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1 year ago
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WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from January 16
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Bobby Lashley.WWE
Welcome to Bleacher Report's sum and recap of WWE Raw connected January 16.
We're present little than 2 weeks distant from the yearly Royal Rumble pay-per-view connected January 28, truthful WWE has been trying to get each of its ducks successful a enactment erstwhile it comes to mounting up the card.
Following past week's return, Bobby Lashley arrived connected Raw this week looking to re-establish himself arsenic the apical canine connected the reddish brand.
We besides saw Judgment Day fig retired its adjacent measurement aft Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest became the No. 1 contenders for the Raw Tag Team Championships during past week's Tag Team Turmoil match.
Let's instrumentality a look astatine what went down during Monday's show.
Mustafa Ali vs. Solo Sikoa
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Raw opened up with The Usos and Solo Sikoa heading to the ring. They talked a small trash earlier Judgment Day came retired to respond to their assertion that they volition clasp the Raw tag titles.
A combat broke out, arsenic expected, but conscionable arsenic Solo was astir to instrumentality a changeable astatine Rhea Ripley, Mustafa Ali came flying successful from the apical turnbuckle to instrumentality him down.
The lucifer officially got started during the break, truthful we returned to spot The Street Champ taking it to the erstwhile 205 Live standout. Kevin Owens made an quality and fought The Usos astatine ringside, allowing Ali to instrumentality Sikoa down with a immense tornado DDT for a adjacent two-count.
After avoiding a 450 splash, Sikoa deed the Samoan Spike for the win. KO came successful and instantly took him retired with a Stunner.
The pre-match conception was fine, but the lucifer that followed was decidedly much effectual astatine getting the assemblage successful the close temper for the remainder of the night. There was a batch of mayhem, and mayhem is ever going to marque things a small much fun.
Winner: Solo Sikoa
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Dom trying to enactment similar an ex-con successful beforehand of 2 guys who person really been arrested a fewer times was astir apt meant to beryllium funny, but it conscionable came crossed arsenic weird.
- The champion portion of the pre-match conception was the staredown betwixt Ripley and Sikoa. If WWE wants her to commencement wrestling men, it should conscionable bash it alternatively of teasing it implicit and over.
- Ali is specified a fluid performer. He makes truthful galore small things look overmuch amended than the mean wrestler. Even a elemental dropkick has a small other thing to it erstwhile helium hits it.
- It feels similar WWE is mounting up Sikoa and Owens for a singles feud aft Roman Reigns is done with The Prize Fighter.
The Street Profits vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin
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Angelo Dawkins and Shelton Benjamin started for their teams, but The Gold Standard really started by nailing Montez Ford with a moving genu to sound him disconnected the apron.
Cedric Alexander tagged successful to support Dawkins cornered, but the large antheral was capable to marque a hopeless tag truthful Ford could instrumentality retired Alexander with a immense crossbody.
MVP walked to the ringing arsenic the amusement was cutting to a break. Unfortunately, helium was a 2nd excessively precocious erstwhile helium tried to interfere connected Alexander's behalf and it ended up making the last series look awkward.
Both of these teams are incredibly talented, truthful it's nary astonishment that they delivered a fantastic lucifer with the assemblage cheering astatine each of the large spots. MVP tried to speech to Alexander and Benjamin aft it was over, but they seemed upset.
Winners: The Street Profits
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Corey Graves being truthful huffy that Dawkins was wearing a Bengals jersey was beauteous funny.
- When Ford does his large dives, you astir get the feeling helium has to clasp backmost to forestall clearing his hostile completely.
- MVP being excessively precocious to propulsion Alexander retired of the mode truly took the upwind retired of the decorativeness of this match.
Omos vs. Elias
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MVP and Elias had a run-in backstage that led to MVP getting Elias booked successful a lucifer against the antheral helium claims volition triumph the men's Royal Rumble, Omos.
The Nigerian Giant ran the crooner implicit with easiness to nonstop him retired of the ringing to recover. When Omos tried to follow, Elias pounced connected him and ended up suckering him into moving himself into the ringing post.
When Elias tried to drawback his guitar to usage connected MVP, Omos grabbed it and deed a headbutt earlier smashing the guitar connected the ground. Elias nailed 3 jumping knees earlier Omos grabbed him by the pharynx for his two-handed chokeslam to get the win.
This was abbreviated and uneventful, but it wasn't bad. They did what they needed to do, but it didn't truly marque either feline look good.
Winner: Omos
Grade: C-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Why was Elias amazed that it was Omos? That is the lone idiosyncratic MVP has been officially representing for a agelong time.
- There was a conception earlier this lucifer that saw Bayley hold to look Becky Lynch wrong of a alloy cage adjacent week. It was a decent speech that whitethorn person been conscionable a spot excessively long.
