The post-Royal Rumble edition of Monday Night RAW goes down (1/30/23) from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma! We’ll hear from the Men’s Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes as well as the Women’s Rumble winner Rhea Ripley.
WWE’s next premium live event is Elimination Chamber, which will feature Austin Theory’s United States Championship on the line. The US Title match will be up for grabs in the chamber, with competitors to be determined via qualifying matches.
The show begins and we’re shown a video package of Saturday night’s Royal Rumble premium live event.
We then cut to the arena and the winner of the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble match, Cody Rhodes’ music hits! ‘The American Nightmare’ makes his way down to the ring and asks everyone ‘so…what do you wanna talk about?’ which gets a laugh from the fans in attendance. Cody says he’s not the man he was when he first started in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) and remembering that he thought he was going to be the next John Cena. Cody says if he told his younger self that he was going to go through everything that he’s gone through, he wouldn’t have believed it. Cody says that even if he knew all of what he was about to go through, he never would’ve told his younger self about it because it’s made him who he is today and he’s loved every second of it. Cody says the beginning of his theme song is true, wrestling has more than one royal family, but for it to be true, he has to stand across from an entire bloodline…and The Tribal Chief. Cody calls Roman Reigns the LeBron James of professional wrestling, which gets a loud ‘Roman sucks’ chant from the crowd. Cody says there are 62 days until WrestleMania 39 but on that night, it ends and on that night, somebody else is going to be eating. Cody says after WrestleMania, Roman can still be The Tribal Chief, and the Head of the Table, but one thing he won’t be is the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
Cody’s about to exit but the lights go out and The Judgment Day’s theme sounds. Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, and Damian Priest make their way down to the ring and Finn asks if Cody plans on doing anything original or if he’s going to continue copying everything he’s (Finn) done before. Dominik says Cody ruined The Judgment Day’s plans for the Royal Rumble because Rhea Ripley did her job and won the Women’s Rumble match but he (Dominik) was supposed to win the Men’s Rumble match. Dominik says Cody ruined his moment this past Saturday and if he tried to do that in prison, he would’ve ‘got got’. Damian says Dominik should be the only multi generational superstar to headline WrestleMania not some ‘suck up’ like Cody. Damian says Rhea earned her spot at WrestleMania by winning from number one unlike Cody who got ‘handed’ the 30th entry. Dominik says that Cody owes him an apology for ruining his moment but Cody interrupts him and says he doesn’t want to run the risk of pissing The Judgment Day off. Cody asks Dominik if he’s trying to scare him straight and says he has an immense amount of respect for Dominik’s father, Rey. Dominik says he doesn’t have any respect for Rey, or anyone else’s dad…including Cody’s. The crowd chants ‘kick his a**’ and Cody says it’s 62 days until WrestleMania, so he can try and play it safe and stay healthy…or he could be himself and kick Dominik’s a**. Cody says it doesn’t matter if it’s Dominik, Finn, or Damian, he wants to fight someone tonight.
Cody’s music hits and our commentary team of Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves run down tonight’s card but Edge’s music hits out of nowhere and he attacks The Judgment Day from behind! Officials and security come down to break up the fight, Cody helps Edge and joins the attack and we head to a commercial break.
Back from the break and we see United States Champion Austin Theory arriving to the arena, earlier tonight and it’s announced that Theory will be the special guest in the VIP Lounge with MVP, later tonight. It’s also announced that Cody Rhodes will face Finn Balor in tonight’s main event.
