Warning: The following copy has SPOILERS for WWE Royal Rumble (Feb 1st, 2025)The fallout from Saturday’sRoyal Rumblecontinues asWWEhits to Cleveland, OH forMonday Night Raw. The Road ToWrestleManiais fully underway, asJey Uso and Charoltte Flair will address the WWE after their Rumble wins. Will World Heavyweight Champions Gunther and Rhea Ripley be on hand to hear what they have to say? Penta will also be in action against Ludwig Kaiser, as The New Day continue to annoy everybody, as they take on Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee.
Elsewhere, Raw has the first qualification matches for this year’sElimination Chamber, asone of Sami Zayn and CM Punk will join John Cena in this year’s Men’s Chamber, while Iyo Sky and Liv Morgan will be in singles' competition to qualify for the event in Toronto. Seth Rollins will discuss his heinous actions towards Roman Reigns, and Logan Paul will be in his hometown for another bumper edition ofRaw.
Jey Uso Remains Ridiculously Popular
The Online Hate Does Not Translate
It feels like a surreal experience to take in what is going on right now with Jey Uso. Anyone who watches can seeJey Uso is currentlyMonday Night Raw’s biggest star, with the possible exception of CM Punk. Any notion that online bile would spill into the real world was smashed out of the park, as Uso’s music stopped and Cleveland demanded one more round of it (to which Jey duly obliged).This is Jey Uso’s moment. Drink it in.
Jey was unusually emotional, the reality of his status kicking in as he opened this episode ofRawwith heart and fighting spirit. It is what made Gunther’s disgust with the weekend’s events so much greater. His contemptuous distain for Jey Uso turned to indignant anger, asGunther felt authentically livid that hisWrestleManiamatch may be wasted on Uso. It is a good twist to a feud that has already had a recent match and placates the online feeling from haters, while also showing how proud Gunther is of his accomplishments.
Charlotte Flair Keeps Everyone Guessing
A Peculiar Promo Builds Intrigue Around The Woman
Before this even gets out of the gate, “woo me or boo me” may be among the best lines of Charlotte’s career. There was an inevitability about Charlotte’s win at theRoyal Rumble, butthe real intrigue now is in who Charlotte Flair is about to be. The whole presentation of excellence has been incredible, capped by her Rumble victory, but now it becomes about Charlotte’s goals and mission statement and that still remains a little unclear.
Flair attempted to connect with the live crowd, pouring her heart out about her time injured and how she’d missed all of what’d happened, butCharlotte immediately showed her teeth the second that Cleveland booed her. She spoke powerfully, she put every branch of WWE on notice (including NXT), butSmackDownshould provide greater context to her character and how we should feel about her. Rhea Ripley stepped up to confront Flair, and in doing so built herself more intrigue than she has been able to muster in months. That’s enough for now.
Raw Slightly Underwhelms After the Rumble
A Lot Of Big Issues Went Unanswered
Every episode of WWE television is currently rammed with progression, character and plot development, and we’re a long way distanced from PLE’s calledGreat Balls Of Fire, butthis was a show that largely felt underwhelming. Perhaps it’s design is to keep everyone guessing, but it seems flabbergasting thatLogan Paul wasn’t given a live mic in his hometownafter eliminating CM Punk. Costing Rey Mysterio ahead of facing him next week made sense, but this felt like a huge open goal being passed up.
TheRoyal Rumbleis always a big night for returns, and so it felt strange thatthe big Alexa Bliss rebirth and her Wyatt Sicks linksdidn’t receive the usual WWE fanfare.Drew McIntyre wasn’t mentioned once on the broadcast, as online reports swirl that he was unhappy with the circumstances around hisRoyal Rumbleappearance. Seth Rollins promo saw him air his grievances magnificently, the first match ever between CM Punk and Sami Zayn was sensational, and Kevin Owens appearance was shocking despite everyone anticipating it.This was still a good show with plenty of meat, it just felt underwhelming by the current high standards WWE are setting.
This was a fairly low-key edition ofRaw, considering this was in the direct aftermath of theRoyal Rumble. CM Punk and John Cena are the first two men to qualify for the men’sElimination Chamber, butSami Zayn was shockingly taken out of action by Kevin OwensasRawwent off the air. Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley’s rivalry seems set to run and run, as both women refused to back down in an icy showdown, but Rhea may soon have her hands full with Damage CTRL.
