6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (23 Dec - Results & Review)

1. Buried Nuggets

Drew McIntyre opened Raw Monday night, complaining about his injuries from Hell in a Cell, the personal tragedy he endured when he went home to Scotland, and the lack of sympathy from fans and fellow wrestlers in the aftermath.

The show-opening talk segment felt a lot like a retread of stuff Drew and Sami Zayn have said before about each other, but buried within this promo were a couple of nuggets that should yield fruit as things move forward.

McIntyre sniping at the myth of his colleagues as “one big happy family” was a great way to further isolate himself, but he left a bit of a mystery when he said that only one person called him while he was home recovering. Who is that person, and how will they factor into the story in the coming weeks and months?

Zayn pointed out Drew’s hypocrisy by connecting how McIntyre has had to work through personal strife to the fans, who also have had to deal with tragedy and still show up for their job. It was a great connection that brought the crowd into the moment and made them part of the scene, relating to them and not just talking past them.

It’s also worth noting that McIntyre continued his war of words against CM Punk and Roman Reigns as “the real villains” in WWE. That language echoes what Seth Rollins would say later, adding another thread to bind those two together down the line. Eventually, fans are going to choose Punk and/or Roman over Rollins, and he’s going to snap like Drew did. McIntyre’s rant Monday night laid some of the foundational arguments that Seth could use himself. Time will tell if that comes to fruition or if they get there via other means.