Monday Night Raw Review - December 20, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

WWE Champion Big E and Bobby Lashley Attacked Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins

After what happened last week, you had to know this was coming. This segment played out in predictable fashion as Big E and Lashley got the better of Owens and Rollins, who have had a soft alliance in recent weeks, to set up the night's tag team main event. The mic work was uninspiring and felt like it was meant to kill time more than anything. Yes, I realize that's what WWE goes for with every episode of Raw, but this segment in particular felt especially lazy.

Bianca Belair def. Doudrop

This was the third straight week that these two have faced off and I honestly don't have a problem with it because all of their matches have been entertaining. Granted, I'm super high on Doudrop losing all three times (and it being decisively the last two times), but from an in-ring standpoint, it's hard to complain. Belair maintaining momentum makes me think she's a frontrunner to win the women's Royal Rumble again or at the very least challenge for the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 38.

Finn Balor def. Austin Theory

There's no doubt that Balor has felt infinitely less special since coming back to the main roster, but I have enjoyed this feud he's had going with Theory, who is most definitely benefiting from it. It's been fairly simple, but I knew they'd work well together when they eventually squared off and that was evident here. I also liked how Balor picked up the victory because I'd argue he needed it more. Theory's post-match attack on Balor laid the groundwork for next week's rematch, which Theory should win.

The Miz Hosted Miz TV with AJ Styles and Omos; The Mysterios def. Styles and Omos

The ongoing angle with Styles and Omos has been interesting to follow. Miz played the two of them against each other and Omos didn't deny any of it. Omos refusing to tag in during the subsequent match all but confirmed that the trash talking he was doing actually transpired. The matchup itself was completely inconsequential because it was so short and the focus was on the tension teased between Styles and Omos, but we finally got the breakup afterward with Omos getting the better of Styles. Their match will happen next week on Raw, and while I don't want it at WrestleMania, it should have been saved for a pay-per-view.

Raw Tag Team Champion Randy Orton def. Chad Gable

This stemmed from Otis shockingly beating Riddle last week. It was safe to assume lightning wouldn't strike twice and Gable wasn't winning here, but I was excited for this one-on-one encounter. Unfortunately, it was a lot shorter than I would've liked, but it was fun while it lasted. Gable never ceases to maximize his minutes and his sell of the RKO was tremendous. Maybe this leads to RK-Bro beating Alpha Academy next week before the RK-Bro-Nament wraps up.

United States Champion Damian Priest def. Dolph Ziggler in a Championship Contender's Match (Non-Title)

I still loathe the Championship Contender's matches because it's dumb to have someone earn a title shot that way when they could just win a number one contender's match instead, but if they were going to have Priest lose, this is how it needed to be done. He hasn't been pinned one-on-one all year, so it was crucial that his first major singles loss didn't come at the hands of Ziggler. The match itself was actually very well wrestled and it was fun seeing Ziggler bump around for Priest. I'm looking forward to their championship clash next week on Raw.

The Miz Attacked Edge on The Cutting Edge

Maryse was Edge's guest for this edition of The Cutting Edge. Doing two talk shows on the same episode of Raw was definitely a dumb idea, but I understood what they were going for here. I love Maryse, but her mic work in this segment wasn't the greatest. I'm glad Edge wasn't made to look as stupid as most babyfaces by buying into her crap and instead saw Miz's ambush coming. Still, he was outnumbered and left laying by Miz. Day 1 sure would be a good time for her to come to Edge's aid...

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

It was said that Nikki A.S.H. and Carmella were banned from ringside. There was no way Ripely was losing in that case, but then again, this company has done some silly stuff before. Ripley losing to Vega as quickly as she did last week was ridiculous, but at least she was able to avenge that loss her in a relatively brief bout. I still think she should break away from Nikki (regardless of whether she's a babyface or a heel) and return to the singles ranks.

Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch Interrupted Liv Morgan

I've seen a lot of mixed opinions online regarding the angle shot in that gym over the weekend with Lynch and Morgan, but if nothing, I applaud their attempt to do something different. The best part of their program over the last month has been their mic work, even if the story they've been telling hasn't been the strongest because most fans don't want to boo Lynch. Despite that, I've been impressed with how Morgan has held her own and being made to look like as much of a threat to the title as possible at Day 1. She isn't winning, mind you, but the fact she's been prominently featured for as long as she has been has been refreshing.

WWE Champion Big E and Bobby Lashley def. Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins

It's comical how aware WWE is of the asinine "Can they coexist nonsense?!" and put fun at it only to continue doing it. It truly is amazing. Under no circumstance should Lashley and Big E have had to team here unless Lashley is turning babyface. Maybe they shouldn't have had Lashley plow through all three men last week when they could have saved one or two of those matches for the last two shows before the pay-per-view? Nonetheless, this was a well-worked main event with everyone having strong showings. Lashley scored the win for his team but was laid out by Owens and Rollins afterward. Surprisingly, Owens and Rollins didn't turn on each other, but maybe they're saving that for Day 1.

Overall Show

This edition of Raw was more along the lines of what we were getting prior to last week and I say that as a positive thing. I thought this was a thumbs-up show, at least by the standards set for Raw in 2021. Not every storyline is lighting the world on fire, but most of them have progressed logically and have produced quality matches. The build to Day 1 has largely been well done on the Raw side of things and advertising multiple matches a week out is new for them. Whether they'll actually deliver those matches remains to be seen, but the three hours were relatively easy to digest this week and it was a glimmer of how good Raw can be if it was more consistent.

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