With news of Drew McIntyre testing positive for Covid 19 and Triple H being in the Thunderdome for the first time, how will RAW go?
We began RAW with a video recap on what occurred during Legends Night last week. Also we saw Randy Orton’s interactions with the legends.
After our normal RAW intro, we got the entrance of Triple H. Hunter barely got to welcome us to the show before Randy Orton made his way out to the ring.
Orton said he wasn’t sure if Hunter was aware, but he was supposed to have a big match tonight (of course he was aware). With that match of course not happening, Orton figured Hunter was there to make an official ruling. Then Orton speculated on what he might rule, would it be that Orton would be the last entrant in the Royal Rumble? Or would Hunter be handing him the WWE Championship now.
The COO suggested if Orton wants the WWE Championship he should win the Royal Rumble, anyway he can. He couldn’t believe that Orton was gonna stand there and try to use threats and flex his jaw muscles to scare him. Then Hunter said its been impressive watching the old Randy Orton again. While others criticized him, Hunter sat back and watched in awe.
He brought up how Orton could have dropped the match a few weeks ago and get everything he wanted. This led Hunter to bringing up Orton’s actions last week against the legends. He said his actions last week just showed that Orton is nothing but a no good prick.
Orton said he could think whatever he wanted, but he is in his prime. He actually said he is a legend in his own time….just like Triple H was. This of course led to Orton questioning if the Cerebral Assassin was still there. If the King of Kings is still in there, maybe Orton can take out the legend of Triple H for good. Then Orton laid out the challenge.
Triple H said he was smart enough to know when someone wants someone to do something. H said there was no benefit in it for him to fight Orton. Then he tried to leave, but of course Orton had to have the last laugh and asked if the real reason H was saying no was because Stephanie had his balls in her purse.
Hunter then punched Orton, which Orton took as a yes to his challenge.
Commentary wasn’t as convinced as Orton though. Then we got a video showing what happened in Charlotte Flair’s tag team match last week.
Then Charlotte was interviewed backstage. Charlotte said that Lacey Evans wasn’t the first woman to hit on her dad and she won’t be the last. She of course loves her father and family comes first.
Then she got frustrated. Its 2021 and she is still being interviewed about her dad.
After Charlotte’s entrance, we went backstage where Lacey Evans was being interviewed. She said that Charlotte needed to get a sweet tea and relax. Last week she didn’t flirt with anyone who didn’t want to be flirted with. Then Evans dedicated the match to Ric Flair.
After the interview we went to commercial break.
When we returned from break we got to hear from WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. McIntyre was at home and gave us an update on his condition. He said he was asymptotic and reminded everyone to wear a mask.
Lacey Evans defeated Charlotte Flair via Pinfall
Ric Flair man, he just can’t stay away. Flair came out during the match, at a point where Evans was crawling out of the ring. With Flair’s help, Evans was able to score the victory.
Then we went to another commercial break.
Returning from break, we saw Ric Flair and Lacey Evans celebrating backstage. I’ll spare you from the things said.
After a recap of the WWE Championship match last week, saw Keith Lee backstage, when Sheamus came up to him. While Sheamus loves to kick him when he’s down, he gave Lee props for the fight he gave McIntyre. Before Sheamus and Lee could shake hands, Miz and Morrison showed up!
The Miz said they are fully committed to their New Year’s Resolutions of righting the wrongs of 2020. Apparently that starts with Sheamus and Lee. A challenge was laid out and Lee accepted the match.
Back at ringside, Jeff Hardy is already in the ring awaiting Elias.
When Elias and Jaxson Ryker make their entrance, Elias said he had some bad news. Apparently while recording music, Elias suffered an injury. This means Hardy’s opponent will now be Ryker.
Jaxson Ryker defeated Jeff Hardy via Pinfall
Thanks to a distraction from Elias, Ryker was able to get the victory over Hardy.
After the match Hardy got on the mic and called out Elias. He said that Elias should face him if he doesn’t want people to think Ryker is better than him. This got Elias fired up. He turned to Ryker and told him not to get involved with a wink. Then we went to another commercial break.
Jeff Hardy defeated Elias via Pinfall (Swanton Bomb)
A rather decent match between the two foes. Elias was able to avoid the Twist of Fate and turn it into a Death Valley Driver. He actually had some good pin attempts, but in the end Hardy got the victory.
After the match, Elias yelled at Ryker for not interfering in the match. Ryker told Elias he said not to and then we went to break.
Returning from break, we got a recap of what happened at the beginning of the show.
Sheamus and Keith Lee defeated Miz and Morrison via Pinfall (Brogue Kick)
Sheamus and Lee actually got along beautifully during the match. At one point Lee pounced Morrison into the corner and broke the ropes! Lee looked a bit shocked, but found it pretty awesome (as did Sheamus). Miz and Morrison were able to get in offense and isolate Sheamus for a bit, but it just wasn’t enough.
After the match, Sheamus and Keith Lee hugged and celebrated their victory.
Backstage we heard from Triple H. He said he came to the show tonight in a business capacity, but things can change at the drop of a hat. Since Orton can’t get it through his head that people like Ric Flair paved the way for him. And because Orton wants to know if the Game can drop the match like he did…..the answer is yes!
Then we went to commercial break.
When we returned from break, we saw that things between Sheamus and Keith Lee did not stay nice and chummy. The two men were arguing and then began shoving each other. Then the ref called for the bell!
