Monday Raw in Sacramento: Meet The New Boss, Same as The Old Boss…Because It is The Old Boss

Written by Matthew Widdis

Right off the bat, we get the headline: Mr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon is on his way past the Christmas-themed decorations and down to the ring. He addresses the recent (well-deserved) flak that RAW has been getting. He tells the crowd that it will be different because he’s going to fix it.  He then calls out, one-by-one; Stephanie to boos, Triple H to a pop, and Shane-o-Mac to a huge pop. They stand as a united front and tell everyone that RAW (and Smackdown) is now under the control of the WWE Universe.  New matches, new talent, and…

Baron Corbin comes down to the ring to plead his case as to why he should still be named RAW general manager.  As the entire McMahon family takes turns cutting him up and scapegoating him for the legitimate booking problems over the past few weeks, he says that his loss to Braun Strowman shouldn’t have counted due to the interference of Apollo Crews, Bobby Roode, Chad Gable, Finn Balor, Heath Slater, and Kurt Angle. They decide that they’ll give him the opportunity to win his position back in a match. He’s very pleased with this until he sees his opponent…

Baron Corbin vs Kurt Angle*

In a role reversal, each McMahon family member adds Corbin-esque stipulations to the match. Stephanie announces special referee, Heath Slater. As soon as Corbin starts gaining an upper hand, Triple H makes it a handicap match and tag team champs, Roode and Gable, and Apollo Crews join in on open Corbin season. Shane gets a cheap pop of off the town name before he tells us all that it’s a no DQ match and Slater gets in some stomps as Corbin’s beaten down with chairs. Angle Slam and it’s over.

Winners: Kurt Angle, Apollo Crewes, Heath slater, and Roode & Gable.

Right after the match, another Angle Slam puts the lone former GM consta ble wolf through a table.

We get a video package of John Cena receiving the Muhammad Ali award from Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and Colin Cowherd have all taken a piss on pro wrestling over the years and recently changed their tune. Regardle$$ of the motivations involved, it was good to see Big Match John get recognized for his most prominent work. There will be other crossover stars again but I doubt any will the absolute machine in regardless to philanthropy and special causes that he has been.

Video recap

As repayment for Finn Balor’s interference on RAW two weeks ago giving him the first pinfall win over Drew McIntyre, Dolph Ziggler helped Finn Balor do the same at TLC. The Irishman was less than appreciative and the show-off roughed him up for it.

Finn Balor vs Dolph Ziggler

Two of the company’s A-level workers going one-on-one.  Yes, of course it ended with Drew McIntyre coming down to the ring and beating the hell out of them; it’s Monday Night RAW.  But I’m okay with it because it means that these three aren’t done with each other yet. McIntyre is on the short list to win the Royal Rumble and neither Finn nor Dolph are wont to let the fans down.

Winner: Finn Balor by DQ (probably)

Dean Ambrose is shown in the back before a video recap of Ronda Rousey dumping The Queen and The Man off a ladder at TLC.

In ring

Dean Ambrose comes out with his Bane jacket and a few Stormtroopers. Corey Graves and Rene Young awkwardly reverse commentary roles as the former’s husband is in focus. Dean challenges Seth to “be a man” and tell him that he was right and Seth was wrong. Seth no shows and Dean makes an open challenge for the belt. The first in line is mmm gorgeous.

Dean Ambrose vs Tyler Breeze

Prince Pretty certainly seemed to be out there making a case to keep himself on the “A” show and his rumored NXT dates to a minimum. Ambrose barely pulled out the win. Seth Rollins’ music hits and the Stormtroopers form up at the ramp… except one. Seth is under the mask and drops Dean with a superkick and follows up with some ground and pound.  He fends off the entourage and Dean makes his escape.

Winner and still Intercontinental Champion: Dean Ambrose

Backstage

Shane McMahon tells Charley Caruso that opportunities will be abound in the coming weeks. Drake Maverick comes in looking to get Authors of Pain a rematch for the tag titles. Shane tells them that they’ll have an opportunity… but so will The B-Team, The Revival, and Lucha House Party. It’s a four-way tag team match, playa!

Part of that “shake up” will be new faces seen on the main roster and we see a series of vignettes.

