After a pretty incredible Survivor Series: WAR GAMES, we move on to that period where USUALLY not much happens in WWE . I say USUALLY because this is MY WWE… and trust me, in this post where we will cover the 4 weeks worth of Raw and SmackDown, things will certainly be happening! So… shall we get started!?
DECEMBER WEEK 1
New WWE Champion Brock Lesnar comes out to open the show with a promo. He tells the fans that he wants to show that he has turned over a new leaf, “if I’m going to be your WWE Champion, then I wanna be what I’ve been my entire life, a fighter, a fighting champion… so what I’m gonna do, is every week that I’m here on Monday Night Raw, I’m gonna be competing, and DEFENDING my WWE Championship… starting… RIGHT NOW!… so come on, who wants a shot at the champ?!”…
And that leads to…
Brock Lesnar (C) defeated Mustafa Ali to retain the WWE Championship
Yeah… nice try Mustafa…
Damage CTRL backstage interview, with Bayley leading. She talks about the number 1 contenders match coming up later tonight, and how after War Games that “we run Monday Night Raw”!
RK-Bro come out and cut a promo. They then join commentary for…
‘Street Profits’ defeated ‘Alpha Academy’ & ‘Viking Raiders’ in a triple threat tag team match in a semi final of the Raw Tag Team Championship Number 1 contender’s tournament
Cody Rhodes comes out for an in-ring promo. Tommaso Ciampa interrupts, and he says that ‘next week is about DIY, but tonight is about ME!’ …
Cody Rhodes defeated Tommaso Ciampa
The Hurt Business are in the ring, aside from the new United States Champion Bobby Lashley, who is welcomed to the ring by MVP. Eventually Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams interrupt their promo, Hayes points out that Lashley didn’t beat him for the title, MVP and Hayes go back and forth, and they set up…
Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams defeated Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander (with MVP) – Bobby Lashley is on commentary, Omos is looking on, and after it’s announced that next week it will be Melo and Trick vs MVP and Omos!
Kevin Owens comes out for an in-ring promo. He speaks very passionately, until Austin Theory interrupts. They go back and forth…
Kevin Owens defeated Austin Theory – Theory gets the mic after, and mocks KO, so Owens comes back down to the ring, and eventually puts Theory through the announce table with a pop-up powerbomb!
Becky Lynch is seen backstage
Bianca Belair has a backstage interview
Bayley defeated Becky Lynch & Bianca Belair in a triple threat match to become the number 1 contender for the Raw Women’s Championship – Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky help Bayley win, Kai is delighted, Sky is… less so…
The Bloodline (Solo, Jimmy and Jey, Paul Heyman) come out to the ring for a promo, The New Day come out and after they go back and forth, they set up Big E vs ? (If Big E wins, he gets a world title shot, and The New Day get a rematch with The Usos. If they lose both titles shots are OFF)
Drew McIntyre defeated Tyler Breeze – Drew goes nuts after attacking Breeze, confirming his heel turn!
Charlotte Flair comes out for an in-ring promo, Liv Morgan then interrupts and they back and forth, as Ronda Rousey (and her MITB case) are seen backstage watching on, Natalya then comes out and they all go back and forth, eventually Charlotte slaps Natalya then dips…
Braun Strowman & Ricochet defeated Imperium (Giovani Vinci & Ludwig Kaiser with Gunther)
Legado Del Fantasma vignette (Santos talking about Rey Mysterio)
Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (C) defeated Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
The Bloodline are in their locker room. Jey presumes it’ll be him that faces Big E after getting the pin at War Games… but Heyman says that The Tribal Chief has selected Solo for the match… Jey is… :/
Sami Zayn defeated Shinsuke Nakamura – Zayn cuts a promo after and announces he will be in the Royal Rumble match!
Erick Rowan comes out to the ring, he calls out Uncle Howdy… but Bray Wyatt comes out… they go back and forth, and a really upset Bray Wyatt eventually walks away
Big E (with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) defeated Solo Sikoa (with The Usos) – Paul Heyman is seen backstage on the phone to Roman Reigns…
DECEMBER WEEK 2
Damage CTRL come out and Bayley is delighted! Asuka then comes out and they go back and forth, Dakota and Bayley seem together in their promo, whilst Iyo is kind of off to the side, eventually they set up Damage CTRL vs Asuka and 2 partners
‘DIY’ defeated ‘Gallows & Anderson’ and ‘Pretty Deadly’ in a triple threat tag team match in a semi final of the Raw Tag Team Championship Number 1 contender’s tournament
(The Miz comes out for an in-ring promo…) Kevin Owens defeated The Miz
Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell are both upset backstage, and then Dexter Lumis returns and Indi is delighted, and even Candice raises a smile
Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams defeated MVP & Omos (Lashley, Benjamin and Alexander watched on backstage)
Brock Lesnar comes out for an in-ring promo… and that leads to…
Brock Lesnar (C) defeated AJ Styles to retain the WWE Championship
Both men shake hands after, and then we get a Judgement Day vignette …
Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins comes out for an in-ring promo and he’s really down… Cody Rhodes comes out and they go back and forth, with Cody trying to fire Seth up, which he does and then challenges Cody!
