The Christmas 2017 episode of WWE RAW aired live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL on December 25th, 2017.
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s RAW:
5Cena Was Victorious In His Return
Free agent John Cena kicked off this week’s episode of RAW. Cena gave his shirt and hat to a fan in the crowd. Cena wished the crowd Merry Christmas and the Chicago crowd chanted “Merry Christmas!”. Cena said that WWE is his home and that the WWE Universe is his family. Elias strummed his guitar and interrupted Cena. Elias came down to the entrance ramp and stated that WWE stands for “Walk With Elias”.
Elias joined Cena in the ring and asked the crowd if they wanted to walk with Elias and the crowd cheered. Cena said that he’ll walk with Elias as well. Elias added that he has had enough of people interrupting him and the crowd started chanting “CM Punk!”. Elias said that he is damn sure that CM Punk isn’t going to interrupt him.
John tried to give Elias some advice but Elias shushed him. Cena then brought in Elias’ stool and then leaned up against the ropes. The spotlight then came down on Elias as Elias told the crowd to shut their mouths because he had a special Christmas song for everyone. The crowd once again chanted “CM Punk!” and Elias performed a song about Chicago being the worst place to spend his holiday.
Cena quickly interrupted and said that he was trying to tell Elias not to say anything bad about Chicago. Cena added that the crowd are not jerks, it was Elias who was being a jerk. Elias stated that maybe he was being a jerk and then asked for a second chance from the Chicago crowd. Cena said that it was Christmas and told Elias to give it another shot. Elias said in the song that he can’t imagine a better place than Chicago to spend the holidays.
Elias asked Cena to take it away and Cena started singing. Elias then hit a cheap shot on Cena and knocked him to the canvas. Elias stated that Christmas is overrated and so is Chicago. Elias then attacked Cena once again and beat him down on the canvas. Elias challenged Cena to a match and demanded that a referee come down to the ring.
Elias started off the match in control and hit an Elbow Drop to Cena. Elias brought Cena to the corner and connected with a boot to the midsection. Elias then blasted Cena in the fae with a right hand and Cena fell to the mat. Cena battled back and locked in a Chin Lock. Elias broke free and kneed Cena in the face on the ring apron. Elias followed it up with a chop while Cena was against the barricade. Elias brought Cena back into the ring and went for a cover but Cena kicked out at two.
Elias slammed Cena to the mat and went for another cover but Cena kicked out at one. Elias tied up Cena in the corner and then stomped on his chest for a two count. Cena finally connected with a Clothesline but Elias responded with a Backbreaker for a two count. Elias controlled the match for the next few minutes and applied a Chin Lock. Cena used his strength to break free and then leveled Elias with a couple of shoulder tackles. Elias rolled out of the ring and Cena chased after him. John threw Elias back into the ring but Elias connected with a Clothesline for a two count.
Cena was planted with another Backbreaker from Elias for a two count. Cena locked in the STF out of nowhere in the middle of the ring. Elias fought through the pain and slowly made his way towards the bottom rope. Elias got out of the hold and connected with a knee to Cena’s face and Cena fell out of the ring. Cena got back into the ring and once again locked in the STF in the center of the ring. Elias reached the bottom rope to break hold and then planted Cena face-first on the mat for a two count. Elias hit a couple more Elbow Drops but Cena wouldn’t stay down. Cena hit a couple of shoulder tackles and followed it up with the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena lifted Elias up onto his shoulders and planted him with the AA for the pinfall victory.
.@IAmEliasWWE may just be unable to SEE @JohnCena right about now! #RAW pic.twitter.com/Y1juhCn0GH
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 26, 2017
Elias gave Cena everything he could handle tonight on RAW but Cena wound up victorious in the end. This match was very solid and I think Elias has a lot of potential in WWE. He is one of the only Superstars that can legitimately get the crowd to hate him.