Elimination Chamber is done (read the full review here) and we’re full steam ahead on The Road to WrestleMania. Bobby Lashley is injured and was helped from the chamber mid-match, and Brock Lesnar won back the title. Lesnar will be on tonight’s show. Also on tonight’s show, RK-Bro face Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens. If Rollins and Owens win, they’ll be added to RK-Bro’s title match. The only other thing on the preview is an episode of Miz TV.

I’m Amanda and this is the RAW review.

Match Results

Alpha Academy def. Street Profits

Finn Balor & Tommaso Ciampa def. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode

Rhea Ripley def. Nikki A.S.H.

Damian Priest def. Shelton Benjamin

Bianca Belair def. Doudrop

Kevin Owens & Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins def. RK-Bro

The Show

♦ As Lesnar made his entrance to get things underway, and celebrated with fans, Corey Graves announced that Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns at WrestleMania will be Title Vs Title – Winner Takes All.

He thanked the crowd then immediately got interrupted by Paul Heyman. Lesnar warned Heyman to stay on the stage and joined the crowd in a ‘You Suck’ chant.  Heyman revealed Lesnar has a title defence at Madison Square Gardens on Saturday, March 5th, so he’s not going to make it to WrestleMania as champion anyway.

Lesnar knew that already, and all the other stuff Heyman said. He’s doing fine without Heyman and not worried about facing Bobby Lashley (which he won’t be because Lashley’s out for longer than a couple of weeks), and no one scares Lesnar anyway. He told Heyman something he didn’t know though, Lesnar’s coming to SmackDown on Friday.

♦ Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens told Kevin Patrick about them being added to the title match if they win tonight, and Owens waxed lyrical about all the things they could do at WrestleMania as champions.

♦ Street Profits vs Alpha Academy was the opening match of the night. Good match. Street Profits would have pinned Chad Gable of Otis hadn’t got there at the last second. Montez Ford tried to pick Otis up to slam him but fell over with Otis on top of him and got pinned. Gable was holding Ford’s foot down from outside to stop him from getting it on the ropes.

♦ Tommaso Ciampa has popped over to RAW again for a tag match against Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode as part of his ongoing feud with Ziggler. He picked Finn Balor as his partner as Balor loves NXT and enjoyed sharing a ring with Ciampa. Balor talked about them using this match to start their Road to WrestleMania.

Finn Balor & Tommaso Ciampa vs Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode was interesting. While Ciampa was there defending NXT, he’s swimming in the kiddie pool over there now. That said, he’s a big fish in a small pond in NXT, on the main roster he might just end up seat-warming in catering. Teaming with Balor has potential for him, maybe.

Politics and positioning aside, this was a really good match. Ciampa got the pin on Robert Roode after a beautiful knee to the face set Roode up for the Fairytale Ending. He didn’t get that finish because Roode struggled too much, but a roll-up worked just as well.

♦ In addition to Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns’ Winner Take All match at WrestleMania, Elimination Chamber also fixed Bianca Belair as Becky Lynch’s challenger. Charlotte Flair vs Ronda Rousey has already been confirmed, so that’s the main title picture set for Mania.

♦ The Miz started Miz TV by telling the WWE Universe that everyone prefers Rey Mysterio because he’s more relatable than him. Miz isn’t relatable because he’s too successful. but if Rey Mysterio succeeds, anyone could. Somehow that means Miz doesn’t trust the WWE Universe, but he does trust his new tag team partner.

Rey Mysterio came out, with Dominik, while Miz was signing the praises of his new partner without naming them. He told him no one in the back would partner with him because no one in the back can stand him, so the outsider Miz has obviously brought in can go away and give the opportunity to someone who deserves it.

Miz suggested Dominik only got a WWE contract because Daddy got him it. Dominik put him in his place and started threatening him. Miz cut him off and challenged them to a tag match at WrestleMania before introducing his new partner, Logan Paul.

Dominik accepted the match and called Logan Paul a jackass. Miz attacked Dominik, Paul attacked Rey. Then they threw Rey then Dominik into ring posts as a team effort. Rey took a Skull Crushing Finale from Miz, Dominik took one from Paul.

If Logan Paul is this year’s celebrity attraction, he’s going to have to work his ass off to come out favourably in the inevitable comparisons to Bad Bunny last year.

♦ Alpha Academy told Kevin Patrick the main event implications tonight are disgusting. But in two weeks, whether their odds are 50% or 33.3%, they’ll be walking out as champions.

♦ Veer Mahaan still has no arrival date for RAW but has apparently appeared on Main Event which is no longer shown in the UK for reasons best known to WWE.

♦ Rhea Ripley vs Nikki A.S.H. happened again. They hate each other a bit more each time, it seems. His time, Nikki was furious about Ripley’s treatment of her in the Elimination Chamber. She screamed at her and slapped her until Ripley had enough and fought back. This was one of Ripley’s longest-ever delayed vertical suplexes. Nikki took a time-out after that to complain to commentary about Ripley being a bully. Ripley coming up behind her and bouncing her head off the desk ended the tirade.

Back in the ring, A.S.H. was unhinged, but unhinged isn’t focused and it was almost too easy for Ripley to kick her in the face and finish it with a Riptide.

That felt like half of a longer match, but what there was, was decent enough. Please let them move on now.

♦ The Undertaker is the first announced inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2022.

♦ Damian Priest vs Shelton Benjamin was a fun match for us and a nice win, via The Reckoning, for Damian Priest.

After the match, Priest gave credit to Benjamin for fighting him like a man. He talked about the calibre of opponents he’s faced and beaten and said, as it’s Mania season, he wants a challenger next week of world championship calibre.

