The Road to WrestleMania rolls on as WWE heads to the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas for tonight’s episode of WWE Raw
Here are the 3 matches announced for Raw, followed by our detailed preview into each one:
- Gauntlet Match (Winner will challenge Gunther for Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 40): Ricochet vs. Chad Gable vs. Sami Zayn vs. Bronson Reed vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. JD McDonagh
- Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan
- Women’s Tag Team Championships: The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane)
(c) vs Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark
Here’s what you need to know heading into this week’s WWE Raw:
Gauntlet Match: Winner Challenges GUNTHER at WrestleMania
After a successful title defense over Jey Uso, Intercontinental Champion Gunther declared that he was on the hunt for his WrestleMania 40 challenger. Naturally, this statement then boasted several possibilities. In the weeks following, various members of the WWE Raw locker room pitched their case as to why they should be the one to oppose “The Ring General.”
While Chad Gable is out for familial vindication, Ricochet pointed out that he was the last person to hold the Intercontinental Championship before Gunther’s historic reign began. Sami Zayn, on the other hand, is simply eager to secure his spot on the WrestleMania card (as well as potentially tacking on a fourth run with the title).
With many names expressing interest in facing Gunther, WWE Raw General Manager Adam Pearce finally narrowed the field down to six. In addition to Zayn, Gable, and Ricochet, the likes of JD McDonagh, “Big” Bronson Reed, and Shinsuke Nakamura will have an opportunity to punch their ticket to WrestleMania when they compete in a number one contenders match.
The winner, of course, will also earn the right to challenge Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship at the two-night premium live event.
What goes around, often comes back around. That certainly was the case for Becky Lynch last week.
Two weeks ago, Nia Jax blindsided Becky Lynch with an attack from behind on WWE Raw. Lynch later retaliated with an ambush of her own while Jax competed in a match against Liv Morgan. As a result, Morgan was handed a loss via disqualification, and Adam Pearce set up a rematch between Lynch and Jax.
Though Jax and Lynch were keen on settling their score, Liv Morgan used their match as an opportunity to get some revenge of her own. As Jax stood on the outside of the ring, Morgan launched herself off the barricade to deliver an elbow to Jax’s face, forcing the referee to call for the bell.
Upset by Morgan’s actions, Lynch confronted her backstage, and subsequently challenged her to a fight on this week’s episode of Raw.
Women’s Tag Title Match
Six days after successfully defending the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships against Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley on WWE NXT, Kairi Sane and Asuka look ahead to their next challengers — Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark.
Sane, Asuka, in addition to IYO SKY and Dakota Kai, watched on as Baszler and Stark defeated Kayden Carter and Katana Chance on last week’s episode of Raw.
Seemingly impressed by their performance, Kai announced that the two would earn an opportunity to challenge Sane and Asuka for their titles tonight. Kai, however, also vowed that Sand and Asuka would leave the both of them crying, much like they did with former Damage CTRL stablemate Bayley.
