By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE Raw on the USA Network
Aired live on January 27, 2020 from San Antonio, Texas at AT&T Center
[Hour One] Raw opened with a video recapping Drew McIntyre winning the men’s Royal Rumble match… The Raw opening aired… Pyro shot off on the stage…
The broadcast team of Tom Phillips, Jerry Lawler, and Byron Saxton checked in and hyped the previously announced Raw Tag Title match and Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo for the U.S. Championship, Charlotte Flair announcing the title she will challenge for, and touted the return of Edge…
Powell’s POV: There was no mention of Tom Phillips replacing Vic Joseph or the addition of Byron Saxton to the Raw broadcast team. I thought Joseph did a good job. At the same time, good for Phillips and Saxton returning to main roster television.
Royal Rumble winner Drew McIntyre made his entrance. Fans chanted “you deserve it.” McIntyre spoke about how good it felt to be the Rumble winner. “I challenge Brock Lesnar,” McIntyre said. He said most of the wrestlers in the back are terrified of Lesnar. “Not me,” he said. McIntyre said he looked into Lesnar’s eyes when he entered the Rumble match and thought that he could Claymore Kick him over the top rope. He said he would beat Lesnar at WrestleMania.
McIntyre said he had too much energy and needed to work it out. He said he just won the Rumble and asked who wanted to make a name for themselves by facing him. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson made their entrance. Anderson said it sounded like an open challenge and he accepted. Gallows told Anderson that he would fight McIntyre, who asked the fans if they were thinking what he was thinking. “You can both fight me tonight,” McIntyre said before calling for a referee…
1. Drew McIntyre vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a handicap match. McIntyre suplexed Anderson, who quickly tagged out to Gallows. McIntyre worked over the big man with chops. Gallows caught McIntyre with a knee, then tagged in Anderson. The heels set up for a Magic Killer, but McIntyre avoided it. McIntyre hit a Future Shock DDT on Gallows. McIntyre went to the corner and led the crowd in a countdown before hitting Anderson with a Claymore Kick. McIntyre led another countdown and then blasted Gallows with a Claymore Kick. McIntyre put Gallows on top of Anderson and then pinned him…
Drew McIntyre defeated Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a handicap match in 2:15.
After the match, McIntyre tossed both opponents to ringside. Brock Lesnar entered the ring behind McIntyre and put him down with an F5. Lesnar held up the WWE Championship while fans booed. Lesnar went to ringside where Paul Heyman was waiting. The duo walked to the stage and Lesnar looked intently back at McIntyre heading into a break… [C]
Powell’s POV: Obviously, a good win for McIntyre. I get that he’s a higher priority than Gallows and Anderson right now, but I would have preferred seeing him beat the established tag team in back to back singles matches rather than plowing through them in a handicap match to give them some level of protection. McIntyre’s promo was well delivered and well received, and the Lesnar post match attack was solid. I am really looking forward to their WrestleMania match.
2. Rey Mysterio vs. MVP. A brief MVP video package aired in between the entrances. Mysterio performed a leaping kick to MVP’s head. MVP rolled to ringside. MVP performed a huracanrana from the apron that sent MVP crashing into the barricade. [C]
Mysterio was in offensive control until MVP caught him going for a springboard move and then slammed him to the mat. MVP did his ballin’ elbow and covered Mysterio, who grabbed the bottom rope to break the pin. Mysterio came back with a 619 that ended up hitting MVP in the back, then he followed up with a springboard splash and scored the pin…
Rey Mysterio beat MVP in 9:00.
The broadcast team hyped Edge’s return for later in the show… [C]
Powell’s POV: It was nice to see MVP get a match on Raw in addition to his Rumble appearance. I don’t know if he had anything to do with MVP returning, but Paul Heyman was definitely high on him back in the day. I didn’t get the feeling from this match that the 46 year-old MVP will be sticking around, but hopefully this will lead to some lucrative bookings on the indies.
The WrestleMania video aired. We are 69 days away… The broadcast team recapped the Lesnar and McIntyre angle from earlier and we got our first look at the Lesnar vs. McIntyre graphic for WrestleMania…
3. Aleister Black vs. a local wrestler. Black hit the Black Mass kick and scored the pin.
Aleister Black beat a local wrestler in 0:35.
