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After last Saturday’s Elimination Chamber show that turned out to be one for the history books, this week’s Raw was filled with just as much chaos. With Bianca Belair punching her ticket to WrestleMania, she sat at ringside for the main event to see who she would be challenging for the Women’s World Championship. However, her presence during the match led to an altercation that played into the match’s outcome. Doing something as simple as encouraging one of the participants to get back in the ring caused the other participant to take their frustrations out on her. To the shock of many, keeping their focus on Bianca ended up costing her in the end.
While it may seem as if Bianca’s opponent for WrestleMania is set, what we’ve seen over the last few days have proven that anything can change between now and then. In addition to that, we had a fiery promo from C.M. Punk that led to a wild brawl with Seth Rollins, Gunther sending another painful message to Jey Uso, and Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker once again handling the Judgment Day on his own. With WrestleMania less than seven weeks away, this week’s Raw continued to create the buzz for the show of shows that many fans previously felt was lacking.
C.M. Punk vs. Seth Rollins
Latest Developments:
On the January 6 Raw premiere on Netflix, C.M. Punk defeated Seth Rollins after hitting him with the GTS twice. One month later at the Royal Rumble, Punk eliminated Rollins and Roman Reigns simultaneously from the Rumble match before being eliminated by Logan Paul. In the weeks after, Punk and Rollins qualified for the Elimination Chamber match to keep their aspirations for main eventing WrestleMania alive. Last Saturday at the Elimination Chamber, Punk eliminated Rollins from the match after Rollins was hit with a GTS by Punk followed by an AA by John Cena. Several moments later, Rollins Curb Stomped Punk onto the steel floor and that allowed Cena to trap Punk in the STF to shatter his WrestleMania dreams.
This week, Punk opened Raw in a visibly foul mood and stood on top of the announce table to cut a very heated promo. Punk looked directly into the camera and called out The Rock and John Cena, referring to them as bald frauds and said that when he gets his hands on them, they’re going to make a wish that he never did. Punk then turned his attention to Rollins and mentioned that his wife Becky Lynch better get him before he does because once he does, he’s going to put him in a wheelchair. Rollins immediately came out as Punk ran right to him, and they brawled all through the aisle way, the ring, and by the announce table as officials tried to separate them. After getting into another brawl backstage later in the show, Adam Pearce announced that the two will face each other next week in a Steel Cage match.
Analysis:
This was one of the hottest openings to Raw in a very long time, and arguably the best part of the whole show. After what happened at Elimination Chamber, you knew that the issues between Punk and Rollins were going to get even more heated than they already were (and that’s saying a lot). Between Punk’s promo to the brawl that followed, everything here was just chaotic. Not only did we get a great segment out of this, but we’re also getting a match between Punk and Rollins in a Steel Cage for next week. Considering how intense and personal their match was on the Raw premiere on Netflix two months ago, this match has the potential to be even more violent.
After what Rollins did to Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble, there is the strong possibility that he’s going to show up to get involved. His potential involvement could give us the answer of whether at WrestleMania we get a singles match between him and Rollins or a three way with the two of them and Punk as it’s been rumored recently. If by some chance it ends up being Roman and Rollins in a singles match, there’s perhaps still a chance that Punk could somehow edge his way into the Cody and Cena match. Considering what Punk said here about The Rock and Cena as well as that promo he had with Cody a few weeks ago, him being added into that equation isn’t that far-fetched. With everyone being critical of the build to WrestleMania this year feeling underwhelming, what we saw in this segment and what we could see next week are clear signs that things are now heating up.
Grade: A
Gunther vs. Jey Uso
Latest Developments:
Last week, World Heavyweight Champion Gunther held an open challenge that was answered by American Alpha’s Akira Tozawa. Despite a strong effort that saw him recover from a big boot that turned him inside out, Tozawa was no match for the champion. Gunther brutalized him with several chops, a Powerbomb, and lifted him off the mat with a Sleeper before the referee stopped the match. After the match, Otis came into the ring to check on Tozawa before the champion snuck up from behind and trapped him in the Sleeper. Before Gunther could do any further damage, Jey Uso came out to chase him off.
