WWE Raw Results For 12/11: Roman Reigns Defends The IC Title, Strowman vs. Kane & Absolution Has A Problem

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Karrion Kross: There's Something Much Bigger Going On Here Than What's Happening In The Ring

Here is the Fightful post-Raw podcast: 


- Samoa Joe is in the ring and he has a microphone in hand, Jose says he knows that everybody has heard of The Shield. Joe talks about how The Shield has laid waste to everyone who was in front of them, but Joe isn’t too impressed by The Shield. Joe calls out Roman Reigns so he can finish what he started last week, Joe also talks about how he cost The Shield the WWE Raw Tag Team Titles last week.

Reigns eventually makes his way to the ring while the rest of The Shield watches from backstage, Reigns hits the ring and he brawls with Joe. The Bar come out and the distraction allows Joe to take control, the rest of The Shield come out and a huge brawl erupts. Joe holds Reigns in the rear naked choke for a long time, The Bar then connects with their finisher on Rollins. Ambrose tries helping his pals out and Joe levels him with a uranage.

- Before the match, Paige gets a microphone and she talks about defeating Sasha Banks last week on WWE Raw. Mandy Rose then says that Absolution deserves the spotlight while burning the division away, Deville then says says the ladies should put their hair up and square up.

Bayley & Mickie James w/Sasha Banks vs. Absolution (Paige & Mandy Rose) w/Sonya Deville

The match begins with Bayley taking Rose down with a Thesz Press, Paige tags in and she attacks Bayley with a few strikes. James tags in and she works with Bayley to attempt a double suplex on Paige, but then Rose breaks it up and Absolution rolls out of the ring. Bayley and James take on Absolution with dives as we go to a commercial break, we return from the break to see Rose holding Bayley in a chin lock. Bayley breaks free to hit Rose with a series of elbow drops, Rose recovers and she drops Bayley with a knee strike.

Rose traps Bayley in the corner and she mauls her with kicks, Paige tags in and she traps Bayley in the ropes while landing knee strikes. Paige then hits Bayley with a running knee strike for a near fall, Paige hits Bayley with a headbutt before attacking James. Paige traps Bayley in the corner before landing a knee strike for a near fall, Paige goes to the ring apron to land more knee strikes and Bayley counters by dropping her on the ring apron. James and Rose get the tags from their respective partners, James quickly cleans house on the opposing team. James then hits Rose with a flying forearm strike, Rose tries fighting back and James drops her with a flapjack.

James goes to the top rope before connecting with a Thesz Press on Rose, James goes for the DDT and Paige kicks her in the face. Rose then gets the three count on a downed James.

Winners: Absolution (Paige & Mandy Rose) w/Sonya Deville

- Bray Wyatt appears to tell everybody that he is here, but then Matt Hardy interrupts to say that he is woken.

- Bray Wyatt appears again and he says this battle with Matt Hardy is nothing new, Matt Hardy interrupts and says the great war is continuing in the WWE. Wyatt talks about Hardy now being woken, Hardy says that darkness has taken over and his woken brilliance will illuminate the mass. Wyatt then calls Hardy a liar and that his words mean nothing, Hardy says he has crossed path with Sister Abigail before. Wyatt wonders why people would follow Hardy over himself, Hardy says the Woken Warriors are preparing for battle.

- Highlights are shown from last week’s Raw when Nia Jax came face to face with Enzo Amore. Enzo is then shown talking to the WWE Cruiserweight Title backstage, Drew Gulak appears to announce that Rich Swann is no longer eligible to compete in the cruiserweight title tournament anymore.

- Before the match begins, The Miztourage attacks Finn Balor until the referee breaks things up.

Finn Balor vs. Curtis Axel w/Bo Dallas

The match begins with Axel jumping Balor again as the bell rings, Axel drops Balor before landing a rolling neck breaker for a near fall. Axel holds Balor down by applying the chin lock, Axel then decides to just wrench away on the arm of Balor. Axel catches Balor with a knee strike before applying a second chin lock, Balor breaks free by nailing Axel with a jaw breaker. Balor follows that up by nailing Axel with a sling blade and shotgun drop kick, Balor then hits Axel with a Cupe De Grace for the three count.

Winner: Finn Balor

- Kane is backstage to say that he and Braun Strowman will step into the abyss tonight, Kane says he will climb out of the abyss alone tonight.

Seth Rollins vs. Sheamus

The match begins with Rollins attacking Sheamus with strikes as the bell sounds, Sheamus tries fighting back and Rollins knocks him out of the ring. Rollins follows up by catching Sheamus with a suicide dive, Rollins smashes the face of Sheamus on the ring apron before getting him back in the ring. Sheamus catches Rollins with an axe handle smash as he gets back in the ring, Sheamus attacks the back of Rollins with a few strikes. Sheamus picks up Rollins before nailing him with a back breaker for a near fall, Sheamus traps Rollins in the corner while stomping away on him.

