Raw Reax - 12/22/14

Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.

That sounds like a good lineup for tonight. It's kind of a shame Wyatt and Ambrose are being put in kind of goofy gimmick matches for Tribute and Christmas, but I'm sure they'll do great with it.

The opening segment was pretty good. The Hogan/Christmas stuff wasn't too overbearing, and Rollins vs. Cena should be pretty great.

I really liked Rollins vs. Cena. I do think it clearly defined Rollins as being below Cena, with Cena absorbing so much signature offense, but the match itself was really good. Both men are great wrestlers.

I more or less expect a lot of Christmas shenanigans tonight. Will Paul Heyman talk about Hannukah? I think Kane has a particular reason to hate Christmas given his old USWA gimmick...

Did Fandango just beat Jack Swagger clean!? I think he's a talented guy, but that result was surprising. It should tell you to some degree where WWE's priorities lie between the two of them.

I liked the Ziggler promo. Ziggler vs. Harper was great, not that that was a surprise.

I'm glad The New Day got a video. I hope they've got good things set up for their future.

So-so match between Rose and R-Truth. Fine "fluff", but it didn't really mean anything in the grand scheme of things.

Nice. Rose showing some intensity. I think he's got potential to work well as a heel. He spent a lot of time developing as one before the Rose gimmick. I just wonder what his ring style will look like. Will what he did as Leo Kruger work in this gimmick?

I wasn't particularly thrilled with the pre-match to Show vs. Reigns, but I'm fine with them using Show to elevate Reigns. Then maybe Rowan can get some heat on Show, too? I wouldn't count on it, but it's nice to dream.

Mehhhhh. The match itself was OK. I guess they're going to prolong the feud until Reigns gets a big pinfall win over Show. Show's been around the block, so it makes sense to use him to work with the next Chosen One. I just don't anticipate it being amazing TV.

Fine post-match to keep the feud rolling.

Ambrose's promos remain bizarrely entertaining. I really hope Ambrose is the Bryan to Reigns' Batista for WM31 as far as walking out with the title. The comparison can stop there, though, after all the misfortune Bryan had in 2014.

Brie vs. Natalya was pretty good. Can Natalya challenge Charlotte to a rematch so the latter can get a better showing?

Natalya challenging for the Divas' Title works, too. She does seem to be the "bridesmaid" of the division, never getting to actually win the belt because someone else is being pushed.

I've grown into liking The Ascension's new gimmick. I hope they do great things.

Goldust and Stardust remain great in this gimmick. I hope it keeps going a while.

I liked the handicap match well enough. I'm SLIGHTLY disappointed with the lack of SwoggleDust. Maybe next week?

Good Harper promo. He's been a great signing thus far.

Ziggler and Harper were AMAZING. I do think they might have gone a bit overboard with the number of big moves, but they're both really committed to showing off their hard work.

Nice Ziggler promo. He can be a top face in 2015 if WWE doesn't kill his momentum again. Sadly, he's probably going to have to wait behind Cena, Orton, and Reigns.

I liked Piper's Pit. It was good enough for getting Rusev/Ryback further over.

Not a bad Divas' match. There are some good workers there.

I look forward to The Ascension wreaking havoc in WWE.

Silly Miz/Mizdow promo, but it was good for setting up the match. I like the little inset promos.

Not a bad match between Miz and Jey at all. Mizdow was pretty entertaining as always.

Really good Bray promo. It's not easy to sell a goofy Christmas match.

Wyatt vs. Ambrose was really good. They can really pull out the brutality, even with the holiday gimmick. It actually added to things in a way, as silly as it was at times.

I liked the post-match well enough. Ambrose does continue to lose big matches, but so far he's mostly keeping his heat.

More wrestling coming up.