:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65957952/20191216_Raw_ReySeth_FC__cbb1c777000cd0d380d87840a46aa887.0.jpg)
WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Dec. 23, 2019) from the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-iew (PPV) scheduled for next month in Houston.
Advertised for tonight: Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins for the United States championship, and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the Raw live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)
This show was taped last week, so spoilers are available. You can find them here if you want to read them, however we’ll treat this like every show and live blog it as it’s broadcast on USA Network.
WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR DEC. 23
You can’t forget me baby, don’t try to lie. You’ll never leave me, mama, so don’t try. I’ll be a gambler, baby, lay down the bet. We get together, mama, you’ll sweat. No place for hidin’ baby, no place to run, we’ve got to liveblog this here pro wrestling show, folks.
We start with the intro video.
Kevin Owens makes his entrance and gets on the mic.
Before he can really get started, Mojo Rawley comes out.
He demands an explanation for the steel pipe bit and KO says he wasn’t gonna talk about that at all. Mojo tells him he needs a reality check. Owens says they have a match and he can’t wait to kick Rawley’s ass again. Mojo tells Kev he ain’t a tough guy and challenges him to a match that is already set, and says that it ain’t gonna be a merry Christmas for Owens afterwards.
It ain’t gonna be him and his wife and kids huddled around the Christmas tree-- Kev cuts him off and we have our match!
Kevin Owens vs. Mojo Rawley (No Disqualification Match)
Owens lays Rawley out with a back elbow and chases him to the floor with a cannonball off the apron! Throwing Mojo into the barricade, KO gets a bunch of chairs out from under the ring and follos them up with a table, to the crowd’s delight. He slides the table in the ring and heads after, but Rawley recovers and waffles Kev across the back with a chair!
Mojo dumps the table, military press drop on the chairs... NOPE! Rawley with crossface strikes, setting the chairs up into a square, choking Owens in the corner with one of them before striking him across the back with one! Up top, jockeying for position... PRESS SLAM THROUGH THE CHAIRS BUT KO KICKS OUT! Jawing at KO, drawing him up in the corner, off the ropes but he runs into a superkick!
Kev up top, senton atomico... NOT ENOUGH! Steel chair in hand, Owens lies in wait briefly before deciding he’d rather have the table. Mojo recovered, KO with the kick to the gut... STUNNER! He draws Rawly up, off the ropes...
Kevin Owens wins by pinfall with the pop-up powerbomb through a table.
Post-match, KO calls Seth Rollins and the Authors of Pain out. He says he knows it’s not the smartest decision but it’s who he is and he wants to do it!
Rollins and AOP make their way from backstage and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Seth Rollins and the Authors of Pain answer Kevin Owens’ call.
They, of course, jump him and beat him down. Rollins lines him up but KO manages to take him down before he can hit Blackout! He gets a few grounded punches in before That Damn Numbers Game takes back over and Seth hits Blackout!
Cut to R-Truth walking around New York City with the 24/7 Championship in hand. He runs into some dude and asks for directions to the Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson Christmas tree, which he claims he’s been invited to light. The guy points out all the ways he’s wrong...
AKIRA TOZAWA ROLLS HIM UP FROM BEHIND TO WIN THE WWE 24/7 CHAMPIONSHIP!
Bobby Lashley and Lana make their entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, we’re informed that Lana and Lashley will be wed next week.
Bobby Lashley vs. Cedric Alexander
Lashley with a wristlock, a slam, whip, up and over, Alexander ducks a lariat, right hand, roll under, monkey flip into a dropkick. Moonsault off the apron lands true but before Cedric can follow it up, Lana gets on the mic and slips into the ring. She asks Alexander who he thinks he is given that she’s getting married next week and he should have some respect and not get him all bruised up.
