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6 Takeaways From WWE RAW (1/14)

Cena Balor RAW

Written by

Robert Lentini

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The January 14th, 2018 episode of WWE RAW aired live from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN. Here are 6 takeaways from the show:

Braun Strowman Will Not Get A Title Shot At Royal Rumble

Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman (Photo: Instagram @WWE)

RAW kicked off with Vince McMahon getting out of his limo and rolling his eyes at the driver. Braun Strowman made his way down to the ring as the crowd chanted “get these hands!”. Strowman claimed that Brock Lesnar has always been afraid of him.

Braun stated that he was all healed up and that Corbin is no longer in power, which means that there is no one around to save Lesnar. Strowman vowed to win the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble.

Baron Corbin interrupted and Strowman started a “you got fired!” chant. Corbin told Braun that he cannot defeat Lesnar and claimed that he always lets the fans down. Baron vowed to win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania. Braun chased Corbin backstage and ran into the Singh Brothers first.

Strowman launched Samir Singh onto a table and continued his search. Elias appeared and played a song poking fun at Corbin. Elias sang that Corbin was hiding down in the limo. Braun broke the window of the limo and then ripped the door off. Corbin escaped and Vince McMahon showed up.

Vince fined Braun $100,000 and started to walk away but Strowman shouted at him that the limo isn’t worth that much money. McMahon then told Strowman that he is now out of the Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble because he raised his voice. Strowman then flipped the limo out of anger.

While this is unfortunate for Strowman, I’m actually glad this match isn’t going down at Royal Rumble. The feud between Lesnar and Strowman had been a disaster up until this point anyway.

Sasha Banks Vowed To Tap Out Ronda Rousey At Royal Rumble

Ronda Rousey and Sasha Banks teamed up to face Nia Jax and Tamina. Banks dominated the entire match and wound up tapping out Tamina with the Bank Statement.

After the match, the two Superstars were interviewed in the ring. Rousey said it was easy to trust Sasha as her partner tonight because they respect each other. Rousey then vowed to tap Sasha Banks out at Royal Rumble.

Banks told Rousey to ask Nia Jax and Tamina if they think Ronda Rousey is the only one that can tap people out. Banks once again told Ronda that she is going to teach her how to lose with class at Royal Rumble. Sasha through up the four horsewoman sign in Ronda’s face before heading backstage.

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The match itself was terrible. Nia Jax and Tamina don’t generate any reaction from the crowd and I simply do not find them entertaining as a team. Sasha’s promo after the match with Ronda Rousey was very good. I’m looking forward to their match at Royal Rumble even more now because they are starting to plant seeds of the Four Horsewoman vs. Rousey, Baszler, Shafir, and Duke.

Nikki Cross & Lacey Evans Appeared On RAW

The Riott Squad challenged Bayley and Natalya to find a partner for a 6-woman tag match. Nikki Cross was revealed the be the tag partner and got a great reaction from the crowd. Bayley pointed at Cross and tagged her in to start off the match.

Cross trapped Ruby Riott in the ring skirt and beat the hell out of her. Nikki planted Liv Morgan with a Neckbreaker and tagged in Bayley. Bayley made her way up to the top rope and connected with an Elbow Drop for the pinfall victory. After the match, Lacey Evans was shown talking to Mickie James and Dana Brooke backstage.

I really want to see Cross back with SAnitY on SmackDown. I thought that group was excellent in NXT. The crowd at tonight’s RAW was pretty much silent during this match, which was disappointing and kind of took the excitement out of Cross making her debut. Nikki was really entertaining in NXT, and hopefully, WWE gives her a chance on the main roster. They’ve already dropped the ball with Ember Moon, so I’m not optimistic.

Bobby Lashley Captured The Intercontinental Championship

Dean Ambrose defended the Intercontinental Championship against Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley in a Triple Threat match tonight on RAW. Before the match, Seth Rollins was interviewed backstage and vowed to kick Ambrose’s teeth down his throat.

Seth started off the match in control but Dean and Bobby teamed up for a bit to take out Rollins. Rollins eventually battled back and hit Ambrose and Lashley with a Suicide Dive. Lio Rush tried to interfere and Rollins chased him around the ring. Lashley caught Rollins with a Spinebuster and then hit Ambrose with a Belly to Belly Suplex outside the ring.

