WWE RAW is back.
On tap for tonight’s installment of the weekly three-hour WWE on USA Network television program, which emanates from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma starting 8/7c this evening, is the fallout from Saturday’s WWE Royal Rumble 2023 premium live event from The Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
The 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes has been announced as the opening segment for tonight’s show, as he will address his return to WWE this past weekend, winning the 30-Man Royal Rumble match and earning his spot against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39.
Additionally, WWE has announced that tonight’s post-Royal Rumble episode of RAW will feature Seth Rollins vs. Chad Gable and Baron Corbin vs. Johnny Gargano in the first two WWE Elimination Chamber qualifying matches for next month’s premium live event at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on February 18, 2023.
Featured below are complete WWE RAW results from Monday, January 30, 2023. The following report was written by PWMania.com reporter Matt Boone (@MattBoone0709) as the show aired live from 8-11pm EST. on the USA Network.
WWE RAW RESULTS (1/30/2023)
The post-Royal Rumble 2023 episode of Monday Night Raw kicks off with the usual “WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together” opening signature narrated by John Cena.
Cody Rhodes Kicks Off This Week’s Show
We then shoot to an elaborate video package focusing on Cody Rhodes road to recovery leading up to the WWE Royal Rumble 2023 pay-per-view this past Saturday night. The package goes on to show “The American Nightmare” entering the Men’s Royal Rumble match at number 30 and being the last man standing, earning himself a shot at the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39 this coming April.
Once the package wraps up, we shoot inside the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK. where the ring announcer is shown in the ring. He then introduces the winner of the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble match, Cody Rhodes.
The familiar sounds of the theme song for the popular fan-favorite pro wrestling veteran hits and “The American Nightmare” makes his way to the ring as Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves speak up for the first time on commentary, building up the significance of Cody’s return and subsequent Royal Rumble victory.
Rhodes settles inside the squared circle, plays to the fans a bit, and then his music fades down and off. The fans give him a good reaction in Tulsa. He takes a moment to soak in the moment and then the fans break out in a loud “You Deserve It!” chant.
He mentions how he is not the same man who started this journey many moons ago. He says he thought to himself that inside of two years he would be the champion of the company. He even thought he’d be the next John Cena. What he didn’t know, was a number of things.
He said if he could write a letter to the 19 year old version of himself, would he tell him that he would lose a 295 lb. best friend in his father, but gain one that has the same eyes when his child was born? Would he tell him that he would restore prestige to the Intercontinental title? Would he tell him that he would be on fire and spill blood all over the planet? Would he tell him that he would go on to marry the woman who stands outside of the ring saying all the wrestlers names at every show? Would he tell himself that after painting his face that he would leave, come back, win the Royal Rumble and solidify his spot in the main event on “The Grandest Stage of Them All” at WrestleMania?
From there, he goes on to talk about the odds that he is facing now, and just like all of the things he just mentioned, as unlikely as they may have seemed at one point, he is just as sure in himself that he will also beat the odds and defeat “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns and end his record reign as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. He wraps up his promo soon after that, and his theme hits again.
The Judgment Day Confronts Cody Rhodes
Cody doesn’t leave the ring, however, as the lights in the building go down and eventually all the way off and the theme for The Judgment Day plays. Out comes Damian Priest, Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio.
The three Judgment Day members slowly walk down the entrance ramp as Balor gets on a microphone and asks if Cody is going to do anything original, or is he just going to knock off all the stuff Balor has already done, just like he’s done in the past? Dominik then jumps on the mic and talks about his mami, Rhea Ripley, winning the Women’s Royal Rumble match. He says he was supposed to win the Men’s Royal Rumble match.
Balor then asks where Rey Mysterio was in the Men’s Royal Rumble match and mentions how it’s ironic that Dominik ended up stumbling across Rey’s mask. Balor then hands the mic off to Damian Priest. He talks about Cody being handed everything. He says Rhea Ripley entered at number one, lasted over an hour and earned her victory and title shot at WrestleMania. Conversely, Cody Rhodes entered in the 30th and final spot, which was handed to him, and didn’t earn his title shot.
