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5 Takeaways From WWE RAW (1/21)

McMahon Strowman Balor RAW

Written by

Robert Lentini

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The January 21, 2018 episode of WWE RAW aired live from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK. It was the final episode of RAW before WWE Royal Rumble 2019. Here are 5 takeaways from the show:

Brock Lesnar Sent A Message To Finn Balor

Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and his advocate, Paul Heyman, kicked off this week’s episode of RAW. Heyman brought up Finn Balor pinning John Cena last week to earn a title shot and the crowd cheered.

Heyman said it wasn’t a fluke and that Finn Balor seized the moment. Paul added that he believes in Finn Balor as well and claimed that Lesnar had spent all this time he had been training for Braun Strowman.

Heyman said that Balor’s is the voice that matters, but he is the voice that martyrs. He added that Lesnar will sacrifice Balor for the sin of making the fans believe that he has what it takes to defeat Brock Lesnar. Heyman stated that even miracles fear Finn Balor before Vince McMahon interrupted.

Vince McMahon claimed that the only way anyone could believe Balor has a chance is if they related it to David vs. Goliath. Braun Strowman joined the party and marched down to the ring. Strowman stated that he was going to rip Lesnar apart if he still is the Universal Champion after Sunday.

Finn Balor interrupted and called this the “same old Monday Night RAW”. Balor added that he earned his opportunity to face Brock Lesnar and vowed to beat him at Royal Rumble. Vince McMahon suggested a real-life David and Goliath story tonight and announced Balor vs. Strowman. Lesnar and Heyman sat ringside for the match.

Strowman controlled the majority of the match until Balor was able to battle back with a Slingblade. Finn made his way to the top rope but Strowman shoved him and Balor landed on Brock. Lesnar caught him and hit a giant Belly to Belly Suplex.

Finn flipped onto Lesnar and then hit him with a Dropkick that sent Brock flying into the barricade. Back in the ring, Balor hit Strowman with the Coup de Grace but Lesnar got into the ring and hit Finn with the F5.

Even though it seems unlikely that Balor will win Sunday, I’m more interested in this match that I was for Lesnar vs. Strowman. Balor was about to defeat Braun Strowman but Lesnar interfered, so WWE did at least did a decent job of making some people believe that Finn has a chance this Sunday night at the PPV.

Seth Rollins Vowed To Win The Royal Rumble

Seth Rollins came down to the ring and cut a promo before his match with Drew McIntyre. Rollins vowed to win the Royal Rumble match and admitted that it sounded like a longshot. Rollins stated that he is not a typical WWE Superstar, he isn’t as strong as Lashley or McIntyre. Seth added that the only reason he is here because of wrestling is ingrained in his soul. McIntyre interrupted and accused Rollins of lying to the people because there is a 0% chance that Rollins will win the Royal Rumble match. McIntyre claimed that Rollins will be eliminated because his in-ring style will cost him.

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McIntyre dominated the match early and slammed Rollins face-first to the floor outside the ring. Rollins battled back and hit a Blockbuster off the second rope for a near fall. McIntyre went for the Claymore but Rollins countered into a Superkick for a two count. Rollins wound up stealing the win by rolling up McIntyre for the pinfall victory.

Seth Rollins cut a solid promo tonight and followed it up with a good match against McIntyre. The rumor is that Rollins will wind up facing Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35. At this point, Rollins is one of the only Superstars on RAW that generates a reaction from the crowd, so it makes sense that he would be back in the title picture.

Alexa Bliss & Lacey Evans Will Be In The Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Alexa Bliss hosted a special Royal Rumble edition of A Moment of Bliss tonight on RAW. Alexa welcomed Nia Jax to the set and called her the favorite to win the women’s Royal Rumble match this Sunday.

Ember Moon quickly interrupted and grabbed the microphone from Nia. Moon stated that she was tired of sitting in the locker room and vowed to win the Royal Rumble match. The rest of the women’s locker room came down to the entrance ramp and started arguing.

Bliss shouted at everybody to stop and claimed that they were ruining her reputation as a talk show host. A brawl then broke out and spilled backstage. Alexa Bliss then announced that she will be competing in the women’s Royal Rumble match.

Lacey Evans came down to the entrance ramp and called the rest of the Superstars “classless”. Lacey announced she will also be in the Royal Rumble match and vowed to win.

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I’m glad that Alexa Bliss is going to be competing Sunday because hopefully, that means the end of these terrible A Moment of Bliss segments. I was actually stunned that this somehow didn’t lead to a massive women’s tag match, given that every single match tonight has spawned from a promo that happened right before.

Zack Ryder Saved Curt Hawkins

The Revival had a conversation with Vince McMahon backstage during RAW. Dawson and Wilder claimed they deserved another title shot but wanted the match to have a special referee. Curt Hawkins showed up and asked Vince if he could be in the Royal Rumble match. Vince McMahon made Hawkins the referee for the RAW Tag Team Championship match instead.

The Revival spent the entire match trying to break the rules and Hawkins fought off the urge to disqualify them. Gable rolled up Dawson from behind to retain the titles. After the match, The Revival attacked Hawkins from behind and beat him down. Zack Ryder ran to the ring for the save and knocked The Revival out of the ring.

It is just ridiculous what WWE has done to The Revival on the main roster. They were a must watch in NXT and now my instinct is to turn the channel whenever they appear on RAW. The Revival is a tremendously talented team that have relegated to garbage segments, week after week on RAW.

Somehow, teams like The Revival don’t fit on the main roster, because WWE has a different vision for the tag team division. Gable and Roode come down to the ring to crickets on RAW and the SmackDown Tag Team Championships are locked up in a storyline involving the boss’ son. Thus, I don’t know how anyone could be excited about Superstars being called up from NXT or a female tag division.

Sasha Banks Picked Up Some Momentum Heading Into Her Title Match 

Ronda Rousey was briefly interviewed backstage before the main event. Rousey completely rushed through her lines and the only thing I could gather from it is that she is going to become The Boss’s (Sasha Banks) boss at Royal Rumble. It was painful to watch and Ronda’s mic skills continue to be very inconsistent.

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Bayley & Sasha Banks faced Ronda Rousey and Natalya in the main event of this week’s show. Before the match, Sasha cut a promo on Rousey and vowed to tap her out Sunday at Royal Rumble. Sasha knocked Rousey off the ring apron with a cheap shot at the beginning of the match.

Sasha locked in the Bank Statement on Rousey in the middle of the ring but Natalya broke it up. Bayley tagged in and Rousey hit her with an Arm Drag for a near fall. Sasha tagged in and Ronda locked in the Arm Bar. Banks rolled to the apron to break the hold and booted Ronda in the face. Natalya tagged in an applied the Sharpshooter but Bayley broke it up. Bayley knocked Rousey off the apron as Sasha tapped out Natalya with the Bank Statement for the victory.

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There really only needs to be one takeaway from this week’s RAW, the entire show was a failure. Elias, for some reason, lost to Baron Corbin during the show in a four-minute match. Apollo Crews and Bobby Lashley competed in a pose-off. Almost every promo led to a match in a boring, formulaic fashion. Vince McMahon appearing a couple of segments doesn’t constitute a “new era” of RAW to me. It is the same terrible writing, but now with Vince getting involved on screen for a couple of minutes here and there. This was the final episode of RAW before Royal Rumble and it was one of the worst episodes in recent memory.

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