Who were the biggest stars from the latest edition of WWE Raw? Here are my top five picks from the night.
WWE Raw produced a real shocker in the form a massive main event. Braun Strowman has been wrecking havoc throughout his path to Elimination Chamber. John Cena had defeated Finn Balor to earn his spot and Elias overcame the Woken One to claim his spot. Issues between Cena and Elias have been brewing for a few weeks and Braun Strowman never says no to a good fight.
With the number six spot in the Chamber, tension was at an all time high heading in to the main event of the night. Needless to say, Elias picking the win was surprising and it makes him the biggest star of the night. There were plenty of other star making performances throughout the night thought. More superstars made their presence felt and earned their spot in the Elimination Chamber match.
Nia Jax was informed that she would face Asuka at the PPV and if she end the Empress of Tomorrow’s undefeated streak, she would also be added to the WrestleMania title match. Another intriguing scene was when Alexa Bliss came out to aid Mickie James from the Absolution’s assault on her. Raw has been hitting the ball home week after week for a while, compared to SmackDown Live. There have been multiple storylines that keep you invested, both visible and subtle.
With so much happening during the three-hour show, here are the five biggest stars from the night. There are a few names here that you don’t normally see every week. Oh, and did I tell you Braun Strowman didn’t make the cut this week despite the innumerable power slams he delivered? Who made the cut then? Read on to find out.
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5. The Miz
The Miz is once again your reigning Inter Continental champion and all is right with the world again. However, as it turns out, he will not be defending his title at Elimination Chamber. No, he will instead be competing for a chance to face the Beast Incarnate at WrestleMania 34. Moreover, the Miz has the chance to be the first person ever to hold the IC title and the Universal title.
Far-fetched as it may sound, what if that were to happen? The Miz is long due for a world title run after all that he has done to elevate the mid-card on both brands. Sadly though, his time at the top may never come to fruition unless creative realizes the gold mine they have on their hands in the name of the Miz.
This week, the Hollywood A-Lister faced off against Apollo Crews in a qualifying match for Elimination Chamber. Let’s get real here for a moment. Crews is phenomenal in the ring. But that’s all there is to him. There is zero character work behind him. That is the only thing that is keeping him from breaking the glass ceiling and becoming a future champion.
As such, we all expected the Miz to win. It was interesting to note that the heel had to use heel tactics to defeat someone like Crews. That is the one reason that the Miz is at number five on this list, despite his excellent mic work. Let’s hope he climbs up the ladder in the coming weeks.
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4. Alexa Bliss
Alexa Bliss didn’t have a match this week on Raw. She did however focus in multiple segments. First off, she confronted Kurt Angle about how she was not allowed to head straight to WrestleMania with her title, unlike Brock Lesnar. Bliss made her case for why she having defend her title inside the Chamber is unfair. Angle however, stumbled through his lines and made his case clear, thanks in part to the crowd chanting ‘Yes’ to Bliss being in the match.
The Women’s champion might have headed back to the locker room and planned some strategy of sorts. Because, later in the night, when Mickie James was being assaulted by the Absolution, guess who came to the rescue. If you guessed Alexa Bliss, then points for you. Bliss might either be trying to rekindle her relationship with James that dates back to her feud with Becky Lynch. Or she might be looking recruit someone to work alongside her inside the Chamber, at least until it lasts.
If I am calling this right, Bliss will seek help from Nia Jax too, agreeing to aid her in match against Asuka. Moreover, with Nia in the match, Bliss has a better chance of surviving Asuka. Will her brilliant plans workout? Regardless, her two appearances from last night has raised intrigue in the minds of the fans. That ensures the Women’s champion is a clear star from the night.
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3. Bayley
Bayley hasn’t looked this good in months. First she was seen in a backstage segment, talking to Sasha Banks, who was nearly in tears. A short segment captured the emotions of the performers perfectly. Banks was unsure of herself ahead of the Elimination Chamber. Bayley was trying to be the good buddy, who was also struggling to get back to winning ways.
Her last lines to Sasha, ‘I know that I can beat you’ planted the seeds for a potential WrestleMania program. Moreover, a heel Sasha is the better version of Sasha Banks than what we have seen so far. Whether creative goes forward with that idea needs to be seen. Bayley would then go on to put on a great match with Asuka. It’s probably too early to say this but Asuka is like AJ Styles, in that she brings out the best in her opponents too.
Both Sasha Banks and Bayley haven’t had good matches like these in quite a while. If anything, it reminded fans of what Bayley can do in the ring. You might wonder why I would place Bayley in this list and not Asuka. The answer is character work. Asuka is a bad ass who is on her way to WrestleMania. But we don’t know her. All we know is that she can beat just about everybody.
But Bayley on the other hand is a rare kind of pure babyface who has once again found her stride in the main roster, thanks to this match and the backstage segment. Her interaction with Banks will keep the fans guessing heading into Elimination Chamber.
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2. Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns pulled double duty last night. To start off the show, he faced Bray Wyatt in a qualifying match for the Elimination Chamber match. Wyatt promised to put Reigns out of his misery. It was a decent promo from the Eater of the Worlds. But we all knew he wouldn’t make it to the Chamber, as he is involved in a feud with the Woken Matt Hardy.
Since Roman Reigns is the superior face of the WWE, he did not need an interference of any sorts from Hardy to take care of Wyatt. Reigns took some punishment but managed to came on top. Hardy would appear in the ring later to lash out more punishment to Wyatt for costing him the match against Elias last week.
Later in the show, medics would inform Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan, who were getting ready for their tag title match that Jordan will not be allowed to compete. As such, Rollins had to find a new partner at the last-minute and he knew exactly whom to call. The former Shield brethren and former Raw tag team champions joined forces to take on the Bar.
It was a decent match, one that could have gone the way of Reigns and Rollins. For a moment I thought I might actually get to see these two men hold the tag titles again, before Jason Jordan ruined it all. Regardless, Reigns had another great outing and a great match. Two matches in the same night with two great performances? You can’t be a bigger star than that. Especially when you are the new face of the WWE.
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1. Elias
There was nothing anybody could have done last night to take the number one spot away from Elias. Even if Bayley had defeated Asuka last night, I would have still named Elias the biggest star of the night. The Drifter, pinned the biggest name in the company in the center of the ring, during the main event of the flagship show. To add more to this, he did so in a Triple Threat match with Braun Strowman in the ring.
It didn’t matter how many running power slams he had to endure after the match was over. Elias could do just the same and be on his way to WrestleMania. In addition, he has now earned the luxury of being the very last man to enter chaos known as the Elimination Chamber. Elias will be the final man to be inserted into the mix, after five other men have torn each other limb for limb.
However, Roman Reigns is most likely to go on to win this whole thing. He might very well be the one to eliminate Elias, despite all the odds that would be stacked against him. Perhaps that might be one reason why creative has made him look so strong this week. Regardless, let the Drifter enjoy his time in the spot light.’
Next: WWE Raw: Highlights and Grades for February 5
You don’t pin John Cena every day. You don’t smack a guitar across Braun Strowman every day of the week either. The Drifter did just that. Like I said, there wasn’t anybody who could have topped that. Not even Roman Reigns doing double duty and winning both the IC title and the tag titles on the same night.