Raw

Before Kurt Angle could discuss the fall out to last week’s Raw, Braun Strowman raced to the ring to make a claim for himself—he wants Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. Of course, Kane came to make a case himself. Then, The Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, confronted both of them in the center of the ring. Then and there, Angle announced Lesnar will be taking on both men at the Royal Rumble. Seth Rollins defeated Jason Jordan with Samoa Joe at ringside. At one point, Jordan and Rollins worked together to beat up Joe. He would get the last laugh, though, laying out both Jordan and Rollins. Backstage, Angle told Ambrose, Rollins, and Jordan that they are going to be tagging against Samoa Joe and The Bar later that night.

Finn Balor took on both Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas in a handicap match. He won via disqualification after both men attacked him. Hideo Itami made his debut on Raw when he raced to the ring to save his buddy Finn Balor. The two, then, tagged in a match and defeated The Mizterouge after Itami hit Axel with a GTS. Drew Gulak took on Cedric Alexander in a match to determine who the number one contender to the Cruiserweight Championship. Gulak, who has become a fan favorite, put up a valiant effort, but Alexander defeated him after a Lumbar Check. Alicia Fox finally got the chance to lose to the undefeated Asuka.

The Six Man tag match between The Bar and Samoa Joe vs Ambrose Rollins and Jason Jordan started the final hour of the show. The victory went to the heels after Sheamus hit Rollins with a big boot. Ambrose was tended to in the outside after it appeared he sustained an injury. Samoa Joe made matters worse when he attacked Rollins and Ambrose backstage with The Bar. He slammed Ambrose’s trapped arm into a crate in what appeared to be a way to write Ambrose off. The Revival made their return to Raw defeating Heath Slater and Rhyno. Elias’ concert was cut short by Sasha Banks, Mickie James, and Bayley who did not want to sit around and wait before their match against Absolution. Rose and Deville never allowed the match to develop as they began attacking Banks. Nia Jax came down and absolutely wrecked Absolution. Paige blindsided Jax prompting the entire roster to run down to the ring. Stephanie McMahon, then, came down to stop the brawl and to announce that, for the first time ever, there will be a Women’s Royal Rumble match.

Highlight of the Night:

As awkward as this segment was, without a doubt, the announcement of the Women’s Royal Rumble will live forever. It has been a long time coming.

SmackDown Live

Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon opened the show airing out their differences after the fall out from Clash of Champions. The two threw passive aggressive shots at each other. Bryan explained why he used a fast count on Sunday, and how it was done to guarantee the land of opportunity. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin upset the Tag Team Champions, The Usos, in a non-title match. Charlotte Flair expressed how happy she is that there will be a Women’s Royal Rumble match next month. The Champion explained that, no matter who wins, she will be ready to defend her title against her. Naomi congratulated Charlotte for retaining her championship at Clash of Champions and announced that the two will be facing each other after she wins at the Royal Rumble. Riott Squad came to the ring, and Naomi issued a challenge—two of them vs. Charlotte and her. The latter team handed Riott Squad their first loss after Logan accidentally took out Morgan allowing Naomi to pin Logan.

The new United States Champion, Dolph Ziggler, took fans down memory lane airing highlights of his accolades. He explained that the fans are not worthy of him before walking out of the ring leaving his United States Championship in the middle of the ring. The New Day, Rusev, and Aiden English faced off in a very festive tag team match as they all wore different Christmas themed costumes. Rusev and English got too cute setting up a pancake and whip cream pie for Xavier Woods. Of course, English ended up going through the pie, and The New Day won the match. The main event of the night was a Six Man Tag Match between AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Randy Orton vs Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Jinder Mahal. The faces sent the crowd home happy after Nakamura hit Sami Zayn with a Kinshasa to win the match.

Highlight of the night

The slow dissension between McMahon and Bryan continues. It has been a long time coming. I am unsure whether it will lead to a match between the two or not, but, if it does, it will be one of the best, longest, builds to a feud in a while.

How do they compare?

This week was a weird one, in the sense that a lot happened, but it was surrounded and smothered by a reiteration of what we’ve seen the last few weeks. Rollins and Ambrose against The Bar, Orton dealing with Zayn and Owens, The Usos dealing Gable and Benjamin, rinse and repeat. It is clear, we are at that point of the year where it is a little early to start building for next year and things are just coasting along. That being said, the announcement of the Women’s Royal Rumble was huge. Sure, fans have telegraphed it, but seeing the moment actually materialize is nothing short of great. The Women’s Revolution is here to stay. The debut of Hideo Itami was well done. 205 Live is a hidden gem on the WWE Network, but him debuting there could have been inconsequential. Itami showing up on Raw was a great moment because it allowed fans unfamiliar with him to be introduced to a dynamic wrestler. Michael Cole putting him over on commentary shows those watching at home that this guy matters. Rusev and Aiden English are shining bright on SmackDown Live, but this week, again, goes to Raw.