Seth Rollins vs. Chad Gable (with Otis) – Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
Gable trips Rollins to the mat and immediately goes for an ankle lock but Rollins slides himself to the ropes to force the break. Gable plants Rollins with a rolling German suplex into a cover but Rollins kicks out. Rollins slides out of the ring, Gable follows him out and nails him with a senton, then tosses Rollins back into the ring, goes up top and flattens Rollins with a diving head-butt before another cover but Rollins lifts the shoulders after a two-count and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Rollins lights Gable up with some chops to the chest. Gable regains control with a dragon screw in the corner and goes up top, looking for the moonsault but Rollins slides out of the way. Rollins tosses Gable into the corner with a buckle-bomb and both competitors struggle back to their feet, Rollins rolls Gable into a pin attempt but Gable kicks out. Gable crushes Rollins with an inverted DDT and goes for there cover but Rollins lifts the shoulders at two and a half. Rollins goes for an enziguri but Gable catches the leg and locks in the ankle lock. Rollins rolls out and kicks Gable back, Gable rolls into another ankle lock, but Rollins rolls out and kicks Gable back. Gable locks in another ankle lock, Rollins rolls out and into a pedigree and plants Gable for the 1-2-3!
Winner – Seth Rollins
A graphic is shown hyping up the Elimination Chamber premium live event, which goes down two weeks from next Saturday LIVE from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and we head to a commercial break.
IYO SKY (with Bayley & Dakota Kai) vs. Candice LeRae (with Michin)
Candice with a roll-up, IYO kicks out, Candice lands a standing stomp and goes for another cover but IYO kicks out once again. IYO plants Candice with a slam and applies a head-lock. Candice powers her way out of the hold and drills IYO with a sliding kick to the face. IYO rolls to the outside to recover but Candice flattens her with a baseball slide under the bottom rope. IYO trips Candice to the floor, rushes back into the ring, and cracks Candice with a cross-body through the middle rope and onto the floor. Candice kicks IYO out of the ring and springboards off of the middle rope and nails IYO with a cross-body of her own to the outside and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Candice nails IYO with a drop-kick then goes for the cover but IYO lifts the shoulders at two. IYO sends Candice into the corner and cracks her with running double knees. IYO goes up top but Candice chases after her and sends IYO to the mat with a middle rope German suplex before going for the pin but IYO kicks out. Candice plants IYO with a poison-rana out of nowhere and combos it into a pin but IYO lifts the shoulders at two and a half! Candice puts IYO on the top turnbuckle and goes up top with her but IYO knocks her to the mat and goes for her patented moonsault but Candice gets the knees up and rolls IYO into a cover but Bayley and Kai at ringside distract the referee and IYO has enough time to kick out. Candice goes for a springboard off the middle rope but Bayley distracts her and IYO rolls Candice up with a sunset flip for the 1-2-3!
Winner – IYO SKY
After the match, commentary announces that Rhea Ripley will announce who she’ll face at WrestleMania 39 following her Women’s Royal Rumble match victory, this past weekend, after the break.
Back from the break and the 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble match, Rhea Ripley of The Judgment Day makes her way down to the ring. Rhea says she entered the Royal Rumble first and outlasted every single woman in the match to earn the right to call her shot for WrestleMania 39. Rhea says three-years ago, she just turned 24-years-old and was the NXT Women’s Champion, when she came to Monday Night RAW and challenged Charlotte Flair for a match at WrestleMania…and Charlotte put her in her place. Rhea says no matter how much Charlotte accomplishes, she gets better and better every single year. Rhea says a lot in WWE changes but the one constant is Charlotte Flair is always at the top…but she’s the disruptor and doesn’t like the norm. Rhea advises Charlotte to enjoy everyone bowing down to the Queen because they’re about to rise to Rhea Ripley. Rhea says at WrestleMania, she’s going to put Charlotte in her place and officially chooses Charlotte Flair and the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39!
We then head backstage and Cathy Kelly is with Seth Rollins. ‘The Architect’ says he’s going to defeat Austin Theory and everyone else in the elimination chamber to become the United States Champion and will defend his title at WrestleMania. Cathy asks Seth about Logan Paul eliminating him during the Men’s Royal Rumble match, this past Saturday night and Seth just walks off as we head to a commercial break.