Gunther went one on one with Otis this week in a non-title match but before the match, Gunther cut a promo about how he saw the World Heavyweight Championship as a belt when he looked in the mirror while Otis can’t even find a belt that fits him. Gunther kicked Otis in the face before the bell rang but despite the early offense, Otis rebounded when he grabbed the champion out of the ring and hit him with a Fallaway Slam on the floor. The champion later regained the advantage until Otis ripped off his tank top, hit him with multiple slams, followed by the Caterpillar Elbow Drop. In the end, Gunther delivered the Powerbomb to Otis for the hard-fought win but after the match, Gunther put him in the Sleeper and hit Tozawa with a Powerbomb onto Otis when he tried to intervene. Jey Uso came out to make the save and hit Gunther with a Spear but as he later stood on the second rope, he was attacked from behind by Grayson Waller & Austin Theory. After Waller & Theory had a miscommunication, Jey fought them both off until Gunther snuck up from behind and trapped Jey in the Sleeper.
Analysis:
After what Gunther did to Tozawa and then Otis after the match last week, a match with Otis this week was the natural direction. While not the brutal squash that the match was last week with Tozawa, this match succeeded in further establishing Gunther’s mean streak. In addition to that, it served as another prime example of what Otis is capable of in the ring when given the right opponent and the right amount of time to shine. He took everything Gunther threw at him and kept fighting, even exchanging chops with him at one point. While no one in their right mind expected him to win, he still came out of this match looking great.
Not only did Gunther brutalize Otis and Tozawa, but he also stood tall over Jey Uso here for the first time in a month. Over the last few weeks, Jey has been the one to either fight him off or chase him away. Even though he had an assist from A-Town Down Under, Gunther finally got the better of Jey here. With still a good six and a half weeks left until WrestleMania, perhaps they could do an angle as early as next week where Gunther beats Jey up so badly that he has to be off TV for a few weeks. Doing an angle like that would not only maintain that mean streak of Gunther’s, but it would also build a lot of sympathy for Jey that would add even more depth to their WrestleMania match.
Grade: B
War Raiders vs. Creed Brothers
Latest Developments:
Last month, Chad Gable told the Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile that they better have championship gold by the time he gets back from his trip to unlock the secret of Lucha Libre. Three weeks ago, the War Raiders defended the World Tag Team Titles against the Creed Brothers. As the champions were about to finish off Brutus with the War Machine, Julius hit Ivar with one of the titles to cause the disqualification. Brutus then hit Eric with the other title and the Creeds held up the belts as if they won the match. After both teams got into a brawl backstage last week, it was announced that they would face each other in a rematch for the titles this week.
This week, they had their rematch in which the Creeds gained the advantage when Julius hit Eric with a German Suplex followed by a 450-Splash by Brutus, but Eric kicked out. After Brutus missed a Moonsault attempt onto Eric, Ivar then missed his own attempt on Brutus, which allowed Julius to hit a Shooting Star Press for a near fall. The Creeds missed a Brutus Ball onto Eric and after Eric threw Julis out of the ring, Ivar nailed him with a Cross Body against the LED board. With Julius down and out, the champions took advantage and hit Brutus with the War Machine to retain the titles.
Analysis:
While their match three weeks ago was great, this match was even better. In the less than three months that they’ve been the champions, the War Raiders are already having the strongest Tag Team Title reign in the company that we’ve seen since Finn Balor & Damien Priest had the titles. While it may have felt like the Creeds were going to win here after the disqualification finish from the last match, it now feels like it just isn’t their time. They still came off great here despite not winning, especially from the moves they did from the top rope. After Chad Gable demanded that they and Ivy Nile have titles by the time he returned, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens when he gets back considering that they all came up short.