After the match, Black took the mic and recalled being eliminated from the Royal Rumble. He said that before anyone thinks that Seth Rollins or Buddy Murphy are to blame, the loss is actually on him. He says he owns his losses. Black said he made the mistake of waiting for people to knock on his door to pick a fight with him. Black sat down crosslegged in the ring and said that changes as of tonight. Black told the Raw locker room that he will now bring the fight to them…
The broadcast team stood behind their desk and recapped Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy beating the Viking Raiders to win the Raw Tag Titles last week. Rollins and Murphy made their entrance for the tag title match… [C] Royal Rumble still shots were shown…
Rollins cut a promo in the ring while Murphy stood by. Rollins said he nearly won the Rumble match for the second year in a row, but it was not in the cards. Rollins called for a round of applause for McIntyre and warned him to enjoy it while it lasts because the fans will stab him in the back so fast. Rollins boasted over eliminating Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens. Rollins eventually called for them to come out.
Kevin Owens made his entrance with a mic in hand. Samoa Joe’s entrance followed and had his own mic. Owens said Rollins has been an absolute jackass and told him that he sucks now. Joe acted surprised that Rollins was so eager to fight. Owens said it’s almost as if Rollins had his hired goons hiding somewhere waiting to attack.
Rollins said they don’t need AOP to beat them, so he told them to stay backstage. Rollins said he had a camera crew, then AOP were shown standing backstage. Joe insinuated that the footage could have been taped. Rollins asked AOP to say something to Owens, and one of them spoke. Owens had Rollins clarify that AOP were in his dressing room, then thanked him and said they don’t have to look for them anymore. The Viking Raiders were shown attacking AOP heading into a break… [C]
Powell’s POV: One of the positives of the resurgence of Raw is that we actually get to see the babyfaces outsmart the heels from time to time.
[Hour Two] Footage aired of Edge cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to beat John Cena at New Year’s Revolution in 2006…
4. Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy vs. Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe for the Raw Tag Titles. Mike Rome delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Joe clotheslined Murphy to ringside. Owens performed a cannonball onto Rollins at ringside, then Joe performed a suicide dive onto Murphy heading into a break. [C]
Owens hit a top rope frogsplash on Rollins for a near fall. A graphic promoting the U.S. Title match appeared on the lower part of the screen (it’s happened a couple times now). Rollins performed a sit-out powerbomb on Rollins for another near fall. Murphy checked in and went for a superplex on Owens, who fought him off and sent Murphy down face first. Owens performed a Swanton and had the pin, but Rollins broke it up. A short time later, Owens performed a Stunner on Rollins, but he was rolled up and pinned by Murphy…
Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy beat Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe in 15:50 to retain the Raw Tag Titles.
Powell’s POV: A good tag match. The live crowd wasn’t as hot for this as I expected them to be. Perhaps part of the problem is that WWE didn’t really make viewers wait for and anticipate the match. It probably didn’t help that Joe disappeared after the commercial break. The broadcast team showed highlights of Joe crashing hard on a suicide dive. He was ordered to the back and was shown protesting.
Highlights aired of Edge winning the 2010 Royal Rumble match. Additional footage aired of Edge returning last night… Andrade and Zelina Vega made their entrance for the U.S. Championship match… [C]
Imagery of San Antonio was shown and then still shots aired of the Raw Women’s Championship match from the Royal Rumble event…
Becky Lynch was interviewed by Charly Caruso on the backstage interview set. Lynch said that after she showered, she looked at her title and it hit her. Lynch said she really is in a different league. Lynch said she has beaten everyone in the locker room. Caruso asked Lynch what would happen if Charlotte Flair challenges her. “If she challenges me, it won’t be the first time, but it will damn sure be the last time,” Lynch said. She turned around and shows off a GOAT logo on the back of her jacket…
5. Andrade (w/Zelina Vega) vs. Humberto Carrillo for the U.S. Championship. Carrillo’s entrance was also televised, and Rome delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Saxton told Lawler that Andrade is “a certifiable a-hole.” Carrillo performed a dive onto Andrade at ringside going into a break. [C] Late in the match, Carrillo connected with a kick and then performed a moonsault. Carrillo made the cover, but Vega ran in and broke it up for the disqualification.
Humberto Carrillo defeated Andrade by DQ in 10:40 by DQ in a U.S. Title match.
