Raw airs tonight (Dec. 22) with a taped show (spoilers are here) from Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is the fourth episode of Raw during the nine week build to Royal Rumble, which takes
place on January 31 in Saudi Arabia.
Austin Theory’s latest WWE push is finally here
The War Games mystery man revealed his identity at the end of last week’s Raw, and it was Austin Theory all along. Even though the mystery man has been helping The Vision since he arrived on the scene, Paul Heyman and everyone else in the group seemed genuinely surprised to see Theory’s face under the mask.
It’s possible that Theory will cut a promo tonight to explain why he is using Seth Rollins’ finishing move and helping The Vision. But Theory is a man of mystery now, so perhaps he’ll continue to operate quietly and let his actions do the talking for him.
Heyman doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut, though, so now he has to get together with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed to figure out what is the next move to make on the chess board. For example, if Theory has been auditioning for a spot in The Vision, is it a wise move to let him join the group? What if they think there’s a chance that Austin is actually aligned with the injured Rollins? In that case, do the Brons try to take out Theory tonight with a Tsunami on LA Knight’s car?
One man who definitely wants to cut off Austin’s head and piss down his throat is World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, who was screwed over by Theory at War Games. What does CM have to say after last week’s surprise reveal? Was Punk expecting to see a bigger star?
The bottom line is that Austin Theory suddenly finds himself in the number one storyline on Raw after spending the last 18 months or so as a low card jobber. WWE once booked Austin to beat John Cena at WrestleMania, so they clearly see something in him, even if it’s taking a long time to tap into it. WWE’s latest attempt to get wrestling fans to care about Theory is finally here, so tune into Raw tonight to see what exactly that looks like now that he’s no longer hiding under a mask.
The rest of the card
Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka is the biggest match that’s currently advertised for tonight’s Raw. Ripley demanded the match after the Kabuki Warriors ambushed her on last week’s episode and spit mist in her face. Is IYO SKY available to be in Rhea’s corner after she put her own body in the way of Kairi Sane’s flying elbow drop to protect Ripley from taking the blow?
El Grande Americano wasn’t happy about NXT star Je’Von Evans being showcased at Saturday Night’s Main Event, so he decided to insult him over it. Evans confronted Grande about the remark, and now he gets to send a message of his own tonight in a singles match against Rayo Americano.
Bayley vs. Roxanne Perez is also booked for tonight’s show. Lyra Valkyria tried to slap some sense into Bayley after she lost to Sol Ruca at Saturday Night’s Main Event, so we’ll see if that’s all the motivation Bayley needs to stay angry and get back in the winners’ column tonight.
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– GUNTHER received massive heat and was booed out of the building last week after making John Cena tap out “like a little bitch” in his WWE retirement match. The Ring General laughed his ass off and crossed paths with babyfaces like Otis, R-Truth, and AJ Styles as he followed GM Adam Pearce’s order to leave the arena. GUNTHER will very likely go for an encore tonight and try to get even more heat when he steps in the ring to address what’s next for him in WWE now that Cena’s “Never Give Up” legacy is ruined.
– Women’s Intercontinental Champion Maxxine Dupri defended her title for the first time on Raw last week with a win over jobber Ivy Nile. Becky Lynch was nowhere to be seen because she’s still boycotting the show until the belt is returned to her. But will The Man end her boycott at a moments notice if there’s a good chance to injure Dupri with a surprise attack?
– Jimmy & Jey Uso returned to the tag team division last week with a win over New Day. Just like that, The Usos are in line for a title shot against World Tag Team Champions Dragon Lee & AJ Styles. Is this what Jey really wants, or is his failure to recapture the world championship lingering in the back of his mind?
– Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer’s title defense against Raquel Rodriguez last week had a screwy ending thanks to interference from WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella. Does this mean Vaquer gets to kill two birds with one stone by defending her belt against both women in a triple threat match?
– After beating Rey Mysterio last week, does YouTube douchebag Logan Paul want a shot at Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio? Rey pinned his little shithead son in AAA over the weekend, so perhaps a triple threat title match is being set up here as well.
– Which WWE stars will be the first to declare for next month’s Royal Rumble matches?
– Where the f*** is Rusev?
What will you be looking for on Raw?
