{"id":72519,"date":"2018-12-31T14:22:25","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T20:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=72519"},"modified":"2018-12-31T14:22:25","modified_gmt":"2018-12-31T20:22:25","slug":"wwe-raw-primer-12-31-spoiler-free-ziggler-vs-mcintyre-in-a-cage-follow-up-on-ronda-natalya-rollins-ambrose-elias-new-years-rockin-eve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/12\/31\/wwe-raw-primer-12-31-spoiler-free-ziggler-vs-mcintyre-in-a-cage-follow-up-on-ronda-natalya-rollins-ambrose-elias-new-years-rockin-eve\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE RAW PRIMER 12\/31: (SPOILER-FREE) Ziggler vs. McIntyre in a cage, Follow-up on Ronda &#038; Natalya, Rollins &#038; Ambrose, Elias\u2019 New Year\u2019s Rockin\u2019 Eve"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-4232450245\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3><strong>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER<br \/>\nDECEMBER 31, 2018<br \/>\nDETROIT, MICH. AT THE LITTLE CAESAR\u2019S ARENA<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 P.M. EST<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young<\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Personal Note to PWTorch\u00a0Readers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone whom has taken the time to read my Raw and Smackdown primers throughout 2018.\u00a0 It has been a joy to do so and I look forward to continuing serving PWTorch.com and you the reader in the upcoming year.<\/p>\n<p>My mission in writing these primers is to hold WWE accountable for what they advertise and give analysis not just on what is planned but how similar angles have worked in the past.\u00a0 When matches aren\u2019t advertised ahead of time it makes the primers challenging to write, but that\u2019s the responsibility I have happily accepted.<\/p>\n<p>I hope all had a great holiday and I wish everyone and their families a happy and prosperous new year.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Arena and Items Advertised by WWE<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This week\u2019s Raw was pre-recorded Friday night, December 28, at the Little Caesar\u2019s Arena in Detroit, Mich.\u00a0 The arena only opened for business in September of 2017 and hosted Hell in a Cell just one month later, as well as Raw back in March of this year.\u00a0 The following are the items of emphasis per <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Steel Cage Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre<\/li>\n<li>Ronda Rousey &amp; Natalya\u2019s friendship remains strong<\/li>\n<li>Seth Rollins has unfinished business with Dean Ambrose<\/li>\n<li>How will Elias rock New Year\u2019s Eve?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are spoiler reports available for both the Raw and Smackdown episodes to air this holiday week.\u00a0 I decided to stay in format, avoid the spoilers, and write based on <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a>\u2019s preview.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Vince McMahon (Mr. McMahon-\u201cta\u201d Claus) Announcements<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Before I talk about tonight\u2019s advertised items, let\u2019s talk about WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon\u2019s announcements from last week\u2019s Raw.\u00a0 (Let\u2019s not talk about that Santa Claus outfit he wore though):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>John Cena is \u201cback on Raw and back on Smackdown\u201d.\u00a0 He called him the greatest of all time.<\/li>\n<li>In the coming year, there would be tag team championships for the women\u2019s division.\u00a0 He did not specify when nor whether the titles would be on Raw, Smackdown, or float between both shows.<\/li>\n<li>Tonight\u2019s steel cage match between Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 As far as John Cena is concerned it\u2019s no surprise he\u2019s returning in time for Royal Rumble and WrestleMania season.\u00a0 Apparently, he replaced A.J. Styles as the opponent for Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship in a steel cage match at a house show right in my back yard at Nassau Coliseum.\u00a0 It makes you wonder if he\u2019s a potential opponent for Bryan at WrestleMania for the WWE Championship, if in fact Bryan is holding the title until then.\u00a0 Cena is still tied with Ric Flair having won 16 world championships .\u00a0 As far as the women\u2019s tag team championship, we all speculated that the announcement was coming.\u00a0 It will be interesting to find out if the title will float between both shows as I can\u2019t imagine there being separate tag champs for both Raw and Smackdown.\u00a0 There are too many titles as it is.