It’s been quite the week for WWE, between the 25th anniversary of Monday Night Raw and go home shows for the Royal Rumble, we have multiple championship matches on the horizon. This time come next Monday, we could very well be looking at new title holders, so let’s break down everything that happened this week with the current champions.
The universal title
Ladies and gentlemen, Paul Heyman came to Raw 25 to bring us something relevant. In fact, Heyman hit the nail on the head as he underlined the problem with the entire show: barely any of it was relevant.
The brawl between Braun Strowman, Kane, and Brock Lesnar felt crammed in at the last second to remind fans that a title match is going down on Sunday. The locker room came out to keep the trio apart, but scattered the second Lesnar made his way down the ramp, making everyone look redundant. Kane came across weaker than ever, taken out of the fight by one F-5, and removing any doubt that he’s going to be the one to take the pin at the Royal Rumble. Strowman and Lesnar put on a better showing in the two minutes they had. “The Beast” and “The Monster Among Men” once again did their jobs admirably, with Strowman powerslamming the champ through the announcer’s desk.
Similar to the build-up for No Mercy, Strowman has made the Universal Title match feel must-see. It’s unlikely he’ll become champion at the Rumble (I hope you’re all looking forward to seeing Lesnar Vs. Reigns II at Mania), but WWE have done a great job with Strowman’s character, proving they can do something right when they want to.
the intercontinental title
Having The Miz back in the Intercontinental Championship picture is nothing short of a miracle. For all the stick Roman Reigns gets, he’s actually a very accomplished competitor. The problem is he treats any strap that isn’t a world title like a sack of spuds, lackadaisically slinging them over his shoulder. To The Miz, the white belt is like his baby, and it’s good to see him back with it in his grasp.
“The A-Lister” and “The Big Dog” put on the match of the night – though admittedly, that isn’t saying much – and it did its job in every capacity. Miz won by being a wily, clever heel, The Miztourage provided enough interference for Reigns to fight through (because he’s gotta look STRONG!), and Reigns is now free from lugging around a championship he never wanted in the first place.
The wrestlers weren’t given a significant amount of time to build up hype for the match, but with their past history and undeniable chemistry in the ring, Reigns and Miz put on a great showing for the title. A rematch may be on the cards this Sunday, but with Reigns now without a strap, the odds of him winning the Rumble have surely tipped in his favour.
The raw women’s title
If it wasn’t for Bliss appearing backstage on Monday, I would’ve forgotten that Raw even had a Women’s Champion. Yet again, the in-ring action centred on every female wrestler except the title holder.
With the first ever women’s Royal Rumble just days away, the focus has shifted to the Rumble contenders, giving “Little Miss Bliss” and Charlotte Flair very little direction. Her segment this week with the Flairs was entertaining, but the Raw Women’s Champion got absolutely destroyed on her own show. It was clear she didn’t seem to mind though; Alexa’s smile at seeing Ric was impossible to fully suppress.
Overall, it was another bad week for Alexa Bliss, her lack of screen-time and being verbally obliterated by her SmackDown Live counterpart has made her come across as very weak. Perhaps once the Rumble is over, “The Goddess” will have more to do, reminding everyone why she is the champion.
the raw tag team titles
Like most champions on Raw this week, Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan didn’t have a match, but they were involved in an interview segment to keep their title match on Sunday in everyone’s minds.
Appearing on the Peep Show (that I marked out big time out for), Jordan cut his partner off pretty quick to express his excitement at being around legends such as Christian. The crowd booed Jordan heavily throughout his promo, but he rolled with it like a pro. The Bar came out to belittle the champs, and they got the better of Rollins & Jordan this week. They got the crowd to chant ‘You suck!’ at Angle’s baby boy, and made “The Architect” hit his own partner with a flying knee. Sheamus & Cesaro are going into the Royal Rumble with a lot of steam, and given the amount of talent involved, don’t be surprised if these four wrestlers put on the match of the night (and yes, I’m including the Rumble itself in that comment).
Jordan’s doing a great job as an unbearable face that the crowd loves to hate. The WWE is slowly making Jordan into a full heel, most likely in time for WrestleMania, but it feels just a bit too soon to pull the trigger. The Bar are my favourite to win on Sunday, so maybe in the rematch for the titles we’ll see Jordan double-cross Rollins.
the cruiserweight title
Well, Enzo Amore has definitely made this a difficult piece to write. Earlier this week, Amore was accused of raping a woman in October 2017, and was released from his WWE contract on Tuesday.
