Raw airs tonight (Dec. 1) with a live show from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. This is the first episode of Raw during the nine week build to Royal Rumble, which takes place on January 31 in Saudi Arabia.
Paul Heyman knows the identity of the mystery man at War Games
One of the biggest stories coming out of Survivor Series is that a disguised mystery man climbed into the cage during the men’s War Games match and hit CM Punk with a curb stomp to help The Vision win.
The live audience popped big upon seeing Seth Rollins’ signature move, but WWE commentator Wade Barrett quickly cast doubt about Rollins actually being in that disguise. After all, Seth is still recovering after recently undergoing surgery, and he would never fake an injury. Furthermore, why would Rollins help The Vision win after they shockingly betrayed him?
After the match was over, Michael Cole immediately honed in on the evil mastermind who is always one step ahead and almost certainly knows what’s going on here: “Knowing Paul Heyman, I guarantee you, he had something to do with it.”
Heyman will have to address this situation on tonight’s Raw. He’s arguably the best bullshitter in the history of pro wrestling, so I highly doubt he will confirm reports over the weekend that Austin Theory is the mystery man. In fact, he’ll probably deny having anything to do with it. Instead, Heyman will likely focus on the fact that Bron Breakker should be next in line for a title shot after pinning World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk to win War Games.
Will the mystery man show up again on Raw tonight and either reveal himself or choose another target? Will the rest of The Vision grill Heyman on what he knows about the mystery man, or are they all in on it together? Will Becky Lynch deny that her husband is hiding in that disguise? Tune into Raw to see all the fallout from the end of War Games.
The semifinal round of John Cena’s “The Last Time Is Now” tournament takes place tonight. There are no more surprise entrants in the field, unless maybe someone gets injured backstage by a mystery attacker. GUNTHER takes on Solo Sikoa in a battle of heels, and LA Knight goes one-on-one with Jey Uso in a battle of babyfaces. The winners of these two matches advance to the final match of the tournament later this week on SmackDown. Will The Vision or the Wyatts try to get involved and make sure their current rivals are eliminated?
AJ Styles & Dragon Lee defend the World Tag Team Championship tonight against New Day. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods never win matches on Raw anymore, but the champs were nice enough to grant them a title match anyway. Whether you want to call them “Dragons with Style,” “The Phenomenal Dragons,” or “AJ Lee,” the champs are walking into this one as the big favorites.
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– Now that Survivor Series is over with, does that mean part-timers Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns will disappear for a while?
– Does WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella go to the back of the line after losing against Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer at Survivor Series, or does nine weeks between PLEs mean WWE might choose to kill time with another Bella title match?
– Speaking of the women’s world title, I assume Liv Morgan wants a title match ASAP now that she’s back in WWE. What do Liv and Mega Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio have to say after they worked together to beat John Cena in the final PLE of his WWE career? With the Cena story being finished, does Rey Mysterio plan to challenge his little shithead son for one of his belts?
– Is Roxanne Perez’ time with The Judgment Day in danger now that Liv is back, or can Finn Balor protect Perez from being booted out by Morgan?
– Becky Lynch submitted to AJ Lee at War Games and is now calling for Raw GM Adam Pearce to be investigated and/or fired, in a continuation of her parody of the USA’s deranged and senile president, Donald Trump. Will Pearce inform Becky that she has no power to make any of that happen, and that she instead has to fight AJ in a singles match?
– Lots of heels like Roxanne Perez, Ivy Nile, and Raquel Rodriguez think new Women’s Intercontinental Champion Maxxine Dupri will be easy pickings whenever they get her in the ring for a title match. How soon will Dupri bring her partner Natalya in to watch her back and help her navigate the difficult road ahead?
– Does WWE have an official update on Penta’s status after his match was stopped due to injury last week?
– After winning at War Games, do Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY plan to stick together as a team and pursue the Kabuki Warriors’ WWE women’s tag team championship?
– Where the f*** is Omos?
What will you be looking for on Raw?
