Home News WWE Monday Night Raw Reaction (1/16)

WWE Monday Night Raw Reaction (1/16)

Robert Lentini
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WWE Monday Night Raw Reaction (1/16)

Roman Reigns kicked off this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw. Reigns stated that he cannot complain about losing his United States Championship in a handicap match because when he was a part of The Shield, they would beat the hell out of everyone. Reigns went on to say that Kevin Owens will be the one complaining at the Royal Rumble when he loses his Universal Championship while Jericho is locked inside the shark cage. Paul Heyman came out and interrupted Reigns. Heyman tried to talk but the crowd started to chant “Goldberg!”. Reigns was annoyed that Brock Lesnar didn’t come down to the ring with Heyman.

Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho then came down to the ring. Jericho said that he was going to win the Royal Rumble match. That way, Jericho and Owens will main event Wrestlemania and no matter who wins, together they still will be the US and Universal Champions. Kevin Owens wasn’t too fond of that idea but brushed it off. Owens said that he will defeat Reigns at the Royal Rumble and go on to main event Wrestlemania.

Seth Rollins then joined the party in the ring. Rollins said that he would be the one that will win the Royal Rumble match. Braun Strowman then came down to the ring and stared at Reigns. Brock Lesnar then came down the entrance ramp but Sami Zayn came out of nowhere and attacked Strowman. Zayn hit a Helluva Kick on Strowman that knocked him out of the ring. Lesnar planted Reigns and Zayn with a German Suplex. Brock taunted Strowman and told him to come in the ring. Strowman got up on the ring apron but jumped down. Reigns hit a Superman Punch on Lesnar but Brock got back to his feet and hit an F-5 on Reigns.

Reaction: Heck of a way to start off this week’s Raw. The build to the Royal Rumble hasn’t been the best so far but there is no denying the star power that will be on the show.

Jinder Mahal & Rusev vs Enzo & Cass

Enzo beatdown Mahal to start off the match. Big Cass entered the match and continued the beatdown. Rusev got in the ring and Cass beat him down as well. Raw went to a commercial break after Cass Clotheslined Mahal over the top rope. When Raw returned, Mahal and Rusev were in control of the match. Rusev beatdown Enzo and tagged in Mahal. Jinder continued the assault on Enzo and once again tagged in Rusev. Enzo finally fought back and hit a Tornado DDT off the second rope.

Big Cass entered the match and hit Mahal with a couple of shoulder tackles. Cass then hit the Empire Elbow but Rusev broke up the pinfall. Cass then hit a boot to the face of Rusev that sent him out of the ring. Cass then tagged in Enzo and they hit the Bada Boom Shakalaka for the pinfall victory.

Winners: Enzo & Cass

Ariya Daivari vs Lince Dorado

Jack Gallagher joined commentary for this match and it was announced that the “I Forfeit” match between Gallagher and Daivari will happen tomorrow night on 205 Live. Daivari won this match in two minutes with a submission victory via the Cobra Clutch.

Reaction: It is getting to the point where I’d rather the Cruiserweights exclusively be on the WWE Network. Unless Neville is in the match, a Cruiserweight match on Raw just feels like filler. They are given absolutely no time to put on a match. I don’t understand why they have the division on Raw if they aren’t going to showcase them at all on the show.

Winner: Ariya Daivari

A video was shown of Sasha Banks getting her injured knee evaluated earlier today. Nia Jax attacked Banks during the video.

Raw Tag Team Championship Match: Sheamus & Cesaro (c) vs Anderson & Gallows

Sheamus and Cesaro started off the match by dominating Karl Anderson. The momentum turned when Gallows entered the match. Gallows and Anderson took turns beating down Cesaro and prevented him from tagging in Sheamus for a few minutes. Eventually, Sheamus got in the match and laid out Gallows with a flying Clothesline off the top rope. The referee was distracted by Cesaro and Anderson hit a Dropkick on the knee of Sheamus. Raw went to a commercial break with Gallows and Anderson in control.

When Raw returned, Gallows and Anderson were still in control. Sheamus eventually fought back and tagged in Cesaro. Gallows tagged in Anderson but Cesaro dominated. Cesaro hit a Crossbody onto Gallows outside the ring and followed it up with several uppercuts to Anderson. Cesaro put Anderson in the Cesaro Swing and then applied the Sharpshooter. Gallows quickly broke up the hold by booting Cesaro in the face. Anderson went for the pinfall but Cesaro kicked out at two.

A “this is awesome” chant broke out in the crowd as Anderson and Cesaro traded punches. Anderson connected with a Spinebuster and went for a pinfall but Sheamus broke it up. Sheamus then attacked Gallows and Sheamus accidentally hit the referee. While the referee was down, Anderson and Gallows hit the Magic Killer on Cesaro. Another referee came down to the ring and counted to three. The referee that Sheamus hit got up and reversed the decision. Gallows and Anderson won the match by disqualification but Sheamus and Cesaro retained the Tag Championships.

Winners via DQ: Gallows & Anderson

Reaction: I thought this was a very entertaining match. Gallows and Anderson once again looked strong and the WWE may finally be giving them the push they have deserved since arriving in the WWE. I also thought this was a good way to end this match as well. Gallows and Anderson have a legitimate case that they should be the champions and Sheamus and Cesaro now have a worthy team to feud with.

A tribute to the late Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka was shown.

Sami Zayn, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins were backstage prepping for their match against Strowman, Jericho and Owens later tonight. Sami Zayn laid out a plan for the team and it didn’t go over too well. The segment ended with Rollins and Reigns walking away. Reigns said that Zayn was even crazier than Ambrose before he left.