Following an announcement from Smackdown Live General Manager, Daniel Bryan, a new General Manager will be put in place for 205 Live next week. The Cruiserweight Championship will remain vacant until the 205 Live GM decides the best course to take. However, that means there will be no match at the Royal Rumble for the strap.
You have to feel bad for Cedric Alexander; he was primed to become champion, but now his moment of glory has been stolen from him due to the ugly revelations of Amore’s personal life. With the future of the CW Title up in the air, there is speculation that a tournament will be held to crown a new champion. Alexander has to be favourite to win, not just for his skills as a competitor, but also for the professional way he is handling the entire situation.
the wwe title
The WWE Championship felt bigger on Tuesday night than it has done for a long time. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn did a great job on the mic, goading the champ, AJ Styles, into having two matches in one night.
The first match between Styles and Owens wasn’t much of a match, but it was necessary to add drama to the night’s events. Using his Calf Crusher, “The Phenomenal One” made “The Prize Fighter” tap out almost immediately, and Owens was left crippled throughout the Styles/Zayn bout.
From there, Zayn attacked the champ before the bell rang, showing a vicious side we rarely see from “The Underdog from the Underground”. With AJ constantly going back to beat on Owens, Zayn eventually picked up the win, giving his team the momentum going into Sunday.
There have been no real bad moments in this feud, with the exception of Styles coining the nickname ‘Kami’, and Tuesday’s broadcast of Smackdown Live has made the upcoming championship match a must-see. Everyone is performing their role incredibly well, getting vicious in the ring and on the mic. Styles is unlikely to lose the title at the Royal Rumble as the idea of co-champs presents more difficulties than it’s worth, but we are in for one hell of a clash come Sunday.
the united states title
It’s strange to think just how good the US Championship looks around the waist of a Canadian, but my God, that title seems to be tailor-made for Bobby Roode. Before his tag team match, Roode cut a promo with his partners, The New Day, that outlined just how well “The Glorious One” will be as champion. On a side note, it was also pretty funny.
The match between Roode & The New Day against Jinder Mahal & Rusev Day wasn’t the most exciting bout we’ve ever seen, but it gave us a chance to see our new champion in action. Roode got in some great offence, and set Xavier Woods up for the win.
As of writing, there’s no title bout set for the Royal Rumble, so it seems Roode is going to join in on the Rumble match itself. As he already holds a strap, he won’t win, even if he does put on a good showing. There’s speculation that a returning Dolph Ziggler may eliminate Roode to set up a feud for the championship, but that remains to be seen. Roode needs a decent opponent going into WrestleMania season, but it feels way too early for Roode and Ziggler to start another feud.
the smackdown women’s title
Much like her Raw counterpart, Alexa Bliss, it feels like Charlotte Flair is going to have a fairly chilled night at the Royal Rumble.
Following a match between Naomi and Liv Morgan, the SmackDown Live women’s roster broke out into a fight that was obviously going to happen from the start. With Becky Lynch attempting to send her friend, Naomi, over the top rope, Charlotte came out to stir the pot between the competitors. Without lifting a finger, “The Queen” reminded every female Superstar who was the champion, and menacingly wished the ladies good luck, especially the winner.
Unlike Alexa Bliss, Charlotte managed to keep herself relevant this week even though there won’t be a Women’s Title match at the Rumble. If the rumours are to be believed that the male Rumble match will be won be a SmackDown wrestler, the women’s Rumble will likely be won by a Raw Superstar, leaving Charlotte without a clear opponent for her title. Expect the wheels to be put in motion next week when Charlotte chastises the roster for losing.
the smackdown tag team titles
For the second week in a row, Gable & Benjamin got the better of their Royal Rumble opponents, The Usos.
In what was a highly entertaining back and forth bout, Chad Gable picked up a pinfall victory over Jey Uso. There were several spots in this match that could be considered highlights, from Jey socking Gable right through the ropes to Gable’s perfectly executed Chaos Theory. With Jey’s arrest for drink-driving still fresh in everyone’s minds, it’s not surprising that he took the loss this week. However, the match was as evenly booked as possible, making the challengers look like threats without the champions looking weak.
With their two out of three falls match days away, The Usos have lost most of their momentum. Jimmy and Jey are unlikely to lose, given that WWE often makes their overall winners lose before winning a big match, but there’s room to carry this feud on for a little while longer once the dust has settled on Sunday.
That does it for this week’s Championship Corner, nothing particularly groundbreaking happened, but there were enough entertaining segments to reminds us where each champion stands.
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