Asuka backstage interview
Asuka & Bianca Belair & Zoey Stark defeated ‘Damage CTRL’
Damian Priest defeated Brock Lesnar in a Backstage Brawl
Bray Wyatt vignette: “tonight, my brothers fight”…
Katana Chance and Kayden Carter come to the ring and issue an open challenge… which leads to…
Katana Chance & Kayden Carter (C) defeated Cora Jade & Roxanne Perez (of NXT) to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
The New Day are backstage, when Paul Heyman enters… they go back and forth, and Heyman says that Roman Reigns will be on SmackDown next week!
Gunther comes out for an in-ring promo, Sami Zayn then enters and they go back and forth over the IC Title… and the Royal Rumble match!
Drew McIntyre defeated Sami Zayn in a Backstage Brawl
Braun Strowman & Ricochet defeated Legado Del Fantasma (Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro with Santos Escobar) – Rey Mysterio comes out to stop Santos interfering
Charlotte Flair has a backstage interview on the next match, that’s when Shotzi enters and they go back and forth, Shotzi talks about the Royal Rumble, and stares at the SmackDown Women’s Championship
Natalya vs Liv Morgan – ends in a double pin/count out
LA Knight backstage promo (on the World Heavyweight Championship, “shoes of a champion”, the Royal Rumble, the WWE Title,… YEAH!)
Erick Rowan vs Uncle Howdy – ends in a DQ finish when Rowan goes too far with his attack in Howdy. The rest of the Wyatt 6 come out, with Bray Wyatt furious, Rowan goes to hit Howdy but he hits Bray instead! Bray gets to his feet and kicks Rowan OUT of the Wyatt 6! (Rowan is so upset and leaves, Bray is distraught as is Bliss, Dutch and Vincent watch on as does Howdy)
DECEMBER WEEK 3
Judgement Day come out for an in-ring promo, each one talks individually, ending with Damian Priest talking about him winning the WWE Championship TONIGHT!
Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell (with Dexter Lumis) defeated Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky (with Bayley)
Cody Rhodes backstage interview
Trick Williams & Carmelo Hayes backstage
Kevin Owens defeated Dolph Ziggler – handshake/mutual respect after the match
Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins backstage segment
‘DIY’ defeated ‘Street Profits’ to become the number 1 contenders for the Raw Tag Team Championship – ‘RK-Bro’ come out after and they go face to face
Trick Williams defeated Bobby Lashley – in this match the strip was if Lashley won, no title rematch for Melo, but if Trick won, Melo would get the shot next week with The Hurt Business BANNED from ringside!
Damage CTRL backstage, they disagree about what happened in the match last week … Asuka enters and laughs at the situation, Zoey Stark and Bianca Belair then enter and they go back and forth…
Bianca Belair defeated Zoey Stark (with the winner gaining a future Raw Women’s Championship match)
The Judgement Day are backstage… when Becky Lynch enters… things are very tense, as she goes face to face and back and forth with Rhea Ripley!…
Brock Lesnar (C) defeated Damian Priest to retain the WWE Championship
After that fantastic match, The Judgement Day all come out and swarm and attack Brock, eventually Lesnar fights them all off, massive F5 to Dominik… but then Lesnar goes face to face with RHEA!?… This allows Finn to attack Brock repeatedly with a steel chair… and with Priest and Dom holding a beaten Lesnar up, Finn cuts a passionate promo which leads to him revealing that next week it’ll be HIM against Lesnar for the WWE Title… inside HELL IN A CELL, and that he will be locked in Hell… with a DEMON!…
The Bloodline enter the arena (backstage they’re shown getting out their vehicle…)… including ROMAN REIGNS!
Charlotte Flair defeated Shotzi – Liv Morgan and Natalya come out after, and a triple threat for the title is set up for next week
Alexa Bliss vignette (all about her… ‘rebuild’)
Santos Escobar defeated Ricochet – Santos cuts a promo on Rey Mysterio after
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance vignette
Drew McIntyre and Gunther are backstage and go back and forth (then after an ad break…)…
Sami Zayn & LA Knight & Sheamus defeated Drew McIntyre & Ludwig Kaiser & Giovani Vinci (with Gunther)
In The Bloodline locker room… Roman Reigns says that tonight they will tell The New Day “our terms”, Jey Uso tries to offer his opinion, but Roman quickly shuts him down…
Karrion Kross (with Scarlett) defeated Madcap Moss – Kross cuts a promo after where he announces himself as an entrant in the Royal Rumble match
Solo Sikoa defeated Xavier Woods in a Backstage Brawl
The Bloodline then come out to the ring… Roman cuts a promo where he’s looking really happy and smug, he calls out The New Day, Big E and Kofi come out and are fired up, Roman says that next week it’s The Usos vs Kofi and Woods (lol, he’s probably injured), and it’s The New Day’s last chance… if New Day lose they won’t get another tag title shot again, and the Big E vs Roman match is OFF! The New Day accept.