After the match, Carrillo got fired up and tore a pad back at ringside. Carrillo performed a hammerlock DDT onto the exposed concrete, just as Andrade once did to him…
Lawler hyped that Charlotte Flair would announce which champion she will challenge at WrestleMania coming up after the break… [C] An ad for NXT on USA hyped the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament…
Powell’s POV: I loved the sinister smile that Andrade flashed when it was announced that he was still the U.S. Champion. The finish with Vega interfering was solid, as it should build some sympathy for Carrillo. Meanwhile, Carrillo returning the favor with the hammerlock DDT on the floor gave him a bit of an edge that’s been missing. Vega did a good job of acting horrified by Andrade taking the DDT. It will be interesting to see how long Andrade sells the DDT given that Carrillo was sidelined for roughly a month.
Footage aired of Edge announcing his retirement in 2011…
Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair made her entrance. She boasted that she won the Rumble match. “I did something that I said I was going to do,” she said. Flair said she didn’t want to brag about it, but that’s what she does because she’s Charlotte Flair. She pointed to the big screen where a video package on the women’s Rumble match was shown.
“I did that,” Flair said. “I outlasted 29 other women.” Flair said that she will face the champion of her choice at WrestleMania. She said she doesn’t take the decision lightly and it means a lot to her. “At WrestleMania, I am going to challenge…for a championship, because I am still thinking about it.” Flair laughed and wooed.
Asuka and Kairi Sane made their entrance. Asuka congratulated Flair while shouting in English and Japanese. The Kabuki Warriors entered the ring and an Asuka chant broke out with some fans. Flair recalled Asuka winning the 2018 Royal Rumble match and asked if she wanted to celebrate with her. Asuka said that if she entered the Rumble, she could have won. Flair asked if Asuka was challenging her. They attacked her and performed a double suplex. Flair rolled to ringside heading into a break. [C]
6. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka (w/Kairi Sane). The women collided with a shoulder block and both women stayed on their feet. Flair fired some chops at Asuka, then knocked her down with another shoulder block.
[Hour Three] Later, Asuka performed a nice missile dropkick on Flair. She applied an abdominal stretch on Flair and then wrenched her arm back, then rolled her over, but Flair shot up and dropkicked her. Flair fired off chops at Asuka. Flair placed Asuka on the top rope and then set up for a move, but Asuka shoved Flair to the floor (kinda, it looked like Flair jumped and Asuka was late with the push). [C]
Late in the match, Flair applied the figure four and then bridged into the figure eight. Asuka was right by the ropes, but Sane leapt off the top rope with an Insane Elbow for the DQ.
Charlotte Flair beat Asuka by DQ in roughly 14:00.
After the match, Flair roughed up Sane until Asuka dragged her to ringside…
Powell’s POV: This DQ finish felt a little too similar to the DQ finish in the previous match. I remain clueless as to whether they want fans to boo or cheer Flair. She was heelish in her promo and then worked against two heels.
The Street Profits did their thing backstage. Kelly Kelly showed up. Montez Ford sang her song. Angelo Dawkins introduced himself. She said she knew who he was. Ford said Dawkins and Kelly were cute together. He said we’re less than 70 days away from WrestleMania, Edge is in the house, and “we want the smoke”…
Mojo Rawley and Riddick Moss made their entrance together for a WWE 24/7 Championship match. Moss was introduced as Rawley’s “offensive lineman”… [C] Roman Reigns and New Day were advertised for WWE Backstage…
Rawley stood in the ring with Moss and played up the fact that he was defending the title inside the ring. He said people could come and get it in the ring, backstage, at the gym, or at your mother’s house. Rawley said that as any franchise quarterback knows, you need a strong offensive lineman to watch your blindside. Rawley introduced Moss. Rawley said that anybody who was going to try to take the title from him knew they were about to be blocked. No Way Jose led his goof troop to the ring to a flat reaction…
7. Mojo Rawley (w/Riddick Moss) vs. No Way Jose (w/Rosebud Rejects) for the WWE 24/7 Championship. Rawley got all the offense. He picked up Jose and slammed him down face side first, then pinned him.
Mojo Rawley defeated No Way Jose in 0:20.
