Credit: WWE on Twitter
The January 21 edition of WWE Raw was the final Raw before this coming Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view, and the red brand added further anticipation for that event.
The pre-Royal Rumble edition of WWE Raw helped build anticipation for this coming Sunday’s pay-per-view, a show that will kick off the road to WrestleMania in style with two huge Royal Rumble matches and several other key battles.
The Royal Rumble is always one of the most unpredictable nights of the year, and last night’s show did a pretty good job of getting fans prepared. Let’s take a look at five key takeaways from the Jan. 21 edition of WWE Raw.
5. Bobby Lashley As Intercontinental Champion Opens The Door For New Challengers
The Intercontinental Championship was one of the most consistent championships in the WWE in 2018 with standout match after standout match with the title on the line. However, heading into 2019, it just felt like it was time for a change of scenery involving the title.
That change of scenery happened last week when Bobby Lashley got a huge win in a Triple Threat Match alongside former champion Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins to become the new Intercontinental Champion. This is Lashley’s first championship in the WWE in over a decade and it could be a beneficial move for everyone. That was evident last night when an unexpected challenge arose.
Lashley and Lio Rush were basking in their glory with Lashley’s muscular physique posing for the WWE universe until he was interrupted by Apollo Crews. This was a solid segment for Crews, who took on Lashley in a pose-off in which the crowd completely believed Crews got the win in. This led to a one-on-one match between Lashley and Crews that turned out to be a solid encounter.
Despite giving a great performance, Crews was unable to take out Lashley and Lashley got the win after being pushed hard by Crews. This wasn’t a championship match, but with Lashley as Intercontinental Champion, the door is wide open for different superstars like Crews to step up and get a shot. It’s definitely something to look forward to in the future with “The All Mighty” Bobby Lashley as champion.
Crews is only the first of hopefully several underutilized superstars that could step up and challenge the new Intercontinental Champion.