The January 29th edition of WWE RAW aired live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA, and was the first episode after Royal Rumble 2018.
– Michael Cole and Corey Graves are joined by Jonathan Coachman at the broadcast table, who is replacing Booker T on the commentary team.
– Stephanie McMahon comes out to the ring to kick off the show. She talks about the history-making women’s Royal Rumble match last night, and then introduces Asuka. Asuka comes down to the ring, and Stephanie announces a women’s Elimination Chamber match. Asuka speaks briefly and says nobody is ready for her at WrestleMania. Sasha Banks comes out to interrupt, and says she proved she’s ready to beat Asuka. Sasha and Asuka come face to face and talk trash. Stephanie books Sasha Banks vs. Asuka for tonight, and they both seem happy about that decision.
– Braun Strowman is out to the ring next, and we go to commercial break.
– Last Man Standing: Kane vs. Braun Strowman: This one is a qualifying match for the Elimination Chamber. Back from the break, Braun Strowman and Kane are brawling all over ringside. They fight through the arena with pipes and chairs as weapons. Strowman beats Kane over to the commentary table area, then Strowman flips over the platform the table is on ontop of Kane. Kane is buried under the announce table and other rubble, and Strowman looks happy with the result. Strowman walks off and taunts the crowd before leaving. There’s no sign of motion from Kane. Referees and trainers yell for paramedics to come get Kane. Corey Graves approaches Strowman on the ramp, and asks him why he just did that to Kane. Strowman says he just did his job, and walks off.
Winner: Braun Strowman
– After the break, Kurt Angle confronts Braun Strowman backstage. Angle yells at Strowman for continuing to do things like this. Strowman says he was the last man standing tonight, and he’ll be the last man standing in his war with Brock Lesnar too. Strowman storms off and Angle looks frustrated.
– Elias is in the ring for a song. Elias wants to claim his spot in the Elimination Chamber, and asks who is walking with him. Elias will face Matt Hardy up next in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match.
– Matt Hardy vs. Elias: The winner of this one will go on to the Elimination Chamber. Hardy starts off strong off the opening bell and works over Elias in the corner. Elias comes back and wraps Hardy’s shoulder around the ring post several times. Elias starts working over Matt’s shoulder and trying to keep the Woken one grounded. Matt tries to fight his way back up but Elias drops him and keeps working on the shoulder. Hardy finally hulks up with a series of headbutts, then an elbow. He drops Elias for a two count. Matt repeatedly slams Elias’ head on the middle turnbuckle, then hits a running clothesline on him. Elias starts fighting back, but Matt stuns him with an elbow to the face, then Matt hits a flying elbow off the middle rope. Hardy follows up with the Side Effect for a two count. Bray Wyatt flashes on the Titantron and distracts Hardy. Elias capitalizes with a big boot on Hardy, then the Drift Away for the three count.
Winner: Elias
– After the match, Wyatt appears on the big screen and laughs at Matt Hardy, who is still recovering in the ring.
– We see a selfie video from The Miz, who talks about facing Roman Reigns, and makes a prediction that Tom Brady will crush the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
– We see promo videos for the Mixed Match Challenge from Strowman & Alexa Bliss, and Becky Lynch & Sami Zayn.
– A new announce table has just now been assembled at ringside for Cole, Graves and Coach.
– Intercontinental Champion The Miz is out to the ring next, and he’s joined by Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel.
