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Hot on the heels of the Elimination Chamber event in Saudi Arabia, WWE RAW rolled into Columbia, South Carolina. This week's episode marked the 1,500th time the red-branded show has aired since its inception in 1993.
At the Elimination Chamber, Brock Lesnar bulldozed through Austin Theory, AJ Styles, Seth "Freakin" Rollins, and Riddle to reclaim the WWE Championship. Bobby Lashley was pulled from the Elimination Chamber match early in the contest due to injury, which allowed Lesnar to captialize.
Lesnar's triumph at the Jeddah Super Dome now means The Beast Incarnate's scheduled match against Universal Champion Roman Reigns will now be a Champion vs. Champion Winner Take All match. It will take place at WrestleMania 38 in Dallas, Texas at the AT&T Stadium.
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Also at the Elimination Chamber premium live event, Bianca Belair overcame Rhea Ripley, Nikki A.S.H., Liv Morgan, Doudrop, and Alexa Bliss inside an Elimination Chamber match. The victory means that The EST of WWE will now challenge Becky Lynch for the RAW Women's Championship at WrestleMania 38.
The Road to WrestleMania is hotting up, and with no other major events between now and April, all the focus will be on RAW and SmackDown. Ahead of this week's show, the company announced that WWE Champion Brock Lesnar would appear, plus The Miz was set to announce a mystery tag team partner in his feud with The Mysterios.
That being said, let's take a look at the five biggest news stories coming out of WWE RAW this week.
#5 Two huge title matches set for upcoming episodes of WWE RAW
The landscape is slowing altering in WWE as WrestleMania approaches. Every superstar is now vying for a spot to be on the two-night card in Dallas. The RAW Tag Team Championship and United States Championship matches are yet to be set for the Show of Shows.
But this week, we got an idea of where things might be going with those respective titles. For the United States Championship, Damian Priest defeated Shelton Benjamin on this week's episode following his successful defense against AJ Styles last week.
After the match, a confident Priest issued an open challenge to anyone who dared to step into the ring with him. This was answered by Finn Balor, and the match is set for next week with the United States Championship on the line.
Seth "Freakin" Rollins and Kevin Owens looked to carve their WrestleMania path this week by attempting to insert themselves into the RAW Tag Team Championship picture. They battled Randy Orton & Riddle in an attempt to be added to the next championship bout set to take place in two weeks.
Rollins and Owens earned their spot when Riddle succumbed to a Stunner-Stomp combo and picked up the victory. This means that when the RAW Tag Team Title is defended in a couple of weeks, it will now be a Triple Threat match between RK-Bro, Rollins & Owens and champions The Alpha Academy.
#4 Cody Rhodes references were made on WWE RAW, but he does not appear
Cody Rhodes left AEW on February 15 following the expiration of his contract with the company. Ever since, speculation has been rife that Cody could be set for a return to WWE.
Whilst nothing has been confirmed by any party, WWE did make reference to "The American Nightmare" before and during RAW. Leading into the show, the company sent out a tweet stating that "Adrenaline is in the air tonight" with the adrealine word associated with Rhodes' latest entrance music.
During the show, references were also made with The Miz suggesting that his tag team partner reveal was "Dashing," with Edge also mentioning a reference to Cody in his promo. Is this a signal that Cody Rhodes is returning to WWE soon?
#3 The Miz announces his tag team partner to face Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 38
After teasing Cody Rhodes for potentially being revealed as The Miz's tag team partner, it ultimately turned out to be celebrity Logan Paul. Paul made a few WWE appearances in 2021. His most notable was at WrestleMania 37 in the corner of Sami Zayn in his feud against Kevin Owens.
Logan Paul will now be aligning with The A-Lister to take on Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 38. During the reveal segment on RAW, Logan disrespected Rey, which resulted in him and The Miz attacking the father and son duo.
In the end, The Miz hit Rey Mysterio with a Skull-Crushing Finale, and Logan Paul followed up with his own, planting Dominik's face first into the canvas. They stood tall as the brand new match-up is now set for the Show of Shows.
#2 Edge issues an open challenge for WrestleMania 38
Edge returned to WWE RAW this week to make it clear that he wants to steal the show at WrestleMania. Taking a seat in the middle of the ring, The Rated R Superstar looked directly into the camera to put the roster on notice.
Edge stated that he wishes to issue an open challenge for the most stupendous WrestleMania in history. He said he wants someone to step up and face him, with the former WWE Champion vowing that whoever does step up will live forever.
The Rated R Superstar also declared that he wants to feel "phenomenal" by soaking up the energy at the biggest show of the year. Whilst there were also teases for the likes of Damian Priest, it is already known that AJ Styles wants to face Edge in the future. Could this promo have been a way to kickstart that storyline? Time will tell.
#1 Brock Lesnar to defend WWE Championship at Madison Square Garden on March 5
Just when we thought Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns was all set for WrestleMania, a curveball was thrown The Beast Incarnate's way.
His former advocate Paul Heyman appeared to inform the new WWE Champion that he will be defending his title. He noted that the title defense would take place at a special live event at Madison Square Garden next weekend.
It is yet to be revealed who The Beast Incarnate will face, but Heyman promises it will be a worthy challenger. The event isn't currently scheduled to air live, so the event's details will likely be shown the following RAW after.
Brock Lesnar also made it clear that he intends to be at SmackDown this Friday, ahead of his clash with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.
Did you enjoy this week's episode? Let us know in the comments section below!
