{"id":74221,"date":"2019-01-28T14:26:38","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T20:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=74221"},"modified":"2019-01-28T14:26:38","modified_gmt":"2019-01-28T20:26:38","slug":"wwe-raw-primer-1-28-royal-rumble-fallout-rollins-celebrates-rondas-road-lesnar-is-still-champ-placing-the-new-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/01\/28\/wwe-raw-primer-1-28-royal-rumble-fallout-rollins-celebrates-rondas-road-lesnar-is-still-champ-placing-the-new-talent\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE RAW PRIMER 1\/28: (Royal Rumble Fallout) Rollins celebrates, Ronda\u2019s road, Lesnar is still champ, Placing the new talent"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-4123377365\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3><strong>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER<br \/>\nJANUARY 28, 2019<br \/>\nPHOENIX, ARIZ. AT THE TALKING STICK RESORT ARENA<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 P.M. ET<br \/>\nBY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em>Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Renee Young<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Arena, Royal Rumble Results Pertinent to Raw, and Items Advertised by WWE for Tonight<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Royal Rumble is now behind us and we have officially kicked the tires and gotten on the road to WrestleMania.\u00a0 We have our Rumble winners and champions in place for now and will begin to discuss the potential matches for \u2018Mania come this April.<\/p>\n<p>Raw returns to the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ for the first time since February of last year.\u00a0 The nearly 30-year old arena has hosted WWE events going all the way back to Wrestling Challenge for those of who remember that show from the WWF days, and a handful of WCW Monday Nitros.\u00a0 It even hosted Elimination Chamber in February of 2017, an event that saw Bray Wyatt capture his first and only WWE Championship.\u00a0 This weekend\u2019s NXT Takeover also took place here.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the Royal Rumble results pertinent to Raw:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ronda Rousey defeated Sasha Banks to retain the Raw Women\u2019s Championship.<\/li>\n<li>Becky Lynch won the women\u2019s Royal Rumble.\u00a0 This is pertinent to Raw as she has the option to challenge either show\u2019s women\u2019s champion at WrestleMania.\u00a0 Given what happened prior to Survivor Series and their exchanges on social media, it is expected that she will challenge Ronda Rousey for the Raw title.<\/li>\n<li>Brock Lesnar defeated Finn Balor to retain the Universal Championship.<\/li>\n<li>Seth Rollins won the men\u2019s Royal Rumble.\u00a0 It is expected he will challenge for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania.<\/li>\n<li>Raw Tag Team Champions Bobby Roode &amp; Chad Gable defeated Scott Dawson of the Revival &amp; Rezar of AOP in a non-title match on the pre-show.\u00a0 Had Dawson &amp; Rezar won they would have earned future championship matches for their respective teams.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here\u2019s what is advertised by <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a> subject to change as the day goes on:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Kingslayer celebrates Royal conquest<\/li>\n<li>The \u201cRowdy\u201d Road to WrestleMania<\/li>\n<li>The Beast Triumphant<\/li>\n<li>Where will the new WWE Wrestlers wind up?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>The \u201cKingslayer\u201d Seth Rollins Celebrates Rumble Victory<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Seth Rollins earned an opportunity at either the Universal Championship or WWE Championship at WrestleMania by winning the 2019 Royal Rumble.<\/p>\n<p>WWE played up the \u201cinjury angle.\u201d\u00a0 Intercontinental Champion Bobby Lashley was making his Rumble entrance when Rollins eliminated him before he could get involved in the match.\u00a0 This led to Lashley dragging (but not eliminating) Rollins through the ropes and giving him a suplex and throwing him through one of the announce tables.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-79233442\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Rollins eventually recovered, and the Rumble came down to he and Braun Strowman.\u00a0 Strowman had entered the Rumble earlier in the evening when it was announced John Cena would not participate.\u00a0 They went back and forth and ultimately were outside on the apron, where delivered his signature curb stomp to eliminate Strowman.<\/p>\n<p>It is expected Rollins will challenge for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania.\u00a0 Here he is in a <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a> exclusive with Charly Caruso after the Rumble last night:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Seth Rollins considers his WrestleMania opponent options: WWE Exclusive, Jan. 27, 2019\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Wj3KhQ-aKDI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 I must say the men\u2019s Rumble was less than stellar.\u00a0 Perhaps it\u2019s me, but it almost felt like WWE wasn\u2019t happy about giving Rollins this victory although they knew it was the right call.