Even though the Creeds would’ve been a fine team for the War Raiders to drop the titles to, a better heel team to have the titles right now would be the New Day. Even though they’ve cooled off a little since the night they turned on Big E, they’re still the hottest heel team on Raw right now and the reactions they get from the crowd prove it. With the way things are looking now, the Raiders against the New Day for the titles would be more than a worthy match to add to the WrestleMania card. For the year the Raiders have had and how strong their title run has been so far, they deserve to defend them on the biggest show of the year. Whether they do that match or one with multiple teams involved, what we saw here this week is a strong example of why the tag team division on Raw deserves to be featured regularly.
Grade: B+
Bron Breakker vs. Judgment Day
Latest Developments:
Two weeks ago, Intercontinental Champion Bron Breakker nailed Dominik Mysterio with a Spear that was meant for AJ Styles. Last week, Breakker went one on one with Dominik in a match that was filled with outside interference from Carlito and Finn Balor. As Breakker was about to win the match with the Spear, Finn and Carlito pulled him out of the ring and threw him into the steel steps for the disqualification. Despite being held by Carlito against the ropes, Breakker back dropped Dominik over the top rope as he tried to run to him and then Speared Carlito for his troubles. As Finn attempted to sneak up on the mat behind him with a chair, Breakker dropped to the mat and stared him down until Finn backed away.
This week, Breakker was being interviewed by Jackie Redmond on the concourse until he was interrupted by Finn Balor. Finn told Breakker that he was untouchable and could take the title from him anytime he likes. Breakker then came down to the ring to confront Finn until Carlito appeared out of nowhere, but Breakker threw him over the timekeeper’s area. Dominik then showed up, but Breakker laid him out with a Belly-to-Belly Suplex on the floor. Finn hit Breakker with a Sling Blade as he entered the ring, but he quickly rebounded with a military press into a Power Slam. As he was about to Spear Finn, Dominik pulled him out of the ring. As they walked away, Breakker sent them a message by hitting Carlito with a Spear outside the ring.
Analysis:
For the second straight week, Bron Breakker single handedly took care of all the members of Judgment Day (minus Liv & Raquel). While it’s hard to tell these days whether he’s a babyface or a heel, segments like this succeed in making him someone who’s hard to root against. Similar to Jacob Fatu on Smackdown, Breakker just has that aura and believability that make him look like someone you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. With him constantly going through Dominik and Carlito especially, it’s only a matter of time before he and Finn finally face each other. With all the other people besides Finn that’s been teased for Breakker to feud with lately such as AJ Styles and Penta, there’s a strong chance that he’ll end up defending the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania in a match involving multiple people.
Other than Breakker, another person who Finn could potentially face at WrestleMania is Dominik. With all the tension building between the two of them in recent months including this week, it’s clear that they are headed for an ugly break up sooner than later. Even though Dominik saved Finn here from getting Speared, these issues they’re having with Breakker are only going to lead to them having more issues with each other as the weeks progress. The way it’s looking now, either Dominik is going to take over as the Judgment Day’s leader or whomever Dominik keeps suggesting as the new member of the group will end up being the leader (Malakai Black possibly). Regardless of how it plays out, Finn Balor’s days as the leader of the Judgment Day are numbered.
Grade: B-
Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky
Latest Developments:
On the February 3 Raw, Iyo Sky had an Elimination Chamber qualifying match against Liv Morgan. Despite Iyo having the match won multiple times, interference from Raquel Rodriguez kept her from finishing Liv off. To even the odds, Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley came out to attack Raquel and as Liv grabbed Rhea by the hair, Rhea hit her with a right hand. Since this happened in front of the referee, Iyo was disqualified, and she yelled at Rhea in Japanese for costing her the match. To make up for it, Rhea informed Iyo the following week that she would defend the title against her on the March 3 Raw.
