Seth Rollins gains upper hand on Dean Ambrose

Ambrose entered the ring with his swat team dressed in gas masks and cut a promo on the “disgusting people” in the crowd. He also called out Rollins for “choking in the fourth quarter” the night before by losing his title. Ambrose’s challenge to Rollins to come out and tell everyone that he was wrong went unreturned. Finally, Ambrose issued an open challenge for his title.

Intercontinental Championship — Dean Ambrose (c) def. Tyler Breeze via pinfall: Breeze held the advantage throughout the match and packaged a Beauty Shot and a cross body off the top rope for two. But immediately following a second near fall from Breeze, Ambrose countered with a Dirty Deeds to escape with the win. After the match, he cut a second promo that triggered Rollins’ music. Rollins snuck up from behind to reveal himself as a member of Ambrose’s swat team and easily beat down both his former teammate and the entire crew. Later on backstage, Rollins knocked down Corbin with a single right hand after he was blamed for everything that led to Corbin losing his job.

Not only was last night’s title match at TLC underappreciated by most fans online and those who were in the arena, this feud continued to quietly repair its issues on Monday. Ambrose’s heel promo was (wait for it …) pretty darn good and the reveal of Rollins dressed up under a gas mask proved entertaining. In between, Breeze turned out to be a nice surprise as the open challenge opponent and produced a fun match with Ambrose. Grade: B

Well… @TheDeanAmbrose got what he asked for on #RAW. pic.twitter.com/JW2XWY0XzV

— WWE (@WWE) December 18, 2018

What else happened on Raw?

• Finn Balor def. Dolph Ziggler via disqualification: Balor kicked out of both the ZigZag and Fameasser on the count of two. Drew McIntyre’s attempt to interfere saw Ziggler attack and Balor hit a Tope Con Hilo onto the floor. McIntyre eventually forced the DQ finish by attacking Balor and went on to beat down both decisively, including a Claymore kick to Balor on the floor to stand tall.
• WWE announces five NXT call-ups: Although they didn’t actually appear on this week’s show, the group of Lars Sullivan, EC3, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans and Heavy Machinery were named as new additions to the main roster. Each were given a short video package and are the “new faces” the McMahons were teasing in the beginning of the show.
• Two Raw returns also announced: Video packages for both Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens aired during the show with each video noting the respective wrestlers were “returning soon.”
• Elias gains revenge on Bobby Lashley: One night after Lashley’s victory in their ladder match, he flexed his muscles as Lio Rush insulted the crowd. After Lashley bent over to flex his glutes as the crowd booed, Elias snuck up from behind to break a guitar over his back.
• Raw Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contendership — The Revival def. The B-Team (via pinfall), AOP and Lucha House Party: Drake Maverick and AOP interrupted Shane in a backstage interview to demand their mandatory title rematch. McMahon called the idea antiquated and booked a four-team match with the winner earning a title shot. The chaotic action featured plenty of high spots from Kalisto and Lince Dorado but the finish came when The Revival hit Bo Dallas with Shatter Machine for the pin.