Edge

We are officially on the Road to WrestleMania. Royal Rumble contained a few surprises (read the full review here) and an injury to AJ Styles, and now it’s well and truly sign pointing season. As part of the Rumble fallout, Drew McIntyre and Charlotte Flair get to choose their WrestleMania opponents, and Edge is coming to RAW to talk about his rumble return. There are two matches pre-announced. Liv Morgan versus Lana with Rusev and Bobby Lashley banned from ringside. And Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy have their first tag title defence, against Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe.

I’m Amanda and this is the RAW review.

Match Results

Drew McIntyre def. The OC

Rey Mysterio def. MVP

Aleister Black def. Kenneth Johnson

Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy def. Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe

Humberto Carrillo def. Andrade (DQ)

Charlotte Flair def. Asuka (DQ)

Mojo Rawley def. No Way Jose

R-Truth def. Mojo Rawley (TITLE CHANGE)

Mojo Rawley def. R-Truth (TITLE CHANGE)

Liv Morgan def. Lana

Erick Rowan def. Branden Vice

R-Truth
credit: wwe.com

The Show

The pre-credits recap of the Men’s Rumble match focused on Brock Lesnar and Drew McIntyre, with no mention of the biggest surprise of the night. He’ll be on later. 

Drew McIntyre opened the show proper after commentary did their housekeeping. He got a ‘You deserve it’ chant and said he feels like he’s been dreaming for the past 24 hours. It feels good to be able to stand there and say he’s the winner of the 2020 Royal Rumble.

No messing about with who he’s going to challenge at WrestleMania. He wants Brock Lesnar. He’s not scared of Lesnar, he knew he could Claymore him over the top rope as soon as he looked in Lesnar’s eyes and he knows he can beat him for the title at WrestleMania (he had a quick sign point then).

McIntyre said he needed to get rid of some energy so he wanted to have a Claymore party. He issued an open challenge and Gallows & Anderson answered it.

They both wanted to fight him, so McIntyre granted them a handicap match and called for a ref.

Drew McIntyre takes on The OC
credit: wwe.com

Drew McIntyre vs The OC was our opening match but it didn’t last long. McIntyre Claymored both Anderson and Gallows and pinned them together after an effortless couple of minutes. Post-match, McIntyre threw The OC out of the ring and got attacked by Brock Lesnar. Just a single F5, but it was enough to leave McIntyre laid out in the ring holding his neck.

Brock Lesnar with Drew McIntyre on his shoulders
credit: wwe.com

Rey Mysterio vs MVP was just plain weird. It’s 2020. A cute detail from commentary. Rey Mysterio is apparently MVP’s son’s favourite wrestler. Hopefully, that made it easier for him to watch him beat his dad. MVP got all his schtick in, but it was Mysterio’s 619 and frog splash, both delivered to MVP’s back, which secured the victory. 

Rey Mysterio and MVP
credit: wwe.com

This year’s WrestleMania advertising seems to have a nautical theme. It’s… different. I’ll decide whether I like it when I see how it develops. 

Aleister Black vs Kenneth Johnson was another local competitor squash. It finished with a Black Mass in less than a minute. After the match, Black said that last night he got eliminated from the rumble but the only person to blame is himself. If he starts something and doesn’t finish it that’s on him. These last few months he has made the mistake of waiting for people to come to his door to pick a fight with him. But as of tonight, that changes. He will bring the fight to the RAW locker room. No more waiting.

Aleister Black and jobber
credit: wwe.com

Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy came out for Rollins to talk before their match. Rollins said he came close to winning the rumble, but he was eliminated by the eventual winner. He sent a warning to McIntyre about how fast people will turn on him. As a leader, he wants to focus on the positives, which are that he eliminated Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe, so they won’t be going to WrestleMania. Buddy Murphy is Rollins’ other positive. They became tag champs last week and earlier Owens and Samoa Joe challenged them to a title match. Since he is a benevolent leader, he has accepted the challenge.

Owens had a mic in his hand when he and Joe came out. They stopped on the stage and Owens said Rollins still talks too much. He called Rollins delusional and a jackass. Samoa Joe was suspicious as to why Rollins was so eager for the match and about the whereabouts of AOP. Rollins said they were out the back with a camera on them. He showed footage, which Owens and Joe accused him of having taped earlier. When Rollins proved AOP were in his private dressing room by having Akam talk directly to Kevin Owens, Owens and Joe thanked him. At that point, the camera showed AOP being attacked by The Viking Raiders.

Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy vs Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe – RAW Tag Team Championship match – followed after a break. Samoa Joe delivered a suicide dive to Buddy Murphy heading into the next break and only caught Murphy a glancing blow. During the ads, Joe was escorted from the match by officials having been declared unfit to continue, leaving Owens in a handicap match situation. Kevin Owens came close to pinning both Rollins and Murphy, but the numbers were too much. He was distracted by dealing with Rollins invading the ring and got rolled up by Buddy Murphy.

Buddy Murphy and Samoa Joe lock up
credit: wwe.com

Becky Lynch had a backstage interview with Charly Caruso, who asked her if she feels beating Asuka accomplished what she set out to do. Lynch said it did more. She’s been doubting herself for the last few months but after she collected the final debt last night she realised she really is in a whole different league to the rest of the dopes. She told everyone what she was going to achieve, and she’s beaten them all. The next arse she beats will be because she wants to not because she feels she has to. Caruso asked about Charlotte Flair potentially naming her as her opponent for WrestleMania. Lynch said it won’t be the first time, but it will damned well be the last time and turned around to reveal a goat on the back of her jacket.

