With WWE champion Drew McIntyre on the sidelines for a second week after a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, WWE turned to Randy Orton and Alexa Bliss again to do the heavy storyline on Raw. For fans expecting McIntyre’s return and the continuation of his storyline with Goldberg, both men will appear in the Raw go-home show in front of the Royal Rumble next week.
For Orton and Bliss, both had to deal in their own ways with Bliss’ dropout that ended the Raw’s previous week by shooting a fireball in Orton’s face. Orton now wears a fire mask, claiming he was deformed in the attack, while claiming he will dominate the Rumble on January 31 and win.
Bliss, however, seems to be pulling even deeper into the dark after burning Orton. On Monday, it was Asuka who felt Bliss’ anger and lost their power play after Bliss changed in the middle of the game.
CBS Sports has been with you all night, bringing you summaries and highlights of all the action. Read on for everything you need to know about the ThunderDome.
Orton and Bliss continue the fire saga
Orton opened the show with a promo in a dark room, with a mask over his face. He said the voices in his head have never been louder than since he was burned by an Alexa Bliss fireball. According to him, Bliss interrupted the redirection of the anger he had with himself for showing compassion by not setting her on fire. Orton also said he blamed The Fiend, not Bliss for what happened to him. Orton nevertheless said that his ‘sick tribulation’ would not take him out of the Royal Rumble match and promised that he would burn off the dreams of everyone in the match.
Bliss presented Asuka on Alexa’s Playground and repeatedly chatted with the empty seat on the swing set. Bliss declared for the Royal Rumble and became increasingly angry when an increasingly nervous Asuka said or did something to have ‘fun’. These ‘transgressions’ include Asuka trying to hold a dance party, saying ‘yowie wowie’ and trying to sit on the empty seat.
Defeat Alexa Bliss. Asuka via val after beating his sister Abigail. Bliss smiled when Asuka would get an effective foul, but it was only a few minutes before the lights went out in the ThunderDome and cut the show to commercial version. When the show resumed, Bliss ‘transformed’ and stood in the middle of the ring, showing no emotion as Asuka surrounded her. Bliss repeatedly blocked with ease and dived under Asuka’s strikes before hitting her on the canvas with a shoulder pad. Asuka hit a knee and sent Bliss into the corner, only for Bliss to do the Bray Wyatt back bridge while holding the ropes. Bliss tried to close the gap, but was hit by a series of strikes by Asuka. Bliss still managed to grab Asuka and beat Sister Abigail for the victory. Before the show went off the air, the camera flickered and Bliss turned back and said, “Let me in,” while The Fiend’s voice was playing in the stadium.
The whole corner with Orton, Bliss and Wyatt gets stuck in the “love it or hate it” area. For some, the beats are much more than not. For others, the supernatural angle is going to be a miss. The match between Bliss and Asuka was solid and entertaining enough with Bliss showing a more complete “devilish” transformation in corporeality and mannerisms. The real fog on the night was the Orton promo, where he appeared deformed from last week’s fireball after WWE ‘reported’ that he had sustained ‘minor’ or ‘first-degree’ burns. The corner is still pulling Orton away from the things that probably made him the best wrestler in the world in 2020. Hits and misses. Hate it or love it. Grade: C
What else happened on WWE Raw?
Charlotte Flair defeats Peyton Royce via submission with figure eight. Ric Flair arrived at the building with Lacey Evans, who said that their ‘relationship’ only involved learning from the best wrestler ever and that they were Royce vs. Flair go watch. The couple came out in one of Ric’s robes during the match with Evans. While the distraction almost cost Flair the win, she returned to record the submission, refusing to break the hold after the game. Later that evening, Charlotte said it was time for her to use the lessons she learned from ‘The Dirtiest Player in the Game’.
The Hurt Business def. Lucha House Party & Riddle by Submission when Bobby Lashley put Gran Metalik in the Hurt Lock. Riddle ran into Hurt Business behind the stage. Everyone exchanged insults until Lashley stomped on Riddle’s sanded feet. The Hurt Business internal issues with Cedric Alexander trying to steal the spotlight continued through the match until an angry Lashley entered himself and finished Gran Metalik. After the game, Riddle hit Lashley with a cheap shot before running away.
Mace def. Xavier Woods via election to a tilt-and-swirl pavement. Mustafa Ali said the group wants to break Kofi Kingston’s spirit by breaking Woods. Retaliation’s distraction led to the end.
Defeat Shayna Baszler. Mandy Rose via submission with the Kirifuda clutch. Before the match, Baszler warned everyone in the Royal Rumble that she would come for them, including teammate Nia Jax. After the match, Dana Brooke dropped Jax in Baszler and sent the duo into the ring post.
AJ Styles Defeat Ricochet By Pen after hitting the Styles Clash. Adam Pearce told Ricochet that a win against Styles would give “a long way” to give him a chance at the Royal Rumble. For the second consecutive week, Styles shattered dreams and Ricochet bounced off the ropes directly into the Styles Clash for the win.
The Miz and John Morrison presented The Dirt Sheet. After Goldberg appeared in the segment for the first two hours of the show, The Dirt Sheet began with Miz and Morrison proposing the former world champion to bring Gillberg (61-year-old Duane Gill) to the fore. The segment was then interrupted by actor David Krumholtz with a partially exposed butt and a small sword pretending to be Drew McIntyre. This led to Miz announcing that Goldberg and McIntyre would both lose at the Royal Rumble because he would earn his money in the bank contract during the event and win the WWE Championship.
Drew McIntyre cut a short promotion from his home. McIntyre, still quarantined after his COVID-19 diagnosis, said he would be at Raw again next week and encouraged Goldberg to show up and meet him there.
Jeff Hardy defeats Jaxson Ryker via disqualification when Elias interfered in the match. Similar to last week, Ryker and Elias were not on the same page about what ‘did not help’ meant, but it was Ryker honestly not that Elias just had to help Elias step in and cause the DQ. Hardy tried to attack after the game, but Ryker hit him with a Bossman Slam.