Welcome one and all to the RAW RECAP presented by THE REVELLEUTION! Last week saw Bayley make her WrestleMania announcement and after revealing she knew what was being said behind her back, Bayley used her Rumble win to face Iyo Sky at WresleMania. That now leaves the door open for a new opponent to face Rhea Ripley at the biggest show of the year, so will we get any confirmation about how that will be decided this week? And who will emerge victorious between the Women’s Tag Team Championship rematch between The Kabuki Warriors and former champs Kayden Carter and Katana Chance? Let’s get into it, and find out…
It was confirmed, although somewhat casually, that the winner of a Women’s Elimination Chamber Match at the Elimination Chamber event would face Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania.
SHAYNA BASZLER cut a promo backstage about her Elimination Chamber qualifying match. Bragging that when she was last in a Chamber match she demolished the opposition, but now she could get straight to Lynch and tear her apart. BECKY LYNCH had a ‘walking promo’ (a new gimmick that’s been done as of late) saying her ‘future was on the line’ tonight and needed to beat Baszlerer.
Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
BECKY LYNCH defeated SHAYNA BASZLER
They started the match with a lot of nice technical stuff with multiple attempts to go after one another’s arms and Lynch escaping from tries at the Kirifuda Clutch, including one that went from a sort of Chinbuster attempt facing away into a Samson Clutch for a near fall. ZOEY STARK watched the match from backstage and the announcers said she’d be in a qualifying match against Liv Morgan next week.
After avoiding moves, Baszler got an Arm Drag to send Lynch into a corner and catch her with a Knee Strike. Lynch countered the Kirifuda Clutch to send Baszler through the ropes to the floor. A Baseball Slide followed, but when Lynch went for the Forearm off the apron, Baszler countered to again go for the Clutch but this time broke it off when Lynch went to escape to instead nail a Head Kick. Baszler trapped Lynch’s hand in the side gap of the ring steps (Lynch pulled her hand out of it anyway but stayed in place) so Baszler could hit a form of Arm Stomp with a kick.
Back from a commercial break, Lynch mounted a comeback with the Flying Forearm then a Forearm shot in a corner. She tried for the Bex-Ploder but Baszler blocked and soon hit a Release German Suplex. A Sliding Knee got a near fall. Baszler went for the Arm Stomp but Lynch rolled away, leading to some more counters as Baszler avoided the Man-Handle Slam but soon after Lynch tried her version of the Kirifuda Clutch. Baszler would toss Lynch off to escape, but moments later Lynch hit a Missile Dropkick for a nearfall.
Lynch locked in the Dis-Arm-Her but struggled with her own hurt arm to properly lock it in, and ended up being shoved off and into the middle rope. Later on, Lynch would be caught going up top, tossed down with a Deadly Drive and then hit with the Low Knee Strike to give Baszler a near fall. LIV MORGAN was shown backstage to watch the match. Lynch would get the better of a round of counters with a Final Cut for a two count.
Another Man-Handle Slam counter allowed Baszler to apply an Ankle Lock. Lynch rolled through it to send Baszler to the apron, then hit her with the trio of strikes to Baszler dangled through the ropes along with clubbing blows. Baszler avoided the Leg Drop attempt and yanked the targetted arm across the top rope. Lynch would soon after hit a Superplex and went for an Arm Bar, but Baszler escaped and hit the Shocking Baszler for a near fall.
A battle of open hand chops followed then yet again more counters, including Lynch being able to counter a second Shocking Baszler attempt. Eventually, a Man-Handle Slam that was more of a toss got Lynch the victory to cap off a great match.
Backstage CATHY KELLEY interviewed Liv Morgan who spoke in an odd, almost disturbed way saying ‘these girls’ had nothing to do with ‘her business’ in regards to opponents like Zoey Stark. She claimed that next week was about ‘her revenge’ and her revenge on Rhea Ripley.
RHEA RIPLEY went to the ring in a furious mood. Saying she didn’t care about Elimination Chamber qualifying matches and wanted Nia Jax one-on-one so she could rip her head off. Raw General Manager Adam Pearce interjected to refuse such a confrontation tonight. Saying he’d booked the match not only for the Women’s World Championship but at the Elimination Chamber event.
NIA JAX of course came out, leading to a brawl in the ring that even knocked Pearce off the apron (but he didn’t sell it) before Pearce called for security just as Ripley got the upper hand on Jax with Shoulder Thrusts and blows. When security pulled Ripley back, it allowed Jax to sneak attack with a charge to squash Ripley and some guards in the corner before the other guards got decked. Jax hit a very unsafe-looking Annihilator before she marched away.
