In less than two months, WWE will return to Cincinnati, Ohio for the 1/16 edition of Monday Night Raw that will take place inside Heritage Bank Arena.
This will be the penultimate Raw show ahead of the 2023 Royal Rumble pay-per-view that will run on Jan. 28 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The Jan. 23 show — the last before the Royal Rumble — will be the special 30-year anniversary celebration of Raw. That will be held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Heritage Bank Center website is advertising a marquee triple threat match featuring United States Champion Seth Rollins, Matt Riddle and Bobby Lashley. Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, Asuka and Alexa Bliss are also being advertised for the show.
The website added a note that the event card is also subject to change. But once Survivor Series 2023 ends, we’ll have a good indicator as to which feuds WWE will run on its flagship program heading into Royal Rumble season.
Mobile/online sports betting is slated to come to The Buckeye State on Jan. 1, 2023, and wrestling will be just one of several sports available that customers in Ohio can bet on. New users will be able to take advantage of the special DraftKings Ohio promo code that will hand out $200 in free bets if you register early, along with entry into $100,000 free bet sweepstakes.
Through the DraftKings sportsbook, customers will be able to enjoy a plethora of different betting options. This includes parlays, props, over/under totals, futures (division/award winners and league champions) and point spreads.
What Can We Expect On Jan. 16 Raw Show?
There are five matches on the card for the Survivor Series WarGames pay-per-view. WWE will surely look to run some new feuds/storylines following Survivor Series with Royal Rumble around the corner.
Day 1 2023, the first scheduled WWE pay-per-view of the new year, is currently scheduled to run on New Year’s Day at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. But back in October, Wrestlenomics (h/t WrestlingNews.co) reported that the event has been canceled.
WWE has yet to make an official announcement on the matter. If Day 1 is indeed canceled, much of December will likely focus on buildup for the marquee Royal Rumble event.
Nothing has been confirmed, but it would be a surprise if Roman Reigns (Undisputed WWE Universal Champion) and The Usos (Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions) did not compete at Royal Rumble. It’s anybody’s guess whom they could face at the show, but if they are pitted against Raw talents, we could see The Bloodline at the Jan. 16 event.
Belair has been feuding with Bayley for a while now. Given the success of their program, it wouldn’t be a surprise if WWE decided to continue this feud for a major pay-per-view like the Royal Rumble.
One thing worth noting: Belair and Bayley are among the five stars advertised (Riddle, Rollins and Lashley are the others) for the Jan. 23 Raw 30-year anniversary special on Philadelphia. If they square off again at Royal Rumble, there should be more buildup here for the bout in Cincinnati.
WWE has been heavily pushing The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley) as a dominant heel stable on Raw. They are in the midst of a feud with AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, and we’ll see Styles vs. Balor at Survivor Series.
Judgment Day lost to The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Butch and Ridge Holland) on the Nov. 21 edition of Raw. The heels attacked the babyfaces after the bout, thus hinting at a future feud between the stables, though The Brawling Brutes are on the SmackDown roster.
It’s a special era for dominant factions on the Raw roster. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai), Judgment Day and The O.C. They’ve all been mainstays in the mid-card/tag team scenes on Raw, so expect them to be prominently featured on the Jan. 16 show as well.
Riddle, Rollins and Lashley have been in the United States Championship scene for a while now. Though a triple threat bout between the trio has been advertised at the Heritage Bank Center, there’s always the chance WWE goes in a completely different direction for all three stars in the New Year.
But at the very least, we should see all three fan favorites play key roles on the Jan. 16 show as well.
