WWE Champions Corner (Jan 29-Jan 30): The Royal Rumble Fallout

The Miz
Source: WWE

It was an easy night for the champions of WWE at the Royal Rumble. AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar were always going to keep hold of their world titles, The Miz’s IC belt wasn’t up for grabs, Bobby Roode fended off Mojo Rawley in quick fashion, and Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair got to sit back and enjoy the inaugural women’s Rumble.

And then we take a look at the tandems. The Raw Tag Team Titles are back in the hands of The Bar following an adequate match that only took place to further Jason Jordan’s eventual heel turn. The Usos vs. Gable & Benjamin for the SmackDown Tag Titles was by far the best championship bout of the night, with Jimmy & Jey picking up the W.

But the Rumble is in the past; what matters is the here and now. With that in mind, let’s see how the champions got on this week.

 

The Universal Title

Braun Strowman
Source: WWE

After getting the better of his rivals at the Royal Rumble, the Universal Champion Brock Lesnar clearly rewarded himself by taking the rest of the week off. Instead of getting to see our champion, we got a series of qualifying matches to determine who will step into the Elimination Chamber to crown a new No. 1 contender for Lesnar’s title.

Braun literally crushed the opposition (Kane) to qualify, and Elias beat Matt Hardy thanks to some spooky shenanigans from Bray Wyatt. The only match that had any real weight to it was the one between John Cena and Finn Bálor. The two put on a hell of a match, but Cena ended up reigning supreme. With three more qualifying matches to go, Bálor could still find himself inserted into the Elimination Chamber, although it’s unlikely he’ll be given another shot after losing cleanly.

Now that the Rumble is over, we probably won’t see Lesnar again until a No. 1 contender is crowned. But hey, at least we’ve got the beginnings of a great Chamber match.

 

The Intercontinental Title

roman vs miz
Source: WWE

One week after claiming his eighth IC Championship, The Miz had to deal with the man he dethroned, Roman Reigns, in a rematch for the strap.

The bout between “The A-Lister” and “The Big Dog” was essentially a copy and paste from their match last week. It was a fine match, but not exactly one we’ll be talking about for years to come. Again, the only purpose of it was to remind us The Miz is great at using underhanded tactics, and that Roman Reigns is really, really strong. The interference from Dallas & Axel was ultimately too much for Reigns to handle, and The Miz walked away the victor.

With three Elimination Chamber qualifying matches left, Reigns is no doubt going to throw his hat into the ring, meaning The Miz will need a new challenger. There’s one certain “extraordinary” Superstar who failed to qualify for the Chamber this week; maybe he will set his eyes on another prize instead.

 

The Raw Women’s Title

asuka and steph
Source: WWE

It’s funny, with so much buzz and hype around the very first female Royal Rumble match, WWE seems to have forgotten to put their champion in any sort of program at all. Another week has gone by, and we haven’t seen Alexa Bliss compete on Raw.

There was a significant announcement made at the start of Raw this week in regards to the Raw Women’s Championship. Whilst congratulating Asuka on her momentous win at the Rumble, Stephanie McMahon revealed that Alexa Bliss will be defending her title inside the Elimination Chamber. We didn’t get to see “Little Miss Bliss” react to the news on the show, but a very short clip posted on WWE.com showed us the champion is ready for the challenge.

Bliss has become a huge afterthought in recent weeks. As the title holder, she should be at the forefront of every major event in the women’s division. “Five Feet of Fury” desperately needs to make an impact next Monday with a big victory over a fan favourite before everyone forgets who “The Goddess of WWE” is.

 

The Raw Tag Team Titles

the bar
Source: WWE

The Bar managed to best the oddball coupling of Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan at the Royal Rumble, but there was no rest for the wicked as Titus Worldwide stepped up to the plate to challenge for the belts.

Of course, there was no chance that Sheamus & Cesaro were going to lose to Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews. Crews put on a great showing, but an assisted White Noise from the champions spelled the end for the challengers. With no Rollins or Jordan on the show, The Bar didn’t get to gloat about their victory on Sunday. There wasn’t much direction on Raw in regards to the tag titles, but seeing the belts get defended is always going to be a plus.

Having vanquished two teams in as many nights, The Bar have started their fourth reign off strong. Rollins & Jordan are owed a rematch though, so expect to see that once Jordan is through the worst of his legitimate injury.

 

The Cruiserweight Title

drake maverick
Source: WWE

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we have a new 205 Live General Manager, and his name is… Drake Maverick? Hmmm. Not too sure about the new name – and it was obvious the fans weren’t behind it either – but the wrestler formerly known as Rockstar Spud has finally made his way to WWE.

Maverick’s (it’s going to be a long time before I stop impulsively calling him Spud) first order of business was to set up a tournament that will see us have a new Cruiserweight Champion we can all be proud of. It will be a 16-man single elimination style tournament with the finals being fought at WrestleMania 34.