Rich Swann was supposed to have a match with Tony Nese but that didn’t happen. Neville came from the crowd and attacked Swann. Nese beatdown Swann as well. Neville left Swann beatdown in the ring. Swann will defend his Cruiserweight Championship against Neville at the Royal Rumble.

The New Day came down to the ring and announced that they will be in the Royal Rumble match. Titus O’Neil came down to the ring to suck the life out of the arena and was very successful in doing so. Titus said that he didn’t want to be in the New Day and said that he’d like to replace the New Day. Titus challenged one of the New Day members to a match for their spot in the Royal Rumble. Titus told the new day to huddle up and figure out who will wrestle. Kofi told Titus that if he knew how to huddle properly, he would probably still be playing football. Big E then cackled and said that Titus was a failure. Big E accepted the match and Raw went to a commercial break.

Titus O’Neil vs Big E

Titus controlled the majority of this match and planted Big E with a couple of gigantic Powerslams. Big E and Titus also spanked each other a few times. Big E recaptured control of the match and hit a Belly to Belly Suplex. Big E danced around a bit and then hit a Splash onto Titus. Big E hit the Big Ending for the pinfall victory.

Winner: Big E

Reaction: The first two hours of Raw contained a solid opening promo and a very good Tag Team Championship match. The other 90 minutes have been painfully boring like this segment.

Charlotte came down to the ring and cut a promo on Bayley. She showed pictures of Bayley as a child idolizing WWE Superstars. Charlotte also showed poems that Bayley wrote as a child and poked fun at them. A video was then shown of Bayley in WWE Breaking Ground reading an essay about wanting to be a wrestler. Bayley got emotional in the video and Charlotte mocked her for it. Bayley finally came down to the ring to interupt. 10 minutes later, Bayley said she was going to defeat Charlotte at the Royal Rumble.

Reaction: Charlotte and Bayley are both excellent performers. This promo was just flat out terrible in my opinion.

Jericho Owens and Strowman were shown backstage. Owens and Jericho tried to lay out a strategy for the 6 man tag match later tonight. Strowman said that he does what he wants, when he wants. Strowman then said he was going to leave Rollins and Reigns begging for their lives later tonight.

Brian Kendrick vs Cedric Alexander

This match was back and forth for a few minutes. Kendrick got Alexander in the Captain’s Hook and Alicia Fox emerged from backstage. Alexander was distracted by this but so was Kendrick for some reason. Kendick confronted Fox outside the ring and told her to get out here. Once Kendrick got back in the ring, Alexander hit the Lumbar Check for the victory. Alicia went to hug Alexander after the match but Alexander ducked out of the way and left the ring. Noam Dar was shown backstage watching these riveting events take place.

Winner: Cedric Alexander

Braun Strowman, Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho vs Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns & Sami Zayn

Before the match started, all six Superstars brawled in the ring until it was just Strowman and Reigns left. Strowman launched Reigns over the top rope and posed in the ring as Raw went to a commercial break. When Raw returned, Jericho was slapping Reigns several times. Reigns laid out Jericho and tagged in Sami Zayn. For the next several minutes, everyone took turns beating the hell out of Zayn.

Jericho jumped off the top rope but Zayn caught him with a punch to the stomach. Zayn tried to tag out but Owens prevented it. Owens went for Senton but Zayn got his knees up and then tagged in Reigns. Roman beatdown Owens and knocked Jericho out of the ring. Strowman launched Rollins into the barricade outside the ring. Reigns went for a Superman Punch on Strowman on the ring apron but Strowman caught him. Owens then laid out Reigns with a kick to face and Raw went to another commercial break during the main event.

When Raw returned, Owens was still beating down Reigns. Owens took Reigns to Chinlock City as Zayn and Rollins pleaded for a tag. Reigns hit a Samoan Drop on Owens and then tagged in Seth Rollins. Owens tagged in Jericho at the same time. Rollins hit a forearm to Jericho’s face in the corner. Rollins followed it up with a Blockbuster. Owens ran into the ring and Zayn tossed him out. Rollins hit a Suicide Dive onto Jericho outside the ring and Zayn Moonsaulted onto Owens. Strowman charged at Zayn outside the ring but completely missed and smashed into the ring post.

Back in the ring, Rollins went for the Pedigree but Jericho blocked it. Jericho tagged in Strowman and Braun grabbed Rollins by the neck. Zayn attacked Strowman from behind but Braun leveled him. Reigns hit a Superman Punch on Strowman. Rollins tagged in Zayn and he hit a Crossbody onto Strowman. Rollins hit a Crossbody onto Owens and Jericho outside the ring. The crowd chanted “this is awesome” as Zayn set Strowman up for the Helluva Kick. Strowman avoided it and leveled Zayn. Strowman hit the running Powerslam for the pinfall victory.

After the match, Strowman carried Zayn to the announce table. Rollins attacked Strowman with a chair and Reigns leveled him with a Spear. Reigns and Rollins cleared off the announce table but Owens and Rollins attacked them from behind. Rollins hit a Pedigree on Jericho on the entrance ramp. Owens beatdown Rollins and Reigns with a chair. Owens then Powerbombed Reigns through the announce table as Raw went off the air.

Winners: Braun Strowman, Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho

Reaction: The opening promo, the Tag Team Championship match and the main event were good this week. There was no Triple H sighting even though the WWE teased it on social media. Overall, this was an okay episode of Monday Night Raw. There still is just way too much filler on this show and it makes it difficult to be entertained throughout the entire episode. There are regular 60+ minute stretches that feel unimportant. I thought Brock Lesnar would appear on the show again but he was only there for the opening promo where he hit an F-5 on Roman Reigns.

What did you think of this week’s Monday Night Raw? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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