She proposes Greco-Roman rules for the remainder of the match and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Alexander’s chopping away, so much for Lana’s rules. Enzuigiri on the charge... Penalty Kick off the apron! Back in, Cedric with a dropkick, boot from the apron, but Bob reverses the springboard reverse STO and decks him with a lariat! Into the corner, shoulder thrust sets up a running neckbreaker... NOPE! Reverse chinlock applied, Alexander fights to his feet, off the ropes and Lashley drops him with a huge reverse STO for two!
Taunting and posing, blowing kisses to Lana, and Bob pays for his hubris when Cedric dropkicks him in the back of the leg! Sidestep the charge, enzuigiri from the apron, springboard lariat lays the big man out and he goes to the floor! Cedric off the ropes and the suicide dive lands true! Back in, off the ropes again... TOPE CON GIRO! Back inside, Neuralyzer connects... STILL NO!
Kicks to the ribs, Alexander off the ropes, tilt-a-whirl blocked and Bob hits the Yokosuka Cutter! Squaring him up. charging... Cedric counters the spear with a dropkick to the legs! Corner dropkick, but Lashley powers up...
Bobby Lashley wins by pinfall with a spear.
Cut backstage where Seth Rollins runs into an interview.
He takes issue with the question, saying he went out there to extend an olive branch to Kevin Owens and he got kicked in the face, so go ask him what he’s trying to accomplish starting fights every week.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial we get more 24/7 Championship footage from over the weekend.
Akira Tozawa takes a break in a park and R-Truth comes from behind. Akira knocks a guy’s hot dog down by accident and points out that it’s Truth’s fault before making a break for it. R-Truth gives chase and we cut away.
Drew McIntyre vs. Zack Ryder
McIntyre ramming Ryder into the corner, shoving at him and slapping him and Zack gives him the same back but Drew overwhelms him with stomps. Whip across, pass McIntyre to the floor, slingshot dropkick connects but Drew lays him out with a lariat! Ramming Ryder between barricade and apron repeatedly, dumping him back inside, laying him out with a back body drop.
Drawing him up but Zack gets a kick, a forearm, more forearms, Drew drops him with one in return! Whip to the corner, knees up, Ryder to the second for a missile dropkick but McIntyre reverses to a release powerbomb! Lying in wait...
Drew McIntyre wins by pinfall with a Claymore.
Post-match, Drew kicks Curt Hawkins out of the ring and hits Future Shock on Ryder! Hawkins back in and fighting back and he eats Claymore for his trouble!
McIntyre gets on the mic and says that was fun. He asks Zack and Curt if they’re having fun and they don’t answer so he speaks on their behalf. He thinks they’d say they’re having fun and he’s a big inspiration who is equally as wise as he is jacked. He won’t give us tired cliches about being the future, but 2020 belongs to Drew McIntyre.
Becky Lynch makes her entrance.
She gets on the mic and says she’s had some things on her mind lately.
Since the birth of The Man, she’s learned she does much better when she takes things into her own hands, so that’s exactly what she’s out here to do. She’s become the face of this company and they’re trying to protect her. Well she doesn’t give a damn what this company wants, and she’s stayed quiet for too long. The Man vs. Asuka needs to happen next and she’s not taking no for an answer.
No, she’s willing to go to some deep dark places to remind herself who she truly is, and if Asuka’s forgotten who she is, she wants to remind her that she’s the one woman to ever beat the Man fair and square, so the Man has come around to collect on one last debt.
Enter the Kabuki Warriors.
Asuka gets on the mic and introduces her team in Japanese before asking if Becky remembers TLC. She speaks some more Japanese before saying, simply, “Asuka two belts.” Lynch says if it takes putting the title on the line to get the match, name the time and the place. And if you didn’t understand, she issues her challenge again in Japanese!
And so we go to break.
Aleister Black vs. ???
It’s a squash.
Aleister Black wins by pinfall with the Black Mass.
Post-match, Buddy Murphy enters and he’s also got a match against enhancement talent, so Black sticks around and watches.
Buddy Murphy vs. ???
This is also a squash.
Buddy Murphy wins by pinfall with Murphy’s Law.