The standout match in the first round was fought between TJP and the debuting Tyler Bate. Bate lost to TJP’s heel shenanigans, meaning we won’t be seeing the Dudley native compete for the CW Title at Mania. On the upside, TJP needed this big win; as the first man to hold the purple belt, he should look strong and go far in the competition.

With the introduction of Drake Maverick, WWE has a chance to make 205 Live feel like a legitimate brand. All they need to do is let Maverick do his thing, and let the cruiserweights showcase their talents. Oh, and they should probably avoid putting the finals of the tournament on the Mania pre-show; just a thought.

 

The WWE Title

aj nakamura
Source: WWE

The WWE Title scene is on fire after this week’s episode of SmackDown Live. With Shinsuke Nakamura making it clear that he wants the Champion AJ Styles at WrestleMania, we’re possibly all set for the dream match everyone’s been waiting for. Only Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn aren’t about to let that happen without a fight.

“The King of Strong Style” opened the show, but was interrupted by Owens and Zayn. Unhappy about the call the referee made at the Rumble, the Canadian duo found themselves with one more shot at winning the WWE Championship; all they have to do is pin one another next week.

Zayn abandoned Owens in the middle of a tag match against Styles and Nakamura, building the friction between the two best friends, and setting up for a fierce main event next week. “The Phenomenal One” looked great this episode; the tag bout was more entertaining than the championship match at the Royal Rumble, and he was more than happy to accept the Mania challenge made by Nakamura.

Next week, we find out who will be the No. 1 contender at Fastlane for the WWE Title as two friends battle once more. Zayn and Owens are both heels, so don’t expect their friendship to stop them from using underhanded tactics to win. They’re both gunning hard after AJ, but will “The Underdog from the Underground” finally get his shot?

 

The US Title

roode rusev
Source: WWE

Happy Rusev Day, everybody! SmackDown Live played host to a No. 1 contender’s fatal four-way match this week for the US Championship, and WWE have actually took notice of Rusev’s soaring popularity.

Bobby Roode was on commentary for the big bout to find his next challenger. Chances are he wanted a ring-side seat to make sure the winner was worthy of a shot at him given how pointless his match with Mojo Rawley was at the Rumble. Rusev, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, and Jinder Mahal put on a highly entertaining match that had a great amount of time dedicated to it. The sequence at the end that ultimately saw Kingston tap out to The Accolade played out very well, and Rusev got cheered big time for picking up the victory.

Next week, Roode will put the US Championship on the line against “The Bulgarian Brute”, and something in the back of my mind tells me we may see a double-turn. “The Glorious One” is a natural heel, and Rusev has never been more over with the fans. If Rusev proves to be too much for Roode to handle, chances are we could see Roode take the low road.

 

The Smackdown Women’s Title

carmella cash in
Source: WWE

The first ever female Royal Rumble winner was a Raw Superstar, Raw will host the inaugural women’s Elimination Chamber match, and yet it was the Smackdown Women’s Championship that felt so much more important this week.

Charlotte Flair cut a promo about still holding the belt by the time WrestleMania comes around, but she soon found herself face to face with the Riott Squad. Flair managed to fend them off at the start, showing us just how much of a fighting champion she is. The numbers were a little too much for “The Queen” though, and Ruby, Liv, and Sarah left the Champ in a crumpled heap.

F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S! With Flair down for the count, Carmella sprinted to the ring with a referee in tow and her Money in the Bank briefcase in her clutches. We thought this was it, that Carmella was going to cash in and become champion! The crowd was popping for this match. And then Carmella dropkicked the ref.

Realising she was done for, Ms. Money in the Bank took her briefcase and left. “Not today,” she shouted. “Not today!”

There was a lot of development this week for the SmackDown Women’s Title. Ruby has positioned herself as the next challenger for Flair’s championship, Charlotte showcased her fighting spirit, and Carmella reminded the world that she can change the landscape of the women’s division at the drop of a snapback hat.

 

The Smackdown Tag Team Titles

usos
Source: WWE

There was no match for The Usos this week, but given how fantastic their clash was against Gable & Benjamin, I think we can forgive them. Instead of competing, Jimmy & Jey took to the mic.

If there’s one word that can describe an Uso promo, it has to be “passionate”. My Lord, when The Usos ran through the list of teams they put on lockdown, they reminded us just why they are one of the best tag teams in the world right now. After their speech, The Bludgeon Brothers headed down the ramp to squash some local talent, but not without eyeing the champions first.

With every other viable team on lockdown, Harper & Rowan seem to be next in line to challenge for the titles. There’s no denying the former Wyatt heavies have excellent chemistry, but The Usos are on fire right now. The Bludgeon Brothers are no strangers to the tag team division; let’s hope they are ready for the big fight that’s coming.

And so ends another week in WWE. As WrestleMania is now firmly in the minds of every Superstar, we saw some big things happen. The road to the Showcase of the Immortals is a long one though; will our champions still be holding their titles by the time Mania is upon us?

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