After the match, the guy dressed in the Cheeseburger contest ran in and rolled up and pinned Rawley. The man unmasked and revealed himself to be R-Truth. Moss glared at Truth, who danced, then turned and was hit with the same finisher that Rawley used on Jose. Rawley scored the pin to regain the title…
Powell’s POV: I guess this means Moss is a terrible offensive lineman since Truth got to the quarterback with ease. In fairness, Moss is a Minnesota native and probably grew up watching my beloved Vikings, who haven’t had a good offensive line in years.
Footage aired from the wedding angle of Liv Morgan talking about her relationship with Lana, then Lana made her entrance for their match… [C] Liv Morgan made her entrance coming out of the break…
8. Liv Morgan vs. Lana. Rusev and Bobby Lashley were banned from ringside for the match. A graphic hyped Edge appearing live. Morgan put Lana down and went to the ropes, but Lana knocked her to the apron. Back in the ring, Lana threw a kick to Morgan’s head and covered her for a two count. Lana suplexed Morgan and boasted that she’s the best. Morgan came back and performed a double stomp to Lana’s back. Moments later, Morgan executed a Flatliner from the ropes and scored the pin…
Liv Morgan beat Lana in 2:40.
Erick Rowan was shown walking backstage with his pet cage… [C] An ad for Smackdown focused on it being the first show after the Rumble…
Powell’s POV: The crowd only reacted to Lana boasting that she’s the best and offered light applause after Morgan got the pin. By the way, I wonder if Fox executives are asking why Raw ended up with both Royal Rumble winners and Edge?
9. Erick Rowan vs. Branden Vice. The bell rang and Rowan dropkicked Vice to ringside. Rowan followed and knocked him down with a running cross body block. Rowan threw Vice onto the apron and back inside the ring. Rowan performed a Jackhammer and had the pin, but he picked up Vice and gave him the Iron Claw Slam, then scored the pin…
Erick Rowan beat Branden Vice in 1:05.
The footage of Edge’s return was shown again… [C]
Powell’s POV: Man, I thought this was Vice’s night.
Edge’s music played and the crowd erupted as he made his entrance. Edge came out in street clothes and rushed over to the broadcast table and exchanged high-fives before going back to the stage and posing while pyro shot off behind him. Edge said that as a performer, artist, and athlete, and then said wrestlers are all those things. He said the reaction he got at the Rumble and the reaction the Raw crowd gave him, the fans have no idea what it means to him. He thanked them. Fans chanted “you deserve it.” Edge replied, “You’re damn right I do.”
Edge said it was time to address the elephant in the room. He recalled being medically disqualified. He said he opted not to live with “what ifs.” He said the years went by and he started to feel pretty good. He said he started to ask himself what if he came back home. “So I got to work,” Edge said. Fans chanted, “Welcome home.” Edge said he got a second neck surgery and then he busted his ass. He said he got in the best shape of his life at 46 years-old so that he could step back in the ring and end his career on his terms.
Edge said he saw some old faces and new faces in the Rumble. He mentioned several by name and said hopefully he sees them down the road. Edge said he wasn’t fooling himself, this may not last long. He said that he hopes all the fans join him on this ride. A “yes” chant broke out. Edge said that was his first “yes” chant and he has to thank Daniel Bryan for it because it was pretty cool.
Edge said he knows he’s a little older, grayer, and has some crow’s feet, but it’s the road map that got him there. “And I have one thing, one thing that you can’t fabricate, you can’t fake, you can’t force down someone’s throat… I have grit,” he said. “If you knock me down, I get back up.”
Randy Orton’s music interrupted Edge and he made his entrance. Orton entered the ring and hugged Edge, who reciprocated. Orton said it’s no secret that he’s self-destructive, particularly when he was younger. He said that when he dug a hole that he couldn’t get out of, Edge was the one guy who reached down and pulled him out.
“Welcome home, Edge, welcome home,” Orton said. Orton added that Edge is a brother to him. He said feeling their chemistry was special. Orton said he had a “what if” for Edge and asked what if Rated RKO got back together one more time. Edge looked to the crowd, which responded with another “yes” chant.
[Overrun] Before Edge could answer, Orton dropped him with an RKO. Orton brought a chair into the ring and slammed it over the back of Edge. Orton surveyed the damage and then threw the chair down before going to the corner of the ring and looking down while a “you suck” chant broke out. Orton placed Edge’s head inside the chair and looked conflicted and mouthed something to himself. Orton looked pained as he stood up and went to the ropes. Orton paused and continued to look conflicted, then left the ropes and went back to the ring.
