WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Jan. 3, 2022) from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, featuring all the fallout from the Day 1 event that went down just this past Saturday night in Atlanta.
Advertised for tonight: Brock Lesnar is the new WWE champion and the entire brand has been shaken up because of that. They haven’t teased much in regards to an appearance as of this writing but one can expect at least some follow up. Meanwhile, Beth Phoenix is back to help Edge and The Miz is set to respond. Plus, it’s the official start of the build to the Royal Rumble! 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. 3
I said, “Cover me, if there is a fire, ‘cause I want you to burn first.” She screamed at me, “I want to be desired,” I said, “Easy girl, I know it hurts, but we’re gonna make it through this pro wrestling show I’m liveblogging, together.”
The show opens with a recap of the WWE Championship match at Day 1 and Brock Lesnar’s victory.
Commentary hypes up our main event, which is the originally scheduled four-way from Saturday, just as a #1 contender’s match.
Paul Heyman appears in the ring and does his usual big intro as the advocate for the reigning, defending etc., Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar makes his entrance, throwing the steel steps in the ring so he can mount them and hold the title high.
Paul hands him a mic and Brock says he’d like to give a shoutout to Roman Reigns and calls himself the REAL champion. He also acknowledges his advocate for advocating his free agency and all his moves recently. Heyman takes over and talks about getting Brock into the title match.
He says Lesnar will defend against the winner of tonight’s four-way at the Royal Rumble and breaks down his potential opponents. He says that after one week without him as special counsel, Roman Reigns already has COVID, so you can see where his career is going, and then he addresses the idea of Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar, acknowledging that Bob mostly got the better of him at Day 1.
But, he says, face to face, Bob will fall before Brock Lesnar’s might. Paul continues, putting Big E over as a great WWE Champion and a credit to the company and everyone involved, and it’ll be an honor to see him lose to the greatest WWE Champion of all time.
Randy Orton is in Gorilla when Matt Riddle rolls up all sparkly and smiles at him before scooting away as we go to break.
Back from commercial, Orton is still in Gorilla and Riddle scoots back in.
Randy asks where he’s been and says “no” to all of... this, “this” being Riddle’s new chains and sunglasses and nail polish and such. Orton makes him hand the glasses and chains over and Matt talks vacation plans but Randy wants them on the same page so they can keep winning.
Alpha Academy get a promo while they enter.
Chad Gable talks up all his accomplishments and says he’s handing out free lessons.
They attack before the bell and they clear the ring, taking Riddle to the floor and suplexing him to send us to break!
Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis Dozovic) vs. RK-BRO (Matt Riddle & Randy Orton)
Back from commercial, match is in progress and Gable and Riddle are going at it! Chad with a Tiger suplex for a nearfall, going after the leg, tag made, flapjack into a press slam from Dozer! Whip into an elbow, Matt ducks under and lands a roundhouse kick on Otis!
The path is clear but Gable yanks Orton to the floor and Dozer is able to sandwich Riddle in the corner before freight training Randy! Back inside, Matt goes for an RKO, reversed...
Alpha Academy win by pinfall with a World’s Strongest Slam from Otis Dozovic on Matt Riddle.
Montel Vontavious Porter and Bobby Lashley are interviewed backstage.
MVP says the All Mighty has to overcome insurmountable odds tonight, a truly Herculean task, before walking off. Bob says Brock fears him.
Backstage, Omos is cuddling Kevin Patrick gently as we go to break.
Back from commercial we get a recap of the AJ Styles / Omos breakup.
Backstage, Kevin Patrick goes to interview Omos and the big man palms his face like a basketball and says he’s out of words.
Entrances for our next match happen and we go to break.
Akira Tozawa & Tamina vs. Dana Brooke (c) & Reggie (WWE 24/7 Championship Mixed Tag Team Match)
Tozawa and Reggie to start, feeling out and trading kicks and a sidestep leads Akira to accidentally kick Tamina! Reggie takes advantage...
Dana Brooke (c) & Reggie win by pinfall with a front flip seated senton from Reggie on Akira Tozawa, leading Brooke to retain the WWE 24/7 Championship.
A recap of the Raw Women’s Championship match from Saturday follows.
Becky Lynch makes her entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, Becky Lynch gets on the mic and tells us what year it is.
She says the new year is a time of hope, it doesn’t matter if you’ve failed your whole life, everything can change for the better— new year, new you. She says a lot of women in the locker room have “become the WWE Raw Women’s Champion” as a resolution, but it’s a bummer for them because she’s not letting go of it and they cannot beat her.