Johnny Gargano (with Dexter Lumis) vs. Baron Corbin (with JBL) — Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
Corbin plants Gargano with a slam to start. Corbin crushes Gargano with a back-breaker and goes for the cover but Gargano lifts the shoulders at two. Corbin goes for another slam, Gargano slides behind and blocks a Corbin lariat attempt that sends Corbin to the outside. Gargano nails Corbin with a drop-kick on the outside but Corbin wallops Gargano with a right hook to the face. Corbin rolls to the outside and sends Gargano ribs-first into the barricade as we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Corbin is controlling Gargano in the center of the ring. Corbin starts hammering Gargano with elbows to the side of the head then goes for the cover but Gargano kicks out. Gargano drills Corbin with a spear out of nowhere and goes for a pin of his own but Corbin lifts the shoulders after a two-count. Gargano nails Corbin with a pair of super-kicks then goes for another cover but Corbin once again kicks out just in the nick of time. Gargano lands an enziguri but Corbin grounds the former NXT Champion with a leg sweep. Gargano launches Corbin out of the ring and crushes him with a diving cross-body through the middle rope. JBL tosses the cover fo the commentary table in frustration and Dexter Lumis chases him off with an axe. Lumis puts the axe through JBL’s cowboy hat and back in the ring, Gargano slips out of the End of Days and locks Corbin up in a cradle to get the three-count!
Winner – Johnny Gargano
Johnny Gargano will join Champion Austin Theory and Seth Rollins, who qualified earlier tonight in the United States Championship Elimination Chamber match at the namesake premium live event in less than three weeks. More qualifying matches will occur over the next two weeks to determine the three other competitors in the match.
It’s announced that the aforementioned United States Champion Austin Theory will join MVP in the VIP Lounge, after the break.
Back from the break and MVP is in the ring to welcome us to the VIP Lounge. MVP introduces his special guest of the evening, United States Champion Austin Theory. The US Champion makes his way down to the ring and before MVP can even get started, Theory proposes a name change for the show and offers up ‘Austin Theory LIVE’…MVP sarcastically agrees and welcomes everyone to ‘Austin Theory LIVE’ and a massive chorus of boos echo throughout the BOK Center. MVP says while Theory is the champion, he may not be after the elimination chamber match in two weeks. Theory calls out MVP for saying Bobby Lashley was going to defeat him last week. MVP says he stands by his comments and Theory asks to change subjects to the upcoming elimination chamber match. Theory says he’s still standing there champion and he’s the ruthlessness that the new generation needs and no amount of aggression can stop him, not even the grueling elimination chamber. MVP says he was also once a young, brash United States Champion and he understands that Theory is scared beyond belief but he’s doing a great job of hiding it. MVP wants Theory that he doesn’t know who will be in the chamber, so he needs to be careful. MVP recalls himself being thrown off the top of one of the chamber pods in the past by The Undertaker and says that Bobby Lashley is more dangerous than Taker and Theory needs to be careful. MVP says while he and Lashley are no longer business partners, he can’t speak on Bobby’s behalf but he knows what Bobby’s capable of and he’s worried about Theory’s health. Theory says he’s worried about Lashley and MVP’s health and MVP better protect his ‘meal ticket’ (Lashley) because Lashley is about to be taken out by Brock Lesnar. Lashley’s music hits and out comes the former WWE and United States Champion. Theory tells Lashley to listen to his ‘daddy’ MVP but Lashley’s heard enough and attacks Theory. Lashley lines Theory up for a spear but the champion slides out of the way and Lashley accidentally cracks MVP as Theory scurries off.
We then head backstage where Byron Saxton is with Finn Balor, Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, and Dominik Mysterio of The Judgment Day. Finn says Cody keeps taking everything from him and tonight, he puts a stop to Cody and everything he’s done since he’s come back.
We see a special preview for Dave Bautista newest film ‘Knock at The Cabin’ and we head to a commercial break.