Dominik then starts talking tough at Cody, which leads Rhodes to interrupting Dom to ask him, “Are you trying to scare me straight?” Cody then goes on to mention how he has a lot of respect for …but before he can finish, Dom cuts in and says he knows, Cody respects his father Rey Mysterio. He says he can’t say the same, because he doesn’t respect Cody’s dad, the late, great Dusty Rhodes.
Cody goes on to make it clear that he’s out to get a fight against a member of The Judgment Day tonight. He doesn’t care which one. His theme hits again after he makes that comment, and the opening segment wraps up.
Edge Brawls With The Judgment Day
Now we shoot to the commentary desk where Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves run down some of the scheduled action here on tonight’s Raw. First up, after the break we will see the first of multiple Elimination Chamber qualifying matches here tonight as Seth “Freakin'” Rollins will go one-on-one against Chad Gable of Alpha Academy.
Before things are sent to the first commercial break of the evening, we see The Judgment Day still looming around the top of the entrance stage and out of nowhere, Edge sprints out of the entrance area and starts brawling with The Judgment Day members. As officials run out to sort the chaos, we head to an advertising time-out.
Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
Seth “Freakin'” Rollins vs. Chad Gable
When we return from the break, we see some still images from Saturday night’s WWE Royal Rumble 2023 pay-per-view, and then we shoot live inside the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK. where Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick inform us of some “breaking news,” which is that Cody Rhodes is getting his wish, as he will go one-on-one with The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor later tonight.
From there, we hear “BURN IT DOWN!!!” and then the theme song for Seth “Freakin'” Rollins plays and out comes the WWE veteran as the fans sing along with his entrance tune. He settles in the ring and his music dies down.
Now the theme for his opponent, Chad Gable of Alpha Academy, plays. Out comes Gable and his tag-team partner Otis, who sticks around at ringside as Gable enters the ring and the Alpha Academy music wraps up.
The bell sounds and we’re now officially off-and-running with our first match of the evening, a qualifying match for the Men’s Elimination Chamber match at the upcoming WWE Elimination Chamber 2023 premium live event scheduled for February 18 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Early on, we see Rollins dominating Gable and taking the fight to the Alpha Academy member. After a minute or so of this, we see the momentum start to shift in Gable’s favor. Gable strings together a nice series of offensive spots and then heads to the top-rope, where he comes soaring off with a flying headbutt for a near fall attempt.
Rollins kicks out after the count of two and then we head to a mid-match commercial break as this Elimination Chamber qualifier continues. When we return from the break, we see Rollins still on the defensive, as Gable takes it to him with a dominant offensive run that lasts several minutes and sees the Alpha Academy tag-team member come close on multiple near fall attempts.
Gable remains competitive, but ultimately, “Freakin'” Rollins ends up being too much for him. The fan-favorite Superstar connects with a Pedigree that gets him the three-count and the victory. With the win, Seth “Freakin'” Rollins now advances to one of the spots in the Men’s Elimination Chamber match. After the match, we head to another commercial break.
Winner and ADVANCING to the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match: Seth Rollins
Iyo Sky vs. Candice LeRae
When we return from the break, we see some coverage from TMZ, The New York Post and other media outlets from Saturday’s Royal Rumble, with articles in the aforementioned mainstream media outlets on Logan Paul and Ricochet’s crazy spot in the Men’s Royal Rumble match, as well as the post-match scene after the main event that saw Sami Zayn part ways with The Bloodline and Jey Uso go off the reservation as a result.
From there, we head back inside the BOK Center where Damage CTRL’s theme hits and out comes Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai. Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick inform us that Sky will be competing in one-on-one action in the women’s division in our second match of the evening.
