The Road to Wrestlemania began at Sunday Night’s Royal Rumble PPV event. Elimination Chamber will be the next major show, next on WWE’s card. So the storylines for this show began on this week’s WWE Raw. Here’s what happened on the flagship show of WWE that aired from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
Seth Rollins kicked off this week’s WWE Raw in a huge ovation from the Phoenix crowd. He was all fired up with the fact that he is going to the main event of Wrestlemania 35. Triple H’s music hit the arena to interrupt his promo. He ordered Rollins to decide which champion he will face at the grandest stage by the end of the night. Dean Ambrose walked out demanding a match against Rollins right there.
So Triple H called out a referee making the opening contest official for WWE Raw between Rollins and Ambrose. The heel superstar took control in the early going targeting the mid-section of Rollins. He also hit a double chicken wings facebuster for a close two count. Rollins came back hitting a suicide Dive followed by a big Buckle Bomb. He connected with the Superkick and the Stomp to pick up the win.
Dean Ambrose was still sitting inside the ring to say something. Nia Jax and Tamina interrupted him took him out. Alexa Bliss and Mickie James joined these two for the first qualifying match on WWE Raw for Elimination Chamber. James was in control hitting a Hurricurana followed by a neckbreaker. But Nia Jax caught Alexa Bliss off a top rope move and hit a double Samoan Drop to pick up the win.
Kurt Angle was back in action on WWE Raw against Baron Corbin. His opponent cut a great promo about how he’s going to dismantle Angle during the match. Kurt Angle hit his pendant German Suplexes followed by the Angle Slam but Corbin kicked out. Corbin evaded the Ankle Lock submission hold and hit the Deep Six to pick up the huge win against Angle.
Finn Balor was out to address the loss against Brock Lesnar. He stated, “I make no excuses. Brock Lesnar beat me. And then Brock Lesnar beat me again.” Bobby Lashley soon interrupted boasting about his own physique and how Balor lost to Lesnar at Rumble. Suddenly, he attacked Balor out of nowhere driving him into the mat. The beatdown continued for sometimes before Lashley left.
Kurt Angle returned on WWE Raw to have another match with Baron Corbin. The former GM bragged about how he’s going to humiliate the Hall of Famer. Angle was in control by hitting the German Suplexes and Angle Slam. He also locked in the Ankle Lock but Corbin escaped the hold. He countered with a Deep Six to pick up a quick victory.
Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins reunited as a tag team to have a match against The Revival. Dash and Dawson picked up an easy win hitting the Shatter Machine on their opponents. Natalya and Dana Brooke had the next Elimination Chamber qualifier against Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan. Logan shoved Dana into Natalya before rolling Nattie for the win.
Elias was out on WWE Raw to insult the fans for not supporting him at Royal Rumble. The crowd was giving a good reaction to him, though. Jeff Jarrett returned on the show again to confront him. Soon, Road Dogg interrupted these two creating an interesting conversation. Elias hit Dogg with his guitar before eating some punches to the mouth from Jarrett. But he gave a low blow to Jarrett to stand tall.
Ronda Rousey issued an open challenge to WWE Raw locker room to defend her women’s championship. The crowd broke into thunderous Becky chants but Bayley came out instead. Bayley was able to control the match hitting the belly-to-belly suplex against the ring barricade. But Rousey cam back hitting her pendant judo punched and locked in armbar for the submission victory. Becky Lynch appeared on the show afterward to challenge Ronda in a match at Wrestlemania 35.
Braun Strowman vs. Drew McIntyre was up next on WWE Raw. Strowman looked to be in firm control of the match until Corbin interfered the match hitting Strowman with a steel chair. The Monster got back to his feet and threw Corbin to the steel steps. He leveled both the heel with shoulder blocks. But McIntyre got up and hit Strowman with the Claymore Kick to put him down. They hit a double chokeslam on Strowman before leaving.
Brock Lesnar appeared on WWE Raw with Paul Heyman who cut a promo. Seth Rollins interrupted the beast incarnate to punch him into the face. He was about to hit the Stomp but Lesnar countered with an F-5 out of nowhere. He followed up with five more before leaving. Seth Rollins begged for more when Lesnar hit a sixth F-5 on Rollins before moving out from the ring.