Lars Sullivan: Prehistoric freak with a mean streak.

Lacey Evans: Former Marine SWAT team member with a pin up look and a mean right hook.

Heavy Machinery: 600+lbs of steaks, weights, and car crash impacts (and having fun doing it).

Nikki Cross: The little sister of Sanity came up to fight The Man and is coming back for more.

EC3: The former TNA centerpiece is done with developmental for the second time.

In ring

Bobby Lashley mocks Elias’ shtick after showing him beating Elias across his back with a guitar at TLC.  Lio Rush gets Bobby to start his pose down routine under the spotlight in a darked out arena. Bobby gets to the glute/ham portion of our evening when Elias gets announced.  The drifter makes Batman proud when he appears out of the shadows and nails Bobby Lashley with a guitar. Lashley undersells it but we know these two will keep their animosity going.

We get a promo package for Sami Zayn’s imminent return and another, later on, for Kevin Owens. These two are certainly on the short list of guys WWE is more than willing to pay “stay at home” money than let walk through someone else’s door. With a whole mess of holes in their usual plans, they could certainly plug these two in anywhere and get their money’s worth.

The B-Team vs Authors of Pain vs The Revival vs Lucha House Party

Lucha House Party rules were not in effect and Revival hit the Shatter Machine on Bo Dallas after Dallas and Scott Dawson used Kallisto and Lince Dorado as missiles to take out AoP and Curtis Axel.

Winners and new #1 contenders: The Revival

Backstage

Seth Rollins is seething at having lost his Intercontinental Title at TLC.  He says that he got lost in Dean Ambrose’s head games. He also acknowledged the crowd reaction of boos and chants of “bor-ing!”  He puts that squarely on himself (for some unknown reason) and promises to right the ship because wrestling defines him. Baron Corbin appears over his shoulder and blames Seth’s running him down in the ring last week for losing his GM position. Seth answers his taunts by dropping him with a right hand.

In ring

Rowdy Ronda Rousey comes out to the ring.  She says that she backed up everything she said in the past weeks at TLC: she was going to take away Nia Jax’s right hand, write the next chapter of her mutual story with Charlotte Flair, and that she is the last woman on Earth that Becky lynch should anger. The boos and chants for Becky turn to cheers when she puts the title on the line right then and there. The whole women’s roster is shown clamoring for an opportunity backstage so Steph makes a gauntlet match and the winner fights Ronda next week.

8-Woman Gauntlet Match

Alicia Fox and Bayley went for about ten minutes before The Hugger eliminated The Captain.  An aggressive Dana Brooke ran in take advantage but was taken out during commercial. Mickie James revealed Bayley’s bad knee while taking her to her limits and taking her out with a DDT.  Ember Moon eclipses the veteran. Natalya managed to roll Ember up for the pin and that brought in Ruby Riott. Nattie denied Ruby Riott her revenge and then it was Boss Time. Sasha wore her Wonder Woman gear but ended up tapping out to The Queen of Hearts.  Ronda walked out to congratulate her good buddy Natalya and they shared a handshake, hugs, and a walk back up the ramp together.

Winner and new #1 contender: Natalya Neidhart

Next week’s preview promises a Dolph/Finn/McIntyre triple threat match, a “Miracle on 34th Street Fight” between Elias and Lashley, Seth Rollins vs Baron Corbin, and an Advent appearance by the advocate, Paul Heyman.

Final Thoughts: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss… because it’s the same boss.  A little smoke and mirrors to direct blame onto Baron Corbin and the first family of sports entertainment gets to ride in on white horses.  They certainly played directly towards the mature, discerning fan. The Revival, Natalya, and Finn Balor were all showcased and Baron Corbin got humiliated. The gauntlet match was really well done and, for about fifteen minutes, I thought that they might be slingshotting Bayley like they did with Seth nearly a year ago.  Just shows how deep RAW’s women’s division at least in the ring. The next IC or Universal contender is likely to come out of next week’s triple threat. Of all the announced call ups, RAW could most use Heavy Machinery to fluff up the tag division.

There was still only five matches in three hours but, at least, it seems that they understand that breadcrumbs make better filler than sawdust.  This episode was full of promise… and promises. Only promises kept are worth anything and we’ll see if we get fooled again.