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7 Takeaways From WWE RAW (1/28)

Ronda Becky RAW

Written by

Robert Lentini

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The January 28, 2019 episode of WWE RAW aired live from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the first episode of RAW following WWE Royal Rumble 2019. Here are 7 takeaways from the show:

Triple H Gave Rollins Until The End Of RAW To Make His Decision

Royal Rumble winner Seth Rollins kicked off this week’s episode of RAW to a great reaction from the Phoenix crowd. Seth stood in the ring with a smile on his face as the entire crowd chanted “burn it down!”.

Rollins shouted that he is going to the main event of WrestleMania as the crowd chanted “you deserve it!”. Seth got emotional and said that all he ever wanted to do was point at the sign and main event WrestleMania.

Seth noted that he had a choice to make, whether he wants to face Daniel Bryan or Brock Lesnar at WM35. Rollins claimed that it was going to be a very difficult decision and it is one that he is going to have to take some time to think about.

WWE COO Triple H interrupted and marched down to the ring to join Rollins. The crowd broke out in a loud “NXT!” as Triple H joked that he would have been disappointed if Seth didn’t point at the WrestleMania sign. Triple H also got a bit emotional and said that he was proud of Rollins for stepping up to the challenge and winning the Royal Rumble match.

Triple H informed Rollins that he needs to make his decision tonight. Triple H added that he is going to give Seth to the end of the night and that Lesnar and Bryan will be here tonight. The crowd then broke out in a “slay The Beast!” chant.

Dean Ambrose interrupted and stated that Triple H and Rollins made him sick. Triple H tried to interrupt and Ambrose shouted that this conversation doesn’t concern him. Dean called Rollins a kiss ass and challenged him to a match. Triple H tried to leave the ring and Ambrose joked that he has to go ask his father-in-law first.

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Ambrose controlled the match for several minutes and locked in an STF in the middle of the ring. Rollins escaped and connected with a Crossbody off the top rope. Seth then hit a Superkick and followed it up with The Stomp for the pinfall victory.

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The crowd is heavily behind Seth Rollins and that is great to see. His promo tonight with Triple H was great and got me invested in Rollins winning the title at WrestleMania. As for Ambrose, I think he can be a great heel but his return has been incredibly underwhelming so far.

Nia Jax & Tamina Qualified For The Women’s Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber Match

After Ambrose lost his match to Rollins, he took a seat in the ring and was about to cut a promo. Nia Jax and Tamina interrupted and confronted Ambrose in the ring. Nia shoved him to the outside and Ambrose was escorted away by WWE officials. Tamina and Jax then battled Alexa Bliss and Mickie James in a qualifying match to crowd the first Women’s Tag Team Champions at WWE Elimination Chamber.

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Bliss and Mickie James were able to control the match when Tamina was in the ring. Once Nia tagged in she was able to lift Bliss and Mickie onto her shoulders for a double Samoan Drop. Jax then quickly pinned Mickie for the victory. Nia Jax and Tamina are the first team to qualify for the Women’s Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber match.

Tamina is a tough watch whenever she has a match. I feel like a botch is just around the corner whenever I see her in action. Nia Jax isn’t that much better, but I feel like almost anyone would be a better option than Tamina to team her up with.

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Bobby Lashley Attacked Finn Balor

Finn Balor came down to the ring and spoke about his loss to Brock Lesnar last night at Royal Rumble 2019. Balor said that he had no excuses and that Brock simply beat him. Balor stated that he is hurt, but is standing out here with his head held high.

Balor noted that Brock attacked him after the match because he made Lesnar believe. Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush interrupted and joined Balor in the ring. Lio Rush said that it was a shame that a “twerp” like Balor even got a shot at the Universal Championship.

Lio claimed that Balor wouldn’t stand a chance against Lashley because he is better than Lesnar. Balor joked about Lashley being eliminated in 12 seconds last night in the Royal Rumble match. Lashley got pissed off and beat the hell out of Balor as the crowd booed.

I actually think this feud could be decent and Balor would be a great Intercontinental Champion. Lashley doesn’t annoy me as much now that he is in a midcard role and not locked in a truly horrific feud with Sami Zayn. I know that feud was a while ago but I still haven’t recovered from it.

Elias Turned Heel Again

Elias blasted the crowd for not giving him a standing ovation and added that there should be signs in every arena and “every globe”. The crowd chanted “we’re not worthy!” and Elias agreed with them.

Elias was about to perform before he was once again interrupted by Jeff Jarrett. Jeff interrupted Elias last night at Royal Rumble as well. Jarrett called Elias “slap nuts” Jarrett made his way down the ramp but was interrupted by Road Dogg.

Road Dogg told Elias to play himself on his own time and that he has two words for him if he is not down with that. Jeff Jarrett and Road Dogg then performed a song as Elias glared at them. Elias got fed up and struck Road Dogg with his guitar.

Elias then attacked Jarrett but Jeff fought back. Elias hit Jarrett with a cheap shot and then hit him with a guitar for the second night in a row.

