WWE Raw results, winners, grades and reaction 16 December 2019
WWE Raw results, winners, grades and reaction: Randy Orton faces AJ Styles in the main event
Seth Rollins opened the show and called out the AOP as he claimed he would be leading Raw now.
The former champion added that Kevin Owens was made an example off after the Canadian had resisted Rollins a couple of weeks ago.
Rollins continued putting out the orders and added that AOP would deal with anyone that didn’t see eye to eye with the Architect.
He ended by apologising to the WWE Universe for what he was going to do later in the evening.
Grade B
Rollins is great when working as a heel and he is showing his best now. His decision to leave everyone hanging with what he was going to do later was perfect to keep people interested.
The OC continue from where they left off
TLC saw the Viking Raiders face off against The OC as they defended their tag titles. However, that match ended in a double countout.
The OC were back and they picked up a clean win over the champs on Monday. Ivar missed a Moonsault and was hit by the Magic Killer.
The OC beat the Viking Raiders
Grade B
Another great match between the pair. It was weird why the TLC match didn’t have a definite winner, but the two teams should be at it again soon.
The OC look good, as they always do, and The Viking Raiders have proper rivals for the titles now.
Erick Rowan crushes again
Another local talent, Dante Leon, was crushed by Erick Rowan again. The challenger tried to peek at what is in Rowan’s cage, and had time to do it but stalled for some reason.
Rowan beats Leon
Grade E
The WWE better decide what they want to do with Rowan. The intrigue regarding his cage is wearing off, and the crush matches don’t seem to be all that great anymore.
New partner for Lana
Fresh off defeating Rusev in a Tables match at TLC, Lashley was in the ring with the Bulgarian’s ex-wife Lana.
This time, Lana was gloating at how great Lashley was and wanted him to propose to her.
Lashley claimed he didn’t like being told what to do but was handed a ring by Lana. He knelt down and proposed to the Ravishing Russian, and Lana claimed this was exactly how they had rehearsed.
Grade E
I would have given this a Z but this storyline just keeps on getting more cringe-worthy. Lana claimed she would get married on Lana Day, and hopefully, WWE stops with this soon.
Gauntlet match for US Championship No.1 Contender
Ricochet, Akira Tozawa, Humberto Carrillo, Andrade, R-Truth and Matt Hardy were all in action to decide who would face Rey Mysterio.
It was Truth vs Tozawa first and the cruiserweight picked up the win. The 24/7 champion, Truth, then ran out of the ring as several locker room stars came for his title.
Tozawa then faced another high-flyer Ricochet. The new challenger did a great job in dispatching the Stamina monster and then took on Matt Hardy.
The Woken One also lost to Ricochet and he was set to face Humberto Carrillo in the next part of the clash.
The two high-flyers exchanged several incredible moves but Ricochet seemed a bit tired after winning two matches.
Carrillo picked up the win over Ricochet as Zelina Vega watched the entire match between the two.
It was Andrade who came running in as the next opponent. Carrillo had beaten his challenger at TLC and it was not going to be the same story.
Andrade destroys Carrillo even before the match starts and is declared the winner by WWE. He continued his barrage on his rival before Rey Mysterio came out to help.
Vega and Andrade escape into the crowd as Carrillo was carried off in a stretcher.
Andrade wins Gauntlet match
Grade B
This was a great match showing the best of Ricochet, Carrillo and a major turn for Andrade.
He seems to be back to his heelish nature and that should hold him in good stead. A match against Mysterio seems probable, but there was more to come for the US Champ.
Rollins destroys Mysterio
The Architect was true to his words from earlier in the evening. He came out with AOP to put a beating on the US Champion.
Rollins claimed he didn’t believe in an ‘eye for an eye’ as AOP pummelled the champion and was set to exit the ring.
However, he turned back, hit a curb stomp and demanded a title show next week. Mysterio then accepted the challenge before calling out Rollins.
Grade B
Another good segment as Rollins came out with the same steel pipe that Kevin Owens was brandishing last week.
However, there are some negatives to all this. Andrade won the No.1 contender’s match and that now counts for nothing?
Rollins vs Mysterio should be great, but what was the point of the near hour-long gauntlet match?
Asuka keeps on rolling
The Empress of Tomorrow was in action after that gruelling tag team match at TLC. The Japanese star was up against NXT star Deonna Purrazzo and the challenger took a cheap shot at Asuka.
She then used a submission hold on one half of the tag champ before Asuka turned on the style. The Empress of Tomorrow used several holds on the challenger before picking up the win via the Asuka Lock.
Right after, we saw Becky Lynch speak about facing Asuka after the loss at TLC. The Man highlighted that she doesn’t have a great record against the Japanese.
The Man added that WWE management is trying to protect her but she wants to fight Asuka.
Asuka beats Purrazzo
Grade B
Asuka looked great while her challenger looked decent too in the early going. However, a match between the Man and the Japanese would be excellent in the long run.
Orton vs Styles
This was a grudge match from last week and Styles came out in style. He repeatedly attacked Orton’s left leg and even applied several calf crushers on him.
It seemed like Styles was going to pick up the win but Orton hit an RKO out of nowhere to pick up the win.
The OC came running down after the clash to beat down Orton but the Viking Raiders tried to make the save.
It was the OC that remained standing at the end of it all.
Grade C
The match was alright but it was surprising why Styles and Orton wasn’t a big slugfest.
The ending was disappointing too, but at least the OC got another one on the Viking Raiders.
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