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Drew McIntyre kicked off RAW, and after thanking the fans for their well-wishes when he was away, he got to the topic of facing Goldberg on Sunday at Royal Rumble. He was hyping up the match when Miz & Morrison interrupted him. They said either of them could be injured by the end of the match, and The Miz would be able to beat them up and cash in his Money in the Bank contract.
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Goldberg's music hit, and he walked down to the ring and stared McIntyre down. Miz and Morrison tried to get them to fight each other, but instead, they turned to the duo and beat up Miz and Morrison. Goldberg hit a spear on Miz while Drew hit a Claymore on Morrison before closing the segment.
Charlotte was backstage and said that on Sunday, she would be defending the tag titles with Asuka as well as competing in the Royal Rumble.
Charlotte vs. Shayna Baszler on RAW
Flair hit a big boot early on and locked in the Figure-8 before Nia Jax rushed in and attacked her. Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose came to help Charlotte, and a brawl broke out. Lacey Evans came out to attack Charlotte, and we headed for a break as the brawl commenced.
Result: Charlotte def. Shayna Baszler via DQ
Match rating: C
After a break, we returned to RAW to see that a tag match was underway between the teams of Charlotte, Brooke & Rose and Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler & Lacey Evans.
Charlotte, Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose vs. Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler & Lacey Evans on RAW
Lacey and Mandy were in the ring when we returned to RAW, and Rose was dominating the match before Charlotte and Baszler were tagged in. Charlotte hit a fallaway slam and tagged in Brooke and Rose so they can hit a double team.
Charlotte, Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose vs. Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler & Lacey Evans on RAW (contd...)
As the match continued on RAW, Brooke and Rose cornered Baszler as they tagged in and out before Flair came back in and dropped her outside the ring. Baszler was stunned and took her time to return to the ring, which resulted in the referee counting her out.
The losing team went to Adam Pearce and wanted the match to be restarted on RAW. Pearce called for the match to be restarted after Charlotte and her team agreed to it.
Back to the action, Jax and Baszler were trying to dismantle Dana Brooke, but she managed to reverse a powerbomb and tagged in Rose. Rose came in and wiped Lacey, but Baszler broke the pin.
Charlotte hit a spear on Baszler before chasing Evans, who was trying the flee the arena. Jax took out Brooke in the ring and hit the powerbomb, followed by the leg drop for the win.
Result: Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler & Lacey Evans def. Charlotte, Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose
Match rating: B
Slapjack vs. Xavier Woods on RAW
Woods started off the match on RAW with a huge dropkick and started off strong before taking a few strikes and a near fall. Woods came back with the honor roll and looked to finish him off before Ali and RETRIBUTION tried to interfere with the help of T-Bone.
Woods was hit with a rollup off the interference, and Woods managed to shake him off and hit a knee strike, taking out Slapjack for good with a pinfall. RETRIBUTION attacked him after the match and hit a double chokeslam before holding him down in the ring.
Ali was about to hit Woods with a steel chair but then set it down and sat on it, telling Woods to send a message to Kofi that Ali was going to take Kingston's place in the Royal Rumble.
Result: Xavier Woods def. Slapjack
Match rating: B
Riddle and R-Truth were backstage on RAW, and Truth said that the Hurt Business were throwing him a surprise party - with 24 gold carrots!
The Hurt Business was out next for the VIP Lounge, and Cedric and Sheldon were still not seeing eye to eye.
On RAW, the boys got MVP a necklace with the team's initials on it as a token of thanks. Cedric and Sheldon were still bickering when R-Truth made his entrance. He thought the THB on the necklace stood for Truth Happy Birthday.
Bobby Lashley called Truth to the ring to give him a 'gift', but the title-chasers ran at Truth, and the Hurt Business promptly took them out as well as Truth. Riddle snuck up behind MVP in the confusion and took him out with Final Flash before retreating.
Backstage on RAW, R-Truth asked for a spot in the Royal Rumble, and Adam Pearce told him that he had to beat AJ Styles first.
Sheamus vs. John Morrison on RAW
Sheamus focused on Morrison's arm and took him down to the mat. Morrison got out of the submission move before being taken down once more. Morrison rolled up Sheamus, but the Irishman got his shoulder up.
Sheamus hit the Irish Curse Backbreaker on Morrison before going to the top, but Morrison kicked Sheamus out of the air. He kicked the left knee of Sheamus and went after it, focusing on the injury.
Sheamus vs. John Morrison on RAW (contd...)