With Sky settled into the ring, the Damage CTRL theme dies down and then the entrance music for her opponent, Candice LeRae, plays. Out she comes and her music fades down as well.
The bell sounds and we’re off-and-running with this one. We see LeRae start off competitive, but it isn’t long before Sky takes over and settles into the offensive driver’s seat. She beats down LeRae and taunts her while doing so, mocking her and reminding her that Damage CTRL eliminated her from the Women’s Royal Rumble match this past Saturday night.
As LeRae starts to fight from underneath back into competitive form, we see her deck Sky. Both ladies are down and recovering as we head into a mid-match commercial break as this women’s singles match continues.
When we return from the break, we see the action still in progress. The pace picks up after we settle in from the ad time-out, as both women are looking to try and finish this one off. LeRae nearly does with a Poison Pixie that earns her a close two-and-a-half count.
Things end up getting messy, with Damage CTRL member Dakota Kai getting involved, which ultimately leads to the finish of this one, as “The Genius of the Sky” steals the victory via pin fall. After the match, we head to another commercial break.
Winner: Iyo Sky
Women’s Royal Rumble Winner Rhea Ripley Makes Her WrestleMania Decision
When we return from the commercials, we see the ring announcer in the ring introducing the winner of the 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble match, The Judgment Day’s own Rhea Ripley.
On that note, the familiar sounds of Rhea Ripley’s theme song hits and out comes one-half of one of the women’s championship matches at this year’s WrestleMania 39 premium live event.
Ripley begins by getting on the mic and mentioning how it’s been a long time she’s been out in the ring without her Dom-Dom, Dominik Mysterio. She says she wanted this to be all about her. She then proceeds to mention how she out-lasted 29 other women to emerge victorious in the Women’s Royal Rumble match.
She then points out the obvious, which is that because of her Royal Rumble win, she is now in the position to choose which championship she wants to challenge for on “The Grandest Stage of Them All” at WrestleMania — the Raw Women’s Championship or the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Ripley takes a stroll down memory lane and mentions how when she first arrived on the WWE main roster, she challenged the winner of that year’s Women’s Royal Rumble Charlotte Flair to a title match at WrestleMania. She said Charlotte put her in her place in that match.
She gives “The Queen” credit for always being at the top of her game. She says she hates to admit it, but she seems to get better every year. Whether she likes it or not, Charlotte Flair is at the top. She says that she is the destructor, however, and she doesn’t like things being over-played.
The Judgment Day member concludes her promo segment by announcing her decision. “Charlotte Flair — I choose you.” With that said, it’s now official that Rhea Ripley will go one-on-one against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Cathy Kelley Backstage Interview With Seth “Freakin'” Rollins
After Rhea Ripley’s in-ring promo segment, we shoot backstage where Cathy Kelley is standing by with none other than Seth “Freakin'” Rollins.
She talks to him about his victory over Chad Gable to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match earlier this evening. Rollins is in a good mood while talking about this, but his facial expression and mood changes from one end of the spectrum to the other when Cathy Kelley asks a follow-up question about there being a lot of online talk over the fact that Logan Paul returned in the Men’s Royal Rumble match this past Saturday night, and was the one who would go on to eliminate Rollins.
She asks Rollins for a comment on this. Rollins’ face drops, he says nothing, and walks off. After this, we head to another commercial break.
Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
Baron Corbin vs. Johnny Gargano
We return inside the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK. after the commercial break to the sounds of Baron Corbin’s theme song. Out comes “The Modern Day Wrestling God” accompanied by WWE Hall of Fame legend JBL.
As Corbin settles inside the ring, we see video highlights of he and JBL taking part in the WWE Legends Poker Game at the WWE Monday Night Raw 30th Anniversary special event last week.
The highlight package wraps up and Corbin’s theme dies down and then the entrance tune for Corbin’s opponent hits and out comes Johnny Gargano. The fan-favorite “Johnny Wrestling” makes his way to the ring accompanied by Dexter Lumis.
