WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Jan. 17, 2022) from the Bok Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, featuring all the latest build to the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for later this month in St. Louis.
Advertised for tonight: Bobby Lashley responds to Brock Lesnar making a fool of him with simple “knock, knock” jokes on last week’s show. Elsewhere, Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch is scheduled to “react” to the fact that Doudrop is now number one contender to her title. Meanwhile, Randy Orton and Riddle lost the Raw tag team titles last week and questions abound regarding the future of the team. All that and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the Raw live blog will kick off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here.
WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR JAN. 17
Lost in the sky, clouds roll by and I roll with them. Arrows fly, seas increase and then fall again. This world is spinning around me, and I have to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with Becky Lynch making her entrance.
She gets on the mic and welcomes us to the bigtime, before saying we’ve got less than two weeks to the Royal Rumble and the Raw women’s division has never been hotter, and she deserves all the credit for it. So hot, in fact, that stars of generations past like Lita, Mickie James, and the Bella Twins are all coming back to try and win the Royal Rumble to challenge her at WrestleMania.
She says she admires Doudrop’s tenacity, coming all the way from Scotland to make a name for herself— oh wait that’s right, she let somebody else do it for her, and “Doudrop” isn’t gonna run this place as long as she’s in this industry.
Enter Doudrop.
She says she got herself a title match at Royal Rumble, it wasn’t some plan of Becky’s, and even if it somehow was, she’s gonna win the title and make her regret it.
Enter Bianca Belair.
She points out you can’t spell “greatest” without EST, and claims that Becky interfered last week because she was afraid of her, but she’s just buying time because Bianca is officially in the Royal Rumble and she’s gonna do whatever it takes to win and main event WrestleMania again.
Enter Liv Morgan.
She says nuh-uh, SHE’S going to win the Royal Rumble but Doudrop rightly calls her promo boring and calls for a referee to get this tag match rolling and send us to break.
Back from commercial, we see Alpha Academy backstage in cap and gown getting ready for some kind of graduation ceremony later tonight.
Bianca Belair & Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch & Doudrop
Doudrop and Bianca to start, backflip up and over, a cocky EST trying to take control but she gets bowled over by a shoulder block! Tags made, Morgan gets a nearfall, Doudrop blocks KOD, gets low-bridged to the floor by Liv, Becky with a stack pin with her feet on the ropes for two!
Morgan off the ropes, lariat caught, Manhandle Slam... DOUDROP BREAKS IT UP?! She drags Lynch over and makes the cover but referee Eddie Orengo waves it off! She makes the tag, off the ropes...
Becky Lynch & Doudrop win by pinfall with a big splash from Doudrop on Liv Morgan.
Post-match, Doudrop hits a Vader Bomb on Becky Lynch!
Edge and Beth Phoenix are backstage with Dana Brooke and Reggie.
Edge says he doesn’t think Reggie has a chance tonight but he wishes him luck anyway, and Beth puts Dana over as well.
They walk away and run into Damian Priest, who hugs both of them and greets them. Edge says he likes what he’s seen of Damian lately, and Priest says he wanted to pick Edge’s brain about the Royal Rumble given that he’s won two of them. Edge says cardio is important but more than anything, just keep doing what’s working.
Phoenix gets passed a note, and it’s from Maryse wanting to meet her in the ring, woman-to-woman. Edge says he knows she can handle it but he’s coming with.
Kevin Owens walks up to Damian after they leave and he says he’s looking forward to their match later tonight. Priest is skeptical and KO tries to get him to keep the “Priest” side of him put away because he’s looking forward to a good, clean match.
KO makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, commentary hypes up the Elimination Chamber, coming live to us from Saudi Arabia, where they eliminate people like me!
Kevin Owens is in the ring for the KO Show and he introduces his guest, Seth Rollins.
Owens thanks him for accepting his invitation and he wants to tell him, from the heart, that he admires him so much. From the suits to his courage to get face-to-face with Roman Reigns and berate him into realizing this head of the table thing, that he’s the guy that set the table.
Rollins says things got a little testy but truth is, Roman is rattled, scared of him. Reigns is playing checkers and he’s playing chess, and beating him at the Royal Rumble is going to be like taking candy from a baby. And when he takes the title, he’s gonna turn it red and bring it back to Monday Night Raw.
Kev says that means they wouldn’t need Brock Lesnar or Bobby Lashley because they’d have the best champion.
Owens segues and says he has major news, and says he’s declaring himself for the Royal Rumble. And when he wins and Seth wins, they get to give the WWE Universe the biggest WrestleMania main event of all time, Seth freakin’ Rollins against Kevin freakin’ Owens.
Enter Damian Priest.
He calls them delusional idiots and says no one believes Seth will beat Roman, and Kevin is just a liar, so no one believes that he’s gonna win the Royal Rumble, and their match is next, after the break.