Post-match, Black enters the ring and offers Murphy a handshake, but the Australian shrugs it off, so Al blasts him with Black Mass!
Commentary informs us that Black vs. Murphy will happen next week.
We get a video package for tonight’s main event.
Rey Mysterio is interviewed backstage.
He says he’s been looking forward to wrestling Seth for a long time now and he’s one of the best wrestlers on Raw, but it’ll always have an asterisk on it, because Authors of Pain will be there.
And so we go to break.
Ricochet vs. Tony Nese
Circling, Ricochet looking for a schoolboy out the gates, one, side headlock, shot off, backflip up and voer, Nese does the same, Matrix evasion, kick caught! Ricky with a front kick, chop, whip reversed, roll over, roll under, backflip into a tijeras and then lay Tony out with a dropkick! Nese cuts him off in the ropes, float over neck snap, triangle moonsault... NOPE!
Bodyscissors applied, Ricochet fights back, off the ropes, big forearm. Off the ropes again, another, off the ropes a third time, tijeras connects! Smashing Nese’s face into the corner, but Tony nails him with a Shotei! Knee pad down, he runs into a superkick and Ricky follows it up...
Ricochet wins by pinfall with Recoil.
Back to 24/7 Championship stuff, Akira Tozawa hides behind a Christmas tree as R-Truth looks for him. Akira slips away and they barely see him and give chase.
Charlotte Flair makes her entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a vignette for Charlotte’s opponent.
Charlotte Flair vs. Chelsea Green
Collar and elbow, struggling, Flair slings her off and kips up. Back to the lockup, Green goes behind, Charlotte turns her around and she gets into the ropes for a break. Trading shots, Flair putting boots to her in the corner, Chelsea, schoolboy sets up a surfboard stomp for two! Off the ropes, dropkick connects, following it up with a reverse chinlock.
Green really grinds her down with it, throwing elbows but Flair cuts her down with a big boot! Figure four leglock applied, bridging back...
Charlotte Flair wins by submission with the Figure Eight.
We get more 24/7 title stuff where Tozawa and Truth run into a Santa Claus who claims to have a give for them both. Truth’s is over in his sleigh, but Akira’s is in the sack, and Santa decks him! Cover...
Santa Claus wins the WWE 24/7 Championship by pinfall.
Post-match, Truth returns and helps Tozawa to his feet, declaring his intent to help him take Santa out.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get another Liv Morgan vignette.
We get entrances for our next match and a video package, and then go to break again.
The OC (AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, & Luke Gallows) vs. Randy Orton & Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar)
Ivar and Anderson to start, Machine Gun trying to wrestle the big man but Warbeard uses his strength and speed to stay ahead and tags Erik in. Erik starts off throwing him around, and we get quick tags and double teams from the Vikings. Eventually Gallows tags in and turns the tables on Rowe, with AJ Styles getting involved on the floor. Quick tags from the Club this time and Erik takes his turn on the back foot.
Tags made, Orton clears house on Gallows, eye poke sets up the hanging DDT but Big Hoot back body drops him to the floor as a counter and Randy’s knee gives out! He writhes in pain on the floor and we go to break.
Back from commercial, the Club are working Orton’s bad leg over. Randy gets a suplex off for separation and tags Erik back in! The Viking runs roughshod on Anderson, big cradle exploder suplex and a tag to Ivar. Off the ropes, pounce and a side slam for Gallows, follow with the basement crossbody, tag back to Erik! AJ Styles in, slam Warbeard into him, pop Anderson up for Viking Experience but Big Hoot makes the save!
Ivar does the cartwheel lariat, AJ does the Pele kick, enzuigiri to Erik, Orton with a blind tag and he comes in from behind with Styles unawares. RKO blocked, pass him to the apron, hanging DDT blocked by Anderson, RKO for Anderson! Gallows in, RKO attempt denied, AJ springboards...
The OC win by pinfall with a Phenomenal Forearm from AJ Styles on Randy Orton.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial we get more 24/7 stuff.
