WWE Raw Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for January 2

Follow along with our live review of Monday’s episode of WWE Raw.

2017 is here, which means a brand new year of WWE Raw will begin on Monday, January 2. The show is set to begin the push toward the January 29, Royal Rumble pay-per-view, which will get us closer to WrestleMania 33 in April.

Goldberg will appear on Raw for the first time since announcing his intention of being in the Royal Rumble match in November. This came one day after his shocking 86-second victory over Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series.

In WWE.com’s preview, they are teasing that the former WCW star may have a message for Lesnar. It’s also noted that he “never makes an appearance unless it means something.” Could that mean he announces his spot in the Royal Rumble entrant order?

The big match set for Raw is Braun Strowman vs. Sami Zayn in a Last Man Standing match. This should put an end to this long-standing feud between these two, which last saw Zayn survive 10 minutes in the ring with the Mountain of a Man. It’s going to be quite difficult for the Underdog from the Underground to get his opponent down for 10 seconds, so does he stand any chance of doing so?

The preview is also teasing that Bayley got “defeated and unfairly taken out of [Raw Women’s Championship] contention.” This is despite beating Charlotte on a handful of occasions. Does that mean we’re in for yet another match between these two soon?

Then there’s the WWE Universal Championship scene. Kevin Owens is already set to defend the belt against Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble with Chris Jericho locked in a shark cage above the ring. How might WWE build to this match on Raw?

Related Story: 5 Potential Rumble Winners

Also look out for Seth Rollins potentially calling out Triple H (again), Neville’s quest to reign over the cruiserweights, and the next step for Cesaro and Sheamus’ Raw Tag Team Championship reign. This could all be seen when Raw goes on the air at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Mick Foley Opens Raw

Foley came out with a new look and a big-time haircut. He talks about the shark cage that Chris Jericho will be in at the Royal Rumble and points to it on stage. Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho come out. Owens questions the shark cage and Jericho says Foley is abusing his power. They start explaining why, including Roman Reigns getting another title shot and Seth Rollins pedigreeing Jericho.

Foley asks them to wipe the slate clean. He asks Owens what exactly the “Kevin Owens Show” is and makes the “show” for tonight with Goldberg as the guest. This angers Owens until Stephanie McMahon comes out and says Foley isn’t abusing his power. Foley and McMahon then bicker about not consulting each other on decisions.

Stephanie makes Reigns vs. Jericho for the U.S. Championship. If Reigns gets counted out or disqualified, he loses the belt. Rollins vs. Owens gets made with the loser being banned from ringside for the title match.

New year, same matches. Reigns vs. Jericho, and Owens vs. Rollins was seen all throughout the latter half of 2016, especially in the fall as we got deeper into the brand split. While each match has its own stakes, we’ve seen this U.S. Title match a handful of times before with a similar result every time: Reigns wins. The same goes with Owens vs. Rollins, except the former has mostly come out on top.

If Owens wins this match, then he’ll more than likely interfere later on. If it’s Rollins, then KO may march his way to the ring anyway.

Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins

Result: Seth Rollins defeats Kevin Owens via disqualification.

Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars

Owens vs. Rollins did not have an added stipulation besides the ringside ban for the main event. So, either one could still win by disqualification.

About 10 minutes into the match, Owens blatantly picks up the bell and hits Rollins in the gut with it all while the referee watched this. He would call for the match to end and give the Architect the victory, because, well, Owens doesn’t want to be with Chris Jericho at ringside, right?

Well, KO ended up kicking and screaming on his way out, not knowing what he did wrong. He looked a bit foolish doing this, with there being little to no logic. Why would he want to cost himself a chance at being at ringside for Jericho’s title match? It makes no sense for how this got produced, so hopefully we get something to build off of this illogical decision later on Raw.

Expect Owens to even show up for the match since there’s not much holding him back from interfering. This could then lead to Rollins coming out to counter the disruption.

Cesaro vs. Karl Anderson

Result: Karl Anderson defeats Cesaro via pinfall.

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

New year, same Cesaro, which is a great thing. He’s fantastic to watch in the ring and incredibly powerful, something that’s not an unknown fact. He looked like a star.

Sheamus said he wouldn’t get involved, but after Luke Gallows interfered, this led to one half of the Raw Tag Team Champions coming down to the ring. He ended up inadvertently costing Cesaro the match, which set up a top rope neckbreaker from Anderson, a unique finisher. The Machine Gun hardly gets wins in singles matches, so this was somewhat of a twist.

This likely sets up Cesaro and Sheamus vs. Anderson and Gallows for the Raw Tag Team Championship. It’s somewhat surprising that New Day isn’t around the belts after just two-plus weeks, but that’s been the case before with the tag titles; WWE tends to cycle out the No. 1 contenders quickly or the former title holders.

To finish this off, Byron Saxton getting destroyed by the commentary team for his Paula Abdul reference was GOLD. He had nothing to say afterward.

Last Man Standing Match
Braun Strowman vs. Sami Zayn

Result: Braun Strowman defeats Sami Zayn via the 10-count.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Zayn came out swinging from the moment this match began. He tried getting Strowman off his feet with kendo stick attacks, but shrunk down to size when he got caught in the middle of a moonsault and punched in the face when attempting the through-the-rope DDT.

However, this would definitely not be the end of the Underdog from the Underground, who played a relentless babyface throughout the match, something that made this a fantastic watch. He’s one of the few faces that have been booked on par and someone very easy to get behind.