Back from commercial, we get another Veer Mahaan vignette.
Damian Priest vs. Kevin Owens
Owens with a waistlock, Priest reverses to a wristlock, roll through, side headlock, shot off, shoulder block, Damian wipes him out with a shoulder block of his own! KO begging off in the corner, back body drop to the apron, big roundhouse kick, Owens returns a dropkick and puts boots to him in the ropes!
Big senton follows, rear chinlock applied to grind him down. Chops, whip reversed, front kick, more chops, Priest fired up and again Kev begs off. To the floor, Owens nails him with a superkick to cut him off, frog splash off the apron and we go to break!
Back from commercial, Priest lighting him up with leg kicks, rolling elbow, flapjack, big back elbow and a lariat wipes Owens out! Damian with a right hand, setting him up in the turnbuckles, but KO knocks him down and hits the senton atomico..; NOPE!
Of the ropes, Reckoning blocked, pop-up powerbomb connects... SO CLOSE! Damian with a roundhouse kick, South of Heaven... NOT ENOUGH! Kev’s knee is bothering him, referee Rod Zapata checks on him, it’s a feint...
Kevin Owens wins by pinfall with the Stunner.
We get a recap of Alpha Academy winning the tag titles last week.
Alpha Academy make their entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Nikki ASH is interviewed.
She blames Rhea Ripley for the breakup of her tag team and friendship and it’s time the people appreciate her.
Alpha Academy are in the ring for their graduation ceremony.
Chad Gable talks up his graduation from actual college and says tonight is a celebration. He’d love to keep talking about his long list of achievements, but it’s not about him, it’s about an absolute tree trunk of a man, his prize pupil, protege, and number one guy, Otis!
Winning the tag titles was Dozer’s final exam, and Chad presents him a diploma. Otis says they’re not stopping and—
Enter Matt Riddle, also wearing a cap and gown for some reason.
He says American Alpha are looking pretty tight and when he got invited to this ceremony he knew he had to make a very special speech. He begins, saying it felt like just last week he and Randy Orton were tag champs, wild stallions running free, but today is graduation day and their lives will change forever.
Chad waves him off, saying he was not actually invited, but Matt says he’s just here to talk about how proud he is of them. Gable asks him to get to the point and says he must be here for his rematch, yes? They’ll give it to him under one condition— he has to prove his mental acuity in an Alpha Academy mental challenge!
Otis goes down to confront him, Orton appears behind Gable with an RKO and then Matt drops Dozer when he tries to make the save! Randy puts on Otis’ cap and gown and accepts the challenge!
Austin Theory rolls into Vincent Kennedy McMahon’s office.
Mr. McMahon is watching Finn Balor’s victory over Theory last week, and Austin says he practically ended Balor’s career by beating him up and that’s like a half-victory. Vince says there’s no such thing and he’s going to get a rematch and he’d better win, or he’ll beat Austin up and break every bone in his body.
Finn Balor makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get our obligatory Martin Luther King, Jr. Day video package.
Austin Theory vs. Finn Balor
Balor with a side headlock, shot off, big back elbow from Theory! Action to the floor, Austin has a bad time and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Balor with a nearfall. Finn follows it up with Sling Blade, Theory hits a Hot Shot, fireman’s carry, ATL blocked, folding press for two! Balor with an enzuigiri from the apron, he goes up top, nobody home on the Coup de Grace and Austin hits a rolling thunder dropkick!
Hoisting him up...
Austin Theory wins by pinfall with the ATL, ensuring that 76-year-old Vincent Kennedy McMahon won’t beat him up.
Post-match, he takes a selfie with Balor and beats him down!
We get a recap of Nikki ASH turning on Rhea Ripley last week.
Rhea is interviewed backstage.
She says she wanted to stay friends and support each other, and what kind of hero attacks her friends? She’s gonna remind Nikki exactly who she is.
Ripley makes her entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, before the match can begin, Carmella and Queen Zelina Vega make their entrance and cut a promo.
Carmella says everything they predicted about Nikki ASH has come true, and Vega says she’s not only the queen, but Rhea’s fairy godmother, for getting rid of Nikki for her. Eventually ASH takes advantage of the distraction and beats Rhea down! Action to the floor, Nikki throws her into the steel steps hard!
The referee waves the match off.
Dana Brooke and Reggie are backstage.
Brooke gives him a pep talk about his match against Omos tonight and we see referee Chad Patton, R-Truth, Tamina, and Akira Tozawa watching and eating popcorn in seats behind them.
Omos makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get an Instagram top ten.
Omos vs. Reggie
The 24/7 crush comes through before the bell but Omos scares them off! Reggie dives and gets caught...
Omos wins by pinfall with the chokebomb.
