Vince McMahon Reportedly Responsible For Raw Gauntlet Match

Raw's huge two hour gauntlet match was apparently the idea of Vince McMahon himself, according to a report by Mike Johnson of

PWInsider

Johnson stated:

'We are told [that Vince McMahon] was the person who suggested the Gauntlet "out of nowhere", which surprised some since, we are told, he is traditionally not very high on such matches.

From there, the match was laid out and McMahon approved the length and presentation of the show.'

The match saw all seven Superstars set to be in Sunday's men's Elimination Chamber match (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, The Miz, and Braun Strowman) take part.

Rollins first defeated Reigns with a surprise roll-up, before also beating John Cena in a shockingly long match. These two portions of the overall bout saw Rollins wrestle for over 60 minutes, the longest performance in Monday Night Raw history.

An exhausted Seth was then defeated by Elias, who in turn was eliminated by a fresh Finn Balor. Miz, with the help of Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel, pinned Balor, but was decimated by final participant Braun Strowman.

If looked at in a certain way, the match could be seen as WWE's longest of all time. The time listed on WWE.com subtracted the length of the show's various commercials, although other reports online have included these in the overall match time.

Rollins noted in a backstage interview that his epic stint will mean nothing if he doesn't also win the Elimination Chamber match on Sunday. The winner will go on to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans.

Also on the card for the Elimination Chamber pay per view is the first ever women's Elimination Chamber match. It will feature Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, defending her title against Bayley, Sasha Banks, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, and Micky James.

Elsewhere, Asuka faces Nia Jax - with the stipulation that if Jax wins, she will be added to the Raw Women's title match at 'Mania. Although never officially made clear, it is assumed that Asuka will challenge the Raw Women's Champion following her Royal Rumble victory in January.