Last night, WWE started the Road to WrestleMania with a great Royal Rumble event. In Raw news, Kevin Owens and Charlotte retained their respective championships, while Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson captured the Raw Tag Team Championships from Sheamus and Cesaro. Since nobody on the Raw roster won the Royal Rumble match, tonight is a good chance for Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley to lay the groundwork for the grandest stage of them all.
Opening Segment
In what’s become the norm on Raw, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho come down to the ring to start the show. Owens and Jericho brag about their accomplishments from last night, and they are interrupted by Braun Strowman (the man who helped Owens retain his title). Strowman has footage of Owens promising him a Universal Championship opportunity, and he wants that match tonight.
Mick Foley settles the dispute, and actually sides with the Mountain of a Man. Tonight, Kevin Owens will indeed defend his Universal Championship against Braun Strowman.
Chris Jericho vs. Sami Zayn
Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn had great performances in the Royal Rumble match last night, with Jericho lasting over an hour, and Zayn lasting over 45 minutes in the match. Zayn has been on a roll as of late, and if he picks up a win over the #61MinuteMan, he could earn a future United States Championship opportunity. Yes, Y2J is the United States Champion.
Zayn hits Jericho with an exploder suplex into the corner, then finishes him off with the Helluva Kick to get a victory, and to put himself in title contention. Winner: Sami Zayn
Tony Nese vs. Mustafa Ali
Mustafa Ali has been on a roll as of late, but it was temporarily halted by Nese a couple weeks ago on 205 Live. Last week on Raw, these two met in 6-man tag team action, and Ali’s team won when the Chicago native hit Drew Gulak with the inverted/reverse 450 Splash.
Ali heads up to the top rope, but Nese sweeps his feet out from under him, forcing Ali to land hard on the back of his head/neck. Nese capitalizes with a running knee strike, keeping his singles winning streak alive. Winner: Tony Nese
Cesaro, Sheamus, & Bayley vs Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, & Charlotte Flair
I’m not too sure why, but we have a mixed tag team match tonight. Last night, Charlotte retained her Raw Women’s Championship against Bayley, while Gallows and Anderson stole the Raw Tag Team Championships from Sheamus and Cesaro. The former tag champs have an inevitable rematch coming their way, but Bayley could use this match as a way to earn another Women’s Championship opportunity.
The men fight for most of the match, then Bayley hits Charlotte Flair with the Bayley-to-Belly, which she couldn’t do last night, to win the match. Winners: Cesaro, Sheamus, & Bayley
In-ring Segment
Neville comes down to the ring to celebrate the coronation for the King of the Cruiserweights, and Rich Swann comes down to congratulate him. The Cruiserweight Champion wants Swann to bow, and the former titleholder refuses. Neville attempts to attack Swann from behind, which ends with Neville in retreat.
Kevin Owens (c) vs. Braun Strowman – WWE Universal Championship
Chris Jericho is sitting at commentary, and Braun Strowman chokeslams Y2J through the announce table before the match gets underway. After competing in a brutal No Disqualification match against Roman Reigns, Owens has to defend the title against the man who helped him keep it.
Braun Strowman hits Kevin Owens with a running powerslam, and Roman Reigns interferes to Superman Punch the mountain of a man. Reigns got revenge on Strowman for costing him the Universal Championship, and Reigns speared Owens just for good measure. Winner (via disqualification): Braun Strowman; STILL WWE Universal Champion: Kevin Owens
In-ring Segment
Brock Lesnar makes a surprise appearance on Raw after being eliminated by Goldberg in the Royal Rumble match last night. What isn’t surprising is why he is here. Lesnar lays down one final challenge to Goldberg at WrestleMania.
Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax
Sasha Banks faced Nia Jax with an injured knee last night and lost, so I don’t know why The Boss thinks tonight will be any different.
Jax immediately targets the injured knee, and puts a unique kneebar on Banks. The bell rings, for reasons unknown, and the match just kind of stops. Jax continues the hold after the match “ends,” and Bayley rushes down to the ring to break the hold. Winner: Nia Jax
Rusev & Jinder Mahal (w/Lana) vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass – Tornado Tag Team Match
Yes, this is still happening. Big Cass entered the Royal Rumble at #1, but he suffered the same fate as Enzo Amore and Rusev by getting thrown over the top rope. Since this is a Tornado Tag Match, all four competitors are in the match at the same time.
Rusev and Jinder Mahal dominate for most of the match, but Badaboom Shakalaka puts Rusev away. Winners: Enzo Amore & Big Cass
In-ring Segment
For weeks, Seth Rollins has been calling out Triple H (including Saturday at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio), and tonight, The Game finally shows up to Raw. The COO of WWE calls Rollins down to the ring, and just as Rollins gets to ringside, he gets ambushed by Samoa Joe. Joe locks in the Coquina Clutch on Rollins, and leaves him laying in the middle of the ring to end the show.