Rollins recovers and he catches Sheamus with an enzaguri, Sheamus and Rollins have a striking exchange in the middle of the ring. Rollins then hits Sheamus with a sling blade followed by a blockbuster, Rollins then knocks Sheamus back out of the ring. Rollins misses a dive and Sheamus capitalizes by propelling Rollins into the barricade as we go to a commercial break, we return from the break to see Sheamus holding Rollins in a chin lock. Rollins breaks free and Sheamus nails him with an inverted Alabama Slam, Sheamus then applies the horse collar to Rollins.

Rollins gets free after catching Sheamus with a hurricarana, Sheamus quickly recovers to apply the Texas Cloverleaf to Rollins. Rollins gets free after catching Sheamus with a roll up, Rollins follows that up by nailing Sheamus with a reverse DDT for a near fall. Rollins then sends a charging Sheamus into the ring post before landing a kick for a near fall, Sheamus recovers and he throws Rollins knee first into the top turnbuckle. Sheamus goes to the top rope and Rollins meets him up there, Rollins hits Sheamus with a superplex into a falcon arrow for a near fall. Sheamus avoids a knee strike to catch Rollins with a rolling senton, Sheamus goes for the Brogue Kick and Rollins counters with a knee strike for a three count.

Winner: Seth Rollins

- Renee Young interviews Dean Ambrose backstage, Ambrose says he has a strategy for Samoa Joe and he won’t reveal it now.

WWE Cruiserweight Title #1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Final Match

Cedric Alexander vs. Tony Nese vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Ariya Daivari

The match begins with Alexander working Nese over while Ali works over Daivari, Alexander knocks Nese out of the ring with a head scissors. Ali knocks Daivari out of the ring as well, Alexander and Ali catch each other with roll ups for near falls. Alexander drops Ali with an uppercut before Nese drags him out of the ring, Ali takes out Alexander and Nese with a suicide dive. Daivari then drops Ali with a clothesline on the arena floor, Daivari then battles Alexander in the ring by nailing him with multiple strikes. Daivari slows things down a little by holding Alexander in the chin lock, Alexander gets a near fall on Daivari until Nese breaks it up and throws him into the turnbuckles.

Daivari then clobbers Nese with a forearm strike, Ali then crushes Alexander with a tornado DDT as we go to a commercial break. We return from the break to see Daivari holding Ali in a chin lock, Ali gets free and Daivari nails him with a spine buster for a near fall. Daivari reapplies the chin lock to a downed Ali, Ali breaks free again and he kicks Daivari in the face. Ali then catches Daivari with an X-Factor for a near fall, Nese hits the ring and he nails Ali with a strike before following him up to the top rope. Ali knocks Nese off the ropes before landing 054 for a near fall, Ali and Alexander have a striking exchange until Alexander nails him with a Lumbar Check.

Daivari and Alexander then brawl on the arena floor until Nese takes them out with a suicide dive, Nese gets Alexander in the ring before landing a knee strike for a near fall. Nese and Daivari work together to attack Ali, Ali eventually knocks Nese out of the ring before Alexander takes him out. Alexander then hits Daivari with a handspring enzaguri followed by the Lumbar Check for a three count.

Winner: Cedric Alexander

- After the match, Charly Caruso interviews Cedric Alexander, who says he will beat Drew Gulak and then Enzo Amore to become the new WWE Cruiserweight Champion.

- WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore and Drew Gulak are talking backstage, Gulak says he wants to win the title and Enzo gets angry with him. Nia Jax appears to says that it is really good to see Enzo and Gulak, Jax says she would like to have a talk with Enzo.

WWE Intercontinental Title Match

Roman Reigns (Champion) vs. Cesaro

The match begins with Reigns nailing Cesaro with strikes in the corner, Cesaro rolls out of the ring and he stomps away on Reigns when they get back in. Cesaro then cracks Reigns with a few European uppercuts, Reigns recovers to nail Cesaro with a few clotheslines. Reigns then attacks Cesaro with clothesline strikes in the corner, Cesaro recovers and drapes the arm of Reigns on the top rope. Reigns recovers and he knocks Cesaro out of the ring as we go to a commercial break, we return from the break to see Cesaro wrenching away on the arm of Reigns.

