Monday Night Raw Review - December 13, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

WWE Champion Big E, Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens Interrupted Bobby Lashley

After what went down last week with Lashley laying out Big E, Rollins and Owens, this played out exactly as we all thought it would. Lashley staked his claim at the WWE Championship and was interrupted by everyone already in the match at Day 1. That led to the decision being made that Lashley had to beat all of them in three separate matches in order to earn entry. This was paint-by-numbers stuff with no one's promo really standing out.

Otis def. Raw Tag Team Champion Riddle

After losing to The Mysterios last week, Otis attacked Riddle, so that's where this was stemmed from. Alpha Academy have settled into their roles as enhancement talent since coming to Raw, so it's near impossible to take them seriously at this point. Thus, I was surprised as anyone that Otis won here, especially in his home state. It was a well-wrestled affair, but I'm curious what the point was. Maybe to kill time with RK-Bro and Alpha Academy until The Street Profits and The Mysterios have their number one contender's match?

Bianca Belair def. Doudrop

Between their match last week and their match this week, it's evident these two work well together. Doudrop is finally getting a chance to show how talented she is in the ring and she's doing a great job as a heel. Belair is the perfect person for her to be working with at this stage of her run. Belair winning clean was slightly surprising considering it's still early in the feud, but Doudrop laying her out on the stage afterward means a rematch is coming. I don't think it would've hurt Belair to lose here, but that's just me.

Bobby Lashley def. Kevin Owens

When it was established that Owens would be Lashley's first opponent of the night, you had to know this was going to be brief. It's been rumored for months that Owens is on his way out, and considering he reportedly hasn't re-signed yet, it's no wonder why this was essentially an extended squash. Owens explained later on that he tapped out to The Hurt Lock before it could even be locked in because he knew he wasn't getting out of it, which I guess is a logical excuse.

Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch Attacked Liv Morgan

It's comical how even after four months, Lynch is still trying to tell the story that the fans are against her despite the cheers she gets every time she comes out. If nothing else, her mic work has been excellent and Morgan has been stepping up her promo game as well. This was a strong segment designed to set up a rematch for Day 1. The attack on Morgan put good heat on Lynch. I'm glad the rivalry isn't over yet.

The Dirty Dawgs def. Finn Balor and United States Champion Damian Priest

All four of these guys can go in the ring, so I appreciated this got more than five minutes. Granted, it wasn't that much longer (and the commercial break ate up half of it), but I'll take what I can get. As expected, Austin Theory cost Balor the win after attacking him last week. Ziggler pinning Balor was a sad sight, but it made sense if they're building toward Priest vs. Dolph Ziggler for the United States Championship.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Queen Zelina def. Rhea Ripley

Before the bout backstage, Ripley tried to give Nikki A.S.H. a pep talk about all she's accomplished this year, but then Ripley was the one who was made to look like a fool for losing to Zelina in cheap fashion. So, again, I beg the question: who will ultimately be the one to turn heel? Ripley would make the most sense because of how she's been taking these losses, but Nikki has been acting fairly dejected, so it's possible she snaps and ditches the dumb superhero stuff (which I'd love). Either way, it was insulting to see Ripley lose to Zelina in under a minute.

Bobby Lashley def. Seth Rollins in a No Disqualification Match

Again, Lashley clearly wasn't losing here if Lashley vs. Big E was still to come in the main event. This was a throwaway match because it was brief and because the crowd had no one to cheer for due to both men being heels. Rollins originally won by disqualification thanks to intentional interference from Owens, but the authority figures chose to restart it and Lashley won immediately, so the No Disqualification stipulation never had to come into play.

The Miz Attacked Edge on Miz TV

Some of Miz's "self-made" video packages can be money, but when he goes the comedy route, they're typically lame and this was one of those times. The Hall of Fame stuff was stupid. Edge revved it up a bit when he got out there, but the program feels like it peaked the night it started. Don't get me wrong, I'm still looking forward to their match at the pay-per-view, but their promo battles have gradually gotten weaker in my opinion. Miz and Maryse teasing tension was weird unless the idea is to "swerve" fans when Maryse ultimately helps him beat Edge or get one over on him one of these weeks.

Bobby Lashley def. WWE Champion Big E in a No Disqualification Match (Non-Title)

This was easily, and unsurprisingly, the best bout of the bunch. I liked the matches Lashley and Big E had together over the WWE Championship a few months ago and this was entertaining as well, though the interference from Owens and Rollins made things more convoluted than they needed to be. I realize they didn't want Lashley to win, but because Big E didn't want them out there, he started going after them, too. It was a chaotic final stretch, though MVP attacking Big E did protect him in defeat. I'm all for booking Lashley to look strong again, but if you're going to have him beat all three WWE Championship combatants in one night, he may as well have won the damn title on this show.

Overall Show

I've praised Raw improving its stale formula in recent weeks, but it was back to the norm this week with an absurd amount of time being devoted to the top storyline. The first two Lashley matches played out predictably and only the main event was worthwhile. I just don't see the need to make it a Fatal 4-Way at Day 1 when a Triple Threat would have sufficed. The rest of this show was extremely forgettable. The stuff with Edge and Miz fell flat this week and Belair vs. Doudrop was the only other match that stood out to me. I've seen far worse editions of Raw this year, but personally, I was not a fan of this show and how it was structured.

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