Back from the break and The Miz is in the ring. Miz says he got dealt an unfair hand at the Royal Rumble and says he was bullied by people all weekend long, even at the airport. Miz tells everyone to stop chanting and says he deserves an opportunity to qualify for the elimination chamber match but as always, he wasn’t treated with respect. Miz says until jets given matches that deserve his ‘star power’, he’s going to keep on calling management out. WWE official Adam Pearce comes out and says he has someone backstage banging on his office door begging for a match against The Miz. Pearce introduces the newest member of Monday Night RAW, Rick Boogs! The former guitar player for Shinsuke Nakamura is now on the red brand and he makes his way down to the ring. Miz asks Pearce if he really should be in a match against Boogs and says he’s wearing a $10,000 suit that his wife bought him and he’s in no shape to compete. Pearce says too bad and Miz needs to prove that he’s ‘awesome’ and a referee rushes down to the ring, the bell sounds, and this one is officially underway!
The Miz vs. Rick Boogs
Boogs launches Miz to the corner and unloads shot after shot on the former grand slam champion. Boogs slams Miz to the mat and flattens him with a press slam for the 1-2-3 and the quick win!
Winner – Rick Boogs
We then see Mace and Mansoor, alongside Maxxine Dupri backstage. Otis approaches and walks by the Maximum Male Models, Mace and Mansoor mock Otis but Maxxine says Otis is ‘perfect’ and we head to a commercial break.
Back from the break and we see a video package highlighting the break-up of The Bloodline from the Royal Rumble this past Saturday night.
We’re back to the live show and Bayley is in the ring. Bayley says everybody is talking about how she, IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai took out Becky Lynch last week on RAW XXX. Bayley says Damage CTRL dominated the Women’s Royal Rumble match for the most part and her personal favorite part of the match was when she single-handily eliminated Becky. Bayley says she can finally move past Becky but ‘The Man’s’ music hits and out comes the former champion. Becky calls Bayley a ‘stupid fool’ and says they’re not done until she says they are. Becky says she’s already won the Royal Rumble and doesn’t need to prove herself but she just wanted to make sure that Bayley and the rest of Damage CTRL didn’t win the match. Becky says Bayley, IYO, and Dakota robbed the fans of a steel cage match because she knows that Becky is better than her. Bayley says she doesn’t care that it’s Becky’s birthday because she’s not ‘these idiots’ (pointing to the crowd) and says that she knows Becky…and doesn’t like her. Bayley calls Becky overrated and says she’s not good enough to be champion again, or even good enough for her husband, Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins. Bayley says the only reason Seth married her is because he ‘knocked’ her up. Becky says this whole time she thought they were only fighting over wrestling but whatever it is that Bayley has against her started all the way back in NXT in Orlando, Florida. Becky proposes that they finish it where it all started since Monday Night RAW is in Orlando, next week. Bayley says no, Becky says she figured Bayley would say no and says she’ll be right back. Becky goes backstage and drags Dakota Kai out to the stage and holds Dakota hostage until Bayley accepts her challenge. Becky has a steel chair and is about to hit Dakota with it but Bayley accepts Becky’s challenge. Becky says Bayley can bring Damage CTRL with her but she may want to go check on IYO in the back. It looks like we’ll see Becky Lynch and Bayley battle it out inside of a steel cage next Monday night on RAW!
It’s announced that Bronson Reed will face Dolph Ziggler in an elimination chamber qualifying match after the break.
Back from the break and Adam Pearce is backstage with Cathy Kelley. Pearce announces that Becky Lynch vs. Bayley’s steel cage match is now official for next week. He also announces that there will be a women’s chamber match at Elimination Chamber and the winner will face Bianca Belair for the RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39. Pearce says the first four women for the match have already qualified as they were the final four competitors from this past Saturdays Women’s Royal Rumble match (sans Rhea Ripley). Which means that Asuka, Raquel Rodriguez, Liv Morgan, and Nikki Cross will compete in the elimination chamber match. Pearce says next Monday night on RAW, Michin, Candice LeRae, Piper Niven, and Carmella will square off in a fatal-four-way to determine another errant in the chamber match. Chelsea Green pops up and asks Pearce if he’s ‘the manager’. Green says she’s not just another women on the roster and she deserves special treatment and she expects what happened to her at the Rumble to be fixed ‘immediately’. Pearce and Green walk off and it’s time for our next match of the night.