Alpha Academy vs. Judgment Day
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Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest battled Chad Gable and Otis successful a tag squad lucifer aft they archetypal met past week during the Tag Team Turmoil bout.
Dom and Gable began the lucifer for their teams, but it didn't instrumentality agelong for the younger Mysterio to get frustrated and tag successful Priest to instrumentality over.
This was a beauteous modular tag squad match. Both teams got to bash their thing, but Judgment Day decidedly had the precocious manus much often than not.
Even though this lucifer had immoderate idiosyncratic spots that looked great, the bulk of what we saw was connected the dilatory side. It didn't consciousness similar either squad had overmuch urgency to win. They were conscionable going from spot to spot.
Gable had the lucifer won earlier Ripley distracted the ref truthful Priest could deed a chokeslam. Dom made the screen for the win.
Winners: Judgment Day
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- The mode Gable tricked Dom into going down connected his tummy close distant was hilarious.
- The assemblage did not look to cognize which squad to cheer for, truthful some duos got immoderate boos and cheers astatine antithetic times.
- Otis embracing his aged aforesaid and being comic has made Alpha Academy truthful overmuch amended implicit the past fewer months.
- Gable diving for a tag and Priest knocking him retired of the aerial was a large spot.
- Otis had a small occupation hitting The Caterpillar.
Iyo Sky vs. Mia Yim
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Iyo Sky was successful singles enactment this week erstwhile she battled The OC's Mia Yim. But alternatively of AJ Styles and The Good Brothers, it was Candice LeRae who was by her side.
Sky took power aboriginal connected and began moving Yim from country to country arsenic she inflicted damage. The HBIC began to marque a comeback and deed a bully German suplex, but a speedy distraction from Dakota Kai astir outgo her the match.
LeRae took Kai down, truthful Sky took her retired with a shot slide. Yim took vantage and ended up scoring the win, but Kai instantly jumped connected apical of her. The Poison Pixie helped Yim wide the ringing of Damage CTRL to extremity the segment.
This was fine, but you could archer they weren't trying to marque this the champion lucifer of the night. They were
Winner: Mia Yim
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
- It was a small weird that LeRae came retired 2nd and her euphony played arsenic Yim made her mode to the ring.
- Sky appeared to recognize she was not going to deed a springboard correctly and aborted it close away. She and Yim covered for it perfectly.
Bronson Reed vs. Akira Tozawa
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Alexa Bliss and Bianca Belair had a speedy conception that led to a combat earlier Akira Tozawa and Bronson Reed squared disconnected successful a singles match.
Predictably, this was fundamentally a squash match. Tozawa ne'er stood a accidental against Reed connected a mean day, fto unsocial erstwhile is astatine the opening of his instrumentality push.
Despite a fewer moves from the erstwhile 205 Live regular, Reed was capable to unafraid the triumph with a immense splash.
Winner: Bronson Reed
Grade: C-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Reed is specified a monster. If WWE can't find a bully mode to usage them, it's perfectly a nonaccomplishment connected management's part.
- Tozawa's rotation kicks ever look great.
Elimination Match
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The main lawsuit of the evening was a six-man Elimination lucifer for a changeable astatine the United States Championship adjacent week during the 30th day show.
Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Baron Corbin, Finn Balor, The Miz and Dolph Ziggler were each vying for the accidental to situation Austin Theory, who came retired to ticker from the aisle.
The Miz ended up being the archetypal antheral retired aft Rollins deed him with a Stomp. Balor and Corbin worked unneurotic for a small portion to instrumentality connected Ziggler and Rollins portion Lashley was recovering extracurricular the ring.
Matches similar this person a batch of moving parts and don't truly travel a acquainted pattern, truthful they are overmuch harder to justice than a singles bout. The assemblage seemed to beryllium into the enactment and the wrestlers were moving their butts off, truthful it decidedly seemed to beryllium a palmy main event.
Ziggler was the 2nd antheral who recovered himself being eliminated, and helium was followed by Balor and Corbin. This near Rollins and Lashley arsenic the last 2 men warring implicit a accidental to situation for the loop some men held past year.
Omos came retired of obscurity and threw Rollins implicit the denote table. Lashley seemed confused to spot Omos and MVP astatine ringside, and Theory ended up knocking him down with the U.S. title. Rollins took retired Omos and Theory earlier Lashley nailed him with a Spear for the win.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- JBL gave Lashley the weakest propulsion ever erstwhile helium tried to interfere.
- The Miz and Ziggler had a large feud for the IC rubric a fewer years ago. It was benignant of bully to spot them mixing it up again. They cognize each different well.
- The Tower of Doom spot needs to beryllium enactment connected crystal for a small while. We don't request to spot it successful each lucifer with 3 oregon much competitors.
- Ziggler's large dive disconnected the apical enactment looked good. Corbin and Balor made definite helium landed safely, too.
- The mode Theory and Rollins took retired Omos was benignant of cool. It felt similar it made sense.
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