5 botches and outrageous moments from WWE Raw (December 11, 2017)

Braun Strowman surprised Kane when he sat up!
Braun Strowman surprised Kane when he sat up!

For the second week in a row, Monday Night Raw has been a show that can proudly claim to feature many segments of quality wrestling. Four matches were given over 10 minutes, including a darn good contest between Roman Reigns and Cesaro. It was a solid night. It feels good to hand out praises to WWE's flagship show, even if this is merely the obligatory section of the article to say something nice. Not that that's out of the system, it's time to point out the biggest mistakes of the evening!

A couple of claims were falsely made by WWE and they kick off this week's round of botches. From an Indian Intercontinental defence discrepancy to the actual history that was made in Abu Dhabi, the record is about to be set straight. Also, Jojo made up a new weight when introducing Cesaro, Roman Reigns goofed while performing his signature Superman Punch, and Braun Strowman performed the classic raise from the dead sit up spot while in the ring with Kane.


#5 Not the first women's wrestling match in Abu Dhabi

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Okay, so WWE didn't quite make the history that initially they thought they did. The first women to wrestle in a women's match in this middle eastern country were actually Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky, Sarita, and Angelina Love during an Impact Wrestling show from 2010. Michael Cole sort of covered up this mistake on Raw by announcing it as the first-ever women's championship match in the UAE, which is actually true.

Even though Cole properly announced the true milestone that was reached, that didn't stop WWE from showing multiple headlines that claimed Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss to be the first women's wrestlers to compete in the country.

#4 Roman did not defend the IC Title in India

As Roman Reigns made his way to the ring for his Intercontinental Championship Match against Cesaro, Michael Cole sang the praises of his reign so far. Since defeating The Miz a few weeks ago, he's defended all around the world. It was at this point that Cole bent the truth just a hair.

While it is true that he defeated Triple H to retain his belt in Abu Dhabi, UAE, it is false to say that Reigns defended it in Delhi, India. In Delhi, Roman competed alongside his Shield brothers for a six-man tag match against Samoa Joe and The Bar. That match ended with Reigns pinning Cesaro after he took a Shield Triple Powerbomb.

#3 Superman forearm

Initially, this botch was a toss up for whether or not it was going to be included this week. Roman's signature Superman Punch clearly didn't land with his usual form. However, it looked like a slightly stiffer forearm variation, which would probably be pretty effective.

The reason is made it onto this edition of the Raw botches was because commentary kept pointing it out. Corey Graves initially remarked how Roman didn't "get as much as he wanted." When it was viewed again on instant replay, Michael Cole agreed when he said that he "didn't get all of it."

It still looked effective, but if two out of three announcers are going to point it out then it should suffer some scrutiny.

#2 Cesaro's weight

Poor Jojo does a fine job week in and week out. It was only a matter of time before she gaffed during her introductions. Cesaro was introduced first as the challenger to Roman Reigns and his Intercontinental Championship. She correctly stated his city and country of origin but then slipped up when she tried to say his weight. An extra 't' was added somewhere near the end of 221 pounds.

The two tore the house down in a fantastic match that Roman Reigns won. Hopefully, this isn't Cesaro's only chance to shine as a singles wrestler in the coming months.

#1 Braun can sit up, too

Braun Strowman vs. Kane wasn't exactly the barnburner of a main event that Vince & company likely hoped it would be. The match was fairly bland. Worst of all, there was a weak double count-out finish that will likely mean both guys will face Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble.

The match didn't really deliver, but the post-match fight redeemed it a little bit. There were chairs, Kane got Powerslammed through a table, and there was even this outrageous spot in which Braun did the famous sit up a spot to spook Kane. As long as they don't try to recreate the laughter moment between The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar after they both set up from WrestleMania XXX, then it's okay that Braun got to do this.

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Edited by Shruti Sadbhav
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