The WWE Raw Reaction for 12/20/21

Welcome to the Raw Reaction, where I offer my take on this Christmas week show in Milwaukee.

As always, you can check out John’s full in-depth report here.

We kick things off with Promo Time with Bobby Lashley and MVP. MVP was hyping the incredible feat of Lashley beating three men last week to earn a spot in the WWE Title match at Day 1. Big E is out on cue to discuss MVP hitting Big E on the knee to allow Lashley to qualify for the title match. Lashley stepped out so MVP could take on Big E when Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens showed up to attack Lashley. All four Day 1 opponents start fighting on the floor and the segment ends with Lashley and Big E standing tall in the ring. The only thing missing from this is Teddy Long booking the tag match for our main event. Adam Pearce handled the honors instead.

Our opening contest is Bianca Belair taking on Doudrop again. The match was as good as last week’s match was. Doudrop used her size to her advantage for a bit until Belair took over and hoisted Doudrop up for an unbelievable KOD to pick up her third straight win over Doudrop. I think we can safely say that this feud is over. I’ve seen rumblings that WWE reapplied for the Piper Niven name so let’s hope Doudrop doesn’t revert back to Piper Niven and continue this feud. Both ladies need to move on to different opponents. Doudrop is solidly a heel, which was likely the whole point of this feud.

Up next, Finn Balor takes on Austin Theory. The match was pretty good using the cocky young guy taking on the veteran story. Theory showed off some impressive athleticism hitting Balor with a springboard Spanish Fly off the top rope. Seriously, you need to check it out. Theory was so proud of himself, he wanted a selfie during the pin and Balor reversed it for a two count. Balor should have won there, but they had Balor finish Theory off with the Coup de Grace instead. Theory would attack Balor backstage later in the show to set up a rematch for next week.

MizTV is up next with AJ Styles and Omos as his guests. Miz did all of the talking for Omos and the split is on. The segment set the split up well and was the bumper for the Styles/Omos tag match against the Mysterios. The Mysterios won quickly to finalize the Styles/Omos split post match. Styles and Omos face off next week.

Randy Orton beat Alpha Academy’s Chad Gable in a Three Minute Raw Special next. Gable looked great in defeat and sold the RKO like he was spiked. After the match, Orton could not RKO Otis no matter how many times he tried. I’m guessing that will change soon.

There was 24/7 nonsense from “earlier today.” Reggie will likely get the 24/7 title back seducing Dana Brooke. But, would anybody really care?

Damian Priest takes on Dolph Ziggler in a Championship Contender’s match next. The match was really good for a Dolph Ziggler match. Robert Roode was at ringside and eventually interfered behind the referee’s back. Priest does the crazy eyes routine and destroys Roode, getting himself counted out. Lame. Ziggler tried to attack Priest but bailed when he was still in crazy eyes mode. US Title match next week between the two.

The Cutting Edge returns with special guest Maryse next. I know that English is a second language to Maryse but we really need to keep a live mic out of her hands. She rambled on and Edge smartly called out Miz on the setup. Miz attacks and leaves Edge down again. I’m guessing that Beth Phoenix returns next week to counter Maryse.

Oh look, Veer Mahaan is still coming to Raw. I bet he’s trying to outdo Emmalina.

Rhea Ripley demolished Queen Zelina next. Either 50/50 Booking returned or Scott Bakula righted the wrong.

Promo Time with Liv Morgan is up next. Morgan is getting better with her promo delivery and told the story of her going to Iowa to confront/fight Becky Lynch. Morgan’s confidence seems to be growing as the weeks go by. Lynch showed up for a counterpoint before leaving to catch her private plane flight. She must have forgotten that Rollins was in the main event. I’m really liking this feud. It’s really helped Morgan grow as a performer.

Main event time with WWE Champion Big E teaming with Bobby Lashley to take on Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens. We get a great action-packed tag match with the usual “Can the PPV opponents coexist as tag partners” story attached to it. Curiously, there was no MVP at ringside. Both teams held together during the match and the only issue set up the finish. Lashley accidently speared Big E while attempting to hit Owens instead. Lashley did connect the second time and got the win for his team. Rollins immediately hit the Stomp and was told it didn’t break up the fall. That was perfectly executed. Owens and Rollins doubled up and laid out Lashley to close the show.

Let’s take a look at tonight’s highs and lows.

The Highs

Liv Morgan continues to grow as a performer each and every week. Becky Lynch is doing a fantastic job getting Morgan over every week. I’m going to stand by my prediction and have Lynch retain at Day 1 o Morgan can with the Rumble and finally beat Lynch for the title at WrestleMania. That makes the most sense right now.

The AJ Styles/Omos split was set up and executed perfectly this week. We all knew it was coming and I’m hoping the match next week is good. Omos really hasn’t been tested and we know that Styles will make him look good.

The Lows

There was really no point in doing The Cutting Edge this week. MizTV set up the Styles/Omos split this week and accomplished more than The Cutting Edge. Beth Phoenix should be by Edge’s side next week. And, just as a reminder, please keep Maryse away from a live mic.

Damian Priest losing to Dolph Ziggler by count-out in a championship contenders match was dumb. It made Priest look bad. Ziggler could have accepted an open challenge title match instead. It wasn’t a good call in my opinion.

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That’s all I’ve got, until next time.