Mixed Tag Team Match
Alpha Academy (MAXXINE DUPRI & Akira Tozawa) Vs The Viking Raiders (VALHALLA & Ivar)
Chad Gable and Otis only accompanied the Academy to the entranceway and not to ringside. The match started off with the Vikings charging as Dupri got nailed with a Forearm while Tozawa hit a Tornado Kick to take out Ivar. Valhalla stomped at Dupri and then tried to go after Tozawak who avoided her, running the ropes to hit a Suicide Dive. In the ring Dupri completely botched a vault back for a shambles of a Sunset Flip pin for a near fall.
The Enzigiri that followed by Durpi was far better, but the Handspring Elbow that followed was done too early so Valhalla had to come out from the corner to take the Elbow. Tozawa tagged in and went for a Crossbody on Ivar who easily held in, just for Dupri to hit her own Crossbody to knock the men over for a stacked pin that Valhalla broke up. Valhalla decked Dupri with a Clothesline and took her to the floor, just for Dupri to hit an ugly Clothesline of her own.
Dupri would attempt to distract Ivar from going up top, but Valhalla cut her off with a Pop-Up Headbutt on the apron. Ivar would win the match with a World’s Strongest Slam off the ropes to Tozawa.
JACKIE REDMOND handled interview duties.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions THE KABUKI WARRIORS (ASUKA & KAIRI SANE) defeated KATANA CHANCE & KAYDEN CARTER
Asuka (who was selling the pipe attack from Bayley on Smackdown with taped ribs) started off against Chance and shoved her down to start the match. Chance hit some strikes but after a misdirection charge Asuka dropped her with a Shoulder Check. Backstage the rest of the Raw Women’s Tag Team Division – CHELSEA GREEN and PIPER NIVEN, CANDICE LERAE and INDI HARTWELL, and NATALYA and TEGAN NOX all watched from backstage. Asuka roughed up Chance, and smiled after she took a slap from her, just to hit Chance with Kawada Kicks then a Hair-pull Slam.
They tried to do a cool spot where Chance did a Matrix bridge to avoid a Head Kick and then into a Roll-up but before the spot and before the pin Chance hesitated so the spots looked weird. A blind tag by Carter allowed her to pull Asuka down from the ropes when Chance avoided a Hip Attack. Things continued to be sloppy when Sane went to interject at ringside and got a rough Kick through the ropes before Carter shoved the Warriors into one another. Carter elevated a charging Chance into a wild leap to collide into both Warriors on the floor.
After a commercial break, Chance got worked over by the Warriors with their double team kicks into Asuka’s Facebuster to set up Sane’s Basement Dropkick for a pin attempt for the legal Asuka. Carter avoided being hit by both Warriors, leading to a tag by Sane who went for the In-Sane Elbow but in an odd spot she just hit the canvas while Carter was rolled over, possibly out of position or forgetting what spot was supposed to happen.
Chance got the hot tag and did a sliding leg trip to Sane before knocking Asuka off the apron just to go back and hit a Facebuster to the kneeling Sane. A Front Dropkick followed, then stomps and an awkward corner Clothesline. Sane was set up through the ropes to take a Double Stomp to give Chance a near fall. Asuka got a blind tag and came in to hit a Codebreaker on Chance, holding her in place for a Blockbuster by Sane. A double team of a PK by Asuka and Sliding D to the back of Chance’s head got Asuka a near fall.
Moments later Chance countered Asuka to swing her legs through the ropes, setting her on the middle ropes at the corner so Carter (who was tagged in) could again toss Chance up from a charge to hit a Knee Drop to Asuka. The challengers hit the After Party on Asuka but Sane broke up the pin. Chance was tagged and they went for the Cake Stand but Sane pulled on Carter’s leg to drop Chance down to the mat before Carter was dragged out to be sent into the ring steps. Chance was hit with a Buzzsaw Kick before Sane was tagged for the finisher double team of the Reverse DDT by Asuka with the In-Sane Elbow by Sane for the win to retain the title.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
While my expectations for the Mixed Tag Match were low, it was still a bout that stunk but mercifully it was kept short. In contrast, the match I had high hopes for with the Warriors against Double KC ended up being a major disappointment. Sloppy moves, miscommunication and a bad showing particularly on the side of Carter and Chance. Perhaps some frustration from being given such a short title after months of hard work but that’s still no excuse for a poor performance. And with so many tag teams in WWE, and the ongoing Damage CTRL storyline, Double KC might be pushed right to the back of the line for a title match.
Meanwhile, the Elimination Chamber event is being stacked up with big time matches. A contendership Chamber match with Becky Lynch already in thanks to a victory in a great technical match with Shayna Baszler. Possibly Liv Morgan is next… And could we see Smackdown Superstars involved in it too? We will also get Nia Jax against Rhea Ripley for the World title in Ripley’s home country. A match that should have an obvious result but the question will be if Jax will be willing to work (and sell) in that match. So at least for the singles title on Raw things appear to be looking up which is a long-overdue sign.
That’s your lot for this week! Be sure to stop by in seven days’ time for the next edition of the RAW RECAP! See you then!