This week, Rhea and Iyo faced each other for the title in the show’s main event with women’s Elimination Chamber winner Bianca Belair sitting at ringside. At one point, Bianca was rooting for Iyo to get back into the ring to avoid being counted out. This for some reason upset Rhea as she went outside the ring to confront Bianca and the two got into a shoving match. Rhea was still having words with Bianca as she attempted a top rope RipTide onto Iyo, which allowed Iyo to take advantage of the distraction and reverse it into a Hurricanrana. Iyo then got onto the top rope and nailed Rhea with the Over the Moonsault to shockingly win the match and the Women’s World Championship.
Analysis:
For the second straight week, we were treated to an incredible main event from the women and a title change. This was a great match between Rhea and Iyo that delivered one of the most shocking title changes in recent memory. As great as Iyo is, no one expected her to win the title from Rhea here with it being so close to WrestleMania. Now that she has won the title, the title picture at WrestleMania is now up in the air. Considering how heated things got between Bianca and Rhea, there is no way that Rhea is going to simply be left out of the match.
Since WrestleMania still isn’t for another month and a half, there is a chance that Rhea could win the title back before then. Regardless of whether that ends up happening or we get a three way, what happened here makes the road to WrestleMania even more interesting. Considering how people have been complaining about the build this year feeling underwhelming, everything that happened at the Elimination Chamber and in this match is making it now feel more unpredictable. As much as Bianca and Rhea has been a match many fans have been dying to see for years, adding Iyo to the mix does spice things up. Overall, this match delivered in quality, in giving us a shocking outcome, and in making us eager to tune in to see what happens next week.
Grade: A
Lyra Valkyria vs. Ivy Nile
After Ivy Nile attacked women’s Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria following her successful title defense against Dakota Kai last week, the two of them faced each other for the title this week. While Lyra had the advantage early on, Ivy regained it with a Dragon Screw from the top rope and worked on her leg from there. Despite continuing to fight through the pain and attempting a Tornado DDT, Ivy blocked it and hit her with a Suplex for a near fall. Ivy maintained her momentum with a released German Suplex but as she went for a running boot against the turnbuckle, Lyra moved out of the way. With Ivy’s leg hanging from the top rope, Lyra hit her with a Backbreaker and then the Nightwing for the win to retain her title.
Analysis:
While not on the same level of her match last week with Dakota Kai, this match was another strong title defense for Lyra. After Chad Gable demanded that Ivy Nile along with the Creed Brothers all have titles by the time he returned from his trip, it felt as if Ivy was going to win the title here. Since Lyra has only been the champion for less than two months, it made more sense to keep the title on her to build more momentum. Especially considering that she’s the first ever women’s Intercontinental Champion, that reign needs to mean something and impressive wins like this help in making that possible. For as slow of a start as this title reign got off on, the last two weeks have been a strong sign that it’s now heading in the right direction.
Penta and Ludwig Kaiser Segment
After defeating Pete Dunne and Penta in a Triple Threat match last week, Ludwig Kaiser came out to the ring this week to gloat. Kaiser told Penta that while they call him the man who does not know fear, he’ll know what fear feels like when he gets done with him. As he was saying this, Penta came out and ran to the ring to confront him. Penta hit him with a Hurricanrana but as he attempted a Penta Driver, Kaiser escaped. Kaiser was unable to get the better of him despite the escape as Penta hit him with a Springboard Clothesline and dove onto him over the top rope.
Analysis:
Ironically enough, this was the first time since Penta debuted in WWE that he was involved in a segment like this as opposed to being in a match. While some people may have been disappointed that this wasn’t a match, you at least got to see Penta perform briefly as if he was in a match. After Kaiser won the Triple Threat match last week without pinning Penta, you knew that they were eventually going to face each other again. While short, this segment accomplished what it needed to as it set the stage for their eventual blow off match. Since Raw next week will be in Madison Square Garden, there’s no better place and time for that match to take place than there.
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