Corbin and Gargano are both in the ring and now the bell sounds to get this Elimination Chamber qualifying match officially off-and-running. We see Corbin start off strong, using his power to take it to Gargano, however Gargano does a good job of using his speed and quickness to avoid him.
He picks his spots and gets in some shots when he can, but then a big boot from Corbin quickly changes the lay of the land inside the squared circle. Gargano tries firing up for an offensive comeback, but Corbin is having none of it, as he sends Johnny Wrestling crashing and burning out on the floor at ringside.
On that note, we head to a mid-match commercial break as this Elimination Chamber qualifier continues. When we return, we see Gargano slowly but surely fight his way back into competitive form.
Things then build to the finish, which sees Dexter Lumis put an axe through the cowboy hat of JBL, stopping him from playing a factor in the match, which allowed Gargano to counter an End of Days attempt by Corbin with the finisher for the pin fall victory.
With the win, Gargano joins Rollins as two qualified participants in the Men’s Elimination Chamber match at the upcoming premium live event on 2/18 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. After this match wraps up, we head to another commercial break.
Winner and ADVANCING to the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match: Johnny Gargano
MVP Lounge With WWE United States Champion Austin Theory
As we settle back in from the commercial break, we hear MVP’s entrance music playing and the WWE veteran makes his way out and heads to the ring for the latest installment of his MVP Lounge talk show segment. He settles inside and his music fades down.
MVP gets on the microphone and talks about the WWE United States Championship showdown between Austin Theory and “The All Mighty” Bobby Lashley at the WWE Royal Rumble 2023 premium live event this past Saturday night.
He then introduces the reigning WWE United States Champion, Austin Theory. Theory makes his way down to the ring and as he does, highlights are shown of the finish of the U.S. title bout at the Rumble, which saw Brock Lesnar play a deciding factor in the outcome.
Theory gets in the ring and jumps on the mic. He talks about how he used to watch the MVP Lounge many moons ago. He says he’s here to make the MVP Lounge relevant again. He says it should be re-named to “Austin Theory Live.”
The two start arguing about who would win in a showdown between Theory and Bobby Lashley. Theory makes a comment about Brock Lesnar manhandling “The All Mighty” at the WWE Royal Rumble premium live event over the weekend. On that note, the theme song for Lashley hits.
Bobby Lashley makes his way out and heads down to the ring, and he doesn’t look too pleased. “The All Mighty” hits the ring and gears up for a big Spear, but Theory yanks the walking cane of MVP, which MVP was still holding, towards himself, before dropping down and sliding out of the ring.
This leads to Lashley accidentally taking out MVP with a Spear. After this, we head to another commercial break.
The Miz vs. Rick Boogs
When we return from the commercial break, The Miz makes his way out and settles in the ring. He gets on the mic after his music dies down and he begins speaking. He mentions how he has been getting chants of “First man out! First man out!” at the airport over the weekend after being the first person eliminated from the Men’s Royal Rumble match at the WWE Royal Rumble 2023 pay-per-view this past Saturday night.
Miz goes on to mention how he hasn’t been given any opportunities tonight to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match, even though he is the first-ever two-time WWE Grand Slam Champion in company-history. He says he demands respect.
With that said, out comes Adam Pearce mocking The Miz for demanding respect, saying it’s the same old song-and-dance with Miz as always. He says if Miz wants an opportunity, he just so happens to know someone else who wants one. He then introduces the newest addition to the Raw roster and out comes Rick Boogs.
Pearce confirms a match between Miz and Boogs — and it’s going down right now. The two are in the ring and Miz is avoiding the fight, pointing out that he is still wearing a full suit.
Regardless, the brawl gets underway and after all of about one minute or so, Boogs has Miz down and pins his shoulders to the mat for the 1-2-3 to pick up an easy victory in his first match since returning as a Raw Superstar.