Finn Balor presented himself and said it sounded like Priest was describing him. He warned him to be careful what he wished for and told him he’ll see him next week.

♦ Reggie took the 24/7 Championship off Dana Brooke last week after she friend-zoned him. This week, he brought her out to talk to her. She looked stunning and very annoyed. He told her he cared for her, maybe as more than friends, but it’s ok she wants to just be friends. Last week he lost sight of his priorities and made the wrong decision. He called for a ref, and laid down for her, but kicked out at two, twice. The third time, she held him down and kissed him as a distraction, and got her title back.

The chasing pack arrived. Tamina caught Akira Tozawa but opted to drop him rather than kiss him as he requested. Brooke and Reggie escaped with the title.

♦ Bianca Belair is going back to WrestleMania. She made history last year and she’s ready to do it again, for the RAW title this time. She gave credit to all the women in the chamber with her, especially Doudrop who she’s facing tonight, and said how tough they all are. But only one can be the ToughEST. She’s also the HardEST working woman in WWE. She’s been working nonstop for this moment, and she’s not about to let up now. In six weeks she’s going to show Becky Lynch why you can’t spell WrestleMania without a little EST.

Becky Lynch came out and congratulated her on making it back to the big time. The only two women who have won the main event of WrestleMania. Lynch said she did it first and that was the only reason Belair could do it. Belair said she did it better, which Lynch disputed and reminded her about SummerSlam. That was six months today, apparently.

Belair said she did what Lynch said after SummerSlam and went to the back of the line. She was the sole survivor and won the Elimination Chamber Match, and now she’s back at the front. She’s never claimed victim status for that loss.

Lynch said she was the victim because beating Belair made the crowd turn on her. Now they despise her and she despises Belair. Belair saw what she did to Lita, who she loves, think of what she’ll do to someone she despises.

Belair threatened to make her an actual victim, but Doudrop turned up for their match before anything could happen.

Bianca Belair vs Doudrop happened with Becky Lynch on commentary, still bitching about the crowd turning on her because of Belair. Bianca Belair should have kept her attention on the match. She started arguing with Lynch after taking Doudrop down with a crossbody on the outside, and took a crossbody from Doudrop as soon as she turned around.

After a break, they were back in the ring. Belair took a suplex that left her slumped in the corner, but she met Doudrop’s cannonball runup with a spinebuster. It took her a couple of attempts, but she got Doudrop over for a suplex, and Lynch got a little flustered on commentary. Belair avoided another cannonball, but there was no avoiding the Michinoku Driver. Doudrop looked concerned when Belair kicked out, but she pressed on and climbed for the splash. Bianca Belair bounced her head off the ring post and powerbombed her down in the centre of the ring. Doudrop called to the other corner and Belair used it to get her up for the K.O.D. and the win. She held Doudrop on her shoulders for a good few seconds, just to silence anyone who thought she couldn’t before she dropped her.

Becky Lynch got up on the announce desk for a bit of post-match back and forth trash-talk.

♦ The Black History Month segment featured Booker T visiting students in Dallas at a project called For Oak Cliff.

♦ Corey Graves and Carmella have a new reality show starting next week on WWE’s YouTube channel. It has been promised it won’t be PG…

♦ Edge talked about what WrestleMania means to him. As a childhood wrestling fan, he’d sit by his uncle’s radio and listen for the match results. He recollected WrestleMania 3 where Hulk Hogan beat Andre the Giant, and how that felt. He loves WrestleMania. The first one he was brought to as a talent was WrestleMania 14 but it took him two more years to get on the show. But they stole the show at WrestleMania 17. At WrestleMania 21 he won the first ladder match. At WrestleMania 22 he put Mick Foley through a flaming table and stole the show again. 24, main event against the Undertaker and he came close – he took a moment to congratulate Taker on the HoF induction – then at WrestleMania 27, he thought it was his last one, forced to retire as champion. For most people that would be enough, but he fought for 10 years to get WrestleMania back and last year he main evented it again.

All his life he’s dreamed of WrestleMania, and he still does. He needs WrestleMania and WrestleMania needs Edge. It can’t be stupendous without him so he’s putting out the challenge for someone to step up and face him. Whoever does, he’ll make them live forever.

♦ RK-Bro vs Kevin Owens & Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins was the main event of the evening. Alpha Academy watched from backstage as the format of their next title defence was decided. Kevin Owens saved Seth Rollins from being put through the announce desk by Randy Orton but got bounced off it himself. Rollins knocked Orton over the desk with a suicide dive heading into the break.

Rollins and Riddle had a long segment with no chance of tagging out. Owens was back first and managed to knock Orton back down off the apron to stop the battered and exhausted Riddle tagging out. Owens landed a cannonball from the top and Rollins landed a frog splash, but Riddle still kicked out much to the disbelief or commentary and Rollins and Owens.

Orton was back by the time Riddle managed to get to him and came in ready to finish it. Owens took a dropping DDT but couldn’t get the RKO and Riddle came back in. Rollins Stomped Orton at ringside, and that was Orton done.

Riddle looked for him after landing a Floating Bro on Owens. While he was still processing, he got caught by Owens, buckle-bombed by Rollins, given a stunner by Owens before Rollins’ Stomp, and finally got pinned.

So, Alpha Academy will defend the RAW Tag Team Championships in two weeks against RK-Bro and Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins & Kevin Owens.

That was a fun episode of RAW. Entertaining matches, enough story progression to feel like things are moving nicely, and not too much fluff and padding. Damian Priest vs Finn Balor next week should be well worth watching.