5 things RAW got right on the episode before Royal Rumble

One of the biggest weeks of wrestling kicked off with the final Monday Night RAW before the Royal Rumble.

While a few segments and matches were already announced for the night, there were some bigger segments and matches which caught the fans off-guard.

Two Championship titles were defended during the night, while we saw the return of a beloved babyface at the end of one of the matches. The WWE Champion and RAW Women’s Champion were also present during the night.

Throughout the night, the brand not only focused on Sunday night’s event but also continued to build towards greater things for the brand and the Superstars for the longterm.

In this article, we will look at the 5 things RAW got right on this week’s episode just in time for the Royal Rumble.

---

#5 Aleister Black’s victory

Is Black heading into the Rumble as a favorite?

While the action was getting warmed up on Monday Night RAW, a calm and cool Aleister Black arrived for his match against a local competitor. After some great matches against Buddy Murphy during the past few weeks, it didn’t make sense for the company to hand him a local talent to compete against.

Black proved that the decision of the company wasn’t too great, as he knocked out his competitor with a Black Mass in a matter of seconds.

While the match wasn’t much to write about, it was the impact that Black left which made things much more interesting. Fans were expecting Black to pair up with Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe this week, but it seems like RAW gave him a match to kill all such speculations.

The match also allowed The Harbinger of Fury to remain in the eyes of the WWE Universe just before the Royal Rumble.

While Black might not be the one to win the Royal Rumble, we do not doubt that he will have the backing of the WWE Universe once his music hits and he enters the match.

Will WWE increase Black’s value even more by having him last until the final four in the Rumble?

#4 The Empress’ opportunity

Will The Man tap out to the Asuka Lock on Sunday?

Becky Lynch was set to finally hit the ring again on RAW this week, as she went one on one with the returning Kairi Sane.

Lynch first cut a promo on Asuka before the match and claimed that she had a revelation, saying that during the contract signing Asuka was afraid of her.

That led to Lynch coming into the match with much more determination, as she ran through The Pirate Princess and made her tap out to the Dis-arm-her in a matter of minutes.

However, right after the bell, Asuka hit the ring and laid out Lynch. She applied the Asuka Lock on The Man to once again send a crystal clear statement to Lynch and her fans without speaking a word.

Since Asuka was one of the top women in NXT, it makes sense that she is getting the biggest build against Lynch during her current reign.

The build seems to pitch the two women as equals, and it will be good to see where the company heads on Sunday with the result.

#3 Humberto Carrillo’s return

Andrade was set to defend his United States Championship against Rey Mysterio in a Ladder Match just days before the Royal Rumble.

Mysterio showed a lot of determination and managed to get the better of El Idolo early on in the match. He carried on the momentum and hit a 619 followed by a huge Senton before turning his attention to the title hanging above the ring.

However, Zelina Vega got in his way and did not allow him to get to the title. The distraction proved to be enough for Andrade to send The Master of the 619 through a ladder and climb up to retain the title.

After the match, Vega set up the concrete floor for Andrade to DDT Mysterio. However, a masked Humberto Carrillo appeared and made the save, making the US Champion run up the ramp.

This was a good way to possibly end the rivalry between Mysterio and Andrade and restart the one between El Idolo and Carrillo. It’ll be interesting to see if the two men come face to face during the Royal Rumble match, and we could get the best action from these two men in the weeks to come.

#2 Protected AOP

WWE protected AOP during a night where new RAW Tag Team Champions were crowned

Earlier in the night, Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe interrupted Seth Rollins, Buddy Murphy, and AOP. They stated that Big Show wasn’t available during the night, but they were in the building for a fight.

As Rollins was ready to take on the two men with his heel faction, the babyfaces revealed that they weren’t alone. The Viking Raiders then came out to help KO and Joe in their fight against the villains.

After the segment, Rollins challenged The Viking Raiders to a RAW Tag Team Championship match along with Murphy.

Later on, the two teams fought in an epic battle which saw great chemistry between The Monday Night Messiah and The Best Kept Secret. Murphy stole a three count to end the battle and pick the Tag Team Championships for his team.

Backstage, Rollins promised to win the Rumble for the second year in a row and prove everyone else wrong.

This was a big match and a big title change which no one saw coming. Fans were hoping to see The Viking Raiders retain the titles up until WrestleMania and clash with AOP at the massive PPV.

However, it seems like the company is protecting AOP for the time being but getting them into the story, and Viking Raiders could get their titles back soon and defend them against AOP at the event.

#1 The One and Only Beast

Ricochet came out looking tough against Lesnar

The year 2020 seems to be off to a miraculous start as WWE Champion Brock Lesnar graced our television screens for the third week in a row!

Paul Heyman accompanied his client to the ring yet again and hyped The Beast’s future victory in the Royal Rumble match. Last week, it was R-Truth who came out to comically stand up to Heyman and his client, but it was Ricochet who walked out to the middle with a much more serious look on his face this time.

The One and Only made it clear to Lesnar that he was not afraid of him. As Lesnar started to walk away, Ricochet asked him if he was scared, to which Lesnar responded with a low blow.

While Lesnar is never afraid of his opponents, he doesn’t usually rely on moves such as low blows over his usual German Suplexes and F5s.

It was interesting to watch him go for such a move, possibly signaling once again that Lesnar is more afraid to take on smaller opponents who usually wear him down. Last year, Finn Balor almost got the better of The Beast at the Royal Rumble, and Ricochet could prove to be the man to eliminate him during the Rumble match this year.

What a way to put over Ricochet at a time when he was almost down and out of the cards!