WWE Raw live results: Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins

Date: January 17, 2022
Location: BOK Center in Tulsa, OK

The Big Takeaway —

None. 

Show Recap — 

Becky Lynch entered to start Raw as the announcers ran down tonight’s card. 

Lynch spoke about how big this year’s Royal Rumble was and we could thank her for that. It was so big, in fact, that stars from the past were returning, like Lita, Mickie James, and the Bella Twins — all for an opportunity to face her.

Lynch said that Doudrop could thank her for winning last week and said she made people better before she beat them. She said “Dou-Dou” didn’t make a name for herself, someone else did that for her, and someone named “Doudrop” would never be champion as long as she was around.

Doudrop interrupted. She said she got the title match on her own and if Lynch really wanted to face her instead of Bianca Belair, she’s made a big mistake.

Belair interrupted. She reminded us that she’s the “E.S.T.” of WWE and said the only reason that Doudrop won last week was that Lynch was too afraid to face her. Belair announced that she was entering the Rumble match and would do whatever it takes to win it again.

Liv Morgan interrupted. She also announced that she was entering the Rumble and warned Belair — her partner for tonight — that she would eliminate her on her way to winning the match.

Doudrop made a snoring noise because she was understandably bored by all of this. Doudrop wanted to start their tag match right now and officials ran down to separate everyone. 

********

Chad Gable and Otis were shown in the back wearing graduation caps and gowns, getting ready for their tag title celebration ceremony.

Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch & Doudrop defeated Bianca Belair & Liv Morgan (2:50)

This was more of an angle than a match. Morgan had Lynch pinned early on but Doudrop just barely broke up the cover. Moments later, Lynch seemed to have it won over Morgan after a Man-handle Slam, but Doudrop broke up that cover as well.

Doudrop tried to pin Morgan but the referee told her she wasn’t legal, so she dragged Lynch to their corner and awkwardly made the tag before hitting Morgan with a splash for the pinfall win.

Doudrop gave Lynch a Banzai drop after the match.

******** 

Reggie asked Edge if he had any advice for his match against Omos tonight. Edge said anything can happen. Reggie was pleased and asked Edge if he thought he had a chance. Edge chuckled and said, “hell no.” Beth Phoenix smacked Edge in the stomach for saying that. Phoenix put over Dana Brooke before Brooke chased after Reggie (who ran off).

Edge approached Damian Priest who was nearby. Priest asked Edge for advice on winning the Rumble. Before he could say anything, a producer handed Phoenix a note from Maryse. Maryse wanted to see her in the ring tonight — just the two of them. Edge told Priest they could speak later and they shook hands before he left with Phoenix. Priest called Edge the man.

Kevin Owens also approached Priest to say he was looking forward to their match tonight. Owens asked if they could have a nice technical match instead of Priest showing his crazy side. Priest blew him off and Owens left to host his show.

********

The announcers spoke about Elimination Chamber in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

KO Show with guest Seth Rollins 

Owens (wearing a necktie over his sleeveless t-shirt) said he’d be lying if he said he was happy to be in Tulsa because this place was brutal. Owens introduced his “best friend” Seth Rollins.

Owens told Rollins how much he admired him, especially his suits. He appreciated all the minutiae that went into every detail in Rollins’ suits. He said it took guts to confront Roman Reigns on Smackdown. Reigns might call himself head of the table, but Rollins sets the table.

Rollins appreciated the comments and claimed that Reigns was scared. Rollins said winning the title would be like taking candy from a baby and he planned on changing the belt from blue to red. Owens was happy to hear that Rollins planned on staying on Raw after he wins. That (somehow) meant they wouldn’t have to deal with Bobby Lashley or Brock Lesnar anymore.

Owens had an announcement of his own: he was entering the Rumble match. He planned on winning the Rumble and we’d get a dream match at WrestleMania, Seth “freakin’” Rollins against Kevin “freakin’” Owens.

Damian Priest interrupted. Rollins told him to leave or else Owens would kick his ass. Priest told him to shut up. Priest called him delusional and said nobody believed that he would beat Reigns. Priest warned them that if they didn’t want to face “Damian,” they shouldn’t wake him up. He spoke with Sonya Deville and Adam Pearce before coming out and informed Owens that their match starts now. 

********

Veer Mahan is coming to Raw again (again).

Non-title match: Kevin Owens defeated United States Champion Damian Priest (10:55)

Owens chopped Priest and it seemed like Priest would turn into “Damian” but Owens pleaded with him by saying that was just clean wrestling. Priest was fine with that explanation and was able to keep his cool. Priest went after Owens after he bailed from the ring but Owens hit a superkick and a splash off the apron which led to break.

Priest was already mounting his comeback when they returned from break. Priest used strikes, a clothesline and Broken Arrow for two. Owens fought Priest off the top rope and hit a big senton for two. They traded counters until Owens hit a pop-up powerbomb for a nearfall and Priest followed with a chokeslam for a nearfall.

