Monday Night Raw Review - January 30, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Judgment Day Interrupted Cody Rhodes

Rhodes' mic skills are still strong as ever as this was an excellent promo from him discussing his comeback and Royal Rumble victory. Despite what some fans online feared, Rhodes was not booed in any significant way here. Judgment Day interrupting him set up Rhodes vs. Finn Balor as the night's main event, and Edge coming out at the end of the segment to brawl with Judgment Day on the stage was a nice, unexpected touch.

Seth "Freakin" Rollins def. Chad Gable to Qualify for the United States Championship Elimination Chamber Match

There was zero chance of Gable beating Rollins here, but Rollins is a logical addition to the Chamber match given his unresolved issues with Austin Theory. Plus, I'm not complaining because this was a fresh match and Rollins and Gable worked wonderfully together. That finishing sequence in particular was fantastic. Gable continues to kill it every time he's out there despite losing almost every single time.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champion IYO SKY def. Candice LeRae

I absolutely loved the series of matches these two had in NXT a few years ago, so any time they can rekindle their rivalry on the main roster, I'm down. This wasn't on the same level as their previous encounters, but it was still a pretty good match and I appreciated that they were given an ample amount of time. This is obviously building to LeRae and Michin challenging Damage CTRL for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship soon.

Rhea Ripley Chose to Challenge SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39

All signs pointed to Ripley challenging Bianca Belair for the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania, especially since the seeds were planted for it backstage on an episode of Raw late last year, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense for her to face Flair instead. Obviously, she has history with both women, but she's never actually beaten Flair, and as she mentioned in this promo, it was that loss to Flair at WrestleMania 36 that sent her career into a tailspin. Plus, their matches always deliver, so I have no doubt they'll kill it again at 'Mania.

Johnny Gargano def. Baron Corbin to Qualify for the United States Championship Elimination Chamber Match

These two had quality chemistry the last time they faced off one-on-one back in October and I liked their dynamic once again here. It was a well-wrestled affair with the right outcome. Despite being paired with JBL, Corbin's new character hasn't clicked at all and another overhaul might be necessary. Meanwhile, Gargano being in the Chamber is great and I can certainly see him leaving as the new United States Champion.

MVP Was Caught in the Crosshairs Between Bobby Lashley and United States Champion Austin Theory on The VIP Lounge

Theory brought up how he grew up watching MVP, which is a shoot because Theory is in his mid-20s and MVP was doing The VIP Lounge 15 years ago. That's wild. Anyway, Lashley interrupting Theory was interesting because he won't be in the United States Championship Elimination Chamber match and neither guy should be losing to the other right now. Lashley laid out MVP by accident, so we'll see how that factors into the teases for a Hurt Business reunion.

Rick Boogs def. The Miz

Boogs had been out injured since WrestleMania 38, where I believe he tore his quad in the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match against The Usos. Honestly, it's been so long that I forgot he was on the roster, but I'm actually glad he's no longer with Shinsuke Nakamura. They were fun together, but Nakamura should be more serious when he eventually returns. This was an impromptu match and it was over as quickly as it started. It feels way too soon for Miz to be paired with another undercard babyface after recently wrapping up his rivalry with Dexter Lumis.

Bayley Accepted Becky Lynch's Steel Cage Match Challenge

After so much talking in the previous two segments, I don't know if slotting this segment here was wise. That said, it was solid stuff from Lynch and Bayley as they effectively set up their Steel Cage match for next week's Raw. Obviously, it was originally scheduled to take place at Raw 30, but time constraints cut it short and I'm glad they're sticking with that stipulation. I was surprised Bayley accepted the challenge after Lynch threatened to do damage to Dakota Kai. I thought we'd find out Bayley didn't care about Kai at all (possibly planting the seeds for a Damage CTRL breakup), but apparently not.

Bronson Reed def. Dolph Ziggler to Qualify for the United States Championship Elimination Chamber Match

I have no idea what Ziggler is doing to keep earning spots in these number one contender's/qualifying matches. Hey, at least he didn't waste a spot in the men's Royal Rumble. All due respect to Ziggler, but he practically means nothing at this point, so using him to get over guys like Reed is smart. This was kept short and sweet with Reed largely dominating Ziggler. Ziggler scored some offense as well as two close nearfalls, but I would have made this a total squash if we're being honest. 

Cody Rhodes def. Finn Balor

I didn't expect to get Rhodes vs. Balor so soon after Rhodes' return to the ring at the Rumble, but it was a worthy main event for the post-Royal Rumble edition of Raw. This was an entertaining outing. Ideally, Rhodes shouldn't be winning on distraction finishes, but I was fine with it in this case because it protected Balor in defeat and furthered his feud with Edge. Again, there was no sign of Rhodes being booed whatsoever during this match.

Overall Show

Royal Rumble was obviously a big show and WWE wasted no time following up on it accordingly and starting the build for Elimination Chamber. The next pay-per-view is in less than three weeks, so it was smart to establish early what the card is going to look like. Several matches were announced for next week as well. Rhodes and Edge being back will be a big boost to Raw on the road to WrestleMania. The added stakes with the qualifying matches made this more eventful than your average episode and the three hours didn't drag nearly as much as they normally do.

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