of the session. The Jazz arena was booked for a Thirty-One Gifts

If you ever wondered the best way to book a monster heel, take a look at how Braun Strowman took over Raw on Monday night.It was close enough to, dare I say, Ruthless Aggression.After months of squash matches throughout a slow build, the recent repackaging of the 6-foot-8 former strongman was made complete as he was fully unleashed on the Raw roster. The fallout was a menacing and destructive message to general manager Mick Foley and the rest of the locker room: Bring me some competition or else.Just in case you were wondering what the or else part was in reference to in this case, Strowman explained himself as he towered over a pair of fallen bodies in the center of the ring seconds before the closing credits appeared.Or else means everyone will fall, he screamed.Strowmans war path was reminiscent to how Kane and The Undertaker were booked during an episode of Raw on Sept. 5, 1999, when The Brothers of Destruction responded to criticism from Vince McMahon by interrupting every match on the card and destroying everything in their wake.Beginning with backstage employees and continuing through a match between Sin Cara and Titus ONeil, Strowman was just as recklessly violent. But his surprise return at the tail end of a tag-team main event of?Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins was what provided The Abominable Strowman the unquestioned legitimacy his character has lacked up to this point.Strowman grabbed Reigns from the ring apron and choked slammed him hard to the floor with ease. After beating down Rollins in the ring and laying him out for good with a running powerslam, he did the same move to Reigns on the floor.BRAUN STROWMAN!! He attacks @WWERomanReigns as the official calls for the bell! #RAW pic.twitter.com/RgrrgKtyrG- WWE (@WWE) December 20, 2016Seeing a mid-card performer like Strowman allowed to manhandle the top babyfaces on the roster was the best rub his character could have received and the proper next move for Strowman after he was included on the five-man Team Raw roster at Survivor Series and provided a strong performance.Because of how limited Strowman is as a one-dimensional beast (albeit a freakishly athletic one), the WWE may only get one chance to book him as believably unbeatable on the main event level. If that proves to be the case, this was the right way for the creative team to take its full swing.Simply put: Strowman is an absolute freak of nature. He has taken a move like the running powerslam (made famous by The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith) and elevated it to an even higher level, as seen by the ease in which he executed it against a big man like ONeil onto the floor.Strowman not only looked worthy of the push he received on Monday, his surprise appearance in the main event was a welcome antidote to the predictable booking seen the night before to the Owens-Reigns and Rollins-Jericho feuds at Roadblock: End of the Line.Hits and missesHaving taken over the mantle from The New Day as the superstars who can most easily turn weak writing into comedic gold in 2016, Owens and Jerichos skills were again on display during Raws opening segment with Mick Foley. Im not sure, in hindsight, exactly how that segment was able to work as great as it did. But from Jericho cutting a promo on Santa Claus (more on that below) and freaking out after being locked in a shark cage, to Foley rummaging through his fanny pack to unsuccessfully search for the cages key, it got over in a big way. Jericho even threw in a reference to The Hug of Jericho, made complete when he instructed Owens, once again his new best friend, by saying, Bring it in ... man.Seriously, Im still laughing just thinking about Jericho sitting backstage with an oxygen mask, yelling, It was so high! It was so high! in reference to the shark tank as Owens angrily ushered paramedics out of the way, saying, Get this crap out of here. The constant tease of their breakup may have stretched out a few weeks too far, but the consolation of seeing them back together was worth it.Just one night after Charlotte regained her WWE Raw womens championship following yet another memorable bout with Sasha Banks, the two superstars finally appeared to be going their separate ways. Monday kicked off a pair of new feuds as Nia Jax interrupted Sasha Banks doubt-ridden speech (reminiscent of Shawn Michaels losing his smile) to attack her injured left knee, and Bayley scored a sneaky pin victory over Charlotte in a non-title match (improving her main roster record to 3-0 against the champion). While the execution of both scenarios left a few things to be desired -- specifically in terms of the acting chops from both Jax and Bayley -- its the right move for WWE to fight off fatigue, especially if a final blow-off between Charlotte and Banks is in the works for WrestleMania.Speaking of Charlotte, who now it seems is being billed exclusively as Charlotte Flair by WWE, the moonsault she landed on a Bayley was an absolute thing of beauty:MOONSAULT by @MsCharlotteWWE!! ONE TWO NOOOO!!@ItsBayleyWWE #RAW pic.twitter.com/kcZkRqzBL2- WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 20, 2016More Austin Aries on commentary, please. The guy gives off nothing but Jesse Ventura feels. And thats an incredibly big compliment.With their new red WWE Raw tag-team title belts around their waist, the team of Cesaro and Sheamus very much looked the part of champions on Monday (including the massive pop Cesaro received after winning an eight-man tag-team match by submission). Thats why its time for WWE to stop this ongoing Odd Couple routine, with both superstars constantly bickering and competing for the crowds cheers. Not only is the act a tired one, it waters down how impressive the duo is from a physical and technical standpoint inside the ring.Everything about this Neville heel turn is working. Dont change a thing.The sensitivity training segment involving Enzo Amore and a cast of assorted WWE characters may have been the highlight of Mondays show from an entertainment standpoint. The recurring skit was not only hilarious, it provided one heck of an exclamation point when Rusev and Lana appeared late to join Jinder Mahal in delivering another savage beatdown of Amore. There were far too many successful one-liners in play to list them all (from Enzos sly 3MB reference while cutting down Mahal to The Skywalker Smacktalker attempting to slide into the DMs of the WWE HR representative, Colleen McCarthy). But the segment also showcased just how hilarious coach Bob Backlund can be when he is given the screen time to explore his crazy character.Move of the nightBraun Strowman not only attempted to single-handedly destroy the entire Raw roster on Monday, he nearly tried to do the same to Christmas in general, by destroying a holiday-themed setup at the top of the ramp. His most vulgar display of power, however, was the ease in which he shot put Sin Cara into a Christmas tree and through a pile of gifts below on the side of the stage..