\u00a0 The injury angle didn\u2019t add much to the story and was essentially repeated from earlier in the night when they did the same with Becky Lynch in the women\u2019s Rumble.\u00a0 Bear in mind, this is all a diversion from plan A due to Reigns\u2019 leukemia announcement.\u00a0 Who knows.\u00a0 At any rate, the interview following the Rumble felt real and authentic as Rollins was last week.\u00a0 I like the little dig on WWE that there\u2019s no time to rest, as they have Raw the next night.\u00a0 It\u2019s fine that he didn\u2019t clearly say he\u2019s going after Lesnar at \u2018Mania, but it\u2019s what we expect.\u00a0 I would have liked to hear him cite their history, as they have gone at it before, but I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll get that once it\u2019s confirmed Rollins is going after the Universal Championship.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Raw Women\u2019s Champion Ronda Rousey\u2019s Road to WrestleMania<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As I said earlier, Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women\u2019s Championship over Sasha Banks by getting the pin fall following Ronda hitting her \u201cPiper\u2019s Pit\u201d drop on Sasha.\u00a0 Ronda tried to show Sasha respect and even held the ropes for her as she was leaving.<\/p>\n<p>Sasha would stop and come back to shake Ronda\u2019s hand, a left-handed handshake mind you, and held up four fingers referencing the Four Horsewomen of NXT (herself, Bayley, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch).\u00a0 This did not sit well with Ronda, whom as we know was part of the Four Horsewomen of MMA (herself, NXT Women\u2019s Champion Shayna Baszler, and Jessamyn Duke &amp; Marina Shafir also of NXT).\u00a0 Here she is in a <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a> exclusive with Charly Caruso after the match:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ronda Rousey doesn&#039;t like Sasha Banks saying &quot;Four Horsewomen&quot;: WWE Exclusive, Jan. 27, 2019\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hvr9Pb4VfRo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Becky Lynch won the Women\u2019s Royal Rumble.\u00a0 It is expected that she will challenge for the Raw title at WrestleMania, given how her previously scheduled match with Ronda at Survivor Series was postponed due to Becky\u2019s injury.<\/p>\n<p>There has been a lot of discussion in regard to Ronda\u2019s future in WWE, as has been covered here at PWTorch and other wrestling media outlets.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible she could be taking a leave following WrestleMania, although nothing is confirmed.\u00a0 She has expressed her desire to start a family, both to WWE prior to her signing her contract and in a YouTube video.\u00a0 We\u2019ll certainly stay on top of this as the story unfolds.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 I think a lot of people hope we get the Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey one-on-one match at WrestleMania, although it\u2019s more likely we get a triple threat with them and Charlotte.\u00a0 I wonder if Charlotte will weave her way in saying that Becky wasn\u2019t originally in the Rumble and only got in because she replaced an \u201cinjured\u201d Lana.\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot of time and two PPVs between now at \u2018Mania so it\u2019s anybody\u2019s guess.<\/em><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1355325409\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><em>As far as the Horsewomen vs. Horsewomen feud, I would think we get that at some point.\u00a0 Logic would suggest, given Sasha putting up the \u201cfour\u201d sign when she did last night, that they could this this at WrestleMania.\u00a0 It\u2019s a match that certainly has a \u2018Mania \u201cfeel.\u201d\u00a0 I still think we get what we have been expecting, and that\u2019s Ronda vs. Becky and possibly Charlotte.\u00a0 Survivor Series would make sense for the Horsewomen stuff, in a Survivor Series style match or a straight-up four-on-four (which could essentially be done anytime).\u00a0 There are a LOT of moving parts to getting this together.\u00a0 Whatever the case may be, here\u2019s hoping WWE properly builds to what could be a huge moment.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ronda\u2019s issue with the horsewomen in the video is interesting.\u00a0 I don\u2019t see how the horsewomen of NXT is a \u201cmarketing\u201d thing.\u00a0 Ric Flair was part of the original Four Horsemen, and thus it\u2019s logical WWE would create a stable involving his daughter.\u00a0 Even though the horsewomen of NXT have feuded at some point, I\u2019m sure they would come together for the right cause and batting the horsewomen of MMA would certainly fit under that heading. <\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Brock Lesnar Retains and What\u2019s Next<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In an expected result, Brock Lesnar retained the Universal Champion over challenger Finn Balor.\u00a0 He did so by getting Balor to submit to his Kimura lock, something we haven\u2019t seen in quite some time.\u00a0 Prior to Brock getting the Kimura lock in, Balor hit a double stomp (similar to his Coup de Grace) but only got a two-count.\u00a0 After the match, Brock hit two German suplexes and gave an F5 for good measure on his fallen challenger.