She says she’s had a lot of time to think about her last year and marvel at what she’s become, and that’s a work of art. If you go to a museum and you see a Van Gogh you stare in awe and you cannot look away. You may not understand it all, but it makes you feel, and that’s what she does and what good art does, makes you feel.
She talks about how Liv Morgan broke a promise to all of us when she lost, and—
Enter Liv Morgan.
She says she came close to winning the title and the only thing she promised herself was that she’d give it her all and leave everything she has in the ring, and that’s exactly what she did at Day 1. Becky says that’s all well and good and she may well win the title some day after she’s retired.
Enter Bianca Belair.
She says both she and Becky know that she can throw her pretty damn far and she may have taken a little Doudrop detour and she stepped aside gracefully, but now the EST of WWE is right back in line for Big Time Becks. Lynch turns her down and Liv says she and Becky are in the middle of something and asks her to go to the back.
Belair says no offense is taken but her beef with Lynch goes way back. Becky tells them to get out of her ring and figure out who’s gonna challenge her and let her know later. They both attack Lynch and throw her out of the ring! The brawl breaks down, Bianca takes Liv out and Becky hits the Manhandle Slam on her!
Backstage, Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins are chatting.
Owens says tonight they have the same problem they had before Day 1 and the important part is that whichever one of them doesn’t win helps the other to become WWE Champion and then they go on to fight each other at WrestleMania. Seth says that’s a wonderful plan and walks off laughing, leaving a seed of doubt in Kev’s mind.
Entrances for our next match send us to break.
Carmella & Queen Zelina Vega (c) vs. Super Brutality (Nikki ASH & Rhea Ripley (WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship)
Ripley and Vega to start, jawing, Rhea reverses some kind of float over move into a delayed vertical suplex, tag to ASH, up and over, picking Zelina’s leg but she gets slung into the ropes! Reverse chinlock applied by Vega, Nikki struggling but she gets caught...
Carmella & Zelina Vega win and retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
We get a clip of Johnny Knoxville entering this year’s Royal Rumble.
Street Profits make their entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, the Mysterios cut a promo about being unstoppable.
Apollo Crews & Commander Azeez vs. Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)
Ford and Azeez to start, the big man in control, falling headbutt, back suplex, Montez lands on his feet and hits an enzuigiri and makes the tag! Crews in as well, Dawkins with a Stinger Splash and the Drill Bit but Azeez breaks it up and pulls him out to the floor!
Scoop lift, Angelo slips out and posts the big man! Back inside, Apollo with an enzuigiri, tag from Ford, spinebuster sets him up...
Street Profits win by pinfall with the frog splash from Montez Ford on Apollo Crews.
Damian Priest is interviewed in Gorilla.
He says the side of him that is furious is the side that Dolph Ziggler wants, but he’s gonna get the cool and collected Priest, but no matter what, he’s gonna retain the title.
Damian Priest makes his entrance and we go to break.
Back from commercial, Doudrop rolls up on Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville to complain about being cut in line for a title match.
They’re confused as to what the issue is and she says she’s tired of seeing the same woman challenging every week, and eventually they offer her a #1 contender’s match.
Damian Priest (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler (WWE United States Championship Title Changes Hands on Disqualification or Countout Match)
Circling, Ziggler slaps him in the face and Priest throws him in the corner, lighting him up with body blows and windmill punches, breaking at referee Eddie Orengo’s count of four and knocking Dolph to the floor! Headed out after him, Ziggler ducks a kick and goes for the big DDT, hitting it after a struggle and sending us to break.
Back from commercial, Priest in control, charging back elbow sets up a suplex lift, Ziggler floats out and posts him hard before taking his head off with a running knee... NOPE! Damian laying kicks in, setting up a Dominator... STILL NO! Up top, Dolph cuts him off, thinking superplex but Priest slips out and drops him with a kick to the mouth!
Robert Roode runs interference, the Fameasser connects... AND PRIEST KICKS OUT! Damian stares Roode down before dropping Ziggler with a lariat! He goes to the floor to beat Roo down, chair in hand, referee Eddie Orengo counting and he gets to seven, causing Priest to return to the ring, chair in hand!
Dolph begs him to hit him, Damian lifts it up as Robert eggs him on too, and he just throws the chair at Roode! Zig Zag... NOT ENOUGH! Superkick reversed...
