the machine would never let him win. He says the people’s chants had no effect on those in charge and tells Bray that he is his. He asks to join the Wyatt family. Bray extends his hand and Bryan reaches for it, but Bray pulls away. Bryan pulls himself up to his knees and mimics Bray’s pose, but Bray hits him with Sister Abigail. Bray says “this is forever” and “this is going to change everything” and the Wyatts carry Bryan up the ramp. They stop halfway up and Bryan walks without help to the stage. The fans chant “No!” once again and Bryan looks around at them. They chant his name but he shakes his head, turns his back to the crowd and walks away with his head down along with the Wyatt Family.
Raw returns next week for it’s very first edition of the new year, and it will have the “Old School” theme attached. Some of the stars shown in the video package included Ric Flair, The New Age Outlaws, Rikishi & Scotty Too Hotty, Bob Backlund, DDP, “Mean” Gene Okerlund, I.R.S., and “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase.
