Welcome to Bleacher Report’s live coverage and recap of WWE Raw on December 4th.
Last week, Drew McIntyre expressed his disappointment that Seth Rollins gave Jey Uso a title shot before him by hitting him with a Glasgow Kiss. This week, Rollins and Uso fought for the world title while The Scottish Warrior fought Sami Zayn.
The Creed Brothers have already earned a shot at the Tag Team Championships hosted by Finn Balor and Damian Priest, but lost to DJ McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio on Monday’s show.
The women’s division also attracted some attention as Shayna Baszler took on Nia Jax and Tegan Nox and Natalya took on Kayden Carter and Katana Chance.
Let’s take a look at everything that happened on Monday’s Raw.
McIntyre opened the show with a promo where he talked about everything that’s been happening to him lately. As soon as he mentioned Zayn’s name, he came out to answer.
McIntyre decided not to wait until later in the match and had a referee come in to get things going, which Zayn seemed willing to do.
The Scottish warrior took control straight after the goal, knocking Zayn halfway across the ring with a belly-to-belly suplex.
McIntyre is already adjusting well to working as a heel again. He started focusing on Zayn’s knee, seeing that he preferred it. When the referee tried to check Zayn, McIntyre hit him with a Claymore to get the win.
This was a fun way to start the show. 20-minute talking segments are the norm, but giving fans an entertaining match to get things going will boost the crowd’s energy.
Result: Drew McIntyre defeated Sami Zayn
Degree: B+
Notable moments and observations
- It looks like Zayn just got out of the shower before walking out here. His hair was soaking wet and the area around the neckline of his shirt was wet.
- Zayn hit a really nice tornado DDT to avoid a slam on the sidewalk.
- One of McIntyre’s suplexes sent Zayn from ring post to ring post.
Jax and Becky Lynch had a brief confrontation backstage before Jax came to the ring for her scheduled match against Baszler.
The Irresistible Force initially used their size and strength advantage to keep the former MMA fighter on the ground, but Baszler occasionally found a way to use her striking power to fire back.
Unfortunately it wasn’t enough. Jax scored her finisher for the win. Their celebration was short-lived as Lynch entered the ring. Jax chose to retreat rather than face the man.
This match was decent, but other than a German suplex off the middle rope, there wasn’t much that people would be talking about tomorrow.
Result: Nia Jax defeated Shayna Baszler
Degree: C
Notable moments and observations
- After the break, McIntyre was shown attacking Zayn backstage while his knee was being examined by a doctor. He continued to injure Zayn’s leg before being sent away by Adam Pearce.
- There was a scary moment when Jax landed right on Baszler’s head after a German suplex.
Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci have been feuding with Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano for weeks, so a 2 out of 3 falls match has been scheduled to potentially settle their feud.
Mr. European Excellence started against Ciampa, but quickly switched to Vinci. Both teams worked hard to get their first win and gain the upper hand. Kaiser eventually rolled Ciampa for the first pin after Vinci pulled Gargano out of the ring.
After a break, Ciampa and Gargano scored two falls in a row to win the whole thing. As expected, this was a great example of tag team wrestling.
Imperium may be on the verge of implosion, but at least WWE has done a good job positioning all three members of the group as solo acts.
Result: DIY defeated Empire
Degree: B+
Notable moments and observations
- Vinci carried a running crossbody bag that looked amazing. He moved very quickly and knocked Ciampa down hard.
- Gargano’s fakeout kick is always a funny moment in a match.
- Kaiser’s facial expressions are always on point.
Carter and Chance faced Natalya and Nox in women’s tag team action, with Niven and Nox on the commentary team.
It was a short but energetic match. Natalya and Nox still need to work on their chemistry as partners, but KC2 has helped carry the load in that regard.
Carter and Chance ended up scoring a somewhat unexpected win by scoring a unique double-team finisher on Natalya.
Most of the game took place in the middle, but the finishing was excellent.
Result: Chance and Carter defeated Natalya and Nox
Degree: C+
Notable moments and observations
- Niven making Cole call her Ms. P was hilarious.
- When Nattie powerbombed both women at the same time, their heads nearly collided on the way down.
- The way Carter held Chance up before dropping her on Nattie for the pin looked great.
Cody Rhodes came out to his usual cheer and fans sang his song, but at the end he was interrupted by another video from Shinsuke Nakamura.
Back in the action, Brutus and Julius Creed faced Dom and McDonagh in a tag team match. Shortly after things started and the Creeds took control, R-Truth came out wearing a Judgment Day shirt.
Based on the interactions he had with the group last week, it looks like WWE is going to let him pretend to be part of the group, which will no doubt lead to some hilarious moments.
It was an energetic, fast-paced match with lots of entertaining sequences and spots. The Creed brothers are on another level, especially when they have smaller opponents to throw around.
The Brutus Bomb ultimately secured their victory as they prepared to challenge Priest and Balor for the tag titles.
Result: The Creeds defeated Mysterio and McDonagh
Degree: B+
Notable moments and observations
- Can WWE please start using Ivy Nile in matches?
- The way Brutus started Mysterio over the announce table looked great.
The main event of this week’s show was the world title fight that took place last week between Rollins and Uso.
They had almost the last half hour of the show, giving the champion and challenger more than enough time to put together a fantastic main event.
Both men tried every trick at their disposal to put the other away. Uso even resorted to Roman Reigns’ Spear and Rollins tried to use Triple H’s Pedigree.
Ultimately, it was The Stomp who secured victory for The Visionary. He and Jey shook hands after the end to show there were no hard feelings.
As Rollins cheered, McIntyre came out of the crowd and hit Uso with a claymore. He slammed Rollins to the floor before sending Uso through the announce table.
Result: Seth Rollins defeated Jey Uso
Degree: A-
Notable moments and observations
- The crowd gave Samantha Irvin a second to announce Rollins before continuing to sing his song. It was kind of a cool moment.
- Jey hit a really nice DDT at ringside that Rollins sold perfectly.
- The way McIntyre put Uso through the table looked brutal.
There were only six matches over three hours on Raw this week, but since most of them were good performances, we put on a pretty decent show.
The Creed Brothers vs. Dom and McDonagh and Zayn vs. McIntyre were definitely highlights, but the match of the night was undoubtedly Rollins vs. Uso.
McIntyre has his sights set on both Uso and the World Heavyweight Championship, so it looks like he’ll be the big bad on Raw going forward, which is the perfect place for him right now.
In WWE, Judgment Day and The Bloodline have done a lot for both brands over the last year, so a solo act like The Scottish Warrior will add some depth to the lower part of the roster.
Some of the backstage segments felt like filler, but the majority of what was included in Monday’s show did a good job of highlighting the current storylines.
Degree: B-