Monday Night Raw Review - January 16, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos and The Judgment Day Went Face-to-Face Before Kevin Owens Attacked The Bloodline

I have no idea who the crowd was supposed to cheer for when The Usos and Judgment Day went face-to-face, but I'm not complaining because it was great stuff, largely thanks to Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley. Ripley staring down Solo Sikoa was especially cool. Owens going after The Usos was logical after they laid him out at the end of last Friday's SmackDown and the crowd ate the attack up.

Solo Sikoa def. Mustafa Ali

I hate to say it, but Ali is the ultimate loser at this point based on how he's been booked. That was already the case a few months ago, but his constant complaining in backstage segments has only solidified that. It's a bummer because he's such a talented dude, but despite the company's creative changes, Ali is basically back in the same spot he was in before. At any rate, this was a spirited squash with Ali selling well for Sikoa's offense.

The Street Profits def. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin

Alexander and Benjamin are in a strange spot right now where The Hurt Business hasn't officially reformed yet but they're already teaming as babyfaces and have now lost back-to-back matches. This was well wrestled and received an ample amount of time. I don't understand the mindset behind Alexander and Benjamin losing unless the idea is to turn them heel, but even then, they should be winning in order to reestablish their credibility.

Becky Lynch Challenged Bayley to a Steel Cage Match

For as much crap as I've given Damage CTRL for how they've been booked since the summer, I've actually enjoyed this Bayley vs. Lynch feud over the last two months. They obviously work well together in the ring and have added a lot of depth to their storyline and issues with each other through promos, including this one. They did a nice job of setting up their Steel Cage match for next week's Raw, which could end up being the blow-off before both women move on to something else heading into WrestleMania 39.

Omos def. Elias

Elias was the dumbest person in the building for thinking MVP was referring to himself during their encounter backstage earlier in the episode. Omos was the one return not a single soul was clamoring for, but here we are. We probably should have expected to see him back at some point because MVP was managing him the last time we him on TV and he'll likely be involved in this Hurt Business reunion in some form or fashion. Regardless, this was a straightforward squash as it should have been.

The Judgment Day (Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest) def. Alpha Academy

Street Profits vs. Alexander and Benjamin was babyface vs. babyface and this was heel vs. heel. Despite the flat crowd reaction early on, they got behind Otis much like last week's crowd did. We'll see if they go babyface, but I wouldn't be opposed to it if it's organic. This was fun while it lasted and gave Judgment Day a last-minute momentum boost before they challenge The Usos for the Raw Tag Team Campionship.

Michin def. WWE Women's Tag Team Champion IYO SKY

This match brought back memories of the two of them having matches in NXT when the women's division was at its peak in terms of talent. They had a quality contest in the time they were allotted here, but the crowd sat on their hands for a majority of it. Unfortunately, neither of them are over at the moment, and that's been the case with most of the people Triple H has brought back so far. Candice LeRae coming to Michin's aid afterward should set them up for an opportunity at the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.

Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair and Alexa Bliss

I haven't been the biggest fan of the hocus pocus nonsense we've gotten from Bliss lately, but I think the Bliss vs. Belair feud has been well done on the whole. Bliss has been a different threat for Belair and Bliss has returned to her heel roots. This was a decent brawl to set up their rematch for the Raw Women's Championship at the Royal Rumble. Uncle Howdy appearing near the concourse area was goofy, though.

Bronson Reed def. Akira Tozawa

This marked Reed's first match on Raw since returning to WWE last month alongside The Miz. He and Miz haven't interacted much since then, giving me hope they won't be aligned after all. Reed should be a one-man wrecking crew and continue to rack up wins. This was a solid start as he completely killed Tozawa, who was the perfect first opponent for him. The key with Reed will be consistency and getting him on Raw regularly.

Bobby Lashley def. Seth Rollins, Baron Corbin, Finn Balor, Dolph Ziggler and The Miz in a United States Championship No. 1 Contender's Elimination Six-Pack Challenge

I understand they're former United States Champions (and I'm not sure if that was a prerequisite for competing in this match), but Ziggler, Miz and Corbin had no business being in this thing. From an in-ring standpoint, this was very entertaining. They worked a frantic pace throughout and all six guys put forth a fantastic effort. The closing moments with Omos, MVP and Austin Theory at ringside were overbooked, but I am intrigued by the Hurt Business reunion teases and Lashley winning was the best possible outcome. He'll challenge Theory next Monday night.

Overall Show

The biggest piece of news coming out of this episode was that, as we all expected, Cody Rhodes will be ready to return for the Royal Rumble and has declared himself for the men's match. I don't mind it not being kept a surprise since it was fairly obvious he would be back by then, but now the question is whether WWE will do the right thing and have him win. As for this episode, it was an improvement over previous weeks. Everything served a purpose and I liked a lot of of what we got, but these crowds are quiet for a good chunk of the three hours. Raw has lacked energy for months and one can only hope that WrestleMania season can restore that, but I'm not holding my breath.

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