Owens’ knee gave out and the referee called for the trainer as the crowd booed. Owens was faking, of course, and he suddenly hit Priest with a stunner for the pinfall win. The crowd was really into this.

I believe that was Priest’s first singles loss since debuting on the main roster. 

[Second Hour]

Sarah Schreiber interviewed Nikki ASH (still dressed as a superhero) in the back. Nikki said she felt better than ever and Rhea Ripley should feel awful for being a bad friend. Schreiber noted that Nikki was the one who attacked Ripley. Nikki said Ripley ruined their team and flushed it down the toilet.

Nikki said the people of Tulsa don’t have a hero of their own and wanted to be referred to as the “People’s Hero.” She said sometimes heroes need to do things that regular people don’t understand and Ripley would need a superhero whether she realized it or not.

********

Alpha Academy Graduation Ceremony 

Chad Gable put over his Master’s degree and 4.0 GPA. They booed and Gable once again told them not to boo education (which is a funny line). Gable said nobody from Tulsa had a Master’s or 4.0 GPA. They booed louder. (This was at least the third time someone has insulted the town so far an hour into the show.)

Gable was proud of Otis for finishing his own degree by beating those morons in RK-Bro and now they were the rightful champions. The crowd chanted for RK-Bro. Gable presented Otis with a diploma and said he graduated with the highest of honours.

Otis thanked Gable for helping him reach his full potential and warned everyone that they would face carnage if they tried to get in their way.

Riddle interrupted. He was also dressed in a cap and gown. Riddle had a speech prepared — written on a napkin he took from the breakfast buffet. Riddle rambled until Gable cut him off and said the people of Tulsa couldn’t afford to lose any more brain cells.

Gable told Riddle that he already ruined the greatest night of Otis’ life. He figured Riddle wanted a rematch but probably couldn’t even define the word “rematch.” Riddle thought maybe “rematch” meant lighting a match for a second time.

Gable called him an idiot and wondered where Randy Orton was. Gable said Riddle could get his rematch if he could pass an academic aptitude test. (They zoomed in on Otis who seemed worried about this idea.) Riddle continued to ramble until Otis started walking towards him.

That left Gable prone and he ate an RKO from Orton. Riddle wiped out Otis before he could go after Orton. Riddle helped Orton put on a cap and gown before Orton grabbed a mic and accepted the title rematch.

I mostly enjoyed this and Gable is doing well in this role.

********

They aired a replay of Finn Bálor beating Austin Theory weeks ago. Theory approached Vince McMahon in his office. McMahon was watching the replay of Bálor’s win. Theory explained (again) that he might have lost but beat up Bálor afterwards which was like a half-victory.

McMahon said there were no half-victories and if he didn’t beat Bálor tonight, McMahon would beat up Theory. McMahon explained all of the ugly, gory things he would do to Theory as Theory looked on in shock. McMahon said he would finish by taking a selfie over Theory’s body before sending it to his mom.

********

There was a Martin Luther King Jr. tribute video.

********

Austin Theory defeated Finn Bálor (6:06)

They went to break a minute into the match after Bálor hit a slingblade on the outside and Bálor remained in control after the break. Theory dropped Bálor neck-first over the top rope but Bálor countered an ATL into a rollup for two. Theory dodged a Coup de Grace and followed with a rolling dropkick and ATL for the clean pinfall win.

Theory attacked Bálor after the match and laid him out with another ATL.

******** 

Schreiber interviewed Ripley. Ripley said she wanted to remain friends with Nikki but wondered what kind of hero attacks their friend. Ripley planned on reminding everyone, including Nikki, who she was.

Queen Zelina and Carmella entered before the upcoming match could start. They bragged about being right about Ripley and Nikki. They said they should be thanked for breaking them up because they were better off. Vega said Ripley didn’t have the guts to be a champion on her own.

Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki ASH

The match didn’t happen. As Ripley watched Vega and Carmella, Nikki attacked her and drove her into the steel steps.

They are really dragging Ripley down with all of this.

********

Brooke psyched Reggie up in the back as R-Truth, Tamina, Akira Tozawa, and a referee watched while eating popcorn in the background. Reggie wasn’t feeling very confident about his match against Omos but Brooke told him that he was the most capable person she knew. After they left, Truth said Brooke must not like Reggie because she just told him to go get got. (That was funny.) 

Omos defeated Reggie (w/24/7 Champion Dana Brooke) (0:30)

Before the match, Tozawa and Truth tried running after Brooke but Omos decked them both because they entered the ring. Tamina got in Omos’ face as Reggie went to the top rope.

The match began and Omos caught Reggie off the top before hitting a big tree slam for the quick pinfall win. 

