Monday Night Raw preview: Quick thoughts about Jan. 16 episode

WWE Monday Night Raw comes live from the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati tonight as the company continues the march towards the Royal Rumble in just under two weeks.

As we prepare for another episode of the WWE’s flagship show, I’ll give some of my quick thoughts about Raw and what’s in store on the card.

Bobby Lashley

Lashley returned from his suspension last week and looked dominant. The show had been missing him for the past month and it was good for the show to get him back in the fold. It was also nice for him to declare himself for the Royal Rumble as they’re gradually upping the ante for the match by having big stars enter.

I question where Lashley’s direction is at the moment because there’s multiple things going on at the same time. He attacked Austin Theory last week and does that mean we’ll get another U.S. title match between the two soon. After the backstage segment with MVP, are we actually going to get a Hurt Business reunion? And what about the rematch with Brock Lesnar? Is that still happening. Tons of interesting things going on with the All Mighty right now.

Judgement Day

The Judgement Day ran through four teams last week to become the No. 1 contender’s for the WWE Tag Team titles. The group really started to hit their stride in the back end of 2022 and I’m glad that they were made to look like a dominant team last week. I also like how the company continues to keep the Rey-Dominik Mysterio feud simmering and you just know that an inevitable encounter at the Rumble is coming.

The one thing I’ll say is I hope they’re not just simply fodder for another Usos’ title defense. Yes, the champs are basically teflon at this point and they’re mini-Roman Reigns. But the Judgement Day deserve to hold the straps in my opinion.

Alexa Bliss

sigh

Alright, fine. I’ll go down the rabbit hole with her being looped into this Uncle Howdy stuff. But my patience for this stuff is wearing thin.