5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (25 Dec - Results & Review)

1. ‘Raw’ Highlights

In years past, WWE has gone the taped show route for episodes of Raw that fall on or adjacent to Christmas, opting to put on an actual program rather than air a recap show.

Monday’s effort mixed highlights with “live” interviews with select superstars, with a similar program to follow on SmackDown later this week. Ostensibly, Raw was meant to highlight big moments from the red brand.

What actually happened was a bunch of interviews with Raw superstars and highlights from their PLE matches throughout the year, with very little actual content from Raw receiving focus beyond a few seconds of clips to set up the interview or match replay. Only one match – Gunther versus Chad Gable for the Intercontinental Championship – aired on Raw originally.

The only thing one can surmise from this is that very little truly memorable happened on Raw this year, at least according to WWE. Only one match rose to the level of being highlight-worthy, and no segments were fully spotlighted beyond short clips (the CM Punk return promo probably received the longest airing, and that was a rebroadcast of the video package previously used).

That’s a really disappointing realization when you reflect on some of the Raw highlights WWE trots out on reunion and anniversary shows from the Attitude Era and even in the 2000s. The guest host era seemingly generated more memorable moments (Bob Barker, for example) than 2023 Raw.

This might seem like a harsh take, but rest assured, if WWE thought they had television gold from Raw, they would have aired it. (By comparison, the odds are high they will air The Rock’s surprise appearance on SmackDown this Friday.)