My goodness, this was just terrible. It’d be nice if WWE actually did something with Elias instead of this garbage. Also, it was awesome to see Jeff Jarrett and Road Dogg appear in the “new era” of RAW. It is cute at the Royal Rumble, but WWE Elimination Chamber is in three weeks. I wouldn’t mind seeing some build up for that on RAW instead of whatever the hell this was.

The Riott Squad Qualified For The Women’s Tag Team Championship Match

Riott Squad
Riott Squad

Dana Brooke & Natalya teamed up against Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan in a qualifying match for the Women’s Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber match.

Before the match, Dana Brooke and Natalya got in a brief argument backstage. Dana Brooke claimed that she was better than Natalya.

Natalya had Morgan in the Sharpshooter but Liv countered into a roll-up for the victory. Dana Brooke tried to break it up but Sarah Logan stopped. Dana Brooke tried to talk to Natalya after the loss but Natalya ignored her.

I spat out my coffee and I wasn’t even drinking any when Dana Brooke told Natalya that she was better than her. I found myself blankly staring at the screen, not retaining anything that was happening during this match. Congratulations to The Riott Squad though for digging deep and battling their way through a 4-minute match to get a shot at the titles at Elimination Chamber.

Becky Lynch Will Face Ronda Rousey At WrestleMania

RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey came down to the ring to chants of “Becky!”. The crowd started booing Ronda when she started talking about dreams. Ronda smiled through it and then complimented Sasha Banks for giving her the fight of her life last night.

The crowd wasn’t having it and continued to chant “Becky!”. Rousey cracked up and congratulated the crowd for getting her to stutter. Rousey pointed at the WrestleMania sign and said that she knows Becky is watching. Ronda hesitated for what felt like an eternity before Bayley’s music hit. Bayley challenged Rousey to a title match tonight and Ronda accepted.

The match started off back and forth for several minutes. The action spilled to the outside and Bayley hit the Bayley to Belly and sent Rousey crashing into the barricade surrounding the ring.

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Back in the ring, Bayley connected with an Elbow Drop off the top rope and followed it up by locking in the Bank Statement in the middle of the ring. Rousey was able to reach the bottom rope to break the hold. Ronda quickly locked in the Arm Bar in the middle of the ring and Bayley had no choice but to tap out.

After the match, Ronda extended her hand towards Bayley and helped her up. Bayley then shook Ronda’s hand and left the ring. Becky Lynch’s music hit and Becky limped down the entrance ramp.

Lynch got in the ring with Rousey and grabbed a microphone. Lynch boasted about dropping Rousey the last time she was on RAW and blasted Ronda for never come looking for her to prove that she is the baddest. Lynch added that she has come looking for Ronda now to prove that she is not the baddest woman on the planet.

Becky said that she doesn’t need much time to think and announced that she wanted to face Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania. The crowd immediately broke out in a “yes!” chant as Lynch vowed to take Ronda’s take and kick her ass in front of the whole world at WrestleMania.

Ronda grabbed a microphone as the entire crowd booed. Rousey claimed that she could break Becky’s face faster than she could say Nia Jax. Rousey claimed that she could kill Becky with her bare hands. Ronda added that she has been a household name for a decade and poked fun at Lynch for being on the WrestleMania Kickoff Show last year.

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This was an incredible moment and this match obviously needs to be the main event of WrestleMania 35. There really isn’t an argument to be made otherwise. Rousey showed that she is capable of cutting a great promo when she responded to Lynch’s comments tonight too. I just wish we could get that on a consistent basis.

It is remarkable to think about how much Nia Jax inadvertently punching Becky in the face has helped her become this larger than life Superstar. This match was supposed to go down at Survivor Series last year and it was a total blessing in disguise that it did not. It is now going to be the most anticipated match at this year’s WrestleMania and no other match will come close. #ThankYouNia

Brock Lesnar Sent A Message To Seth Rollins

Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman came down to the ring towards the end of this week’s episode of RAW. Heyman introduced himself as Lesnar’s advocate and suggested that Seth Rollins choose Daniel Bryan as his opponent at WrestleMania. Heyman essentially said that Rollins doesn’t have a shot against Brock.

Rollins interrupted and marched down to the ring as Heyman retreated to the outside. Seth got right in Brock’s face as Lesnar grinned at him. Rollins punched Brock in the face and went for The Stomp but Lesnar countered into the F5.

Brock lifted Rollins up and planted him with another F5. Lesnar delivered two more F5s and then hit a fifth on top of the Universal Championship. Brock started to walk away but Rollins shouted: “is that all you got?”. Lesnar then hit Rollins with a sixth F5 as RAW went off the air.

I’m actually looking excited for a Brock Lesnar match for the first time in a while. I enjoyed Rollins’ promo with Triple H and Ambrose to open up the show and I thought the ending of RAW was effective as well. Seth still talked some trash to Lesnar even after being hit with five F5s. Seth has the crowd behind him and I’m looking forward to seeing how this feud develops leading up until WrestleMania.

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