@BraunStrowman just launched @SinCaraWWE through a Christmas tree into a pile of presents!! #StrowmanMassacre #RAW pic.twitter.com/xgOX2woI6k- WWE (@WWE) December 20, 2016Line of the nightLet me bring up Santa Claus. What does Santa Claus do besides hand out gifts and make lists? Let me tell you this, Santa Claus, you stupid idiot. You know what happens when you make lists, Santa? You know what happens when you steal Chris Jerichos gimmick, Father Christmas? You want to know what happens, huh, Kris Kringle? You want to know what happens when you mess with Chris Jericho? Santa Claus ... you just made the list! -- Chris Jericho Cheap Angels Jerseys .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. Los Angeles Angels Shirts . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. https://www.cheapangels.com/ . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Angels Jerseys 2020 . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. Angels Jerseys China . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. A look at some of the highlights from the five games on the schedule Tuesday at the Orlando Summer League and Utah Jazz Summer League:INTRODUCING MR. MURRAYDejounte Murray, the No. 29 overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs, made his Summer League debut and showed why some think he could be the steal of the draft. The athletic Washington product got to the rim repeatedly and finished with 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting and added five rebounds.I havent played a minute yet and I just wanted to play basketball again because thats what I love to do, Murray said. At the same time, I know I had to slow down and let the game come to me.SITTING CELTICSNo. 3 overall pick Jaylen Brown hyperextended his right knee in his first game Monday and hasnt played since. Hes been diagnosed with a bone bruise. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge said theyre being cautious and Brown will have an opportunity to get some games in Las Vegas. Second-year guard R.J. Hunter also sat with a sore wrist.The Celtics beat the Spurs 87-86 and finished 3-0 in Salt Lake City. San Antonio went 2-1.SLC MVPsSpurs second-year guard Kyle Anderson and Jazz second-year forward Trey Lyles were easily the top two players in the Utah Jazz Summer League. Anderson topped 20 points in all three games, including 23 Thursday. He also posted 10 rebounds and seven assists.Im just trying to get that confidence back overall, Anderson said. Just trying to carry it over now. I can play as well as I want out here, but I have to carry it over.Lyles had a double-double the first two nights and wrapped up the week with 22 points and eight rebounds.ALL THE STOPSThe Celtics may have missed out on signing Kevin Durant, but it wasnt for a lack of effort. Ainge even arranged for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to take part in the recruiting pitch.I just thought it would be a good idea, Ainge said. Wed like to get a lot of guys to come. Tom was available and I reached out to him. He thought about it for a day and said, `OK, Ill do it.In a very short turnaround he wanted to go. He had met KD one time before. I told him how much of a fan KD was of his. It was a fun time for all of us to have Tom there with us.Ainge explained its no easy task for teams to separate themselves from the pack when chasing ffree agents.ddddddddddddTheres 30 good basketball teams and very competent organizations, Ainge said. The competitions fierce, so to set yourself apart from some of the top-echelon teams in this league is very challenging.BACK ON THE COURTNo. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons returned to the court after sitting out the Tuesday session. He left the game early on Monday due to cramps in both calves. The 76ers had planned to manage his minutes coming in, considering the Las Vegas Summer League begins Saturday. Simmons finished with six points, seven rebounds and six assists in an 86-75 defeat of the Jazz. He shot just 2 for 8 from the field, but continued to show incredible vision and passing ability. The 76ers finished 1-2 and the Jazz 0-3.IN THE HOUSEThe newest members of the Jazz were in attendance Thursday. Point guard George Hill and forward Joe Johnson both sat in the stands to watch the Utah roster face the 76ers.CHANGE OF VENUEThe Utah Jazz Summer League moved to the University of Utahs Jon M. Huntsman Center on campus for the final day of the session. The Jazz arena was booked for a Thirty-One Gifts convention that specializes in womens bags.MARBLEIZEDOrlando Blues Devyn Marble scored 21 points to go along with six assists and five steals while shooting 7 for 14 from the field in a 96-94 win over the Mavericks.CLIPPEDThe Los Angeles Clippers fell to 0-4 in Orlando with a 79-69 loss to the Orlando White team, but the No. 25 overall pick Brice Johnson was a bright spot. The North Carolina product posted 19 points, eight rebounds and seven turnovers. He went 6 for 7 from the field and 7 for 8 from the free-throw line.Treveon Graham finished with 24 points and six rebounds for Orlando White.MOTORING IN THE CITYPistons second-year forward Stanley Johnson put together his second consecutive strong outing with 20 points, nine rebounds and three steals as Detroit improved to 4-0 with a 71-58 win over the Heat.The young future of Miami, forward Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson, combined to shoot 7 for 30. Winslow had 13 points and four rebounds, while Richardson scored 11 and added four assists. The Heat dropped to 3-1. ' ' '