[Third Hour]

Maryse and Beth Phoenix face-to-face 

Maryse said Miz had a big mouth and liked to agree to things without asking her first. She wanted to clean up his mess and asked Phoenix to come out so they could talk woman-to-woman, mother-to-mother.

Phoenix entered with Edge. Maryse asked them to stay on the ramp, so they did. Maryse said their mixed tag match at the Rumble had to be cancelled. Maryse didn’t want it, Phoenix didn’t want it, and the fans didn’t want it. The crowd booed her so she told them that she had a mic and could be a lot louder than them. They loudly chanted “you suck” as Maryse tried speaking to Phoenix.

Maryse spoke about their history and said the women today can main event WrestleMania because of the work they did. Maryse thought they should be friends and their kids should hang out.

Phoenix told her to shut up. She wasn’t buying any of this and neither was the crowd which meant Maryse must be taking acting lessons from her husband. Phoenix said their match was on and she was not going to pass up the chance to team with her husband. She also wasn’t passing up the chance to Glam Slam Maryse’s ass through the canvas.

Phoenix wanted to give the fans a preview so she entered the ring. Miz tried attacking Edge from behind but Edge decked him. Maryse used the distraction to knock down Phoenix from behind with her purse. Edge checked on Phoenix as Marse and Miz walked away.

Maryse revealed she had a brick in her purse. She kissed Miz.

********* 

The Street Profits spoke about the Rumble match. Angelo Dawkins asked Montez Ford if he would throw him out. Before he could respond, Dominik and Rey Mysterio appeared. Dominik said they planned on taking the Mysterio name back to the main event of WrestleMania. They were all excited to be on the same team tonight.

8-man tag team match: The Street Profits, Dominik & Rey Mysterio defeated Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Apollo Crews & Commander Azeez (7:59)

This was basically a quick, all-action match where the babyfaces got to shine.

The two teams argued outside the ring as they went to break 90 seconds into the match and the heels were in control when they returned. Dawkins made a hot tag and ran wild before the Mysterio hit Ziggler and Roode with a double 619. Azeez caught Rey but Dominik knocked him down with a dive. Dawkins gave Crews a spinebuster and Ford followed with a frog splash for the pinfall win.

After the match, the Mysterios dumped Dawkins and Ford over the top rope as a preview of the Rumble. The Mysterios acted like this was all good-natured fun. Rey then dumped Dominik over the top, too.

********

There was a big video feature on Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley, showcasing both of their careers. It acknowledged Lesnar’s time in UFC and Lashley’s time in Bellator.

********

Jimmy Smith said the following line (almost certainly written for him): “When it comes to mental health, the first thing you have to do is recognize you have a problem. I think that we all recognize that Alexa Bliss has a serious problem.” They aired a clip from last week’s Bliss therapy segment. 

********

Kevin Patrick asked Maryse and Miz to comment on their earlier attack. Miz was amused that it only took one shot to take down Phoenix. Miz was about to refer to the “Grit couple” as the “shit couple” but Maryse stopped him because their kids were watching.

Miz said it was Maryse’s birthday next week and he planned on throwing her a huge party. He said nothing was stronger than their love. They made out and Patrick ran away.

********

Alexa Bliss segment

Bliss was back at the psychiatrist’s office. The psychiatrist wanted to play a word association game. After every word he said (“trust,” “friendship,” etc), she responded, “Lilly.” When he said the word “imaginary” she stood up and appeared angry. He bailed. Bliss sat down. The segment ended.

******** 

(Earlier I wrote that Randy Orton/Riddle accepted Chad Gable’s tag title rematch. I was wrong because what they actually accepted was Gable’s academic aptitude challenge. I guess if they pass, they get the title match.)

********

Bobby Lashley (w/MVP) defeated Seth Rollins via DQ (13:17)

Lashley barely budged when Rollins hit a suicide dive so Rollins tried another but Lashley caught him and suplexed him.

After a break, Rollins was randomly in control as he repeatedly drove Lashley’s leg into the post. Rollins worked over the leg until Lashley punched his way out of a submission. Rollins used an awkward-looking dragon screw and applied a single-leg crab. Lashley pushed him off and Rollins went for a stomp but Lashley ducked and hit a flatliner.

Lashley followed with overhead suplexes, a shoulder tackle, a neckbreaker, and a Dominator for two. Rollins blocked a spear with a knee strike and, after a couple of counters, he hit a Pedigree for a nearfall. Rollins went to the top but Lashley caught him and hit an impressive-looking overhead suplex.

The match suddenly ended in DQ when Lashley was attacked by Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander. Lashley made his own comeback and gave them a double vertical suplex. Lashley drove Alexander into the post and speared Benjamin through the barricade.

As Rollins watched, the Usos entered through the crowd and gave him a double superkick.

(The crowd was quiet during the match while Lashley was selling, which he probably did too much of considering his next opponent, but they woke up when he went on offense. I guess they figured a DQ would be fine because we got an appearance from the Usos.)