Maryse makes her entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial we get some hype for our main event.
Maryse says Miz isn’t here tonight and his big mouth gets her into stuff she never agreed to and now she has to clean up his mess, and she asks Beth Phoenix to come down and talk to her, woman to woman.
Enter Beth Phoenix and Edge.
Maryse thanks her for her time and says the match at Royal Rumble has to be canceled. Nobody wants it, she claims, and they came through the same generation and have been through things together, the two minute matches and so on. And in fact, she and Beth should be best friends!
Phoenix tells her to shut up and says she’s not buying any of this. Their mixed tag isn’t off, she’s not missing the opportunity to tag with her husband for the first time, and she wants to give the crowd a little preview right now. She rushes the ring, Maryse stands firm and Miz is here to brawl with Edge on the floor!
Edge knocks him down, Beth is distracted and Maryse clobbers her with her push, laying her out and running away!
On the stage, Maryse shows us the brick she had in her purse!
Street Profits cut a promo in Gorilla and get themselves all hyped up.
Dominik and Rey Mysterio roll up to talk about how excited they are to team tonight and how excited they are to be in and hopefully win the Royal Rumble.
They all make their entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a recap of SmackDown from last week.
Apollo Crews, Commander Azeez, & Dirty Dawgz (Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode) vs. Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) & the Mysterios (Dominik & Rey Mysterio)
Dominik and Dolph to start, a tijeras takes Ziggler off his feet but he comes right back and knocks the kid down before tagging Roode in to work him over. Delayed vertical blocked, Dom tags his dad in and a tijeras ensues. Right hands, off the ropes, tilt-a-whirl headscissors, back body drop to the apron, right hand, up top, diving Frankensteiner reversed but Mysterio manages to Frankensteiner him to the floor anyway!
Match breaks down, Profits clear the apron, all eight men on the floor jawing at each other and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Rey in trouble as Crews works him over, but eventually the path is clear and he tags Dawkins in! Angelo cleans house, off the ropes, big back elbow, exploder suplex, one for Dolph too! Spinning Stinger Splash, Drill Bit, cover... Azeez breaks it up!
Action breaks down on the floor, spinebuster gets the tag, Ford off the top...
Street Profits & the Mysterios win by pinfall with frog splash from Montez Ford on Apollo Crews.
Post-match Rey dumps Dominik Mysterio over the ropes to explain to us how the Royal Rumble works.
We get footage of Bobby Lashley on After the Bell talking up the challenge of Brock Lesnar.
A video package talking both men up follows and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Miz and Maryse run into an interview and crow about laying Beth Phoenix out.
Miz says he’s the best husband because he remembered next week is Maryse’s birthday, so he’s gonna throw a big birthday party for her. They smooch and the interviewer bails.
Alexa Bliss is in the psychologist’s office again.
He welcomes her back and promises that by the end of her therapy she’ll be on the road to recovery, and proposes doing some word association. Trust, friend, own, doll, they’re all Lilly, but “imaginary” gets her to stand up and get in his face, and he says time’s up.
Bobby Lashley makes his entrance to send us to break.
Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins
Rollins with a side headlock, shot off, duck a lariat, leapfrog, Lashley with a shoulder block and he stands tall! Waistlock, Bob blocks, leapfrog, drop down, Sling Blade connects! Kick to the gut, underhooks, back body drop counters, Hurt Lock attempt blocked, upkick, low bridge sends Bob to the floor!
Suicide dive follows, off the ropes, another one gets caught and Lashley hits a belly-to-belly suplex on the floor to send us to break!
Back from commercial, Rollins posts one of Lashley’s legs! Pressing the attack, wrenching his leg over the middle rope, dropkicking the knee, stepover toehold leg drop followed by the modified figure four leglock! Dragon screw, transition into a half crab, stomp the back of the knee and reapply!
Lashley flagging but not failing, trying to stay in it, Blackout misses and Bob cuts him off with the reverse STO! Lashley with a swinging neckbreaker, the Yokosuka Cutter... Rollins kicks out! Charging in for the spear, countered with a knee, rolling elbow, off the ropes, float out, kick to the gut, underhooks... PEDIGREE BUT SETH IS SLOW TO CAPITALIZE, ONLY TWO!
Seth goes up top, Bob cuts him off, jockeying for position... BELLY-TO-BELLY SUPERPLEX! Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander attack and pull Lashley out of the ring...
Bobby Lashley wins by disqualification, presumably.
They put Bob into the post and threaten Montel Vontavious Porter at ringside before the All Mighty suplexes both of them at once! Reverse STO on Benjamin, fireman’s carry puts Alexander head-first into the post! SPEAR PUTS SHELTON THROUGH THE BARRICADE!
The Usos are here! They lay Rollins out with a Superkick Party!
That’s the show, folks.
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