Bobby Lashley is back and the Hurt Business might not be far behind (Picture: WWE)
Bobby Lashley made an explosive return to WWE Raw and declared himself for the 2023 Royal Rumble.
During Monday night’s episode, the All Mighty made quite the impression weeks after being temporarily fired for a ringside attack on officials and instead suspended.
Now, he’s back and he could be getting Hurt Business back together after a fascinating turn of events with MVP.
United States Champion Austin Theory came out to gloat about his win over Seth Rollins last week, throwing in a cheeky dig at John Cena by using his ‘The Champ is here’ catchphrase.
The Visionary came out with a crutch after sparking injury conerns last week, but quickly revealed he was exaggerating.
Both stars confirmed themselves for the Royal Rumble, before Lashley made his return, hit Theory with a Spear and confirmed he’ll be part of the 30-man match.
Backstage, MVP approached his former associate and revealed he got him reinstated and wants to mend their relationship, noting he’s convinced Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin to reunite.
Lashley insisted he hasn’t forgotten MVP betraying him, and while MVP understood he told him to call him if he wants to expand his ‘business’.
Uncle Howdy makes Raw debut to confront Alexa Bliss, Johnny Gargano is injured and The Judgment Day win huge main event
The show started with Kevin Owens coming out to hype up his match with Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble, but JBL quickly interrupted him as their exchanged brought out Baron Corbin to face KO.
The opening match was a fun fight between two talented heavyweights, with Owens getting the win before The Bloodline jumped on the attack.
KO gained the advantage with the help of a steel chair, chasing off The Usos and Solo Sikoa, with Adam Pearce yelling at them and announcing Sikoa versus Dolph Ziggler.
Kevin Owens fought off The Usos (Picture: WWE)
He ejected Jimmy and Jey from the arena, and confirmed a huge Tag Team Turmoil main event to determine new contenders for, interestingly, just the Raw Tag Team Titles.
In an update from last week, Alexa Bliss has been fined ‘an undisclosed amount’ for her brutal attack on Bianca Belair.
This week, Bliss stood on top of the announce desk and called herself the ‘face of evil’ with the world in her hands, insisting she’s in control and will take the Raw Women’s Title from the EST.
Uncle Howdy has a message for Alexa Bliss (Picture: WWE)
She was interrupted by Uncle Howdy, who asked if Bliss really feels in charge before he came out into the arena, starring at Bray Wyatt’s former ally before the lights dropped, with the duo disappearing when they came back on.
Bayley taunted Becky Lynch on the mic before beating ‘Michin’ Mia Yim in an entertaining clash between two top talents, and she later assaulted her opponent backstage with her Damage CTRL pals after being accused of cheating (which she did).
After a backstage interview discussing the Royal Rumble and her husband Johnny Gargano’s injury, Candice LeRae fought hard in a cracking clash against Rhea Ripley, but ultimately fell to the Judgment Day star.
Rhea Ripley continues to look like an absolute star (Picture: WWE)
In a couple of backstage segments, Bronson Reed confirmed he wasn’t aligned with The Miz and would simply follow the money, while Dolph Ziggler told Mustafa Ali it was nothing personal declining the team with him in the main event.
Instead, he faced Solo Sikoa but may have been left regretting it after The Usos’ younger brother looked so strong despite in a valiant effort from the Show-Off, who ultimately fell to a powerbomb set-up into a Samoan Spike.
MizTV featured The Judgment Day as guests with Dominik Mysterio again reflecting on his time in prison, hilariously comparing himself to Martha Stewart and throwing out all the cliches.
In the main event, Judgment Day’s Damian Priest and Finn Balor racked up some big wins over The Good Brothers, Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin, and Alpha Academy (the fans’ reaction to Otis deserves highlighting).
Balor appeared hurt, with Adam Pearce insisting they would have to swap him out for Dominik if they didn’t want to forfeit, and Rey Mysterio’s son joined the action, helping his team to victory with a rope-assisted pin on Street Profits’ Montez Ford to win the bout.
This was a thoroughly entertaining gauntlet with so much to enjoy, with Judgment Day stared down by The Usos as the show went off the air.
WWE Raw airs Monday nights at 1am on BT Sport 1.
WWE Raw results and grades – January 9, 2023
Bayley beat Mia Yim (B-)
Rhea Ripley defeated Candice LeRae (B+)
Solo Sikoa pinned Dolph Ziggler (B+)
Tag Team Turmoil: The Judgment Day outlasted Street Profits, Alpha Academy, Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander and The Good Brothers (A-)
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The march to the Royal Rumble continues.
