 Drew McIntyre def. Cody RhodesTo my knowledge, this marked the first-ever one-on-one encounter between these two in WWE and it was as great as you'd expect. The crowd was super into both guy and they worked exceptionally well together. Rhodes has rarely lost since returning to WWE, so this was a surprising result. I liked how Rhodes was protected via The Bloodline's interference and McIntyre was able to pick up a huge win ahead of Elimination Chamber. Raquel Rodriguez Won a Battle Royal to Qualify for the Women's World Championship No. 1 Contender's Elimination Chamber MatchIndi Hartwell was my pick to win with Chamber emanating from her native Australia, but the returning Rodriguez instantly became the odds-on favorite as soon as she made her entrance. It was cool to see her back and she got a pretty favorable reaction from the live crowd. This was a basic Battle Royal, but it had a few fun moments and the Chelsea Green spot at the end was cute. Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley and Nia Jax Exchanged WordsThis served as last-minute hype for their championship clash at Chamber and it was fine for what it was. It was a brief exchange, but it didn't need to be much longer than it was, especially with both women being heels (at least until Ripley walks out in Australia at Chamber, obviously). WWE has done what they could to make Jax feel like a threat to Ripley, but Ripley retaining is a foregone conclusion in my mind. The Judgment Day ("Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh and Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Finn Balor and Damian Priest) def. R-Truth, The Miz and #DIYTruth was far and away the most over guy in the entire match and everyone else benefited just by being in the ring with him. This was a very enjoyable affair and the crowd ate up all of the action. They received plenty of time and made the most of it. Priest pinning Truth was the right call as the bad blood is between them and Truth eventually getting one over on Judgment Day (especially if the tag titles are on the line) will mean that much more. Nia Jax Attacked Becky Lynch, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Naomi, Tiffany Stratton and Bianca BelairLynch started the segment talking about winning the women's Elimination Chamber and she didn't say anything she hasn't already said in the last few weeks. All of the other Chamber combatants proceeded to interrupt each other, and although each of them made logical points, the segment was fairly formulaic. Jax attacking everyone was designed to put more heat on her and it worked, but again, I don't know how many people actually think she's beating Ripley. Chad Gable def. IvarThese two last faced off a month in a match won by Ivar. I don't think Gable has made a single appearance on Raw since then, so while I'm glad Gable avenged the loss here, WWE really should have started building him back up a while ago. I don't know if the idea is for him to challenge Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 40, and I'd love for it to be, but it might be too late. Either way, this was another quality, well-wrestled contest from these two. Intercontinental Champion Gunther def. Jey UsoI love that these guys got the main event spotlight. Jey is easily the biggest challenger Gunther has had to his title reign in a few months given how popular Jey is at the moment and thus the crowd reacted to his nearfalls down the stretch. They told a strong story with Jey withstanding all of Gunther's offense and coming close on a few occasions, only for Jimmy to cost him in the end as expected. Jey vs. Jimmy at WrestleMania doesn't do much for me personally with the way Jimmy's been booked since The Uso's breakup, but I know it makes sense from a storyline standpoint. Overall ShowI was already looking forward to this show thanks to Rhodes vs. McIntyre and Gunther vs. Uso, but WWE did a really nice job of filling out the three hours, hyping up Elimination Chamber, and giving Anaheim a very entertaining episode on the whole. There were a ton of promos, vignettes and interviews and everything served a purpose. Even the quick promo from UFC's Michael Chandler in the crowd was well done. This was an above-average effort from Raw and I hope to see that momentum maintained as WrestleMania draws closer.
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