Andrade, with Zelina Vega, vs Humberto Carrillo – US Championship match – was a rematch from the Royal Rumble Kickoff show. It was good but rematches the day after a PPV annoy me. It annoyed me more that there wasn’t a clean result. Zelina Vega broke up Carrillo’s pin on Andrade, costing Andrade the match but saving the title. Humberto Carrillo snapped after the match and beat up Andrade, finishing by pulling back the ringside mats and driving Andrade’s head into the concrete like Andrade did to him a few weeks ago.

Andrade chops Humberto Carrillo
credit: wwe.com

Charlotte Flair made sure everyone knew she won the Rumble match, bragged a bit and asked the crowd to indulge her while she showed a few highlights. Once they’d finished she said she was still thinking about which title she wanted to challenge for.

Asuka and Kairi Sane came out and Asuka congratulated her on their way to the ring. Asuka said if she had entered the rumble she would have won. Flair asked if she was challenging her, and they attacked her by way of answer.

By the time we came back from a break, there was a match. Asuka vs Charlotte Flair was unexpected and actually got some time. So much time it had an ad break during it, Asuka shoved Flair off the top turnbuckle to the floor going into it to reduce the action missed. It was great as well. For once, it was a true one on one… until the very end. While Charlotte Flair was bridged in the Figure Eight, Kairi Sane delivered an InSane Elbow from the top turnbuckle and started beating on Flair. Charlotte Flair got up, got mad, and flung Sane into the turnbuckle before giving her a big boot to the face.

Asuka stretches Charlotte Flair around the ropes
credit: wwe.com

The Street Profits had Kelly Kelly join them for their hype segment. Angelo Dawkins flirted.

Mojo Rawley, with Riddick Moss, vs No Way Jose – 24/7 Championship match – is a new look for the title, but that’s how Rawley wants to play it and he’s the champ. As far as he’s concerned anyone can have a go at any time in any place and he’s not running, but he’s enlisted Riddick Moss as a ‘strong offensive lineman to watch your blindside’. No Way Jose ad the conga line answered the challenge. The match lasted mere moments with Rawley retaining, but then Mojo Rawley got pinned by R-Truth dressed as a clown/cheeseburger. Unfortunately for Truth, Riddick Moss cut off his escape and Rawley took his title back.

Mojo Rawley and R-Truth
credit: wwe.com

Lana vs Liv Morgan was short and inoffensive, which is high praise for anything connected to this dreadful storyline. Lana talks way too much and says very little. Liv Morgan is looking great and will hopefully put this feud behind her quickly and move on to something interesting. She won this one by driving Lana’s face into the canvas with a flatliner off the ropes.

Liv Morgan and Lana
credit: wwe.com

Erick Rowan vs Branden Vice was the usual destruction. He had the cage with him, with blood now staining the covering, but he didn’t do anything with it this week.

Erick Rowan slams jobber
credit: wwe.com

Flashback clips of Edge’s career highlights were shown throughout the show, alongside Royal Rumble highlights, to advertise his appearance. He finally turned up to close the show. It’s hard to say whether Edge or the WWE Universe were more excited for him to be there.

He was clearly emotional before he even started to talk and the first thing he talked about was how much the reaction he got last night meant to him as a performer, an athlete, and an artist. The crowd chanted ‘You’ve still got it’ and he responded with ‘You’re damned right I do’.

Next, he wanted to address the elephant in the room, his health. Nine years ago he was medically disqualified from ever wrestling again but he refuses to live in a world of what-ifs. The second he asks what if he goes to work to make the what if disappear. Over the years he started to feel pretty good and he asked himself, what if he came back home. So he got to work – he had to pause for a ‘Welcome Home’ chant – he got a second neck surgery and then he busted his ass to get in the best shape of his life, at 46 years old, so he could step back in the ring and end his career on his terms.

At the Rumble, he saw some familiar faces and some new faces, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Matt Riddle… the list goes on. And hopefully, he sees them all down the road. He knows this might not last that long. He’s a little older and greyer but he has one thing you can’t fabricate. He has grit. If you knock him down, he gets back up.

Randy Orton came out then and hugged Edge. Orton said it’s no secret he’s somewhat of a self-destructive personality but when they made towns together Edge was the one guy who would always take his hand and pull him out of whatever hole he’d dug. He welcomed Edge home and said he was a brother to him, then talked about the chemistry they had. Orton had a what-if for him. What if Rated RKO got back together one more time? The crowd chanted ‘Yes’, Edge smiled, and Orton RKO’d him.

Orton left the ring to get a chair, which he then cracked over Edge’s back. He waited while Edge was struggling to get up, then opened the chair and trapped Edge’s neck in it and climbed to the second turnbuckle. He sat there for a while, then climbed down, removed the chair, threw it away, and started to leave. Except he went back and got two more. He put one under Edge’s head and hit it with the other one, then just sat down. Orton leaned in close to Edge’s head, then backed off to stand against the ropes as RAW went off air.

Randy Orton leans over Edge
credit: wwe.com

Not a bad post-PPV episode. It’s just over two months to WrestleMania so there’s a lot of building to do and it will be a few weeks before the card starts to take shape. In the meantime, there will be posturing and sign pointing galore. No official word on AJ Styles’ injury, which in itself is worrying, and also no word on Samoa Joe’s condition following his removal from tonight’s match. To throw an additional spanner in RAW’s works, news broke during the show that Andrade had been suspended for 30 days for a wellness policy violation.

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