WWE RAW: 5 Biggest news stories - Randy Orton attacks Alexa Bliss, Goldberg and Drew McIntyre face-off (January 25, 2021)

An experimental ending stole the show on WWE RAW this week
An experimental ending stole the show on WWE RAW this week

From Goldberg and Drew McIntyre's segment to Alexa Bliss and Asuka's title match, this week's edition of WWE RAW featured many contrasting moments.

Welcome to this week's Monday Night RAW, a show that kicked-off with a grounded segment for casual fans and ended in supernatural shenanigans for viewers that love experimental booking.

It's not easy to become a WWE fan in 2021 by tuning into the Red brand's episodes without any prior context. On top of that, a three-hour weekly program can't hold everyone's attention in an era where people are frequently distracted by alternative sources of entertainment.

That being said, the last episode of RAW before Royal Rumble was a buzzworthy show indeed, but certainly not the most consistent show in recent times. Let us know what you thought about this particular episode in the comments section below.

Here are the five biggest news stories from this week's episode of WWE RAW (January 25, 2021).


#5 Edge returned through a video message and confirmed his appearance in the 2021 WWE Men's Royal Rumble Match

One of the best moments from WWE last year was when Edge returned at the Royal Rumble event. Soon after, Edge would feud with Randy Orton until The Rated-R Superstar got injured at Backlash.

To create a full-circle narrative for his 2020 Royal Rumble return, Edge sent a message on this week's RAW and confirmed his entry into the 2021 Men's Royal Rumble Match.

Edge cut a good promo last night and highlighted how the time is running out for him to get back to the top of the card. Perhaps one of the reasons why WWE didn't choose to make Edge's return a surprise is because it had already become the most obvious direction for The Rated-R Superstar's comeback in 2021. Moreover, there is no point in pretending that re-creating last year's surprise with Edge in a ThunderDome setting would have the same impact.

The narrative here doesn't exactly seem to be about Edge's 2021 return, but it's more about how The Rated-R Superstar has to move past the nostalgia act and prove that he can hang with the current generation of WWE Superstars.

Pre-announcements regarding the Royal Rumble match do affect a lot of the fanfare heading into the event, but as a whole, Edge's return is still a good point of discussion from this week's episode.

#4 Charlotte Flair confronted Ric Flair about his decisions in a backstage segment on WWE RAW

Before Charlotte Flair's backstage segment with her father, she was involved in a pretty lengthy in-ring arc on this week's WWE RAW.

Charlotte Flair initially faced Shayna Baszler in a one-on-one match. The bout ended in a disqualification when Nia Jax interrupted the proceedings. Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke ran-in to make the save, but Lacey Evans entered the scene as well.

This led to a six-woman tag team match with Flair, Rose, and Brooke teaming up against Evans, Jax, and Baszler. This should have concluded Charlotte Flair's in-ring arc for the night, but the six-woman tag team match was restarted when Baszler being counted out for the loss was determined to be an unsatisfying finish.

The heel team won the match in the end, as Nia Jax was able to successfully pin Dana Brooke for the victory on WWE RAW.

Later backstage, Ric Flair was involved in what seemed like a pretty sleazy segment with Lacey Evans. The Nature Boy was teaching The Sassy Southern Belle some 'grappling techniques', as Charlotte Flair interrupted to talk to her father.

Charlotte Flair is fully aware that Ric Flair will probably never stop being The Dirtiest Player in the Game, but she reminded him that The Nature Boy is now transforming into an old man. As she gave her father an option to re-think some of his decisions on WWE RAW, Charlotte Flair was ambushed by Lacey Evans from behind.

While Ric Flair did try to check up on his daughter, Lacey Evans prevented him from doing the same and pulled him out of the scene immediately.

The Sassy Southern Belle's strengths as a character are being showcased perfectly through Ric and Charlotte Flair's storyline. However, the constant disqualifications and rematches on WWE RAW can become tedious for an average viewer to sit through every week.

#3 Mustafa Ali vowed to replace Kofi Kingston in the 2021 WWE Men's Royal Rumble Match

Xavier Woods faced RETRIBUTION's Slapjack in a one-on-one contest during this week's WWE RAW.

