Monday Night Raw Review - December 24, 2012

Raw guest host Santa Claus hands out gifts to the WWE Universe.

Good match between WWE Tag Team Champion Kane and Cody Rhodes. I like how they used their back history with Kane injuring Rhodes last month on Main Event as the reasoning for this contest. The crowd wasn't all that into it, but the final few moments of the matchup were well done.

Fine eight-Diva tag team match with Kaitlyn, Layla, Natalya and Alicia Fox defeating Divas Champion Eve, Aksana, Rosa Mendes and Tamina. The action wasn't all that horrendous and every Diva was able to hit their signature spots in the finishing sequence. Kaitlyn pinning Eve for the win made sense if they wish to continue their feud over the Divas Championship going forward.

Solid Lumber-Jack Frost match between World Heavyweight Champion Big Show and Sheamus. These two have had some great matches in recent months, but this installment didn't feel as strong of an effort. The constant involvement of the lumberjacks probably played a factor in that and hindered the bout as a whole, but at least they were utilized to the point where they were necessary. Sheamus going over finally gives him the singles win over Show he's been looking for, but I hope this is the end of the road of this feud and both guys can move on to new things.

Decent match with Zack Ryder defeating David Otunga. While Otunga isn't the greatest worker in the ring, Ryder brought him to an exceptional match match here. It wasn't anything out the ordinary, but it was harmless and only lasted mere minutes. Sure, a win over Otunga may not seem like an extraordinary achievement, but it's still a nice win (and pre-match promo) from Ryder after being underutilized over the course of this past year.

Great match with Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston and The Miz defeating Wade Barrett and United States Champion Antonio Cesaro. I felt as if it could've gone a bit longer, but it was very entertaining while it lasted. All four guys have excellent chemistry with one another and it made for a solid match. I also appreciated the fact that the commentators made reference to the history between Miz and Kingston, so at least that wasn't completely going against all logic. Barrett is in desperate need of a victory, but I'm fine with the faces going over given the fact this was a holiday show.

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WWE Champion CM Punk fends off a seething Ryback.

Basic squash match with The Great Khali defeating Brad Maddox. Maddox's brief offense on Khali made this match a step up from a glorified squash, so that was nice to see. I'm intrigued as to where they're going with this Maddox story-line or if they have no end in sight. Needless to say, the post-match promo from Khali was horrendous and it baffles me as to why they even give him a microphone.

Strong promo between WWE Champion CM Punk and Ryback. Not only was Punk's promo hilarious at times, but it spoke the truth and helped hype his pending WWE title match with Ryback in two weeks. Ryback did well on the mic and his announcement of making their bout a TLC match felt meaningful.

Nice match between WWE Tag Team Champion Daniel Bryan and Damien Sandow. We've seen it before, so there was nothing new here, but it served its purpose in furthering the feud between Team Hell No and Team Rhodes Scholars. I would've liked to see Sandow win here since Rhodes lost earlier in the night, but again, this was a holiday show, so it's understandable.

Fun 12-man tag team match with Santino Marella, Brodus Clay, Justin Gabriel, Tyson Kidd and The Usos defeating Tensai, 3MB and the Prime Time Players. The action was very fast-paced and made for some thrilling spots. Everyone was able to shine here and it highlighted the quickness and amazing agility of each individual. The finish was exciting and the live crowd seemed to love it. Having the Usos score the win for their team was also a nice touch.

Entertaining Miracle on 34th Street Fight between John Cena and Alberto Del Rio. Of course, there was no real wrestling involved in this, but it made for a fun brawl with both guys utilizing the holiday-themed environment to their advantage. I got a chuckle out of Del Rio's use of the teddy bear and Cena no-selling it, which was pretty funny. The "surprising" interference from Santa Claus made for a fun finish and sent the crowd home happy.

Overall, a fun holiday show that was a nice break from what we usually get on a weekly basis. Obviously, there was hardly any story-line progression since The Shield or Big E Langston were featured on the show, but that's understandable since that wasn't the point of this show anyway. Additionally, I loved the backstage segments involving AJ and Dolph Ziggler that helped them get over as a vindictive couple. I didn't watch the broadcast live, but I felt it dragged at some points even on recording, but that's the norm these days with Raw being three hours. I'm interested in how they handle next week's New Year's Eve edition as well, since nothing was hyped for that show either. Happy Holidays, everyone!

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