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Another week, another episode of Monday Night RAW in the books. With only a few weeks left until WWE Royal Rumble, the Superstars of the Red Brand are desperately looking to catch a wave of momentum before what could be their greatest opportunity in their careers.
With that, who were the top winners and losers from this week's episode of RAW? With Alexa Bliss, The Hurt Business, Matt Riddle, Asuka, Lacey Evans, Xavier Woods, AJ Styles, and more on the card, the most important storylines were touched on, even if Drew McIntyre and Goldberg weren't on TV this week. Who found themselves in the land of obscurity, and who climbed to the top of the RAW mountain tonight?
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We kick things off with a multi-time WWE Tag Team Champion who has struggled quite a bit since the group split during the WWE Draft.
#3 Loser: Xavier Woods receives his RETRIBUTION
While Big E is currently thriving on SmackDown as the Intercontinental Champion, the rest of The New Day has really fallen off. After losing the RAW Tag Team Titles to The Hurt Business, Kofi Kingston was injured. Since then, Xavier Woods has been left to go it alone on Monday Night RAW.
Though Woods ended 2020 with a huge announcement, revealing he'd be a major player and host for the reviving G4, his run in the ring since has left something to be desired. Prior to tonight, he'd lost four of the previous five matches. Tonight was no different, as he fell to another member of RETRIBUTION.
Last week, T-Bar crushed Woods, and RETRIBUTION's other big man Mace looked to do the same. Mr. UpUpDownDown caught Mace several times, stunning him with some impressive strikes. However, a tilt-a-whirl sidewalk slam, following a distraction from the entire group, sent Woods crashing down to the mat.
With Kingston hurt and Big E on another brand, Xavier Woods is all alone surrounded in shark-infested waters.
#3 Winner: Charlotte Flair picks up a much-needed win on RAW
Since Charlotte Flair returned to WWE, she's had a roller coaster of a time. The Queen is already decked out in gold, holding one half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles. Since then, though, RAW has all but forgotten about the titles and placed Flair in a singles feud with Lacey Evans.
Last week, Ric Flair turned on his own daughter, choosing the Sassy Southern Belle over the multi-time WWE Women's Champion. Thanks to the Nature Boy, Evans pinned Flair in a tag match with Asuka two weeks ago, then beat her again last week.
Tonight, Ric and Evans continued to mess with Charlotte while she faced Evans' tag partner Peyton Royce. Lacey Evans even wore Flair's iconic robe, hoping to get inside The Queen's head. However, there's a reason she's considered by many to be one of the greatest women's wrestlers of all time.
Flair would ultimately force Royce to tap to the Figure-8, proving that she doesn't need her father in her corner to get the job done. Flair will be a part of this year's Royal Rumble, and she'll surely run into Evans during the match. Hopefully, she carries this momentum into the PPV in a few short weeks.
#2 Loser: Riddle is easily solved by The Hurt Business
Another week, another loss for Riddle on RAW. The Original Bro was demolished by US Champion Bobby Lashley last week, and tonight didn't see his luck change all that well either.
Things started off rough for Riddle when he met The Hurt Business backstage at RAW. After annoying the fearsome stable, Riddle felt the wrath of The All-Mighty One as Lashley stomped on his exposed foot, injuring him prior to their six-man tag team match later on in the night.
Riddle taped up his foot and managed to join the Lucha House Party, though it ultimately led to a loss. Cedric Alexander's cocky attitude nearly costing The Hurt Business the match. What really hurt was the fact that Riddle was barely a factor in the match, really, with LHP and The Hurt Business taking center stage.
Lashley ended up picking up another submission victory, tapping out Gran Metalik with The Hurt Lock. While Riddle got a shot in after the match, it says a lot for him and LHP that they couldn't finagle a win while their opponents were fighting with one another.
#2 Winner: AJ Styles creates another phenomenal RAW moment
While many WWE Superstars have been able to declare for the Royal Rumble, Ricochet needed to earn his spot on Monday Night RAW. His opponent? Former WWE Champion AJ Styles. It was a matchup between two all-time great high-flyers, and Ricochet certainly delivered in this reignited rivalry.
Ricochet seemed to have The Phenomenal One on the ropes in the early moments of the bout, but after accidentally landing in Omos's arms, Ricochet found himself punching up in the second half of the match. Though it looked like AJ Styles would fall to RAW's own Superhero, he managed to turn a springboard maneuver into a slingshot Styles Clash.
It was a spectacular finish and just proves that even at this stage in his career, AJ Styles can still leave fans speechless. This is the second week in a row on RAW that Styles served as the gatekeeper for the Royal Rumble, with The Phenomenal One knocking off Drew Gulak last week.
Styles is on fire, and with Omos in his corner, he may be a favorite to win the Rumble this year.
#1 Loser: Asuka's fear costs her in RAW main event match
While her tag team partner managed to overcome the mind games of Lacey Evans and Ric Flair, RAW Women's Champ Asuka struggled with The Fiend's apprentice Alexa Bliss. In what was a stunning surprise, The Empress of Tomorrow had no real answer for Little Miss Bliss.
Asuka and Alexa Bliss met twice on Monday Night RAW. The first time saw Bliss bring Asuka in as her guest in her playground. However, Asuka didn't exactly know how to respond to her and seemed to be on edge from the word go. Soon after she entered Alexa's Playground, she ended up scrambling to the back in complete terror.
That fear that Bliss instilled in Asuka stayed throughout the night, leading to our No. 1 Winner of the night.
#1 Winner: Alexa Bliss flattens The Empress of Tomorrow
Alexa Bliss was the constant throughout Monday Night RAW. From the first segment, the show was all about her. Randy Orton kicked off RAW, showing the damage from the fireball last week and wearing a mask to cover his face. Orton stated that he should've lit Bliss on fire weeks ago, and the next time they met, she wouldn't be so lucky.
From then on, the WWE Universe were wondering if RAW's Viper would ever come across Alexa Bliss and what she would do if she came face-to-face with an even more dangerous Randy Orton. Though we never got that face-off, what we got instead was the dismantling of The RAW Women's Champion.
Asuka could not solve Alexa Bliss on the mic or in the ring tonight. After announcing that she'd be in the Royal Rumble this year, Bliss played serious mind games with the champion. Later on in the night, the Goddess not only managed to hang with the elite striker of WWE's women's division but ended up dishing it out better than Asuka herself.
Of course, that didn't happen until the lights went out. When they came back, Alexa Bliss had undergone some change, turning into the Bliss we saw that burned Randy Orton's face last week. Bliss ducked and dodged the majority of Asuka's offense, and in a surprising feat of strength, bowled Asuka over with a shoulder tackle.
Bliss ate a few roundhouse kicks, shaking them off and catching Asuka with Sister Abigail. In one night, Randy Orton proved just how dangerous Bliss was, and The multi-time Women's Champion cemented that by demolishing Asuka both mentally and physically.
What does this mean for the RAW Women's Champion should Alexa Bliss win the Royal Rumble Match?
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