Cesaro then hits Reigns with a short arm clothesline for a near fall, Cesaro goes right back to manipulating the arm of Reigns. Reigns breaks free and he catches Cesaro with a roll up for a near fall, Cesaro counters second roll up by smashing the arm of Reigns before applying a Fujiwara Arm Bar. Reigns eventually powers his way free before nailing Cesaro with a back suplex, Reigns then hits Cesaro with the Drive By for a near fall. Reigns goes for the superman punch and Cesaro attacks his injured arm, Cesaro then applies the cross face to Reigns.

Reigns breaks the hold by nailing Cesaro with a Samoan drop for a near fall, Cesaro then hits Reigns with a running European uppercut before throwing him into the ring post. Cesaro follows Reigns out of the ring and Reigns nails him with a superman punch, Reigns gets Cesaro in the ring for another near fall. Reigns goes for a spear and Cesaro catches him with an elevated European uppercut for a near fall, Cesaro then locks Reigns in another cross face. Reigns gets free and eh nails Cesaro with a sit out power bomb for a near fall, Reigns and Cesaro have a striking exchange in the middle of the ring. Cesaro then nails Reigns with a bunch of strikes in the corner, Cesaro goes for The Neutralizer and Reigns counters with a spear for the three count.

Winner: Roman Reigns, still the WWE Intercontinental Champion

- Braun Strowman is backstage and he says that Kane gets the full dose of pain tonight, Strowman then says he will face Brock Lesnar at the WWE Royal Rumble. 

- Asuka was supposed to face Alicia Fox, but Absolution appears and reveals that they have attacked her backstage. Paige says that Asuka is starting to get in the way, Paige then says that not even Asuka will be able to stop Absolution. Absolution surrounds the ring and Paige threatens Asuka some more, Absolution attacks and Asuka defends herself for awhile. Absolution eventually takes over until the entire women’s locker room empties to cause a huge brawl that sends Absolution running.

- WWE Raw GM Kurt Angle is talking to somebody in his office when Jason Jordan arrives, Jordan apologizes to Angle for his attitude last week. Jordan claims that he is the only person who could defeat Samoa Joe, Angle says he will grant him the match when he says so.

Dean Ambrose vs. Samoa Joe

The match begins with Jason Jordan coming out on the entrance ramp to watch the match, Ambrose attacks a distracted Joe until he gets dropped with a clothesline. Ambrose recovers and drops a charging Joe with a clothesline, Ambrose mounts Joe in the corner before attacking him with strikes. Ambrose then attacks Joe with a dragon screw leg whip, Joe rolls out of the ring and Ambrose attacks him again. Ambrose would then throw Joe into the barricade a few times, Ambrose follows that up by nailing Joe with a chop block before putting him back in the ring.

Joe recovers and he knocks Ambrose out of the ring with an enzaguri as we go to a commercial break, we return from the break to see Joe holding Ambrose in a cobra clutch. Ambrose breaks free and he causes Joe to miss a senton bomb, Ambrose gets up first and he attacks Joe with a plethora of strikes. Joe fights back and Ambrose drops him with a few clotheslines, Ambrose eats a forearm strike before catching Joe with a rebound lariat. Joe gets up and he catches Ambrose with a suplex, Joe then gets into a verbal altercation with Jordan. Ambrose rolls up a distracted Joe for a near fall, Joe goes for a power bomb and Ambrose causes them both to stumble out of the ring.

Jordan then throws Ambrose into the ring, Joe locks Ambrose in the rear naked choke and Ambrose takes them all out with a suicide dive. Ambrose catches Joe with a top rope elbow in the corner as Jordan argues with the referee, Ambrose gets angry and he goes face to face with Jordan until Joe takes them out with a suicide dive. Joe then locks Ambrose in the choke and Ambrose goes out cold.

Winner: Samoa Joe

- Backstage, Dana Brooke is talking with Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews about joining Titus Worldwide when The Club arrives. Doc Gallows then calls them all nerds just as Braun Strowman walks by.

Braun Strowman vs. Kane

The match begins with Strowman backing Kane in the corner before landing some strikes, Strowman then crushes Kane with an avalanche followed by a running drop kick. Kane rolls out of the ring and Strowman throws him into the ring post, Strowman throws Kane back in the ring before landing more strikes. Kane then sends a charging Strowman into the corner before landing a choke slam for a near fall, Kane nails Strowman with a second choke slam for another near fall. Strowman recovers and he catches Kane with his own choke slam for a near fall, Kane rolls out of the ring before brawling with Strowman in the crowd.

Strowman spears Kane through the barricade and the referee makes the ten count as neither get back in the ring.

Match Result: Count Out

After the match, Braun Strowman continues fighting with Kane and they both grab ring steps, they go at each other until both go down. Strowman drops Kane with a punch before throwing him back in the ring, Kane finds a chair and he attacks Strowman with it. Strowman and Kane both eventually drop each other with clotheslines, Strowman then power slams Kane through a table.

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