– The Miz (c) vs. Roman Reigns: The IC Title is on the line in this one. Reigns starts with an uppercut right off the opening bell on the Champion. Reigns takes Miz into the corner with a headbutt and pummels on him. The Miz starts trying to come back with chops, but Reigns no-sells them and drops him with an uppercut. Reigns clotheslines Miz outside, and Axel and Dallas check on the Champion. Reigns steps outside and whips Miz into the ring steps, then stares down Axel and Dallas. Reigns takes Miz back in the ring, then clotheslines him right back outside. Reigns gets a steel chair and chases off Axel and Dallas. Reigns almost hits Miz with the chair, but decides against it when the ref tells him not to. Miz grabs Reigns by the tights and pulls him face-first into the ring post. Back in the ring, Miz continues beating on Reigns and tries to keep The Big Dog grounded. Reigns comes back with a Samoan Drop and both men are down. They get up and start trading punches, but then Reigns fires up with a series of clotheslines. Reigns drops the Champion with flying clothesline, then goes for a Superman punch but misses. Miz takes out Reigns’ knee, then grabs him and puts him in the Figure Four. Reigns finally breaks the hold, then fights his way up and hits a sit-out powerbomb on Miz for a two count. Miz starts untying the middle turnbuckle in a corner, then Reigns comes up and grabs him. The ref tries to separate them, and Miz hits a cheap shot thumb to Reigns’ eye behind the ref’s back. Miz follows up with a Skull Crushing Finale for a two count. Reigns follows up with a Superman punch shortly after. Reigns gets up and looks like he wants the spear, but Axel distracts the ref and Dallas pulls Miz outside for a breather. Reigns comes around the ring and starts dropping everyone. Reigns throws Miz back in the ring and the ref checks on him. Dallas hits a cheap shot on Reigns, so Reigns throws him in the ring. Reigns punches Axel off the apron, then hits a spear on Dallas. Miz gets up and rolls up Reigns from behind with a fist full of tights for the three count.
Winner & still IC Champion: The Miz
– The broadcast team shows us a replay of Strowman flipping the broadcast table stage onto Kane. Finn Balor vs. John Cena is coming up soon in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match.
– The Revival vs. Heath Slater vs. Rhyno: Slater fires up on Dawson early on and sends him outside for a breather. Back in the ring, Dawson comes back with a cross armbreaker. Dash comes in and starts working over Slater’s shoulder. Rhyno finally gets the tag and starts cleaning house. Rhyno hits a flying shoulder block off the middle rope, then a belly to belly suplex on Dawson. Slater takes out Dash, but then Dawson takes out Rhyno’s knee from behind. Dash comes back in now and they hit the Shatter Machine on Rhyno for the three count.
Winners: The Revival
– The Revival does an interview after the match where they grill Charly Caruso for not knowing her wrestling history. They taunt the fans for chanting ECW and “trying to get themselves over.”
– We see a video package looking at The Dudley Boyz’s careers, and announcing their Hall of Fame induction this year.
– We see a selfie video from Finn Balor, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Balor talks about being in the Rumble last night for over 57 minutes before he was eliminated by Cena. He says now if he wants a shot in the Elimination Chamber, he has to beat Cena tonight, and he’s ready.
– Sasha Banks does an interview in the back where she says she’s ready to beat Asuka. Asuka might have made history last night, but Sasha says tonight she’ll be the one making history. Sasha starts heading towards the gorilla position, her match is up next.
– Sasha Banks vs. Asuka: Asuka takes control of this one early on and works over Sasha with kicks to the body. Asuka starts working over Sasha’s left shoulder. Asuka whips Sasha in the corner but Sasha stops her with a boot to the face. Sasha follows up with the double knees to the face. Sasha beats on Asuka in the corner and hits her with some knee strikes. Down on the mat, Sasha drives more knees into Asuka. Sasha slaps Asuka across the face, and Asuka isn’t happy. They trade slaps to the face, but Sasha grabs her and puts her in the Banks Statement. Asuka gets out, but Banks locks her right back in. Asuka fights out again, then Banks throws her outside. Sasha goes for a suicide dive, but Asuka kicks her in the face and drops her out of mid air. Sasha hits the apron and floor hard. Back in the ring, Asuka and Banks trade blows to the face. Asuka hits a knee to the face then some elbows. Asuka kicks out Sasha legs, then hits a running knee to the face. Running hip attack by Asuka in the corner, but then she misses the follow-up attack and Sasha sends Asuka crashing out to ringside. Sasha follows up with flying double knees off the apron onto Asuka on the floor. Back in the ring, Sasha hits a flying knee off the top rope onto Asuka. Asuka tries to come back with an Asuka Lock, but Sasha escapes. Sasha locks in the Banks Statement, but Asuka reverses right into an Asuka Lock. Sasha taps out, and Asuka wins via submission.