Santa’s running along when he gets tired and gets in a carriage and drives off. R-Truth and Akira Tozawa get in a carriage of their own and give chase. Santa gets out when he realizes he could run faster, and our heroes follow suit.
Erick Rowan is looking at his animal friend again and he got it a present, a clothespin.
Backstage, Street Profits are playing hype men for next week’s show.
Erick Rowan makes his entrance and we go to break.
Erick Rowan vs. ???
Rowan’s opponent offers up a candy cane as a peace offering and the big man snatches it away. They slip out of the ring and pull several more candy canes out of their trunks and make like they’re going to give it to Erick’s animal pal, and thus the squash begins...
Erick Rowan wins by pinfall with the clawslam.
Post-match, Rowan checks on his pal and gives him a candy cane.
Cut back to the 24/7 footage, where Santa is still running. He trips on some steps and R-Truth makes the cover...
R-Truth wins the WWE 24/7 Championship by pinfall with a lateral press.
Post-match, referee John Cone says it’s too cold and he’s going home. Santa tells them they’re all getting coal for Christmas, and Truth says nobody wants Michael Cole. Truth says it *is* Christmas and offers Akira a truce to go find the big apple.
Rusev makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Rusev gets on the mic.
He says he can’t believe it was snowing on top of the ramp, but second he has some mixed emotions. Was he screwed over at TLC? Of course. Is he upset about it? Oh yes, he is. But is he going to do anything about it? Well you’re damn sure he will! But is he upset that Lana is getting married to Bobby Lashley next week? Of course not, that’s going to be the greatest day of his life!
The greatest punishment he could give Lashley is letting him marry Lana. He may be single but he’s not alone, because every day is Rusev Day.
No Way Jose vs. Rusev
Collar and elbow, Jose backs him into the corner and dances. Rusev shoves him into the ropes...
Rusev wins by pinfall with the Machka Kick.
Post-match, Rusev does a spinnerooni and joins the conga line.
Backstage, Seth Rollins is interviewed.
He says he’s going to beat Rey Mysterio, win the United States Championship, and then establish dominance.
He and the AOP mosey to send us to break.
Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Seth Rollins (WWE United States Championship)
Mysterio in with a leg kick and right hands but Rollins fires back and puts boots to him in the corner. Charge in, Rey with boots up, off the ropes but Seth hits Sling Blade for one! Drawing him up, snapmare, crucifix pin, only two. Front chancery applied, Mysterio floats over but Rollins decks him with a rolling elbow! Stomp to the back, drawing the legend up, smashing him into the corner.
Another punch, Rey staggered and drops to his knees, whip across, la casadora pin, only two! Tilt-a-whirl headscissors, Seth shoves him off but he kicks him in the face. Back body drop to the apron, tijeras sets him on the second rope, Mysterio comes off, 619, nobody home! Front kick, pass into the ringpost and he throws Rey to the floor and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Rollins is in control with a top wristlock. Throwing Mysterio into the post, going for a waistlock and drawing him up. Stomps to the foot and back elbows, Rey up and over, tijeras sends Seth to the floor! Off the ropes, sunset flip powerbomb into the barricade! Back inside, seated senton, quebrada gets caught but he reverses the counter into a DDT for two!
Whip reversed, buckle bomb, Avada Kedavra... NOPE! Tuning up the band, off the ropes, Blackout denied, Rey slides low, Frankensteiner sets him up... 619! Headed up top and AOP strike...
Rey Mysterio wins by disqualification.
Post-match, Rollins and AOP beat Mysterio down more and take him to the stage. Samoa Joe refuses to get up and tells AOP that if he has to get up, it’s their asses. He does get up, and Rollins backs his boys off at first before relenting. Akam and Rezar beat Joe down! Rollins goes back to Rey... BLACKOUT! AOP POWERBOMB SAMOA THROUGH THE ANNOUNCE TABLE!
That’s the show, folks.