WWE Raw: 7 things you missed overnight as John Cena defeats Finn Balor
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- 31 Jan 2021
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The first pay-per-view of 2018 has been and gone, with the Royal Rumble now in the rear-view mirror after Sunday's massive show, with Raw focusing on all the fallout on the road to Wrestlemania.
Ronda Rousey's surprise appearance dominated conversation heading into Raw, whilst there is already one eye on next month's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, with qualifying matches held for that show on Monday night.
The likes of Asuka, Sasha Banks, Braun Strowman, John Cena and Finn Balor were all in action on Monday night; here are seven things you missed overnight from this week's edition of Raw...
Sasha Banks and Asuka clash
Almost 24 hours after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, women's victor Asuka celebrated her win alongside Stephanie McMahon to open Raw, once again claiming that 'nobody is ready for Asuka' as she weighed up whether to target the Raw or Smackdown Women's Championship.
Asuka's celebration was short-lived, as Sasha Banks – the longest survivor in the women's Royal Rumble – emerged to state that she was ready for Asuka, leading to the pair going head to head later in the show.
Unsurprisingly, it was undefeated Asuka who continued her remarkable streak with a win, but Banks put up a superb fight in a closely-fought match filled with dangerous moments, before Asuka locked in the Asuka Lock to claim the victory.
Braun Strowman brutally decimates Kane, qualifies for Elimination Chamber
Braun Strowman and Kane both came up short in their bid to prise the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, but they met again on Monday night in a Last Man Standing match for a place in the Elimination Chamber Universal Championship bout.
After fighting into the crowd, Strowman caused yet more chaos by tipping the commentary table and the stage onto Kane, leaving him buried as the referee called for the bell, handing Strowman the win in a vicious victory.
Elias qualifies for Elimination Chamber – with some help from Bray Wyatt
Elias couldn't claim the victory in the men's Royal Rumble, but he is back in contention for the Universal Championship at least after clinching his place in the Elimination Chamber match with a qualifying win over Matt Hardy.
'Woken' Hardy was looking for the win before nemesis Bray Wyatt played mind games, teasing an attack with his patented 'Wyatt noise', only to be nowhere in sight as Elias took full advantage to claim the win.
The Miz retains the Intercontinental Championship with victory over Roman Reigns
The Miz and Roman Reigns were two more competitors who fell by the wayside in the men's Royal Rumble, and a week on from The Miz reclaiming his Intercontinental Championship, Reigns activated his rematch clause.
The Miz attempted to expose a turnbuckle to win in the same way as he did last week, only to be caught by the referee and ushered away, but the Intercontinental Champion did end up claiming the win in controversial fashion anyway.
After distraction from Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel, Reigns was caught by The Miz and rolled up for the pin, meaning The Miz has retained his title.
The Bar retain titles after win over Titus Worldwide
The Bar reclaimed the Raw Tag Team Championships with a win over Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, and were immediately defending their titles against Titus Worldwide on Monday night.
The team of Apollo Crews and Titus O'Neil have picked up two shock wins over Titus Worldwide in recent weeks, but it wasn't to be three in a row as Cesaro and Sheamus pulled out the victory, winning when it matters as they retained their titles.
John Cena defeats Finn Balor, heads to Elimination Chamber
The main event of Monday Night Raw saw John Cena take on Finn Balor for a place in the Elimination Chamber Universal Championship match, with Balor seeking revenge after Cena eliminated him in the final four of the men's Royal Rumble.
An outstanding match ended with Cena hitting an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment on Balor for the victory, meaning he will now have the chance to win the Universal Championship for the first time next month.
No sign of Ronda Rousey
The big story to come out of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view was that former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey made her WWE debut, confronting Charlotte Flair, Asuka and Alexa Bliss after the women's Royal Rumble.
Rousey has signed a deal as a full-time WWE superstar, and whilst the WWE universe was buzzing with excitement over just what the future holds for Rousey, she was nowhere to be seen on Monday night, meaning we may have to wait a little longer to see her in regular action.
