Happy pre-Valentine’s Day to those who celebrate. We’re not thinking love so much for WWE Raw tonight from Lexington, but more the opposite thing: Getting people out of our lives, or at least out of contention for the Elimination Chamber matches.
(Yes, we’re aware sometimes Valentine’s Day soul-searching leads in somewhat the same direction, but we digress.)
As of the start of this show, only two of the six men’s and women’s Elimination Chamber spots are spoken for. That will change tonight, with two men’s qualifiers and one women’s qualifier filling up more of those pods.
Perhaps the most interesting candidates right off the dome are LA Knight and Liv Morgan. Both are fan favorites, the kind of performers that will have big chunks of the WWE Universe backing them to make the Elimination Chamber bouts.
It’s also hard to see where they fit into the larger WrestleMania picture right this second. Knight has ridden his populist wave to two championship shots but hasn’t broken through. Morgan is a former champ, but has been out of action for a while due to injury and is trying to make her way back into contention.
Does that mean they might get upset tonight? It doesn’t feel like it, but it’s worth filing away in case it happens.
There’s also a fun six-man tag featuring The New Day and Jey Uso against Imperium, so this should be an entertaining Monday night. Off we go to Kentucky.
WWE Raw Results from Lexington:
(please scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)
- Cody Rhodes is shown heading into the arena this afternoon as Michael Cole reminds us Cody has another shot at Roman Reigns at WrestleMania
- The New Day and Jey Uso def. Imperium by pinfall
- Highlights of WrestleMania XL Kickoff are shown
- Andrade says he needed to leave WWE to remember who he was, but now that he’s back, his direction is clear
- Bobby Lashley def. Bronson Reed by pinfall in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match
- Sami Zayn is shown coming to the rescue of Cody Rhodes after Raw went off the air last week; afterward, we see Zayn talking to Jackie Redmond about why he believes he is still a contender and will be a champion until he’s interrupted by some taunts from Shinsuke Nakamura on all the arena’s big video screens
- Cody Rhodes is back on track to finish his story, but he may need some help — and Seth Rollins offers it
- Cathy Kelley is backstage with a happy New Day and Jey Uso, who only get happier when they learn Uso will get an IC title shot next week
- Liv Morgan def. Zoey Stark by pinfall in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match
- Damian Priest tries to tell R-Truth the truth about his status with The Judgment Day, and it might finally be sinking in; later we see Truth desperately trying to get The Miz to join him ringside
- JD McDonagh def. R-Truth by pinfall; after the bell, Truth tries to fight off all of The Judgment Day, and it goes about as poorly as you’d expect until #DIY finally comes running down with steel chairs to chase off the heels
- Rhodes stops by to thank Zayn for having his back last year, and Cody also reassures Sami that he and the WWE fans all believe in him, which earns the American Nightmare a grateful hug
- Becky Lynch is still locked in on WrestleMania, but both she and Rhea Ripley can’t overlook Nia Jax
- Drew McIntyre is still taking credit for pushing Rhodes in the right direction and insists he’s still the underdog, and it appears he’ll be facing Cody next week
- Truth thanks #DIY for the save, but thinks they are DX
- LA Knight def. Ivar by pinfall in an Elimination Chamber qualifying match
- McIntyre and Zayn have a brief but tense run-in backstage as Sami heads for the ring
- Chelsea Green asks Adam Pearce if she’s going to be in the Last Chance Qualifier for the Elimination Chamber match, angering Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell, who are also in there; Green insults Shayna Baszler and Stark, who of course end up right behind her
- Shinsuke Nakamura def. Sami Zayn by pinfall, with an assist to McIntyre for a timely distraction
- When McIntyre and Nakamura try for a post-match beating, Rhodes hustles down to the rescue, hitting a Cody Cutter on Drew and Cross Rhodes on Shinsuke
The New Day and Jey Uso prove to be a formidable team against Imperium
The crowd gets behind The New Day as soon as the bell rings, motivating Kofi Kingston to go right after Ludwig Kaiser. Jey Uso and Gunther quickly get tagged in, but the Ring General does the classic heel thing and deprives the fans of the matchup they want to see by tagging Giovanni Vinci in.
Only after Vinci takes control does Gunther tag back in to get some work done on Jey. Uso gets sent out to the floor in enemy territory, leaving Imperium in full control as of a commercial break.
That’s no longer the case on the other side, with Kingston unleashing a wide variety of offense and scoring a near fall on Vinci with a frog splash to the back. Kofi takes flight with a leaping clothesline and a Boom Drop on Vinci, but Imperium manages to send him to the outside and then into the steel steps.
Kofi kicks out after a boot to the face from Vinci, but now he’s dealing with Gunther’s methodical attack. The Ring General stops him from tagging a partner and puts him in a Boston Crab, but Jey breaks the hold with a nasty slap to the face.
After more commercials, Uso leads a furious rally, dropping both of Gunther’s wingmen and locking in on the man himself. Jey loses a battle of chops, however, and has to fight back with an enzuigiri. He hits a cross body off the top and covers for two.
A short-arm clothesline earns Gunther a two count of his own before he mocks Jey’s entrance. He pays for it by eating a spear, yet he manages to get a save from Kaiser.
After Kaiser is sent into the post, Vinci tags in and trades superkicks with Jey. The New Day returns to help pull off the 1-D, allowing Uso to hit a top rope splash on Vinci to end it.