In the final moments of the match on RAW, Sheamus locked in the Cloverleaf, but Morrison found the bottom rope. Sheamus replied with a knee to the Jaw, followed by a White Noise, and picked up the win.
Result: Sheamus def. John Morrison
Just as the bell rang, Miz got on the mic and proposed a handicap match, and Sheamus agreed.
Match rating: C
Sheamus vs. Miz & Morrison on RAW
Miz and Morrison unloaded on Sheamus as the match began, and the duo took the early advantage. Sheamus tried to kick the two men from the mat before being tossed outside for a huge dive.
Sheamus came back in and hit a rolling senton on the Miz on top of Morrison before going for the chops on the ropes. He sent Miz & Morrison outside before hitting a double clothesline from the top rope.
Morrison interrupted the Brogue kick before taking it himself, but Miz came in with the Skull Crushing Finale at the last second to take out Sheamus for good.
Result: Miz & Morrison def. Sheamus
Match rating: B
Ric Flair and Lacey Evans were backstage on RAW when Charlotte walked in on them and kicked Lacey out. Charlotte and Ric had a tense moment before Lacey attacked Charlotte and took her out. Ric tried to help Charlotte, but Lacey dragged her away.
R-Truth vs. AJ Styles on RAW
AJ unloaded on Truth as the match began and was hit with a backbreaker early on. AJ tried to throw Truth out of the ring, but Truth threw him out instead. Truth came back with a big slam and the Five Knuckle Shuffle.
R-Truth was about to hit the Attitude Adjustment, but AJ managed to reverse it into a calf crusher, making Truth tap out.
Result: AJ Styles def. R-Truth
Match rating: B
We got a recap of Randy Orton's promo from last week's RAW before we headed to Alexa's Playground. Bliss said that last week was 'fun' and that she enjoyed what she did to Randy.
She giggled to her imaginary friend before changing the topic to Asuka. She said that the Fiend taught her the trick she used to beat Asuka last week before hinting at the fact that she might do something similar tonight.
Riddle vs. The Hurt Business - Gauntlet match on RAW
Shelton Benjamin and Riddle kicked off the match on RAW, and Riddle hit the Final Flash early on before he was caught and dropped by Benjamin. Benjamin set Riddle up in the corner and hit a knee to the ribs.
Riddle locked in a guillotine, and Benjamin nearly turned it into a suplex. Benjamin nearly pinned Riddle, but thanks to a distraction from Cedric, Riddle got the roll-up pin on Benjamin.
Alexander and Benjamin were still arguing, and MVP tried to get them to stop before Riddle locked in a submission on MVP, making him tap out.
After a break on RAW, Alexander was in the ring and was taken to the corner before hitting a dropkick on Riddle. Riddle hit a huge Pele kick and a forearm before hitting the exploder suplex.
Alexander got his knees up for the Bro-ton before taking a German Suplex. Riddle took a Brainbuster and still managed to kick out. Riddle got a triangle choke in before rolling him up for the three-count.
Result: Riddle Def. The Hurt Business and will face Bobby Lashley for the United States title
Match rating: A
Lashley attacked Riddle after the match on RAW and locked in the Hurt Lock, wiping Riddle out on the ramp.
Edge was back on RAW and he looked back on his career and championship win before his departure from the ring. 10 years later, he was back to reclaim his dream but he was injured once more.
He said he was going to enter the Royal Rumble again and his goal was to head to WrestleMania and make his dreams come true.
Asuka (c) vs. Alexa Bliss - RAW Women's title match
Asuka landed some kicks and tossed Bliss around the ring before being sent outside after missing the hip attack. We saw a wooden rocking horse in the ring and Alexa was sitting on it as the lights changed and some creepy music kicked in.
After a break on RAW, we came back to see that the match was back to normal and the horse was gone. Bliss had the upper hand as she got a near fall on the champ. Bliss took a kick to the face followed by a hip attack and a German Suplex.
Alexa, now appearing in old gimmick as the Goddess, was suddenly crying in the corner and looked confused before dodging a tackle. The lights went out and when they came back on, they had turned purple and it was Evil Alexa.
Evil Alexa countered the Asuka Lock and locked in the Mandible Claw before Randy Orton came in with his facial burns and hit an RKO on Evil Alexa, ending the match.
Result: DNF
Match rating: A
Episode rating: A
Things are heating up, less than a week away from Royal Rumble, with the return of Edge, Goldberg, and Drew McIntyre on RAW. Asuka and Bliss set up the most intense feud of 2021 so far while Charlotte and her dad Ric were having some family issues.
An unexpected name just challenged Randy Orton RIGHT HERE.