The aforementioned bout wasn't the first time that Woods has faced a RETRIBUTION member, as the anti-WWE faction has now targeted The New Day on WWE RAW.

With Kofi Kingston being put out of action due to an injury, Woods has had to go at it alone against RETRIBUTION every week. However, The New Day member was able to defeat Slapjack in their one-on-one match.

Xavier Woods was still outnumbered and attacked by RETRIBUTION after the match was over. It looked like Mustafa Ali would attack Woods with a steel chair. Instead, Ali cut a promo about Royal Rumble and how his main goal is to take revenge against Kofi Kingston now.

For those who don't remember, Kofi's WrestleMania 35 arc only occurred in the first place because he replaced Ali during Elimination Chamber 2019, as a result of the latter star's injury. This is why on this week's WWE RAW, Ali vowed to make things even by laying his claim on an injured Kofi's spot at the 2021 Men's Royal Rumble Match.

While poor booking decisions have marred RETRIBUTION's momentum on a weekly basis, the callback to Kingston and Ali's history was a good addition to their current storyline.

#2 Goldberg and Drew McIntyre worked together to take out The Miz and John Morrison in a dominant display on WWE RAW

On WWE RAW Legends Night, Goldberg and Drew McIntyre's feud initially began when the WCW icon said that the WWE Champion had somehow disrespected the legends. There is no way that McIntyre would come across as the antagonist here, and more fans have started to root for The Scottish Warrior with every passing week.

Drew McIntyre returned on this week's WWE RAW after his successful battle against COVID-19. Goldberg and Drew McIntyre were supposed to face-off against each other on the RAW before Royal Rumble, but McIntyre was quickly interrupted by The Miz and John Morrison last night.

The Miz claimed that irrespective of who comes out on top in the hard-hitting contest between Goldberg and McIntyre, The A-Lister would eventually cash-in his Money in the Bank contract to become the new WWE Champion at some point.

Goldberg soon entered the scene to face-off against his Royal Rumble opponent. Miz and Morrison's annoying presence led Goldberg and McIntyre to temporarily work together in wiping out The Dirt Sheet duo.

Both Drew McIntyre and Goldberg looked strong after they delivered their finishing moves on John Morrison and The Miz, respectively.

Even though the aforementioned segment wasn't anything too out-of-the-box, it was still the safest way to build up to Goldberg and McIntyre's upcoming Royal Rumble match without compromising either competitor's momentum.

#1 Alexa Bliss' multiple personalities surfaced in a bizarre main event; Randy Orton delivered an RKO to Bliss on WWE RAW

Alexa Bliss and Asuka faced-off in one of the most bizarre main events of WWE RAW, in recent memory.

Both women had wrestled previously without the RAW Women's title on the line, and Bliss' victory guaranteed her a title shot on this week's episode. While Alexa Bliss did transform into a different personality on the previous show, the multiple personas angle was amped up to its maximum limit on last night's episode.

Not only did Alexa Bliss transition between her light and dark characters, but the old Bliss also surfaced at one point. This was the normal version of Alexa Bliss before her storyline with The Fiend ever took place, and she certainly looked scared on WWE TV.

Little Miss Bliss eventually transformed into her ominous persona to ensure that the match would pan out in the same way as last week. Only this time around, Randy Orton was waiting to strike her with an RKO.

The match ended in a disqualification as Bliss was outsmarted by The Viper this week. It will be interesting to see what could happen with this storyline at the Royal Rumble event. Will Bray Wyatt return in some form at Royal Rumble?

Surely, this angle has crossed WWE's usual experimental barriers to a point where not everyone will feel the same way about it. Despite the bizarreness of the main event, Alexa Bliss' character work had some meaning, which justified WWE's frequent use of the magical transformation gimmick throughout this match.

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In the video embedded above, do check out former WWE Head Writer Vince Russo's thoughts on all that went down during this week's RAW in the latest edition of Legion of RAW with Dr. Chris Featherstone.

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