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s Paul Heyman in a <a href=\"http:\/\/wwe.com\/\">WWE.com<\/a> exclusive with Dasha Fuentes:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Paul Heyman declares Brock Lesnar rewrote the bible at Royal Rumble: WWE Exclusive, Jan. 27, 2019\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/D9pWSzctflU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>As I said earlier, it\u2019s expected Seth Rollins will challenge Brock at WrestleMania for the Universal title.\u00a0 At last year\u2019s WrestleMania, Brock retained over Rollins\u2019 Shield \u201cbrother\u201d Roman Reigns in a much-maligned match.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 I think Balor looked strong and gave Lesnar enough of a fight to make me believe he could win the match.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think they\u2019ve ever referenced the diverticulitis on TV, and I could understand playing that card.\u00a0 I think it would have been fine not to reference that, because to me it makes it look like the only reason Brock was vulnerable was because of an illness.\u00a0 Seth Rollins did something similar to Brock at the Royal Rumble in 2015, and I don\u2019t recall them referencing the diverticulitis then.\u00a0 It\u2019s like they didn\u2019t have faith in Balor and thus the past illness was the only way he could gain the advantage.\u00a0 That\u2019s just my opinion.\u00a0 I\u2019m still overall happy with the match.\u00a0 I think Balor needs a move to Smackdown in the shakeup and get in the WWE Championship picture.\u00a0 Just think of the matches over there, assuming the key players stay put (Andrade, Nakamura, Bryan, Ali, Rey, even Hardy for that matter).\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Where Will the New Wrestlers Reside?<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Last night Lacey Evans made her main roster in-ring debut entering the Royal Rumble at #1 and was opposite of #2 Natalya.\u00a0 She was eventually eliminated by Charlotte Flair.<\/p>\n<p>Nikki Cross has previously wrestled Becky Lynch on Smackdown and teamed with Bayley &amp; Natalya to defeat the Riott Squad on Raw.\u00a0 She partook in the Rumble last night, entering at #8, but was eliminated by the IIconics.<\/p>\n<p>Heavy Machinery defeated the Ascension last week.\u00a0 They did not partake in last night\u2019s festivities.<\/p>\n<p>EC3 has yet to wrestle on TV, except for a match on Main Event.\u00a0 He has appeared in poses and smiles but hasn\u2019t spoken.<\/p>\n<p>Lars Sullivan hasn\u2019t appeared on TV at all, but apparently is home and in a good place with WWE.\u00a0 He has been dealing with mental issues, with which WWE has been cooperative.<\/p>\n<p><em>Frank\u2019s Analysis:\u00a0 I don\u2019t have strong feelings as to where everyone will end up.\u00a0 I could see Vince getting behind Lacey Evans strong, and thus Raw seems logical for her.\u00a0 Nikki Cross would make sense for Smackdown.\u00a0 Heavy Machinery could go either way.\u00a0 Tag team wrestling is not a priority for WWE.\u00a0 I\u2019d lean towards Raw.\u00a0 EC3 I could also see for either show as well, with a lean towards Smackdown.\u00a0 Lars we\u2019ll have to stand by.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Start Time &amp; Matches Advertised on the Arena Website <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Talking Stick Resort Arena is advertising a start time of 5:30 p.m. local time.\u00a0 They show the following matches:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Intercontinental Championship Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins (does not specify if the title is on the line.<\/li>\n<li>Finn Balor &amp; Elias vs. Dean Ambrose &amp; Drew McIntyre<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They also advertise Raw Women\u2019s Champion Ronda Rousey appearing.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Follow me on Twitter @FrankPeteani or e-mail me at <a href=\"mailto:fpeteani@gmail.com\">fpeteani@gmail.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Questions and discussion are welcome.\u00a0 Thank you for reading!<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-834489810\"><div id=\"pwtor-1678050866\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW PRIMER JANUARY 28, 2019 PHOENIX, ARIZ. AT THE TALKING STICK RESORT ARENA AIRS ON USA NETWORK, 8:00 P.M. ET BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH SPECIALIST Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2019\/01\/28\/wwe-raw-primer-1-28-royal-rumble-fallout-rollins-celebrates-rondas-road-lesnar-is-still-champ-placing-the-new-talent\/\" title=\"WWE RAW PRIMER 1\/28: (Royal Rumble Fallout) Rollins celebrates, Ronda\u2019s road, Lesnar is still champ, Placing the new talent\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,52,4354,27,5893,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prowrestlingnews","category-opnionandanalysis","category-raw-primer","category-specialists","category-tvprimers","category-news_wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Rollins_600.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74221"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74225,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74221\/revisions\/74225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}