Damian Priest wins by pinfall with Reckoning to retain the WWE United States Championship.
Austin Theory rolls up on Vince McMahon.
Vince says he lost to Finn Balor but he made it up by beating the holy hell out of him and that’s an admirable quality— if you can’t beat ‘em one way, you find some other way they don’t see coming, and he invites Theory to take a seat. He says he has a surprise for him.
Austin Theory is in the Royal Rumble and he has an opportunity to win and main event WrestleMania!
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, Miz and Maryse are in the ring.
He talks up his credentials as a multi-time grand slam champion and seeing the look of defeat in Edge’s eyes, and complains about Beth Phoenix getting involved before running footage of the “bloodbath” on the go-home. He says none of that matters because true love always wins and he and Maryse kiss.
He says he’s vowed to end Edge’s career but when he met Edge in the ring, it wasn’t any of the legendary Edges, it was an Edge who hid behind his wife, and what kind of man does that? Maryse says she’d punch Beth right in the face if she was here tonight, and—
Enter Beth Phoenix, followed closely thereafter by Edge.
They get in the ring and call Miz and Maryse out for not taking the L and moving on, and he knows them better than that. They’ll bitch and moan and make every excuse in the book for losing, and he crows about leaving Miz at a loss for words for once. Edge says he doesn’t ask Beth to fight his battles, and she says it was all her idea.
And Edge’s idea is this, if he wants another shot, they’ll give him what he wants. Imagine the marquee, Miz and Maryse vs. Edge and Beth Phoenix! After a little prevarication, Miz accepts but Maryse immediately starts arguing with him and Phoenix knocks her down!
Big E is interviewed backstage.
He says being WWE Champion meant something to him and it means a lot to some people too, and there’s no shame in losing to Brock Lesnar, but he’s not gonna wallow in self-pity, he’s going to make sure his next chapter is his best chapter, and tonight he starts his path back to reclaiming what is his and he’ll be damned if there’s a soul on earth that can stop him.
And so we go to break.
AJ Styles vs. Omos
Squaring up, Omos compares their heights and Styles unloads with leg kicks! Big man throws him in the corner but AJ keeps throwing hands and bails to the safety of the floor! A leg kick as Omos goes to leave the ring, but Styles comes back in too soon and gets dropped by a big boot!
Corner body avalanche from the big man, he whips AJ across hard and sends him to the floor through the post! Back inside, Styles Rush, fireman’s carry cuts him off but Styles slips out! Boots up, to the apron, going for the Phenomenal Forearm but Omos swats him out of midair with an overhand chop!
Fireman’s carry, dropping AJ in front of him, lifting him up...
Omos wins by pinfall with the chokebomb.
We get a recap of our opening segment.
Kevin Owens makes his entrance to send us to break.
Back from commercial, we get a recap of Alexa Bliss’ last appearance and are promised a look at her journey to return to Raw, next week.
We get the rest of our entrances for our main event and go to break.
Back from commercial, we get a hype reel for the Royal Rumble.
Big E vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins (WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Match)
Lashley takes Rollins to the floor and puts him into the post right as E knocks Owens down to the apron! Off the ropes, suicide spear connects! Bob and Big square up to trade right hands, he knocks E away and gets Owens up for a delayed vertical suplex! KO sidesteps a spear through the timekeeper’s barricade!
E gets into it with Seth and clears the announce table, but Owens makes the save and throws Big into the steel steps! Kev and Rollins hoist him up and powerbomb him through the announce desk to send us to break!
Back from commercial, Rollins and Owens are still holding court, beating Bobby Lashley up. Assisted cannonball in the corner, but Big and Bob decide to work together and run the heels off through the crowd! They fight out into the concourse and brawl as we go to break!
Back from commercial, Bob and Big are brawling in the crowd, they run into Rollins and fight him... AND KEVIN OWENS HITS A SENTON ATOMICO OFF AN ARCHWAY! Back in the ring, Owens with another senton atomico, Rollins with the frog splash... BIG E KICKS OUT!
Superkick party, the match breaks down as Bobby Lashley comes back and cleans house, he spears E out of his boots, one for Seth too, KO cuts him off but gets speared too...
Bobby Lashley wins by pinfall with the spear to become #1 contender to the WWE Championship.
We get recaps to pad for time while Lashley celebrates.
We see Brock Lesnar watching backstage when an interview rolls up.
Asked for comment, he says to tell Roman Reigns he’ll see him at SmackDown on Friday.
That’s the show, folks.
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