Last night’s WWE Raw missed Roman Reigns’ presence a lot to say the least. The franchise player of the company was not advertised to appear at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, previously and the booking did not change, either. So, The Big Dog missed one televised episode, out of nowhere.
To cover up his presence, WWE came up with two segments featuring his Shield brethren, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Rollins competed in two contests on the night. First one was a singles competition, whereas, the second one was a tag team action also featuring Jordan, Samoa Joe, and The Bar.
These segments fell short since it portrayed the calibre of The Architect to a low extent. He was also forced to digest another pinfall loss to Sheamus which will harm his character, going forward. But, at the same time, it was great to see the hot reaction for Samoa Joe from the fans.
Also, the announcement for the Universal Championship match fell short to a great extent since it was quite a predicted one. Also, WWE creative team put on the least effort to come up with the confirmation. It was done by Kurt Angle quickly, as he rushed to avoid a collision inside the ring. So, the crowd definitely did not get them involved in this announcement, as expected earlier.
Not a great opener. The crowd was light on the reactions and the reveal for the #UniversalTitle match at #RoyalRumble was disappointing. Braun and Kane haven’t exactly been tearing it down. I expect the Rumble triple threat to be short and not that good. #RAW
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) December 19, 2017
Hideo Itami’s inclusion was quite confusing since he featured in a segment from the main roster scene. No clarification was further provided whether he will be performing here on WWE Raw or the 205 Live division. There was no need for this confusion, as this indicated the lack of big superstars’ names in the locker room.
The final segment of WWE Raw featured the six-woman tag team match which has become a repeated one and hence the audience was not invested in it, too. The appearance of Stephanie McMahon changed that environment, as she declared the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match. It was the only place where the rest of the two hours’ bad memory got erased. Overall, it was not that great of a show, last night.
A nothing match with the women. It was all a ploy to get every woman in the ring so Stephanie McMahon could announce the 1st ever Women’s Royal Rumble. She did a good job building up to the announcement. #RAW
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) December 19, 2017
That tiny bit of big news about the Women’s Royal Rumble doesn’t erase the stink of what was a largely phoned in show. The third hour was actually the best hour of the show for a change. Still, I can’t say I enjoyed my three hour investment tonight. #RAW
— Wrestleview.com (@wrestleview) December 19, 2017
Check out the Twitter reactions from it,
#SayYeah!@ScottDawsonWWE & @DashWilderWWE are back to bring #TheRevival to #RAW! pic.twitter.com/YlDUG8G74I
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2017
Bruh, go home…you’re drunk. #RAW pic.twitter.com/KpYyKPI6cl
— Ellis Mbeh ?♂️ (@EllisMbeh) December 19, 2017
Did #WOKEN @MATTHARDYBRAND just win a chess match against Napoleon Bonaparte?! #RAW pic.twitter.com/1kbIdHZEut
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2017
Such an honor to announce the first-ever women’s #RoyalRumble match on #Raw tonight. @WWE‘s female Superstars raise the bar every chance they get & I can’t wait to see them make history once again at the #RoyalRumble next month. #WomensEvolution pic.twitter.com/Cerus16pWC
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) December 19, 2017
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
History WILL be made on January 28th when the women of @WWE compete in a #RoyalRumble match! #RAW pic.twitter.com/ohhilj8rsp
— WWE (@WWE) December 19, 2017
See!?!!!!!!???? Only good can come from utter chaos #RoyalRumble #RAW https://t.co/96UmSZjW8U
— Nikki Cross (@NikkiCrossWWE) December 19, 2017
From @WWENXT to #RAW… you gotta love it! @HideoItami @FinnBalor pic.twitter.com/PUJ1RLrNVN
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) December 19, 2017
Imagine counting down in the first women’s Royal Rumble match and you hear this…#WWE#RAW#SDLive#RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/Nv4jJ2G8Lg
— ??Dan?? (@Wwefantalk1) December 19, 2017
If you don’t like it, learn to LOVE it‼️
W?????? #RAW pic.twitter.com/KZJmNtfOaQ
— ??? #AsukaCity (@ThisIsAsukaCity) December 19, 2017
YES! YES! YES! ? @WWEAsuka waiting for @SashaBanksWWE to join in ? #RAW pic.twitter.com/LMC3gjKuUK
— $cott (@MrSashaBanks) December 19, 2017
Don’t be hurt Dean Ambrose. #WWE #Raw
— Scott Fishman (@smFISHMAN) December 19, 2017
— Mestre Ninja X (@mestreninjaX) December 19, 2017
— NOTORIOUS. (@NotoriousGSW17) December 19, 2017