Last night's episode of RAW was followed by a taping for next Monday's episode and, as you might expect, spoilers have already found their way online for the show.
WWE decided to tape it in advance so its Superstars can take some time off over the holidays; Vince McMahon would rarely allow such a thing to happen but Triple H has made it a priority (even if it means many fans will know what's coming a week in advance).
Fortunately, this time of year typically sees WWE in something of a holding pattern so nothing too major is being put on hold as the Road to WrestleMania and RAW's Netflix debut nears.
However, this sounds like a surprisingly stacked edition of RAW!
- The show opens with Drew McIntyre cutting a promo in which he sets his sights on Roman Reigns and CM Punk. A confrontation with Sami Zayn follows before Jey Uso returns to make the save.
- Iyo Sky defeats Natalya and Alba Fyre to advance in the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship Tournament. Sky replaced Kairi Sane after she was attacked on this week's RAW by Pure Fusion Collective.
- Chad Gable defeats Akira Tozawa and is chased off by Otis when he refuses to break his submission hold.
- Damian Priest defeats Dominik Mysterio and attacks JD McDonagh who, with this being a Christmas episode, is dressed as Santa Claus. The Judgement Day beat the Archer of Infamy down after the match.
- The Miz faces Dexter Lumis but the bout ends with The Final Testament interfering before The Wyatt Sicks make the save.
- The New Day's Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods cut a promo and compare Wade Barrett to Big E by mocking the fact he likely won't wrestle again. Kingston's mother is in the crowd and reportedly "disavows" her son.
- In the main event, McIntyre defeats Zayn before The Bloodline shows up to attack both Zayn and Uso.
You can read a full breakdown of what happens on this Friday's pre-taped SmackDown by clicking here.
"There was no doubt in my mind," Triple H recently said of the decision to move RAW to streaming starting January 6. "As soon as that conversation happened and the first time [streaming] was brought up, in my mind, I was like, 'Oh, my God, that’s a game changer for us.'"
"Not only because of the environment, like the reach and how much that can expand our base, but just look at the shows they do. [Look] at the things that they do and the freedom that they have within that. It’s a game changer for us," he added.
As always, keep checking back here for updates as we have them.