Sami Zayn, New Day, Enzo and Cass vs Chris Jericho, the Shining Stars and the Club: Michael Cole says that the match was made by Foley during the commercial break. Kofi connects with a spring board splash off Big E onto Primo in the initial moments for a near fall. Anderson gets the tag and hits a clothesline on Kofi for another near fall. Kofi tags in Big Cass who clears the ring and the apron.
Cass connects with a splash on Primo in the corner, following it up with the empire elbow for a near fall. Big E throws Kofi over the top rope onto the Club. Jericho throws Big E outside. Zayn connects with a tornado DDT on Jericho, followed by a big boot on Primo. Enzo and Cass connect with the Bada Boom on Primo for the win.
Mick Foley is out to introduce the cruiser weights. Brian Kendrick vs Cedric Alexander vs Gran Metalik vs Richard Swann: It is announced that the winner will face T.J. Perkins for his cruiser weight title. Kendrick rolls outside immediately after the bell rings. Swann drops Metalik with a drop kick, allowing Kendrick to come back into the ring and hits an elbow on Swan. Alexander works on Kendrick, who rolls out to the outside again. Metalik hits Alexander with a spring board elbow who comes back with a spring board clothesline off the top.
Swann throws Kendrick outside and puts Alexander in the sleeper. Alexander hits a hurricanarana sending Swann to the outside, following it up with a suicide dive on Kendrick. Metalik hits a spring board on all three. Towards the end, Swann drops Alexander with a kick to the face, following it up with a 450 splash only for a near fall. Kendrick throws Swann to the outside and Metalik hits a dropkick on Kendrick. Alexander connects with a back suplex on Metalik. Kendrick sneaks in and gets Alexander in the cross face, who taps out.
Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens: Owens tries to get out of the cage through the door and from top of the cage only to be beaten down by Reigns.
Reigns controls the match, till Owens sends him flying into the cage. Reigns misses with a superman punch and Owens connects with a german suplex following it up with a cannon ball. Owens goes for the splash, but Reigns covers it with his knees. Owens with a super kick. He goes for the pop up power bomb, but Reigns reverses it into a superman punch for a near fall. Owens blocks a spear attempt and hits the pop up power bomb for a two count. Owens tries to escape the cage, only to be caught by Reigns. Reigns hits a superman punch, sending Owens rolling off the top rope. Reigns starts climbing the cage as Owens tries to crawl out of the door. Reigns is out first, he wins.
Immediately after the match, Rusev attacks Reigns. Although Reigns gets the better of him, the offense gets too much when Owens joins Rusev. Owens kicks the cage door in Reigns’ face, followed by Owens offense. Rusev and Owens take Reigns into the cage and lock the cage door. They beat him down and Rusev applies the accolade on Reigns. Rollins comes out to make the save and climbs the cage. He jumps off the cage onto Rusev and Owens as we end the show. Seeds of a face turn for Rollins?
Thoughts: This week’s RAW was more predictable than last week. The good part of the show was that the seeds of a face turn for Seth Rollins are placed. Most of the matches were repeated, and having Reigns go against Owens again, made no sense, especially in a non-title match, that too in a steel cage. As expected, Bayley was added to the match at Clash of Champions. I don’t predict Seth coming out on top against Owens at Clash of Champions, given what Stephanie said about Seth being replaced by Owens. Jericho was entertaining as usual, and the cruiser weight match added a lot of high flying action, something that has been eluding RAW for a long time. Should wait for Clash of Champions to see how things unfurl.
My rating: 3/5.
- Updated card for the WWE Royal Rumble pay per view - January 28, 2017
- WWE SmackDown Results – 01/24/2017 - January 26, 2017
- WWE RAW Results – 01/23/2017 - January 24, 2017