On the other hand, Strowman also looked like the heel you’re supposed to hate. He grounded Zayn, especially near the end with the running powerslams. If the Mountain of a Man put his opponent through a table with his finisher, that may have placed a bigger emphasis on the final 10-count. That shouldn’t take away from how dominant Strowman looked, though, and

Jack Gallagher and New Day Backstage

Gallagher and New Day dance around with umbrellas backstage.

New Day Promo

New Day says that all three of them will be in the Royal Rumble match and talk out about 2017 goals. Titus O’Neil then comes out and asks to be a member of the New Day. He tries doing the group’s chants, but after touching Xavier Woods’ trombone, Woods gets angry. Titus then starts using his whistle to dance.

O’Neil takes a shot at Woods for being New Day’s “weakest link.” Woods challenges Titus to a match, who punches Woods in the face and agrees to face him.

Xavier Woods vs. Titus O’Neil

Result: Xavier Woods defeats Titus O’Neil via pinfall.

Rating: 2.25 out of 5 stars

Well, Woods proved he’s not the weakest link. That’s about it here.

Bayley and Stephanie McMahon Backstage

Bayley says she understands her win over Charlotte being expunged, but asks why Dana Brooke was the special referee last Monday. Stephanie says she never wanted Bayley on Raw and doesn’t see her as the face of the show. Bayley says she belongs in WWE and her “being Bayley” is good enough. McMahon puts her in a No. 1 contender’s match for the Raw Women’s Championship against Nia Jax. The winner will go to the Royal Rumble to face Charlotte.

Cedric Alexander and Noam Dar Backstage

Alexander walks down the hallway with Alicia Fox and gets approached by Noam Dar, who apologizes. Dar calls Fox, “sweetcheeks” and runs away.

Cedric Alexander vs. Drew Gulak

Result: Drew Gulak defeats Cedric Alexander via pinfall.

Gulak celebrated this win like he never won a match before (maybe somewhat true, at least in WWE). That may have been the highlight of this all.

WWE United States Championship Match
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Chris Jericho

Result: Roman Reigns defeats Chris Jericho via pinfall to retain the WWE United States Championship.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

Another solid outing here from Reigns and Jericho, who made this match dramatic with near-falls and the title disqualification fakeout.

This could have been the time to take the title off Reigns, but alas, he will walk into next Monday’s Raw as the United States Champion. It could work well to put the belt on the line at the Royal Rumble, especially with the Roadblock match with Kevin Owens only being for the Universal Championship. There are still a few weeks left to make this change, but is that something WWE will go through with?

It should be noted that commentary went in on Owens “costing Jericho” the match since he lost to Seth Rollins earlier on Raw. So, by not being there at ringside, the loss, and the hint, this may signal what’s to come with more dissension between Jeri-KO.

Brian Kendrick vs. TJ Perkins

Result: TJ Perkins defeats Brian Kendrick via submission.

It sounds like this win is going to lead Perkins to Neville, not WWE Cruiserweight Champion, Rich Swann. Kendrick tapping out somewhat fast here may not bode well for him either, especially if with the King of the Cruiserweights taking over as the top heel in the division.

Big Cass vs. Rusev and Jinder Mahal

Result: Rusev and Jinder Mahal defeat Big Cass via pinfall.

A very rare loss for Big Cass here. This match didn’t mean much, though, only to prolong the feud before Enzo Amore recovers from his rear bruise.

No. 1 Contender’s Match for the Raw Women’s Championship
Bayley vs. Nia Jax

Result: Bayley defeats Nia Jax via pinfall to become the No. 1 Contender to the Raw Women’s Championship.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

This match was all about the finish, which saw Sasha Banks return after being attacked by Nia Jax a few weeks ago. All she had to do was walk on the stage as Jax looked stunned from the turnbuckle. This led to Bayley taking advantage with the Bayley-to-Belly for the win to become the new No. 1 Contender for the Raw Women’s Championship.

Bayley and Charlotte have battled plenty of times before, but never on pay-per-view. Royal Rumble doesn’t seem like the time for this to conclude (the same goes for the PPV streak). So, could this match be a step to WrestleMania 33?

The Kevin Owens Show with Goldberg

Owens has a guy standing in the ring with a “The Kevin Owens Show” sign over his face. Incredible. Jericho would then put Tampa Bay, FL on the list (the site of Raw), but stopped the introduction of Goldberg to announce he’s in the Royal Rumble. This led to a brief argument before Goldberg came out.

Goldberg says Chris Jericho is “first” and tosses a chair out of the ring. He stops Jericho from putting him on the List, until Owens asks if he should be intimidated because Goldberg tossed a chair out. KO then tosses every piece of furniture out of the ring.

Paul Heyman then entered the building to give a “spoiler” for the Royal Rumble match, saying Brock Lesnar will win. Goldberg then says he will face either Owens or Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, leading to Reigns coming out. Reigns says Owens and Jericho won’t win anything at the Rumble, and turns to Goldberg.

Braun Strowman enters the arena and says he’s winning the Royal Rumble match. Goldberg and Reigns decide to team up and double spear him to close the show.

Jericho entering the Royal Rumble makes for an interesting tease for what’s to come with Owens. He may even be a legitimate threat to win, but only if KO walks out with the Unviersal Championship at the Royal Rumble. This would give Y2J one of the few accolades that he hasn’t achieved, even if a world title win at WrestleMania isn’t likely.

As for the Goldberg-Reigns staredown, it either meant a whole lot of something for the future, or just for a one-off moment. The latter seems likely for this if the former WCW star is going to face Lesnar at WrestleMania.

Related Story: Goldberg, Reigns Go Face-to-Face (Video)

That will do it for Monday’s episode of Raw. What did you think of the show?