\u00a0 See the next section for discussion on the Ziggler-McIntyre match. <\/em><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-597672012\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<h3><strong>Steel Cage Match: Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Last week on Raw, Finn Balor came out victorious in a triple threat match as he defeated both Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre.\u00a0 He hit his signature Coup de Grace on Ziggler with McIntyre on the outside of the ring.<\/p>\n<p>Following the match, McIntyre attacked Ziggler.\u00a0 He told Ziggler he was \u201cruining everything\u201d and he was \u201ctrying to save this place.\u201d\u00a0 It ended with Ziggler coming back and hitting his signature Zig-Zag and leaving an angry McIntyre in the ring.<\/p>\n<p>Ziggler and McIntyre have been going at it in various ways since their \u201cbreakup\u201d a few weeks prior to TLC.\u00a0 Tonight, they face off in a steel cage.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 Historically, the steel cage was frequently the way to settle that grudge feud that couldn\u2019t be settled with an ordinary match.\u00a0 You had to wait until Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event, go to a house show, or wait for a PPV to see it.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the case these days and hasn\u2019t been for a long time.\u00a0 Nevertheless, this feud has protected McIntyre to a degree, given that when he\u2019s lost there\u2019s been outside interference whether it be from Finn Balor in matches against Ziggler or vice versa.\u00a0 Balor pinning Ziggler in the triple threat is an obvious way to protect him.\u00a0 Having Ziggler come back with a Zig-Zag in the post match attack does not, but I suppose you have to make both competitors look like a threat in the storyline.\u00a0 One would think if McIntyre is to come out of this strong, a decisive victory is in order tonight.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Dynamics between Ronda Rousey and Natalya<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Last week, Natalya challenged Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women\u2019s Championship.<\/p>\n<p>Natalya came up short after submitting to Ronda\u2019s arm bar submission move.\u00a0 Following the match, Ronda was clearly concerned for Natalya considering their friendship.\u00a0 The two embraced following the match in an expected display of sportsmanship (sportswomanship?).<\/p>\n<p>Tonight, we can expect follow up on this situation.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 Overall the match served its purpose.\u00a0 One could have expected Natalya to carry the load while Ronda was holding back out of concern for her good friend.\u00a0 It\u2019s good she finally realized she couldn\u2019t do so anymore and dialed it up a few notches to get the victory.\u00a0 It was well placed on Christmas Eve, but I would imagine the story is not over between the two.\u00a0 I would be somewhat concerned about how often Ronda is wrestling on TV lately.\u00a0 With her having a limited move set you don\u2019t want to overexpose her.\u00a0 I would imagine if they are following up on their \u201cstory\u201d we can expect a tag team match tonight.<\/em><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3845596752\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<h3><strong>Seth Rollins &amp; Dean Ambrose <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Last week in the main event, Seth Rollins defeated Baron Corbin, who for some odd reason didn\u2019t come out in wrestling gear.\u00a0 That match stemmed from Corbin blaming Rollins for losing his general manager position on Raw.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to the match, Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose had a few words for Rollins.\u00a0 He said he had already gotten his Christmas wish, that being the Intercontinental Championship.\u00a0 He said Rollins would have a miserable Christmas if he was to lose to Corbin (how\u2019d that work out Dean?).\u00a0 Here\u2019s the YouTube clip if you missed it:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dean Ambrose gets the Christmas gift he deserves: Raw, Dec. 24, 2018\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YPjszmH-N5M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The feud between Ambrose and Rollins is certainly not over and tonight, we can expect to see what\u2019s next for both of these competitors.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 You would think they\u2019d want Ambrose and Rollins to have another big match given how badly their TLC encounter was received.\u00a0 Ultimately, there are a lot of moving parts to this.\u00a0 While it\u2019s been rumored Rollins will face Lesnar at WrestleMania, word is out that Lesnar could be done with WWE after the Royal Rumble.\u00a0 Braun Strowman has lost three Universal Championship matches to Lesnar (including the SummerSlam 2017 fatal four-way) so you wonder if a title change is in the offing.\u00a0 Does that mean we could be looking at Rollins vs. Strowman at \u2018Mania?