Title Change On WWE's Christmas Edition Of Raw
The holiday special also saw CM Punk references and the return of John Cena.
With Christmas Day falling on a Monday, and WWE determined to keep the show running, many were expecting something big on this week's edition of Raw.
We had to wait until the main event of the night, but there was indeed an important development, as Sheamus and Cesaro lost the Raw Tag Team Championship to Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan.
Rollins and Jordan were paired together by Kurt Angle earlier in the night, despite reluctance on Seth's part - but now find themselves tag champions.
It'll be interesting to find out how closely this booking decision was linked to Dean Ambrose's injury lay-off - with the Lunatic Fringe reportedly out for between six and nine months. It must be assumed that Rollins would have continued teaming with Ambrose were it not for the injury.
Seth has held the Raw Tag Team title twice before, although it was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship when he first captured it alongside Roman Reigns. He has also been champion alongside Ambrose, when they won the belts earlier this year.
Jason Jordan has never previously held the Raw Tag Team Championship, but this win ensures that he has now won both brand-exclusive tag titles, as well as the NXT Tag Team Championship.
The title change wasn't the only noteworthy incident on Raw, although it was certainly the biggest. We also saw the return of John Cena for the first time since Survivor Series; he defeated Elias in the opening match of the show, after the Drifter made a rather shockingly open CM Punk reference. The show was, of course, held in Chicago.
Asuka announced her intention of entering the first ever women's Royal Rumble match, scheduled to take place at the Royal Rumble pay per view in January. Sasha Banks later announced on Twitter that she is also in the match.
We had to wait until the main event of the night, but there was indeed an important development, as Sheamus and Cesaro lost the Raw Tag Team Championship to Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan.
Rollins and Jordan were paired together by Kurt Angle earlier in the night, despite reluctance on Seth's part - but now find themselves tag champions.
It'll be interesting to find out how closely this booking decision was linked to Dean Ambrose's injury lay-off - with the Lunatic Fringe reportedly out for between six and nine months. It must be assumed that Rollins would have continued teaming with Ambrose were it not for the injury.
Seth has held the Raw Tag Team title twice before, although it was known as the WWE Tag Team Championship when he first captured it alongside Roman Reigns. He has also been champion alongside Ambrose, when they won the belts earlier this year.
Jason Jordan has never previously held the Raw Tag Team Championship, but this win ensures that he has now won both brand-exclusive tag titles, as well as the NXT Tag Team Championship.
The title change wasn't the only noteworthy incident on Raw, although it was certainly the biggest. We also saw the return of John Cena for the first time since Survivor Series; he defeated Elias in the opening match of the show, after the Drifter made a rather shockingly open CM Punk reference. The show was, of course, held in Chicago.
Asuka announced her intention of entering the first ever women's Royal Rumble match, scheduled to take place at the Royal Rumble pay per view in January. Sasha Banks later announced on Twitter that she is also in the match.
Written by Jack King
jack.king@cultaholic.com Twitter: @JackTheJobber