Ambrose and Rollins teamed up and knocked Lashley out of the ring. Rollins planted Ambrose with the Falcon Arrow and went for the cover but Lio Rush broke it up. Rollins went for The Stomp on Ambrose but Lio Rush pulled down the top rope and Seth fell out of the ring. Lashley then hit Ambrose with a Spear for the pinfall victory. Bobby Lashley is the new Intercontinental Champion.

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I’m not a fan of Lashley at all, but Dean Ambrose’s new gimmick has been a total bore. Ambrose has really done nothing with the Intercontinental Championship, so I have no issue with Dean dropping the belt. I just think there are a bunch of better options that Lashley as Intercontinental Champion.

 The Women’s Tag Team Titles Were Revealed

Alexa Bliss debuted the new Women’s Tag Team Championships on A Moment of Bliss tonight on RAW. Bliss announced that three teams from RAW and SmackDown will step inside the Elimination Chamber to determine the first champions.

Paul Heyman joined the show and guaranteed that Brock Lesnar will retain the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble. Heyman hyped up Drew McIntyre and stated that it is a certainty that Drew will be Universal Champion one day, just not now.

Otis Dozovic interrupted and stood behind Bliss and Heyman. Tucker Knight came down and tried to drag Otis backstage at Dozovic shouted “pretty lady!” over and over again at Bliss. Otis finally went backstage to end the segment.

The new Women’s Tag Team Championships look fantastic. Otis interrupting was both incredibly awkward and hilarious at the same time. I couldn’t help but laugh at him shouting “pretty lady!” several times.

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Finn Balor Will Face Brock Lesnar For The Universal Championship

Vince McMahon made his way down to the ring and before he could say a word, John Cena interrupted. Cena brought up telling Vince McMahon 20 years ago to give him a chance and promised to not let him down.

Cena said that stepping up means making WWE your life and loving every second of it. John asked McMahon for another chance and told him that he will not let him down. John stated that he wanted to defeat Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble to become the 17-time WWE Champion.

Drew McIntyre came down to the ring and told Cena that his time is up and that his time is now. Baron Corbin joined the party and claimed that it would be best for business for him to get a Universal Championship match against Lesnar.

Finn Balor interrupted and said that he is the only person out here that has ever been Universal Champion. Vince McMahon got in Balor’s face and said that there is a lot of beef in the ring and that Balor probably couldn’t get it done. Balor told Vince that he knows he never believed in him and vowed to show him.

Balor punched Corbin in the face and turned around into a Claymore Kick from McIntyre. Drew then delivered a Claymore Kick to Cena. Vince announced that there will be a Fatal 4-Way match to determine who will be the #1 contender later tonight.

Later on RAW, Balor had to face Jinder Mahal and the winner would be the final Superstar in the Fatal 4-Way match. Jinder attacked Balor during his entrance and controlled the majority of the match. Balor battled back and won the match after hitting the Coup de Grace.

Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin, and John Cena competed in the Fatal 4-Way match in the main event of RAW. Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment on McIntyre early in the match and went for the cover but Corbin broke it up at the last second.

Balor booted Cena to the canvas and climbed to the top rope but Cena got up and punched Finn in the face. Cena delivered an AA off the second rope but Corbin rolled John out of the ring and tried to cover Balor but Finn kicked out at two.

Corbin grabbed a steel chair and hit Cena several times with it. Baron then hit McIntyre with the chair and returned to the ring. Corbin hit Balor with the chair and went for the cover but Cena broke it up. Cena connected with an AA to Corbin and then turned around into a Claymore from McIntyre.

Finn hit McIntyre with a DDT and then made his way back up to the top rope. Balor hit Cena with the Coup de Grace for the pinfall victory. Finn Balor will now face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble 2018. After the match, Cena said that tonight in front of the entire world, Vince McMahon said he didn’t believe in Balor. Cena added that he believes in Finn and wished him luck against Lesnar at Royal Rumble.

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I would be absolutely shocked if Balor defeated Lesnar at Royal Rumble in a couple of weeks. I’d love to see it, but I think WWE will have Brock Lesnar walk into WrestleMania as the Universal Champion. I enjoyed Vince McMahon saying to Finn’s face that he didn’t believe in him, only for Balor to prove him wrong at the end of the night. Overall, tonight’s RAW was much better than usual and they needed to put on a good show as we build towards the PPV.

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