Winner: Asuka
– It’s John Cena selfie video time. Cena talks about last night’s Rumble, and says he won’t let opportunity slip through his fingers again tonight. Cena says he will beat Balor tonight to earn his spot in the Elimination Chamber, and then will go on to defeat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.
– Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews are backstage with Dana Brooke getting ready for their match against The Bar.
– We see a shot of the Rocky Balboa statue in Philadelphia.
– The Bar vs. Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews: Dana Brooke is at ringside for this one. Crews starts off strong on Sheamus with a couple of near-falls, and Sheamus rolls outside to regroup. Titus tags in and continues the offense on Sheamus, working him over in the corner. Cesaro tags in now and hits a kick to the midsection of Titus, then a series of uppercuts. Titus comes back with some loud chops. Sheamus is back in now and he levels Titus and works on keeping him grounded. Sheamus dumps Titus outside and Cesaro tries to get a cheap shot in on him, but Titus boots Cesaro down on the floor. Titus fights his way back into the ring and clotheslines Sheamus down. Cesaro and Crews tag in and Crews cleans house. Crews hits a moonsault on Cesaro then hits a standing shooting star press for a near-fall. Sheamus tags in now but Crews evades the double team. Sheamus hits a powerbomb on Crews but doesn’t get the pin. Crews fires back with a kick and a standing moonsault. He pins but Cesaro breaks it up and drops Crews. Titus dumps Cesaro outside, then Sheamus boots down Titus. Cesaro tags in now and ends up sending Crews into the ring post. Sheamus comes back in and they hit the double team White Noise for the three count.
Winners: The Bar
– The Bar takes their Tag Title belts and celebrate up the ramp.
– We see a look back at last night’s Royal Rumble, with Asuka winning nad Ronda Rousey coming out to confront her after.
– Michael Cole gives us an update on Kane as we see a replay of Strowmans beat down on him earlier tonight. Cole says Kane sat up in the ER and crawled out of the medical facility, and he hasn’t been heard from since.
– John Cena vs. Finn Balor: This one is a qualifying match for the Elimination Chamber. They lock up off the opening bell and trade holds. Balor seems to get the upper hand early on as he has Cena down in an arm lock. He whips Cena off the ropes and hits an arm drag into an arm bar. Cena fights out and get Balor down with a side headlock now. There are several more takedowns by Cena before Balor rolls him up for a one count. Cena rolls out of the ring now and looks frustrated. Cena and Balor do the test of strength, which Cena wins. There’s something in the crowd which seems to be distracting the crowd and Cena, and the crowd is now chanting “asshole” at something off screen. Cena drops Balor with a right hand and has taken over the match. Cena hits the series of shoulder blocks and a back suplex. He goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle but misses, and Balor says “you can’t see me.” Balor drops Cena for a two count, and Cena looks like the crowd is getting to him. Cena goes for an AA out of nowhere, but Balor escapes. They trade punches in the middle of the ring until Cena decks Balor with a boot to the face. Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle then goes for the AA. Balor escapes again, and this time fires back with a Pele kick for a two count. Balor hits the sling blade, then goes for a running knee, but Cena stops him with a clothesline. Balor comes back with a kick, but Cena catches him and goes for the AA. Cena hits it and pins, but Balor kicks out at two. Cena gets on the apron and looks disgruntled. He says over to the announce table “I’m just trying to go to WrestleMania.” Cena goes up top, but he took too long and Balor drops him down. Balor goes up top now and goes for the Coup De Grace, but Cena moves. Cena drops Balor and puts him in the STF, but Balor reaches the ropes to break it. Balor is selling a knee injury. Balor hits a kick to the face of Cena, then goes up top. Cena gets up and runs over, then gives Balor an AA off the middle rope for the three count.
Winner: John Cena
– Cena doesn’t look happy after winning, but he does point at the WrestleMania sign. Cena gets up on the corner and stands tall as Balor is helped out of the ring.