Orton pulled Edge’s head out from the chair and left the ring while the fans booed. Orton went to ringside and grabbed a second chair, then set up Edge’s head on top of it. Orton looked to the crowd and smirked, then gave Edge a Conchairto. Orton sat down in the ring, then leaned in and said something in Edge’s ear. Orton got to his feet as the show went off the air…
Powell’s POV: An outstanding angle. Edge’s speech was well delivered and helped answer some of the questions about his return. Orton’s attack felt so ruthless and I enjoyed the way he played it. I love how quiet the crowd was after he gave Edge the Conchairto. This was awesome and puts Edge in a heated feud just one night after he returned. Let me know what you thought of Raw by assigning it a letter grade in our post show poll available on the main page. I will be back later tonight with my weekly Dot Net Members’ exclusive audio review.
A short time later, Rollins performed a Stunner on Rollins, but he was rolled up and pinned by Murphy…
Go stun yourselves.
A short time later, Rollins performed a Stunner on Rollins, but he was rolled up and pinned by Murphy…
I saw some screencaps of the Lana suplex and you can see some of Liv Morgans bidness.
That’s the closest you’ll ever be to a real woman’s business.
The only thing I can find on it is here, about 58 seconds in.
https://twitter.com/jamiemorgan5984/status/1222001932841123843?s=20
Orton is The Big Show of the present. He turned from heel to face to heel in a span of 3 months. Lord help us
Pleeeease don’t screw up Drew McIntyre. He’s the closest thing to an old school Attitude Era anti-hero on the entire roster…so please, WWE, learn from the Seth Rollins babyface debacle…and don’t muck Drew McIntyre. Keep the crowd pandering to a minimum…keep the intensity up…keep the sense of humor in his promos…and don’t have him lean too much on the claymore. Now that Brock will probably disappear for a month…have Drew do something cool. Maybe save Edge from another Orton beatdown or something the fans will love.
WWE has a habit of completely killing build up on occasion. For example, they could have milked this “reunion” of Rated RKO for a few weeks/maybe a month or so, had them re-establish themselves as a dominate team and even get some victories over some of today’s top tag teams, then out of the blue perhaps while challenging for the Raw Tag Team Championship, Orton turns on and/or abandons Edge, or maybe have Edge take the losing fall and Orton blaming him solely for the loss and for being a “weak link” before turning on him brutally. But anyway it’s like “welcome back my old acquaintance/sometimes friend/sometimes enemy how about I lure you into a false sense of security and tease a reunion and then end your career for good?”
Edge could have factored into Orton’s seeming feud with Rollins and the gang since for those who remember Rollins used Edge as a hostage of sorts to try and force John Cena (for some reason the only one who could) to reinstate the Authority a few years ago. You would think Edge would owe Rollins some type of receipt for pretty much threatening to break his neck and make him into a quadriplegic just so Triple H and Stephanie could return to power.
Oh come on… Todd Steussie, Randall McDaniel, Jeff Christy, David Dixon, and Korey Stringer was a pretty good offensive line. Yes, I am still frozen in time between beating the Cardinals and losing to the Falcons in the 1998 playoffs… I actually think that Minnesota wrestlers Curtis Axel, Otis, Riddick Moss, Erick Rowan, and Chad Gable would be better than our actual current OL. Kidding…sort of.
Maybe Gable could play the undersized Jeff Christie role, but I’d bump him for Brock. I remember that week between the Cards and Falcons game, listening to Paul Allen’s show every morning, and basically just living to get to Sunday. I attended both games. That first one was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, getting blackout drunk wasn’t enough to make me forget the Falcons game. Sigh.
The only thing that came close to making me forget that game was the New Orleans loss in 2009. How do you forget an NFC title game loss? Lose another one in a totally different demoralizing way! But Atlanta was worse… at home and as a 10 point favorite. Oh, I didn’t think Lesnar was eligible given his SD roots and current residence. But yeah, that’s a fair play.
Have you ever thought of this… Reigns and Lesnar for the title at WM31… A Viking was guaranteed to walk out with the championship. But nope it was Rollins. The Minnesota Vikings are the only team on Earth where a championship contest can include only Vikings, and still the Vikings don’t win.