Winner: Rick Boogs
Becky Lynch Uses Force To Get Bayley To Accept Challenge
As we settle back in from the commercial break, we hear the familiar sounds of Bayley’s theme music. The Damage CTRL member makes her way out to the ring and her music dies down.
She goes on to take verbal aim at her former friend turned bitter rival Becky Lynch. With that said, out comes “The Man” to a huge pop from the fans in Oklahoma.
Lynch remains at the top of the entrance stage, while Bayley stays in the ring. The two take a stroll down memory lane together, talking about some of the issues they have with each other. Lynch tells Bayley she attacked her before the bell and relies on her fellow Damage CTRL members. Bayley tells Lynch that she’s overrated.
“The Man” then issues a challenge. When Bayley doesn’t accept, Lynch tells her to hold on. She then heads to the back and drags out Dakota Kai. She threatens to do more damage to Bayley’s fellow Damage CTRL member, forcing her to accept the challenge she extended moments ago.
Becky Lynch is satisfied that she accomplished what she came out to do. Before she leaves, she tells Bayley she might wanna head to the backstage area and check on Iyo Sky. The segment wraps up after that and we head to another commercial break.
Cathy Kelley Interviews Adam Pearce
We shoot backstage when we return from the commercial break, where we see Cathy Kelley standing by with Adam Pearce, who says he has a very special announcement to make.
Pearce confirms Becky Lynch vs. Bayley inside a Steel Cage match on next week’s Raw. He also brings up that with Rhea Ripley choosing to challenge Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s title at WrestleMania, this leaves the decision needing to be made to see who will challenge Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s title at WrestleMania. He goes on to reveal that the winner of the Women’s Elimination Chamber match will earn the shot. He goes on to announce some matches that will decide some of the entrants in the Women’s Chamber bout.
Before Pearce wraps up the segment, he is approached by Chelsea Green. He clearly doesn’t seem to consider it an important issue, but humors her to get
Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
Dolph Ziggler vs. Bronson Reed
We head back inside the BOK Center after Adam Pearce’s blockbuster announcement, as it’s time for the third and final Elimination Chamber qualifying match of the evening here on Monday Night Raw.
With that said, Dolph Ziggler’s theme hits and “The Show-Off” makes his way down to the ring with hopes of achieving a spot in the men’s Chamber bout at the 2/18 PPV event in Montreal.
As Ziggler settles inside the squared circle, a video split-screen appears with Mustafa Ali commenting about how Ziggler has had yet another big chance simply handed to him by getting an Elimination Chamber qualifying match opportunity tonight.
Now the theme for Ziggler’s opponent hits and out comes the massive Bronson Reed. The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with the third qualifying match for next month’s Men’s Elimination Chamber match.
Early on, Ziggler hangs in there with the much larger Reed, but after just a few minutes, we see the bigger man pull off the pin fall victory to earn a spot alongside Seth Rollins and Johnny Gargano in the Men’s Chamber match at the WWE Elimination Chamber 2023 premium live event in Montreal on 2/18.
Winner and ADVANCING to the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match: Bronson Reed
Cathy Kelley Talks To The Returning Carmella
We shoot backstage after the Chamber qualifier match wraps up, and we see Cathy Kelley standing by with her guest at this time, the returning Carmella. The women’s wrestling star is in a good mood tonight and has a ton of energy.
She talks about how it is good to be back and says “Mella is Money.” As she continues to talk, Asuka comes in and confronts her. Carmella asks if Asuka is there to welcome her back.
Things don’t exactly go that way, however, and the animosity between the former Ms. Money In The Bank and “The Empress of Tomorrow” is evident by the end of this quick interaction.
Byron Saxton Talks To The Returning Rick Boogs
Now we shoot to another part of the backstage area where Byron Saxton is standing by with another performer who made their return this evening on Raw, Rick Boogs.