DECEMBER WEEK 4
We kick off a STACKED final Raw of the year with a WrestleMania 38 rematch…
Cody Rhodes defeated Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins – both men shake hands after
A tough one for Rollins to take, and he must now comeback from this loss… But the Cody train marches on, I guess you could say… the story continues…
Damage CTRL are backstage, Bayley is unhappy with Iyo Sky, so they go back and forth, Dakota Kai tries to play peacemaker, but Bayley tells Iyo to leave!
RK-bro have a backstage interview (Riddle is smiling, Orton… not so much…)
Next up we have our first championship match of the show…
Carmelo Hayes defeated Bobby Lashley (C) to win the United States Championship
And once again… he is HIM!
(and of course, Trick Williams would run out after to celebrate with the other half of ‘TrickMelo gang’!)
Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell (and Dexter Lumis) are backstage when Zoey Stark enters… and a challenge is made for later
Kevin Owens defeated Mustafa Ali
Rhea Ripley is backstage with Becky Lynch… they have a tense exchange, with Becky reminding her they are 1-1 at the moment…
Zoey Stark defeated Candice LeRae (with Indi Hartwell & Dexter Lumis) – the finish comes when Alba Fyre attacks Indi, and this distracts Candice enough for Stark to get the win. Alba turning heel and joining up with her recent rival!
Next up, a huge championship match!!! Then some other stuff…
‘DIY’ defeated ‘RK-Bro’ (C) to win the Raw Tag Team Championship
Yes indeed… we have NEW tag team champions!…
But that’s not all… after the match I’d have Gargano and Ciampa leave with their new tag titles… and Matt Riddle left in the middle of the ring, absolutely distraught… Randy Orton initially consoles him… but then… RKO! Brutal attack, steel chair attack, PUNT KICK… and The Viper sends Riddle off to his… future endeavours…
Edge comes out and cuts an in-ring promo, asking “what’s next?” … he then reveals that there will be a number 1 contender’s match next week, to decide who will challenge for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, and HE will be in it, and whether it’s Brock Lesnar of Finn Balor, Edge says he is COMING for what is HIS!
Our penultimate match of this STACKED Raw is for the women’s title…
Asuka (C) defeated Bayley (with Dakota Kai) to win the Raw Women’s Championship
The finish comes when Bianca Belair comes out to stop Dakota from interfering, and so (with no Iyo around of course) Asuka gets the win… and this will now lead to Bianca vs Asuka once again down the line…
Next up… one of the biggest main events in Raw history! The type you… could only see on a video game I guess…
A match so spectacular… I even recorded the entrances!
“The Demon” Finn Balor defeated Brock Lesnar in a Hell In A Cell match to win the WWE Championship
Well… that was something wasn’t it?! And after the last 4 weeks worth of Lesnar matches, it was all for nothing as he falls at the final hurdle… and once again the WWE title belongs to The Judgement Day!
And now onto the final SmackDown of the year then…
(The Bloodline are in their locker room, as a scared-looking Paul Heyman informs Roman Reigns (who looks to be seething) that Solo Sikoa has been banned from the arena tonight after his attack on Xavier Woods last week)
We begin the show with a barnstormer!
Santos Escobar defeated Rey Mysterio in an Iron Man match
The Brawling Brutes are backstage looking happy, Sami Zayn comes in also looking happy, as does LA Knight… YEAH!
‘Toxic Attraction’ cut a backstage promo, mainly on the Royal Rumble!
Mandy Rose (with Jacy Jayne & Gigi Dolin) defeated Raquel Rodriguez – after Kayden Carter & Katana Chance make the save
Bray Wyatt comes out to the ring, with the rest of the Wyatt FIVE… Bray cuts an in-ring promo talking about how he exiled Erick Rowan for the good of his family, but now it was all about the Royal Rumble… “My time to lead my family to the promise land!”…
Next up, a Clash At The Castle rematch!
Gunther (C) defeated Sheamus to retain the Intercontinental Championship
Big E defeated Roman Reigns in a Backstage Brawl – and this now means Roman won’t be recovered in time to potentially interfere in the New Day vs Usos match later…
Liv Morgan has a backstage interview about her upcoming match…
Charlotte Flair (C) defeated Liv Morgan & Natalya in a triple threat match to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship
AND FINALLY… time for a huge main event!
‘The New Day’ (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) defeated ‘The Usos’ (Jimmy & Jey Uso) (C) to win the SmackDown Tag Team Championship
AND NEW! Finally The New Day get one over The Bloodline, and all that remains now is the big one… but Big E vs Roman Reigns will take place in due course, for now its time to celebrate our new tag champions (I’d of course have Big E run out after to celebrate with his victorious friends).
And that is December done with in my WWE 2K23 Universe Mode! And with the end of the calendar year, means next up is the build up to the Royal Rumble PPV! My next blog in this series (released some time mid-January) will be my 4 week build to the PPV, which in turn of course will be headlined by the two Royal Rumble matches which will set us on the road to the show of shows…
Josh.