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This week’s RAW kicked off right from where it left off last week to close 2019. The first episode of 2020 was action-packed and did extremely well to build on rivalries which will be reaching their end at the Royal Rumble.
The night started off with Brock Lesnar’s rare appearance and the announcement by his advocate Paul Heyman that Lesnar will be entering the Royal Rumble match this year.
Two Championship matches followed the segment, where the United States Championship and the RAW Tag Team titles were put on the line in two great displays on athleticism.
Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe also found an unlikely partner at the end of the night to even the odds against Seth Rollins and AOP, while Becky Lynch made a huge statement going forward in her rivalry with Asuka.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things RAW got right on the first episode of the decade.
#5 Murphy’s revenge
Shelton Benjamin got a chance to appear on television this week, as the veteran took on RAW’s fast-rising new star, Aleister Black. Black and Benjamin's battle did not last for long though as Benjamin faded to black after receiving a Black Mass from the former NXT Champion.
After the match, Buddy Murphy appeared to attack The Harbinger of Fury. The Aussie ended Black’s night by attacking him with a short-arm knee strike with a steel chair.
This was a great way to put Murphy over after he lost to Black twice in a row and seemed to be helping Black get a push on RAW.
Both men have given two amazing performances against each other, and it seems like RAW is trying to build both the men together while allowing them to trade some high spots.
While we aren’t sure where this rivalry is heading and how long it’ll last, it’s possible that the company may end up taking them down the same route as they took Cesaro and Sheamus before they formed The Bar.
Whatever the outcome of this rivalry may be, we’re sure that the creatives won’t be looking to make either man look weak at the end of it.
#4 Styles mocking Orton
Last week on RAW, Randy Orton pulled off a great piece of acting and included a lot of heelish tactics in his current character to outsmart The Phenomenal One.
Orton faked an injury to his knee, which brought out AJ Styles who made fun of him. Orton then delivered an RKO to Styles to show that he wasn’t injured and just getting to The Phenomenal One.
This week, Styles faced Akira Tozawa in a singles match. During the match, Styles hit Towaza with the Phenomenal Forearm but did not go for the pin. He instead hit Towaza with a hanging DDT just like Orton does, and then hit him with an RKO to pick up the victory.
This was an interesting way to continue the rivalry between Styles and Orton without bringing out Orton this week.
Styles did extremely well to mock the 13-time World Champion and made an example out of Towaza which worked really well for his character.
Will Orton try to level the playing field once again on RAW next week? It will be interesting to watch before the two men get their match for the Royal Rumble.
#3 Allowed Anderson to take the pin
The Street Profits got a huge chance this week as they walked into RAW looking to “change the conversation” and take on The Viking Raiders and Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson for the RAW Tag Team Championships.
The O.C. started strong in the match, and it seemed as though they were on their way to becoming the RAW Tag Team Champions once again.
The Street Profits too got their high spots but did not manage to go as big as fans would have liked them to.
At the end of the match, Ford and Angelo Dawkins took out Luke Gallows but Anderson could not handle The Viking Raiders on his own who laid him down to pick up the victory and retain their titles.
WWE booked The O.C. to take the pin in order to protect The Street Profits as the two men seem to be on a rise of their own and could prove to be the undoing of The Viking Raiders down the line.
It seems like the right decision at a time when Authors of Pain are busy with other assignments and The Profits seem to be becoming crowd favorites who no one can write off.
#2 The Empress and The Man
Becky Lynch arrived in the ring and showed a video of all the times she tried to go one up over Asuka but failed in the process. The Man wasn’t ashamed of the fact that she couldn’t get over but wanted to change that soon.
After Lynch made it clear to put an end to this, Asuka arrived to taunt the RAW Women’s Champion in her native language. The Japanese Superstar did not waste much time to seem like the perfect heel to conquer The Man before she was knocked out cold by Lynch.
This was a good segment between Lynch and The Empress of Tomorrow which allowed both women to go another step ahead in their rivalry without getting too physical.
Asuka seems to be getting way too comfortable in her role as a heel, while Lynch seems more determined than ever to remain a fighting Champion.
WWE has done a great job at building Lynch vs. Asuka for the Royal Rumble, and it will effectively keep both women out of the Women’s Royal Rumble match too unless Lynch decides to pull off what she did last year.
#1 The biggest return
Seth Rollins and Authors of Pain seem to have overtaken The O.C. as the premier heel faction of RAW and picked a fight with three of RAW’s top Superstars.
This week, a huge six-man tag team match was scheduled for the main event which involved Rollins, Akam & Rezar, and the team of Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, and a partner of their choosing.
While fans were speculating who’d partner with KO and Joe for the match, they were in for a surprise when the Big Show walked out after a two-year hiatus to join the babyfaces.
The veteran showed a renewed energy and it seems the long break did the big man some good. He almost took out Akam and Rezar with chokeslams and picked up the win before The Architect hit him with a steel chair to cause a disqualification.
Even then, the heels were unable to get the upper hand and were sent running back by the babyfaces.
It was interesting to watch Big Show return to help KO and Joe even though he’s assigned to the SmackDown brand. It’ll be nice to see how this story shapes up in the weeks to come.
Bayley gives us a HUGE update on a top Superstar's upcoming return RIGHT HERE.
