The last Monday Night Raw of 2014 was definitely one for the record books. After having weeks of matches that were mediocre, the WWE surprised us all by bringing back superstars, hall-of-famers, and power couples.
Last week we found out that seven-time tag-team champions Edge and Christian would return to host the last Raw of 2014, and they absolutely made it one to remember.
During the show, they introduced the first ever “Cutting Edge Peep Show” for the WWE universe, along with making a couple incredible match-ups for the night.
First, Edge announced that Seth Rollins would be put in a match against Roman Reigns; a match that everyone has been waiting to see ever since Reigns got injured a few months ago.
Christian then announced there would be a champion vs. champion match between the Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler and the United States Champion Rusev.
The Big Show sat in as guest commentator during the Reigns vs. Rollins match. To no surprise, the match ended in disqualification after the Big Show interfered, attacking Reigns and burying him under the announce table.
Ziggler put up a tough fight in his match against Rusev. I thought he would be the one to pin Rusev for the first time, but this match also ended in a disqualification because Rusev would not stop kicking Ziggler in the corner.
These two matches showed that Edge and Christian were not afraid to get their hands dirty and make this a show to remember.
It did not take long for another surprise guest to show up. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman made their entrance and attempted to intimidate Edge and Christian.
John Cena embraced this opportunity to confront Lesnar for the first time since winning his match to become the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble. Not only did Cena grab Heyman as a way to get Lesnar to attack him. But once Cena had Lesnar on his back, Lesnar quickly scurried away like a coward.
Cesaro was an interesting surprise to see in the ring, especially since he was complaining about not getting the recognition he deserved this year. He announced that he does not care what the fans think; he only cares about what he does inside the ring.
Cesaro then challenged anyone to come out and prove him wrong. And after being away for six months, Bad News Barrett returned to accept the challenge and pin Cesaro in only a matter of minutes.
The next big surprise was announced a few hours before Raw began. Daniel Bryan tweeted that he would be addressing the WWE universe about the “crossroads” he had been facing with his career.
Bryan came out to the “Yes!” chants, electrifying the building. But as Bryan started to talk about his injury, it did not sound like it was going to be a good ending.
He started talking about how he had discussed with Edge and Christian what it was like to retire from a career ending injury and how they made that decision. But just as Bryan asked the audience the question “is my career over?” He quickly said “no.”
He began running around the ring and said the announcement he came to make was that he would be wrestling in the Royal Rumble in January.
Just when you thought this episode of Raw could not possibly get any more exciting, Rollins came out as the guest on The Cutting Edge Peep Show. Of course I thought it was another opportunity for Rollins to complain about not getting what he wants.
But Rollins attacked Christian and Edge, having The Big Show hold Edge’s head on the Money in the Bank briefcase. Rollins threatened to paralyze Edge if Cena did not come out. After Cena made his entrance, Rollins told him if he did not bring The Authority back, he would break Edge’s neck.
Cena, being the man that he is, agreed to bring back The Authority. Once Rollins got a microphone over to him to make sure everyone heard, he celebrated by bringing out Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. They both came out with glasses of champagne to celebrate. Lesnar and Heyman also came out to celebrate with them.
What may surprise viewers was that after Raw went off the air, one more superstar returned. Randy Orton came out and RKO’d Rollins. Since Orton was last seen betraying The Authority by attacking Rollins, this could be what starts up the Rollins v.s Orton feud again, along with one more person to go against The Authority.
Not only did this last episode of Raw before the New Year completely surprise me, it made me even more excited for what’s to come in 2015. We have a lot to look forward to from Bryan wrestling for the first time in almost a year, and The Authority’s return to power. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
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