WWE Monday Night Raw results and observations (9/4/17): Braun Strowman makes an example out of Big Show

Although a lot of the talk on social media was about the Christmas Day episode of Raw, WWE put together a pretty solid installment of the company's flagship television program this past Monday night at the Century Link Center in Omaha, Neb.

WWE still has a lot of television time to fill until No Mercy, but so far, it has done a good job of keeping me interested in what will happen leading up the event.

That is not the norm for WWE, as it can easily lose my interest when given too much time to build up to a pay-per-view.

Fortunately, that is not the case this time around. Here are the full match results:

- John Cena def. Jason Jordan

- Cesaro & Sheamus def. Rhyno & Heath Slater

- WWE Intercontinental championship – The Miz def. Jeff Hardy

- Enzo Amore, Gran Metalik & Cedric Alexander def. Tony Nese, Drew Gulak & Noam Dar

- Nia Jax & Emma def. Alexa Bliss & Sasha Banks

- Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose def. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

- Steel Cage match – Braun Strowman def. Big Show

Strowman destroyed Big Show … again

When WWE announced that Strowman was going to face Big Show in a cage match during the weekend, no one had to go to a fortune teller to know that Strowman was going to not only defeat Big Show, but perform some impressive feat to the giant in an effort to send a message to his opponent at No Mercy, Brock Lesnar.

Wouldn't you know it that is exactly what happened?

As expected, Strowman defeated Big Show in a pretty fun match that included Big Show performing an elbow drop from the top rope that probably registered on one of Nebraska's Richter scales.

Despite the victory, Strowman was not done with Big Show just yet, as he picked up the big man and slammed into one of the side panels of the cage, which collapsed to the floor.

Big Show lied motionless on the panel as medical personnel ran to his aid. Meanwhile, Strowman roared in celebration of decimating yet another foe.

There was no real reason for this match to be in a cage. Strowman and Big Show have faced each other in the past, but this particular encounter did not warrant a cage.

This was done to showcase Strowman before his Universal title match against Lesnar and to provide a hook for fans to watch on Labor Day.

After what happened Monday night, it was mission accomplished for WWE.

Roman Reigns, Cena verbally jousted again

Their joust wasn't quite as malicious as last week, but it was still quite interesting.

Reigns went to the ring after Cena defeated Jordan and essentially trolled him for taking so long to beat a "rookie."

Cena said that Reigns needed to be taught a lesson in respect and that he was going to get that lesson at No Mercy.

Cena even applauded guys like Jordan, Chad Gable and The Miz for working hard and earning what they have gotten.

Eventually, Reigns challenged Cena to fight him right then and there to which Cena did not oblige. Reigns then said that Cena was all talk and walked away.

Jason Jordan took a big step forward

Fifteen years ago, Cena first appeared on WWE television in a match against Kurt Angle.

Cena did not win on that night, but he hung tough with one of the top guys on roster and earned himself some respect in the process.

I believe Cena has done pretty well for himself since.

Cena was in a similar situation again Monday night, but in the opposite role. This time, he was playing the veteran at the top of the business and playing the role of an upstart wrestler looking to make a name for himself was Jordan.

Like Cena back in 2002, Jordan came up short, but his performance definitely reminded people of just how talented he is in the ring.

In short, Jordan needed this match really, really bad.

Jordan's physical talent really can't be questioned. He's an amazing athlete with seemingly limitless potential.

Unfortunately, WWE has done virtually nothing with him creatively since making him Angle's illegitimate son.

Jordan needed something — anything — to re-energize his singles run. His match with Cena Monday will hopefully be the catalyst for it.

That is not guaranteed, though. Jordan still has a long way to go before we can all look back at this match as the beginning of a great run, but Cena making him look like a million bucks definitely helped.

Women's title match now a fatal four-way

After Jax forcefully asserted herself into the Raw Women's title picture last week, it felt weird that she was not involved in the title match at No Mercy between Bliss and Banks, which was announced as a one-on-one match before Raw.

Even with Banks being contractually obligated to receive a rematch for the title, Jax being left out felt odd.

That is why I was quite happy to see Jax and Emma be inserted into the match, making it a fatal four-way Monday after they teamed up to defeat Bliss and Banks.

Jax should be in the title picture and it is nice to see WWE finally doing something of importance with Emma, who is as talented as any woman on WWE's roster.

It was also nice to see WWE replace the awful song Emma walked out to last week with a much more tolerable tune this week. Granted, it is not as good as the original "Evil Emma" song, but I'll take it over the rubbish we were forced to listen to a week ago.

Bray Wyatt wants to face Finn Balor, not the demon

In case you were unable to decipher what Wyatt was talking about Monday night, allow me to sort of translate.

Essentially, Wyatt wants to know if Balor cane defeat without the help of the demon persona.

In order to find this out, Wyatt challenged Balor to a match at No Mercy, where Balor is only … himself. That means no demon at No Mercy.

If you recall, Wyatt defeated the normal, leather-jacket version of Balor six days before SummerSlam, which brought about the demon at the pay-per-view.

I guess this match will prove whether Balor can get it done in the ring without the demon or not.

Amore took another shortcut

The cruiserweight division has a lot of talent, but it has no one that garners a reaction like Amore, which is why he is being given the spotlight so far.

However, WWE is taking a unique approach to Amore's run with the cruiserweights. Despite Amore being a fan favorite, he is blatantly cheating to win his matches.

It's not nearly as entertaining as Eddie Guerrero back in that day, but it is adding an intriguing angle to the cruiserweight division that was not there before Amore arrived.

Last week on 205 Live, Amore put his feet on the ropes in order to pick up a victory. This week, Amore poked Drew Gulak in the eye before finishing him off and picking up the win.

On this week's episode of 205 Live, Amore will take part in a fatal five-way against Alexander, Metalik, Nese and Brian Kendrick with the winner earning a title shot against Neville.

I'd imagine Amore will take another shortcut to win that match, too.

Vaughn Johnson has a podcast with Nick Piccone called the Straight Shooters on WildfireRadio.com. Check it out here HERE.