WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Jan. 30, 2023) from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, featuring all the fallout from the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event that went down this past Saturday night in San Antonio.
Advertised for tonight: Nothing specifically as of publication but Rhea Ripley won the women’s Royal Rumble and has a decision to make on which title she wants to go after. Meanwhile, Cody Rhodes returned and won the men’s Royal Rumble match, setting up a date with Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal championship. All that and more!
Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the Raw live blog will kick off once the show starts on USA Network. It will be below this line here. Reminder: GIFs and pics allowed, but no links to illegal streams, please.
WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR JAN. 30
At the pool from open to close, rake the bottom for loose change, a job that paid for the luxury, but me? I’m just here to liveblog this here pro wrestling show for you, folks.
The show opens with a Cody Rhodes vignette and a recap of his victory in the men’s Royal Rumble on Saturday.
Cody makes his entrance and gets on the mic.
He takes a long beat to soak in the adulation of the crowd before beginning, before talking about his first day at Ohio Valley Wrestling. There was a sign on the door that said “tomorrow’s superstars today” and he was sitting in his beater Volkswagen Jetta getting ready to go inside and he vividly thought to himself he was gonna be WWE Champion inside of two years.
He was a little delusional because he also thought he was gonna be the next John Cena, and he recounts the highs and lows of his career and personal life wondering if he’d tell that version of himself about everything, all the way up to winning the Rumble and main eventing WrestleMania.
Truth be told, he wouldn’t tell the kid a single thing because every piece of this broken road has been unequivocally 100% worth it. His theme begins with him saying the words “wrestling has more than one royal family” and for it to be true, to be real, to be validated in his heart, he has to stand across from an entire Bloodline, from the Tribal Chief, the LeBron James of this generation of wrestlers, who has held the title for over 800 days.
He has to stand across from Roman Reigns.
He has a great deal of respect for Roman, and he speaks with sincerity and he says this with that same sincerity. WrestleMania is in 62 days, and those 62 days are the rest of his life, and at the end of those 62 days, Reigns will lose the title. After WrestleMania he can be the Tribal Chief and the Head of the Table and the biggest star in the world, but the one thing he will not be is the WWE Undisputed Universal Champion.
Enter Judgment Day.
Finn Balor gets on the mic and asks if Cody is coming back to do something original or is he just gonna knock off all of Balor’s old stuff like before? Dominik Mysterio says Rhodes ruined their Royal Rumble plans, and HE was supposed to win the Royal Rumble.
They talk about Rey Mysterio’s mysterious disappearance and Dom accuses Cody of ruining his moment. But if he’d done that in prison, he would have got got and he wouldn’t be standing here right now. Damian Priest says Mysterio should be the only multigenerational star main eventing WrestleMania, not some suckup who gets what he wants.
Dom says Cody owes him and he owes him an apology for ruining his moment. Rhodes asks him to hold up and says he runs the risk of pissing him off but he has to ask if Mysterio is trying to scare him straight? Because certainly the Mysterios are one of those royal families.
Mysterio tells him he doesn’t respect his own father and he certainly doesn’t respect Dusty Rhodes. Cody asks the crowd if he should play it safe so close to WrestleMania or should he do what he wants to do and kick somebody’s ass, and challenges any of Judgment Day to a match tonight!
Commentary hypes up the show tonight, including several Elimination Chamber qualifying matches.
Back on the stage, Edge makes his entrance and jumps Finn Balor, kickstarting a brawl! Cody Rhodes makes the save and we go to break with the brawl roaring!
Back from commercial, we see Austin Theory walking backstage.
Confirmation of Cody vs. Finn for later tonight follows.
Chad Gable vs. Seth Rollins (Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match)
Gable in control early, the crowd starts singing Rollins’ theme and he slaps himself back into the game. Chaos Theory connects, bridging… NOPE! To the floor, Chad with a cannonball senton off the apron! Back inside, clobbering Seth, diving headbutt… SO CLOSE AND WE GO TO BREAK!
Back from commercial, Gable with a dragon screw but Rollins manages to get under him and buckle bomb him! Seth pays for it and can’t capitalize, lariats take Chad off his feet, kick combo, duck a lariat, Chaos Theory attempted, this time Rollins lands on his feet, Falcon Arrow… SO CLOSE!
Pedigree reversed into a pin for two, back and forth on pinning predicaments, Gable hits a Canadian DDT… NOT ENOUGH! Back elbows block a German, Rollins with an enzuigiri, countered into an ankle lock! Seth crawls for the ropes, upkick to break but Chad stays right on him and regains the hold!
Roll through, victory roll pin, only two! Blackout reversed into an ankle lock! Again Rollins kicks out of it, roll through, underhooks… PEDIGREE BUT HIS KNEE IS AGONY! Rolling him over…
Seth Rollins wins by pinfall with a Pedigree, qualifying for the Elimination Chamber match.
And so we go to break.
Back from commercial, we get some media hype for the Royal Rumble.
Candice LeRae vs. IYO SKY
Trying for early pins in the feeling out, LeRae with a senton for two! SKY slingshots her into the bottom rope, follows it with a flapjack, scoop and a slam and a Japanese Stranglehold as we get a picture in picture ad for a Dave Bautista film.
Candice backs her into the corner to break, slinging her off, single leg dropkicks and then a baseball slide to the floor! Back inside, IYO cuts her off with boots and throws a huge diving crossbody, both women down and out and we go to break!
Back from commercial, LeRae sets her up top, SKY chops her and hops down and trips her into the turnbuckles! Butterfly backbreaker connects, IYO goes up top, Candice slips in and hits a German superplex… NOPE! Electric chair in the corner, LeRae counters with a Poison Frankensteiner… STILL NO!
Up top, IYO knocks her down, moonsault… THE KNEES WERE UP! Inside cradle but Dakota Kai is arguing with referee Danilo Anfibio, only a nearfall! LeRae follows it with a Codebreaker, Bayley runs interference, SKY is ready…
IYO SKY wins by pinfall with a sunset flip.
We see Rhea Ripley walking backstage and we go to break.
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