WWE RAW Flops and Hits: Brock Lesnar reveals bold plans on “Road to WrestleMania”, Blockbuster Elimination Chamber qualification match steals the show (31st January, 2022)

WWE RAW after Royal Rumble was a great show in all aspects. The red brand confirmed major plans for Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania. We also saw WWE legend Lita challenge Becky Lynch for the RAW Women's Championship at the upcoming premium live event.

The few mistakes that were made are too insignificant to mention, and thus, today's review won't include any flops from the red brand.

Here, we look at the biggest flops and hits from WWE RAW this week. So, without further ado, let's begin.

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#5 Hit on WWE RAW: Brock Lesnar

The opening segment of WWE RAW saw Adam Pearce confirm that Bobby Lashley will defend his title at Elimination Chamber later this month. His announcement was interrupted by The All Mighty, who walked into the ring along with MVP.

The duo blamed Pearce for hijacking their championship celebration. Lashley started boasting about how he is better than Brock Lesnar, considering his victory over The Beast Incarnate. He couldn't talk for long as Lesnar made his way to the ring in his fighting gear.

He quickly confirmed that he would face Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. However, he asserted that he also wants to lock horns with The Tribal Chief as a champion.

Thus, Brock Lesnar pushed for a title match against Bobby Lashley, and the latter was surprisingly convinced to do otherwise. It has been surprising to see Lashley being portrayed as a relatively cautious champion.

Understandably, the creative team wants him to defend his title at Elimination Chamber, and thus he is being protected on WWE RAW. However, it would have still been better to allow him and Lesnar to get involved in a brawl on the red brand to help establish that their storyline is far from over.

Coming back to Brock Lesnar, several eyebrows were raised when he won the Royal Rumble. It made sense from a storyline perspective, despite many arguing that he would have got the match against Roman Reigns even if he didn't win.

But it is hard to ignore that if The Beast Incarnate got a direct title shot, he would have again been subjected to criticism about being given special treatment. Now that Lesnar has won the Rumble to earn his championship opportunity, he is like every other top star in the company.

The good thing is that despite an unjust title loss, Brock Lesnar is continuing his current run as an entertaining babyface. He is having fun with his character, which has translated well into on-screen segments. He should not be turned into an angry, non-speaking Beast just yet.

After all, we will need this version of Lesnar when he confronts Reigns and Paul Heyman, especially after the latter's betrayal.

As for Lashley, we hope that he is booked as a more confident and brutal champion on WWE RAW in the coming weeks. He might not enjoy a lengthy title reign this time. Hence, he should have a decent chance to make an impact with his gold.

#4 Hit on WWE RAW: AJ Styles

The best match on this week’s WWE RAW saw AJ Styles and Rey Mysterio face each other in a dream match. Both superstars competed for a spot in the Elimination Chamber clash, and it was nothing short of brilliant.

Styles and Mysterio are similar competitors, which allowed them to square off in a well-balanced contest. There was not a single dull moment between two legendary performers during their back and forth.

We saw Rey Mysterio elevate the entire battle with some of the most creative reversals ever executed inside the ring. The Phenomenal One was brutal in his attacks, and he looked determined to fight for his return in the title picture.

Both superstars bumped fists right in the beginning and showcased their mutual respect for each other. The match that followed proved why they will always have a special place in history when it comes to the best in-ring performers to have ever laced a pair of boots.

Mysterio came close to winning the match after hitting a perfect 619, but Styles eventually managed to raise his shoulders. In the end, the latter used a well-executed Styles Clash to seal his victory on WWE RAW and book a spot for himself in the Elimination Chamber match.

He needed this win for his singles run. It was great to see him compete in a high-stakes match, and to his and Rey Mysterio’s credit, their battle was absolutely flawless from start to finish.

#3 Hit on WWE RAW: Austin Theory

This week on WWE RAW, we saw Kevin Owens and Austin Theory compete in a brutal Elimination Chamber qualification match. The two superstars gave it all inside the ring and delivered one of the best bouts of the show.

Their battle eventually ended with Theory picking up a huge victory over Owens to seal his spot in the Elimination Chamber match. KO does not participate in Saudi Arabia events, and thus, he wouldn’t have won the qualification bout.

However, he did a great job putting over a young talent who is about to compete with the biggest names in the promotion. Austin Theory has had great showing inside the squared circle since his return to the main roster, but tonight, he proved why Vince McMahon had invested his trust in the budding star.

He was at par with one of the best performers on WWE RAW and matched his opponent both in action and story-telling skills.

Theory pushed KO to his limits and took a lot of punishment throughout the match. He came close to losing on multiple occasions but fought back with resilience. After several jaw-dropping spots, we saw Austin Theory seal his victory with a perfect ALT on Kevin Owens.

He will undoubtedly make for an interesting addition to the Elimination Chamber match, and hopefully, Theory will make the most of that opportunity as well.

As for Owens, he should get a shot at Damian Priest’s United States Championship, especially considering he was the first to pin Priest on the main roster.

#2 Hit on WWE RAW: Riddle

One-half of the WWE RAW Tag Team Champions Chad Gable competed in a scooter race against RK Bro's Riddle tonight. The latter was inches away from crossing the finish line before being attacked by Otis. This allowed Gable to win the race and make the score 1-1 in the ongoing Academic Challenge between the two tag teams.

It led to a singles match between Otis and Riddle, but Adam Pearce soon walked out to make a huge announcement. He confirmed that the winner of this bout would compete in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship.

The two superstars had an excellent match once again. We saw the reigning champion use strategic maneuvers to counter a more fast-paced opponent. However, Riddle eventually fought back with a lot of strength to gain complete control of the match. A well-balanced encounter saw both excel inside the squared circle.

It was entertaining to watch The Original Bro go out of the way to put himself in threatening positions to get the better of his opponent. In the end, we saw Riddle deliver the Floating Bro on Otis to book a spot for himself in the high-profile Elimination Chamber match.

It will be exciting to see him come face-to-face with Brock Lesnar, especially when there’s no escape.

#1 Honorable mentions from WWE RAW: Rhea Ripley and Angelo Dawkins

WWE RAW also gave us some other good matches that either ended a storyline or helped put over home talent. We witnessed Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H. lock horns in a singles match early in the show. The two former tag team champions split up earlier this month, and things quickly turned bitter due to Nikki’s actions.

Both superstars were equally good and acted as per their current gimmicks. The match needed to establish Ripley as a babyface and her opponent as a heel which was well done by the writers.

The Nightmare eventually defeated Nikki A.S.H. to seemingly end their storyline. Both superstars should now move ahead in the singles competition on the red brand.

Another good contest on WWE RAW saw Angelo Dawkins compete against Dolph Ziggler in a good singles bout. Dawkins was competing in his hometown and had the crowd cheering for him on top of their lungs. Ziggler also deserves a lot of credit for doing everything he could to make his opponent look indestructible inside the squared circle.

With Montez Ford as his perfect hype man at ringside, Angelo Dawkins made most of the opportunity by putting up an excellent performance. Although he had a short amount of time in the spotlight, the Street Profits member did well in showcasing his in-ring prowess.

We hope to see everyone involved in this segment back to actively competing in the tag team division.