Cody Rhodes gets an offer of backup from Seth Rollins
Ever the consummate babyface, Rhodes stops to autograph some action figures for young fans on his way to the ring. The fans loudly chant his name once his music stops.
Cody says they could talk about him challenging Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 40. He says the only reason he can say that is because of the fans making their voices heard, and there’s only one way he can repay them.
Though he’s a passionate guy, Rhodes says he doesn’t want to get emotional because then he’d become a crybaby, referencing The Rock’s taunt toward him. He also shows footage of The Rock on “The Pat McAfee Show” coining the term, for which Michael Cole needles McAfee.
One thing The Rock does not do well is listen, Rhodes says, because he said nothing insulting about Rock’s ancestors and he still got slapped anyway. For that, Cody vows to hit Rocky back.
That brings Seth Rollins to join the party, and the fans greet him warmly as well. Cody wants to thank Seth for coming to his aid at WrestleMania Kickoff, and Rollins thanks him before saying he understands why Rhodes made the choice he did.
The Visionary tells Rhodes he must finish his story, because if he does not, the landscape on the other side of WrestleMania is very dark. As he sees it, this is probably the last real chance anyone has to take Roman’s title and power and give it to the people.
But Rollins also has a question: What’s your plan? Because last year, Cody got screwed by outside interference form The Bloodline, and now he’s facing that plus dealing with The Rock as well. Yet Rollins says he doesn’t have to fight this battle alone, as he’s been moved by the idea of taking everything from Roman.
He also says it’s partly his own fault that Reigns is the man he is today, with Rollins suggesting he taught Roman everything he knows during The Shield days. Seth says “there’s only one man on Earth who is uniquely suited to be your shield,” heh.
“Think about it,” Seth mouths after throwing down the mic.
Liv Morgan is headed to Perth after taking down Zoey Stark
Morgan tries for a quick dub as her rollup gets a two count. Liv stomps away in the corner and shrieks as the referee pulls her away. Stark’s lariat gives her control, and she does some yelling of her own as she presses her advantage.
Liv hits a hurricanrana and smashes her foe’s head into the top turnbuckle before a springboard kick lands and sends Zoey to the floor. Stark fires back with a right hand that prevents a suicide dive, then follows with a painful looking Death Valley Driver on the apron.
Both women have chances to win it right after a commercial break. Stark gets a second in quick succession following a springboard missile dropkick before verbally berating Morgan.
Liv tries for a Codebreaker but gets sent into the turnbuckles instead, though Morgan instantly turns the tables … until she runs into a head kick and has to kick out at two again.
Zoey drags Liv to the corner, but her corkscrew splash finds no one home, and Oblivion means she’s not getting back up.
Becky Lynch has her eyes on Rhea Ripley, but there’s a Nia Jax roadblock first
After promising to go to the prom in 2034 with a fan who has a sign to that effect, The Man talks about how much she loves the business and how it’s given her everything, including her husband and their daughter. But her obsession with wrestling has caused her to miss important moments in her loved ones’ lives, and more recently, it’s led to some tough conversations with her daughter.
On the plus side, her obsession has kept Becky on track for her intended WrestleMania date with Rhea Ripley. Lynch says a lot of fans love Ripley and think no one can beat her, but Becky isn’t just anyone. She grabs a drink and proposes a toast to Rhea’s last few weeks as champion.
It’s not Ripley but Nia Jax who comes out in response. Jax is emotional when talking about Lynch’s example as a mother, but it all turns into a shot at Ripley, who comes rushing to the ring for a donnybrook.
Lynch catches a stray in the corner, so she decides to clear Jax out with a missile dropkick. That leaves Lynch and Ripley face to face, though Rhea rushes over to smash Jax with a boot to the face.
Shinsuke Nakamura gets an assist from Drew McIntyre to outlast Sami Zayn
Sami looks ready for Shinsuke in the early going, even having time to mock his “come on!” taunt right before the first commercial break. He’s still in control on the other side, at least until Nakamura buries some knees in his midsection.
Shinsuke goes for a couple of covers but doesn’t really seem to think they’ll be enough to end it. Zayn eats some kicks to the chest, even after catching a leg, and has to kick out again at two.
Stuck in the ropes, Sami takes a kick to the back of the head and the sliding German suplex, which means he’s got to kick out one more time. Zayn finally rallies with a Michinoku Driver, earning a flash two count.
After Nakamura is sent to the floor, Zayn finds the target with a tope con hilo, and we’re off to the final ads of the evening.
They’re standing and trading forearm shots when the broadcast returns, and now Nakamura is feeling it as he emerges in position for the Kinshasa. Sami counters with a Blue Thunder Bomb, but it’s only good for two.
Shinsuke rolls out to the floor to avoid an incoming Helluva Kick, and he’s able to catch Sami with a kick to the face when he tries to dive between the ropes. A knee to the back of the neck off the top rope has Zayn looking done, but he’s able to muster one more kickout.
There’s another back of the neck shot and another kick at two. Zayn is showing incredible resilience, but can he rally to win?
A clothesline helps, as do the cheers from the fans. Open hand strikes and punches force Nakamura back into the corner, and an exploder suplex puts him right back there.
It could be the end, except that Drew McIntyre distracts Zayn. Shinsuke takes Sami’s legs out, and the Kinshasa seals the deal.