“I’m Better Than You, And You Know It”

"Every Man Has A Price For The Million Dollar Man"

"The Best There Is, The Best There Was, And The Best There Ever Will Be"

"Whatcha Gonna Do, When Hulkamania Runs Wild On You"

"And That's The Bottom Line Because Stone Cold Said So"

<p>Before you go to this week&#8217;s Raw, you should know that Christmas eve&#8217;s Raw episode was taped last night right after the show and many fans did not stick around to watch. You can read the full spoilers for <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Before you go to this week's Raw, you should know that Chrismas eve's Raw episode was taped last night right after the show and many fans did not stick around to watch. You can read the full spoilers for next week's episode of Monday Night Raw here (opens in a new tab)" href="https://api.wrestlingworld.co/news/spoilers-for-monday-night-raw-on-christmas-eve/" target="_blank"><strong>next week&#8217;s episode of Monday Night Raw here.</strong></a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Vince McMahon Comes And Changes Nothing</strong></h2>



<p>A lot of fuss was made over the last week about <strong>Vince McMahon</strong>. He opened the show along with Triple H, Shane and Stephanie and it proved that all the hoopla was for nothing. </p>



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<p>Vince and Stephanie were witness to some of the loudest boos ever heard on RAW. A couple of awkward hugs later, we got the same shtick but in a different package. <strong>Triple H</strong> did say that the authority now rests with the WWE universe but he didn’t make it clear how this was going to be accomplished. </p>


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<p>Things however improved from there. <strong>Corbin</strong> then came and was welcomed with thunderous boos so much so that he was unable to talk. Vince threw a classic jab at him saying he has the microphone and the crowd doesn’t. </p>



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<p>Corbin wants his authority back and was given the option to fight for it with a match against <strong>Kurt Angle</strong>. It seemed like a cheap way to reinstate Corbin as the GM but WWE actually were brave. </p>


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<p>Triple H first changed the match into a <strong>handicap match</strong> allowing Crews, Gable and Roode to join Angle. The match was then changed into a <strong>no DQ</strong> match. Corbin was literally mobbed and given the beating of his lifetime. </p>



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<p>This felt good and cathartic but only highlights everything that is wrong with WWE. Corbin is a heel who got beat up on consecutive nights. You actually feel sorry for him. This does not feel like the payoff of the long drawn out acting-GM angle. </p>



<p>It was again all show and no substance. This segment was fun though despite it not fixing anything.</p>



<p><strong>Winner: </strong><em>Kurt Angle, Chad Gable, Bobby Roode, Apollo Crews</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The Three-Way Confusion Between Ziggler, Balor And McIntyre Continues</strong></h2>



<p>Normally, we would not crib about having to see a match between Finn Balor and Dolph Ziggler. However, the circumstances are just not very heartening. </p>



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<p>This one feels like a dead-end feud from the very beginning. That did not stop Ziggler and Balor from putting on a great show. McIntyre interfered showing his animosity for both these men as well as confirming the fact that his title shot is something we will still have to wait for. </p>



<p>Keeping aside the bigger picture, this was fun and if WWE manage to narrate a more coherent story in the coming weeks then we can be really invested in this storyline. </p>



<p>This match solely gets a pass due to the immense talent of the men involved. All of them deserve to be in the championship picture down the line.</p>



<p><strong>Winner: </strong><em>Finn Balor by DQ</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>







<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Dean Ambrose Begins His Reign</strong></h2>



<p><strong>Dean Ambrose</strong> is easily one of the most hated wrestlers in WWE now and that is testament to his immense talent. He began by badmouthing the crowd and then began his reign as the Intercontinental Champion by issuing an open challenge. </p>



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<p>This turned even more fun as <strong>Tyler Breeze</strong> answered the call. He was obviously jobbing out to Ambrose but it was fun to see him in a genuine match on RAW after it appeared he had been moved to NXT. The match was longer than we expected. </p>



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<p>Ambrose then called out Rollins who was one of the men in gas masks accompanying him the whole time. The beating that Rollins gave to everyone in sight following this was awesome. Ambrose went scurrying up the ramp and this is one feud we do not need any effort to be invested in. </p>



<p>A close to perfect segment also making the IC title relevant again. In fact, this title now feels bigger than the Universal title and we shudder to think what it would be like if the IC title feud was dud. WWE would be without any headlining acts on RAW.</p>



<p><strong>Winner: </strong><em>Dean Ambrose</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Lashley Gets Deked By Elias While Revival Get Their Chance</strong></h2>



<p>It seems like WWE have a cache of guitars that they need to get rid of. Not one but two guitars were destroyed today. </p>



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<p>The good thing though is that Lashley was at the receiving end of one of them. We aren’t really excited about this feud but it is better than most of the crap WWE has been throwing at its fans recently.</p>


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<p>This was followed by a fatal four way to decide the new contenders for the RAW tag team championships. We felt that this was another lazy way of giving the AoP another title shot but WWE again took a bolder direction by having The Revival win. </p>



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<p>The match was pretty good too and paints the RAW tag division in better light. We had almost written off The Revival as another team that was going to be permanently overlooked by WWE but it seems that they have been given a fresh breath of life. </p>



<p>This also points to the fact that WWE have lost faith in the AoP as they weren’t even involved in the decision. This does set up something fresh in the tag division and at this point, that is all we care about.</p>



<p><strong>Winners: </strong><em>The Revival</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>







<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>A New Contender For The Raw Women’s Championship</strong></h2>



<p><strong>Rousey</strong> seemed to carry some of the fire she had brought to TLC as she gave a fiery promo. Her mic skills are improving. We got the announcement that there was going to be a <strong>gauntlet match</strong> to decide the number 1 contender for Rousey’s title. </p>



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<p>We are eternally grateful that <strong>Nia Jax</strong> is out of the title picture. The 8-women gauntlet match was decent and <strong>Natalya</strong> won. The post-match interaction was interesting though. Instead of Rousey and Natalya showing any animosity, they hugged and walked back together to close the show.</p>



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<p>This points to a couple of scenarios. Either Natalya being number 1 contender is just a distraction for something bigger or Rousey’s time on RAW is done and this may pave a way for her to move to SmackDown. </p>



<p>Either way, this is good news for the only world title on RAW. Nice and surprising way to end RAW.</p>



<p><strong>Winner and number 1 contender for RAW women’s title: </strong><em>Natalya</em></p>



<p><strong>Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>


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<p><strong>Overall Review: </strong>RAW started on shaky grounds but as the show progressed, it was clear that WWE has been listening to its fans as there were some changes. </p>



<p>Matches were handled a bit differently. If only the Universal title was at least showcased every week, RAW would be mended. The Ambrose-Rollins feud is hot and it&#8217;s what is carrying RAW at the moment. </p>



<p>The tag division and the situation with Ziggler, Balor and McIntyre seems interesting. We are also excited to see how the Slater and Corbin angle turns out. </p>



<p>The show is not fixed by a long shot and tonight felt like a miniscule step in the long road to recovery. We can, however, take solace in the fact that WWE is at least trying to recover and that effort needs to be appreciated.</p>



<p><strong>Overall Rating: </strong><em>Thumbs Up</em> <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up" style="font-size:30px;color:lime"></i></p>



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WWE Monday Night RAW Results & Review: December 17, 2018

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