Bronson Reed vs. Dolph Ziggler — Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
Reed slams Ziggler to start. Ziggler knocks Reed back and drills him with a super-kick and goes for the cover but Reed kicks out. Ziggler lays into Reed with some knees to the side of the head and looks for a leg drop but Reed catches him and plants him with a slam. Reed goes up top and crushes Ziggler with his patented ‘Tsunami’ and gets the 1-2-3!
Winner – Bronson Reed
Bronson Reed will join Seth Rollins, Johnny Gargano, and champion Austin Theory with two other competitors yet to qualify in the United States Championship Elimination Chamber match at the namesake premium live event in two weeks.
We then head to a commercial break after it’s announced that we’ll hear from RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair after the break.
Back from the break, Cathy Kelley is backstage and introduces Carmella, who’s back from a near eight month break. Carmella says she’s the Princess of Staten Island and she’s back…and it won’t be long before she’s back on top as she’s going to win the fatal-four-way match next week and will qualify for the elimination chamber match. Asuka walks in and Carmella says Asuka isn’t ready for Carmella but Asuka just laughs with green mist falling out of her mouth and Carmella scurries off in disgust.
We then see a video package showing Rick Boogs’ injury at WrestleMania 38 before his return earlier tonight against The Miz. Boogs is with Montez Ford, Angelo Dawkins, and Elias in the locker room. Byron Saxton approaches and asks Boogs how it feels to be back in front of the WWE Universe. Boogs screams in excitement and says it’s official, Rick Boogs is back. Ford calls Boogs a ‘maniac’ but says he loves his energy. Now the Street Profits and Boogs are all screaming in excitement but Elias says to calm down a bit. Ford tells Boogs to go get dressed because they’re going out to celebrate. Saxton announces that next week, Angelo Dawkins will face Damian Priest and Montez Ford will face Elias in US Title Elimination Chamber match qualifying matches. Ford says it’s pure business, Elias says things will turn around for him next week and it’s unfortunate that it’ll have to be at the mercy of Ford. Dawkins says he’s going to be the next US Champion and everyone bickers until we head to a commercial break ahead of our main event of the evening.
Cody Rhodes vs. Finn Balor (with Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, and Dominik Mysterio)
Cody takes control early and flattens Finn with a massive suplex and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Finn is in control. The first-ever Universal Champion nails Cody with a sliding kick to the face and goes for the cover but Cody kicks out. Finn stomps on Cody’s surgically repaired right pectoral and continues to work over the area. Cody trips Finn and connects with the Disaster Kick which causes Finn to spill to the outside. Cody drops Finn with a diving cross-body through the middle rope and onto the outside. Cody takes out both Priest and Dominik on the outside, tosses Finn back into the ring, and goes for the cover but Finn lifts the shoulders after a two-count. Cody goes for the Cody Cutter but Finn catches him and plants him with an inverted DDT before going for the cover but Cody kicks out and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Cody nails Finn with a super-plex off of the top turnbuckle. Both competitors struggle to their feet and the pair exchange strikes in the middle of the ring. Cody plants Finn with the Cody Cutter and goes for the cover but Balor lifts the shoulders at two and a half. Cody looks for Cross Rhodes, Finn nails Cody with a sling-blade, Cody comes back with a super-kick and goes for the cover but Finn kicks out. Finn with an inside cradle but Cody spins out but Finn dumps him to the outside as The Judgment Day circle ‘The American Nightmare’. Edge comes flying down to the stairs through the crowd and he crushes Dominik with a spear. Rhea Ripley attacks Edge but Beth Pheonix rushes down and takes out Rhea as the action in the ring resumes. Finn nails Cody with a standing double-stomp, then a drop-kick to the corner, and goes to the top turnbuckle. Edge gets on the apron, Finn gets distracted and misses the Coup de Grace, Cody hits a trio of Cross Rhodes’ and gets the 1-2-3 for the win!
Winner – Cody Rhodes
We then see highlights from the match, Edge and Beth look on from the stage with smirks on their face, The Judgment Day are all recovering around the ringside area, and Cody is in the ring saluting Edge and Beth before celebrating as the show goes off the air.
