The second to last RAW of the year and also the decade aired tonight after being taped last week. Much like last week’s RAW, this weeks is just like looking in a mirror as the Winners & Losers are going to look like a carbon copy.
There was another well done promo by Becky Lynch, this time it was in the ring instead of backstage in an interview. She continued to say she has one last debt to collect and that is Asuka. Lynch says that she is the face of the company and she feels that the powers that be are trying to protect her. She hasn’t defended her title since October and that isn’t going unnoticed. Asuka is the one woman who has beat her fair and square.
After Lynch asks Asuka to accept her challenge, the Empress of Tomorrow with Kairi Sane by her side made their way to the stage. Asuka would accept Lynch’s challenge and state “Asuka 2 Belts” noting that she wants their fight to be for the RAW Women’s Championship. She also reminded her next opponent about what happened at TLC and that The Kabuki Warriors are still tag team champs. Lynch let her know to name the time and place and she stated just in case Asuka didn’t understand, she repeated it in Japanese.
Lana and Bobby Lashley’s beloved love affair continues after their engagement announcement last week. The two have announced that next week on the last RAW of the decade the two will be having their wedding live for everyone to witness. This storyline has undoubtedly been drawn out way longer than one could imagine, however, who isn’t down for a WWE wedding?
The one and only women’s match of the night (which has been the theme for what seems like weeks now) was between Charlotte Flair and a debuting Chelsea Green. Much like her VXT teammate Deonna Purrazzo last week, Green would have a match on RAW. Last week, Purrazzo lost to Asuka after a refreshing but quick match. It was quick but it still allowed Purrazzo and this week Green to get in some offense. Green would lose her match to Flair as she tapped out to the Figure Eight.
Liv Morgan had another vignette this week as her return to the screen is highly anticipated by many. Much like last weeks, Morgan is seen in a bathroom and looking at herself in the mirror while she also combs her hair and puts on makeup. Her voiceover starts by saying when one seeks affirmation for themselves in someone else you are giving that person all the power. She comments that she has done that before and it is so typical because she was young. There are glimpses of herself flashing on the screen as her being part of the Riott Squad.
The vignette ends with her no longer doing a voiceover but her speaking to the mirror and then to the camera. She says, “It’s up to me to decide who I am, and I am anything but typical.”
Here are your Winners & Losers of the night:
As stated much like last week it is going to be rather similar.
WINNER: Chelsea Green
Green may have lost her match but it was a huge boost to see her appear on RAW. The landscape of the women on RAW is hurting. NXT is thriving and although SmackDown is all over the place with their placement they can at least utilize every woman on their roster as we saw last week. Of course RAW could use Natalya, Sarah Logan, and The IIconics which they need to, but they still could use some fresh faces. If Green and Purrazzo were to officially move to RAW that could create more opportunities.
WINNER: Becky Lynch
Much like last week, Lynch continues to provide an excellent promo. Although we have seen Lynch vs. Asuka numerous times, there is a bit of excitement coming from this. The story is believable that Asuka is the one that Lynch can’t seem to conquer. Her response at the end in Japanese was a nice touch as well. This match can obviously be at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. These two women (both being current champions) being the only two previous Royal Rumble match winners shows they don’t need to be featured in that match.
WINNER: Liv Morgan
As of now, the Liv Morgan vignette train is still chugging along. It could get tiresome after a few more weeks, which is likely how long they are going to go with it. It makes sense to hold off on her on-screen return until perhaps the Royal Rumble match. The vignette from this week about other people taking her power away from her makes it sound like her first opponent may be a returning Ruby Riott. Riott has been out of action for most the year due to needing two surgeries. She could very well be returning at the rumble and perhaps we will see these two come face to face.
Much like last week there isn’t any “losers” to really list. All the women, even the ones not listed in the winner section did their parts and didn’t sour anything for them. The biggest issue is they just need to start booking more than one match on RAW. The underutilization of the red brand is severely noticeable.
What did you think of this week’s RAW? Who were your Winners & Losers? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Diva Dirt wishes all of our readers a Happy Holiday and check back in with us for the remainder of this year as we provide some “Best’s” of the year/decade.
