The last Monday Night Raw of 2016 was not the best show of the year. It was the same matches again in the main event with Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and Seth Rollins.
First, here are the full results of the December 26 episode of WWE Raw, per WWE.com.
- Sheamus and Cesaro defeated The New Day to retain the tag team titles. Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on Xavier Woods for the win.
- Nia Jax defeated a local competitor named Scarlett, who was wearing a Sasha Banks shirt. Nia got the win after hitting the Samoan Drop.
- Charlotte finally defeats Bayley but with the help Dana Brooke, who served as special guest referee. Brooke did a fast three count when Charlotte rolled-up Bayley for the win.
- Neville made his cruiserweight debut on Raw with a win against T.J Perkins. Surprisingly, Neville was not dominating as he won via a roll-up with a handful of TJP's tights. Also, Austin Aries was on commentary and he got some love from the Chicago crowd.
- The Shining Stars vs. Darren Young & Bo Dallas ended in a No Contest. Braun Strowman attacked all four superstars, as well as Bob Buckland.
- Braun Strowman defeated Seth Rollins via disqualification after Sami Zayn attacked Strowman. Chris Jericho went after Rollins once again, hitting two Codebreakers to the fallen Architect.
- Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson got a not-so-dominating win against Golden Truth. Anderson rolled-up Goldust to get the three count. It's that kind of Raw as this was the third match that ended with a roll-up.
- WWE cruiserweight champion Rich Swann defeated Ariya Daivari. Swann accepted Neville's challenge and he will defend his title at WWE 205 Live on Tuesday. Neville ended up taking out the champ with the Red Arrow.
- Roman Reigns retains the United States championship by defeating Kevin Owens. Reigns won after hitting the spear on Owens, who was distracted when Rollins attacked Jericho at ringside.
Besides the matches, there are some good moments from this week's episode. Here are the five biggest moments from the December 26 edition of Raw
Stephanie McMahon burns CM Punk, shuts Chicago crowd up.
During the opening segment that featured Stephanie, the Chicago crowd wasted no time in chanting "CM Punk" directly at the Raw commissioner. However, Stephanie let her inner savagery out when he burned the former WWE superstar and the fans in Chicago with one of the best quotes of the year.
"So if you guys could keep that up for about two minutes and 15 seconds you'd last one second longer than Punk did," Stephanie said.
Ouch. Punk, who made his UFC debut last September, lasted for only two minutes and 14 seconds before getting submitted by Mickey Gall. The Raw commissioner also teased the reunion of The Shied but quickly turned it around by saying that it will never happen. As Michael Cole would say it, "Classic Stephanie."
Austin Aries on commentary for cruiserweight match
Aries made his first appearance on Raw during the Neville vs. Perkins match as the guest commentator. The Chicago fans chanted his name during the match. "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" acknowledged the chants but encouraged everyone to focus on the match.
Braun Strowman and his Christmas tree
Strowman made his presence felt during the unlikely tag team match between The Shining Stars and Darren Young and Bo Dallas. He took out Dallas with the tree and cleared the ring out. The Chicago crowd chanted "Thank You, Strowman" which was appropriate.
Jack Gallagher appears
Anytime Gallagher, who is a complete gentleman, appears on television is a considered a great moment. Scoundrel might be the best word being used in the WWE right now. He challenged Ariya Daivari to a duel at WWE 205 Live before backhanding his rival and leaving.
Roman Reigns ends Raw on top
Since there was no other choice for big moments in this week's Raw, let's put in Reigns' win. It was rehashed match between The Big Dog and KO several weeks back. Raw was mediocre again to end 2016. At least the WWE has SmackDown Live on Tuesdays and Bill Goldberg is returning on the first Raw of 2017.
Check out the video below for the opening segment between Stephanie, Reigns and Rollins, minus the CM Punk burn. For more WWE news, rumors and updates, follow me on Twitter @johnnyrundown.