Keith Lee defeated Sheamus via Pinfall (Spirit Bomb)
The two traded some hard slaps in the beginning of the match. Eventually Sheamus seemed to take control of the match by hitting Lee with a drop kick to the outside. But when Sheamus went to capitalize, Lee caught him and threw him on the barricade.
After the match, Lee offered Sheamus a show of sportsmanship. At first it looked like Sheamus was going to refuse, but in the end the men hugged it out.
Commentary then showed us the confrontation between Goldberg and Drew McIntyre from last week before we went to commercial break.
When we returned from break, we once again got a recap of the WWE Championship match from last week. Then we heard from McIntyre and his thoughts on Goldberg.
McIntyre said last week was a dream for him and before he could thank all of the legends, Goldberg rudely interrupted. He said that he didn’t see Goldberg coming last week and was even a little starstruck. Unfortunately, while McIntyre respects Goldberg he felt let down after last week.
McIntyre didn’t want to accept Goldberg’s challenge, I mean Goldberg is 20 years older than him. But after Goldberg put his hands on him, things changed. McIntyre then accepted Goldberg’s challenge for the Royal Rumble.
Then Riddle was backstage comparing his match with Bobby Lashley to getting pizza? Lucha House Party wasn’t quite following his metaphor either. They wished Riddle luck and told him to watch his back, which Riddle said isn’t possible.
Then Xavier Woods made his entrance before we went to break.
T-Bar defeated Xavier Woods via Pinfall
Woods was holding his own against the much bigger T-Bar, but having no one at ringside was the issue. Retribution made their presence known and distracted Woods long enough for T-Bar to gain the upper hand.
After the match, Randy Orton was interviewed. Orton said that he goes way back with Triple H. Even saying that there was a time where Triple H knew him better than he knew himself. Times have changed though. With Orton’s new found hatred, he can direct it at Triple H.
Then we went to another commercial break.
Back from break, we once again got a recap of what happened between Randy Orton and Triple H at the top of the show.
Bobby Lashley defeated Riddle via Submission (The Hurt Lock) to retain the United States Championship
Lashley attacked Riddle before the match could begin. Although Riddle told the ref he was good to go, Lashley didn’t let up on the attack. Riddle was able to hit Lashley with a moonsault on the outside and a few other moves, but never really recovered from being attacked before the match.
After the match, Riddle called out MVP. He said that while he couldn’t beat Lashley, he could beat MVP. MVP gave a smirk and began to take his tie and suit jacket off before we went to commercial break.
Riddle defeated MVP via DQ
I’m sure this isn’t what Riddle meant when he said he knew he could beat MVP. When we joined the match after the commercial, MVP was in control of the match. Riddle was able to stop MVP with a knee, but when he went to the top rope, Lashley tried to run interference. While he was able to take care of Lashley for a moment, it wasn’t enough. Lashley came into the ring and hit him with the spear.
After the match, Lashley and MVP continued their attack on Riddle. It ended with MVP viciously kicking Riddle in the stomach.
Then we took a look at how Adam Pearce became the number one contender to the Universal Championship.
Backstage AJ Styles and Adam Pearce were chatting. Styles was speculating on what would happen if he won the Royal Rumble and Pearce somehow defeated Roman Reigns.
Then Drew Gulak walked up and declared himself for the Royal Rumble. According to Pearce though, Gulak couldn’t do that. When Gulak pointed out that Styles declared himself for the Rumble, Styles said he was a 2 time WWE Champion. Pearce settled it by saying Gulak could be in the Royal Rumble if he defeated Styles.
AJ Styles defeated Drew Gulak via Pinfall (Phenomenonal Forearm)
Looks like Gulak’s hopes of being an entrant to the Royal Rumble are over. After beginning the match well, Gulak was tossed to the outside and landed right by Omos. The presence of Omos changed the match and Styles got the victory.
After the match we went to commercial break.
When we returned from break we got a video about Goldberg.
After the video Keith Lee walked up to Triple H backstage. Lee said he wanted to be there just as Triple H has been there for him. While Lee understood Orton was pressing some buttons, he didn’t mind having a third match. H appreciated the thought, but said facing Orton was something he needed to do.
Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler made their entrance to the ring before we went to another commercial break.
When we returned from break, a video played during the entrance of Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke. It was one of those inset promos and Rose and Brooke declared themselves in the Women’s Royal Rumble.
Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax defeated Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke via Submission (Kirifuda Clutch)
Brooke and Rose were able to hold their own for awhile, especially against Baszler, but once Jax tagged in things changed. Just when it seemed like Jax was going to put the match away, Baszler tagged herself in! Jax looked shocked, but they got the win.
After the match we went to another commercial break.
Triple H versus Randy Orton
I gotta say seeing these two in a match brought me back. The match apparently was unsanctioned, so there was no referee. Triple H brought the fight to Orton right off the bat. Orton actually needed to step outside of the ring to get himself back together.
The match eventually spilled to the outside, where they used the barricade and steel steps as weapons. Orton got a cut on his cheek, my guess is he got bloody somehow when he was thrown into the steps. Not long after, Triple H found the great equalizer, his old friend: the sledgehammer!
The lights began to go as if The Fiend was going to show up. Although Hunter looked around a tad nervous, he kept at it like things were fine. While the lights continued to go out, the sledgehammer caught fire!
The lights went out completely and when they came back up instead of Triple H in the ring, it was Alexa Bliss! Orton was very confused. Bliss then held up her glove that said pain. A FIREBALL OF SORTS SHOT ORTON IN THE FACE!
We ended RAW with commentary concerned for Orton and question what just happened.