Boogs is in a good mood and talks about returning from his triceps injury recovery. The Street Profits and Elias also enter the picture and the guys all banter back-and-forth to finish out the segment.
After this wraps up, we head to another commercial break.
Cody Rhodes vs. Finn Balor
As we settle back in from the commercial break, we hear Kevin Patrick and Corey Graves running down the scheduled lineup as it currently stands for next week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
The previously announced Becky Lynch vs. Bayley Steel Cage Match and Women’s Elimination Chamber Four-Way Qualifier pitting Piper Niven vs. Carmella vs. Mia Yim (Michin) vs. Candice LeRae are now joined by two more Chamber qualifiers, as Montez Ford of The Street Profits will collide with Elias, and Angelo Dawkins of The Street Profits battles Damian Priest of The Judgment Day for two more spots in the bout which currently includes Seth Rollins and Johnny Gargano.
Now we head back inside the building live where it’s time for the main event of the evening. With that said, out comes The Judgment Day’s own Finn Balor. He settles inside the ring and his music dies down.
The theme for his opponent, the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble winner and the man who will challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39 in April, Cody Rhodes, hits.
“The American Nightmare” makes his way down to the ring as the fans sing along with his theme song, belting out the “WHOA …OH!” portion of his theme in unison. He settles inside the squared circle as well and now his entrance tune fades down and off.
We hear the bell sound and it’s time to get our final match of the evening here on the post-Royal Rumble installment of Monday Night Raw officially off-and-running. We see Cody doing well coming out of the gate, but after some distractions from The Judgment Day members at ringside, we see Balor pull into the offensive driver’s seat.
On that note, we head to a mid-match commercial break as our Raw main event continues. When we return from the break, we see The Judgment Day member still very much in the offensive lead in this one. He is picking Cody apart for several minutes after we return from the commercials.
Eventually, “The American Nightmare” begins fighting from underneath back into competitive form after connecting with a counter-Dragon-screw that slows Balor’s momentum down. We see Cody firing up now, as he sends Dominik Mysterio flying over the commentary desk at ringside.
Back in the ring, Rhodes looks to try and finish Balor off, but The Judgment Day member refuses to stay down for the three-count. As the action continues in our headline match of the evening, we head to another mid-match commercial break.
Rhodes and Balor are both full of energy and duking it out in a back-and-forth brawl in the middle of the ring when we return from our final commercial time-out of the evening. Cody ends up getting the better of the exchange and he starts firing up, playing to the live crowd as he seems to be feeling the end is near.
Cody goes to approach Balor, but is hit with a Sling Blade after attempting his Cross-Rhodes finisher. Cody ends up hitting a big spot of his own after that, and we’ve got a real back-and-forth barn-burner on our hands in the final minutes of this one, as neither man is hanging onto any prolonged offensive leads.
The action spills out to the floor where it looks like The Judgment Day might get involved and play a factor in the bout yet again, when out of nowhere, “The Rated-R Superstar” Edge makes his way through the crowd. He blasts Priest with a Spear and goes to work on Dominik Mysterio after that.
Edge ends up getting overwhelmed momentarily, which allows Rhea Ripley to come over and start beating on the WWE Hall of Fame legend as he tries to recover and clear the cobwebs. As she continues to beat on the former Judgment Day member, his better-half comes to the rescue just like she did at Royal Rumble, as she takes it to Ripley.
Finally, the smoke clears, the dust settles and Cody Rhodes and Finn Balor end up back in the ring by themselves. As the wild scene continues to play out at ringside, “The American Nightmare” manages to connect with his Cross-Rhodes finisher.
He follows up with the cover and gets the pin fall victory in this week’s Raw main event. After the match, Cody celebrates in the ring and then looks out and sees Edge and Beth Phoenix looking back from half-way up the entrance ramp, while Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio are shown recovering on the floor at ringside. That’s how this week’s show wraps up, as we head off the air. Thanks for joining us!
Winner: Cody Rhodes
