Raw was live last night in Lafayette, Louisiana. At Elimination Chamber, titles changed hands and history was made. Who made history and is one step closer to WrestleMania?
Raw kicked off with COO Triple H. He feels the tension and emotion going across the WWE Universe going down the road to WrestleMania. He congratulated Sasha Banks & Bayley for becoming the first ever WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. He also congratulated Finn Balor on winning the Intercontinental Champion at Elimination Chamber.
He then brought up the person who has been swirling the news over the past few weeks, Becky Lynch. Finally, bringing up the news that was broke earlier that morning. The first inductee was announced for this years WWE Hall of Fame and it will be the group that Triple H co-founded, D-Generation X, meaning himself, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, X-Pac, Shawn Michaels and Chyna will all be taking their rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame.
However, the news did not stop. It was time to shake things up again. Triple H announced four men will be making their debut from NXT. Those four men are Ricochet, Aleister Black, NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano and the NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa. The road to WrestleMania just got a little bumpier.
Braun Strowman v. Baron Corbin: Tables Match
At Elimination Chamber, Baron Corbin defeated Braun Strowman due to interference by Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley. Tonight, Triple H gave Braun a chance to right the wrong in a tables match. Braun sought out revenge for what Baron and the group of men did to him at Elimination Chamber.
In a brutal tables match, the two men battles all over the arena. Baron continuously targeted Braun’s injured ribs that was injured the night prior at Elimination Chamber. However, Braun was able to put his injury in the back of his mind and plant Baron through a table to pick up the win. The Monster among men got a measure of much-needed revenge against Corbin.
Paul Heyman Displays Seth Rollins’ Future
After the tables match, Paul Heyman stared down Braun Strowman. Then, would go on to talk about his client’s, the Universal Champion Brock Lesnar upcoming match at WrestleMania. He did so with very little words. However, he showed a video package that told the destructive story of Brock Lesnar.
The video package showed the upbringing of Brock from a child on small farm in South Dakota. Then, developing to becoming a fighter, which led to him to WWE and then the UFC. He showed how Brock ran through all opponents from UFC, and from yesterday’s and today’s WWE. He showed how much Brock Lesnar truly has conquered throughout his lifetime.
After the package was over, he stated that Rollins had zero chance of leaving WrestleMania as Universal Champion.
Finn Balor & Ricochet v. Lio Rush & Bobby Lashley
At Elimination Chamber, Finn recaptured Championship gold for the first time in a long time by beating Lio Rush and Bobby Lashley for the Intercontinental Championship. Finn came out to declare the legacy of the Intercontinental Championship will continue as long as he holds on to the championship.
Lio Rush came out stating that Finn does not deserve to be the Intercontinental Champion. Then, Bobby Lashley came from behind to attack Finn. Lio and Bobby continued their attack until NXT’s Ricochet came down to even the odds.
This created the following tag team match. The match was a display of tons of highflyers and a powerhouse. Finn and Ricochet show why they are cornerstones of the future the WWE. The duo was able to pick up the win after Ricochet hit the 630 on Lio for the win.
Lucha House Party v. Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder
In a pretty quick matchup, Lucha House Party was able to pick up the win after Lince Dorado rolled up Curt Hawkins. The losing streak of Curt Hawkins continues.
Heavy Machinery States their Plans
In a short interview segment, the WWE Universe got to know more about Heavy Machinery and their goals for the future.
That was interrupted by Lacey Evans who would strut down the ramp and back. Heavy Machinery then mimicked her actions.
The Revival v. Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano
The new Raw Tag Team Champions The Revival celebrate finally being the Team Champions. But, there is no time to celebrate their opponents are the NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano & the NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa.
In a class Revival v. DIY matchup, these two teams show why their rivalry was so fondly remembered in NXT. The two teams went back and forth until DIY was able to hit their finisher and pick up the win in their debut on Raw.
The future is bright in the WWE.
The Boss & Hug Champs
At Elimination Chamber, Sasha Banks & Bayley became the first ever WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. They, went through every team in the Elimination Chamber to make history.
They came out to celebrate their history making moment and state their goal of being the first ever Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Nia Jax & Tamina came out to rain on their celebration. They state they are going at the front of the line to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Championships.
Dean Ambrose v. Drew McIntyre
Earlier in the night, Drew McIntyre wanted to show Triple H that he deserved to main event WrestleMania over Seth Rollins. However, Dean wanted to step up to Drew and then would go on to slap him in the face.
Drew was able to get his revenge on Dean by beating him pretty handily after hitting two consecutive Claymore kicks.
Elias v. Aleister Black
Elias came out in front of the Cajun Dome crowd and stated that the most important entity to Raw is himself. Not any of the talents from NXT.
Before Elias could begin his song, Aleister Black made his presence.
The two would go on to have a competitive match, which Aleister was able to win after hitting the Black Mass, knocking out Elias.
Ronda Rousey v. Ruby Riott: Raw Women’s Championship
At Elimination Chamber, Ronda Rousey took down Ruby Riott to retain the Raw Women’s Championship. In a rematch, Ronda was able to do it again and took down the entire Riott Squad to end Raw.
Conclusion
This Raw had tons of potential for being great especially with all the talent from NXT making their way to Raw. However, the debuts were severely lackluster and were a missed opportunity. Also, this did not feel like a Raw on the Road to WrestleMania.
David Jacobus
Staff Writer