\u00a0 Rollins vs. Strowman vs. McIntyre?\u00a0 Throw a little Finn Balor in there for a fatal four-way?\u00a0 Who knows.\u00a0 I do have to say I like that things are not predictable this year as they were last year with Reigns vs. Lesnar.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Elias \u201cRockin\u2019 Eve\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Dick Clark\u2019s Rockin\u2019 Eve has been a staple of New Year\u2019s Eve for years.\u00a0 Why not start a new tradition with Elias?\u00a0 I\u2019m sure the people at ABC won\u2019t mind.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, last week Elias defeated Bobby Lashley in a Christmas-themed \u201cMiracle on 34<sup>th<\/sup>Street Fight.\u201d\u00a0 I can report that many Christmas cookies, trees, a fire extinguisher, legos (which really hurt), a Christmas cane (Singapore cane striped to look like a candy cane), and a bowl of egg nog poured onto Lio Rush\u2019s head were all involved.\u00a0 Lio also was treated to a wad of cookies.\u00a0 I hope he wasn\u2019t watching carbs, and I certainly hope they held some cookies back in catering because they looked good.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the YouTube clip if you so desire to spend three minutes watching.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Elias vs. Bobby Lashley - Miracle on 34th Street Fight: Raw, Dec. 24, 2018\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HWacAA6-Fs4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Tonight, we can expect some sort of New Year\u2019s Eve performance from Elias.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 This match did nobody any favors.\u00a0 I really wonder how they view Lashley at this point given how much he has lost recently especially to Elias.\u00a0 Depending on how the feud with Rollins and Ambrose goes, Elias could move into the Intercontinental Championship picture although I still maintain that could be a spot reserved for Finn Balor.\u00a0 Hey, listen, Elias would make sense feuding with Ambrose as he has almost the same long black hair that Rollins has, right?\u00a0 Either way, I\u2019m not worried about where Elias is headed given his spot on the card.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Other Items from Last Week:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Bobby Roode and Chad Gable retained the Raw Tag Team Championship in a very solid match over the Revival.<\/li>\n<li>Ember Moon, Sasha Banks, &amp; Bayley defeated Mickie James, Alicia Fox, &amp; Dana Brooke.\u00a0 The Riott Squad attacked the victors after the match.<\/li>\n<li>Heath Slater defeated former 3MB partner Jinder Mahal via DQ (isn\u2019t it nice I reminded everyone of 3MB?).\u00a0 Following the match Rhyno made his return to WWE programming by clearing the ring of the Singh Brothers and Mahal for his good friend Slater.<\/li>\n<li>Paul Heyman celebrated the holidays by singing a really bad version of Silent Night, changing some words highlighted by replacing \u201csleep in heavenly peace\u201d to \u201cBrock will not get these hands.\u201d\u00a0 Here\u2019s the clip:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Braun Strowman confronts Paul Heyman, the Red-Nosed Advocate: Raw, Dec. 24, 2018\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BsyY92iAhSU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Start Time &amp; Matches Advertised<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This section is not applicable this week.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Follow me on Twitter @FrankPeteani or e-mail me at <a>fpeteani@gmail.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Questions and discussion are welcome.\u00a0 Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-435182504\"><div id=\"pwtor-3305997531\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER DECEMBER 31, 2018 DETROIT, MICH. AT THE LITTLE CAESAR\u2019S ARENA AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 P.M. EST BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young\u00a0 <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2018\/12\/31\/wwe-raw-primer-12-31-spoiler-free-ziggler-vs-mcintyre-in-a-cage-follow-up-on-ronda-natalya-rollins-ambrose-elias-new-years-rockin-eve\/\" title=\"WWE RAW PRIMER 12\/31: (SPOILER-FREE) Ziggler vs. McIntyre in a cage, Follow-up on Ronda &#038; Natalya, Rollins &#038; Ambrose, Elias\u2019 New Year\u2019s Rockin\u2019 Eve\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,52,4354,27,5893,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-opnionandanalysis","category-raw-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers","category-news_wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/03\/CenaJohnWK_3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72523,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72519\/revisions\/72523"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}