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‘WWE Monday Night Raw’ Results: Brock Lesnar, Title Match And ‘Royal Rumble 2017’ Updates

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 11:17 PST, Jan 16, 2017

With seventeen spots yet to be claimed for the 2017 Royal Rumble Match and Brock Lesnar set to make his first appearance on WWE television since losing to Goldberg, the buzz for this week’s Monday Night Raw peaked with rumors of Triple H’s first appearance on the flagship program since he helped Kevin Owens win the WWE Universal Championship. Unfortunately for fans of The Game, the rumors turned out to be false, as Hunter never showed up for Monday Night Raw this week. Sheamus and Cesaro put their Tag Team Championship gold on the line against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, Kurt Angle was announced as the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2017, and a very tasteful video package was aired to honor the passing of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka.

NOTE: The WWE Monday Night Raw results are detailed below, along with available video highlights and commentary.

WWE Monday Night Raw Results

The following will include the results of all the matches and segments from WWE Raw on January 16, which airs live from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the final week of 2016, Raw lost the “ratings war” with the blue brand for the first time since the separate rosters were established. However, SmackDown LIVE hasn’t won again since the new year. Will Stephanie McMahon’s show continue to defeat her brother’s show in the ratings this week, with help from Brock Lesnar, rumors of a Triple H appearance, and the expectations of Royal Rumble 2017 updates?

https://www.playbuzz.com/inquisitr/royal-rumble-match-2017

Brock Lesnar cleared the ring

After WWE dedicated the show to the memory of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and played a video package for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Roman Reigns made his way to the ring to open Monday Night Raw. As he was talking about losing the U.S. Championship last week and his Universal Championship Match at Royal Rumble 2017, he was interrupted by Paul Heyman. They were interrupted by Jeri-KO, followed by Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman. Finally, Brock Lesnar came out, and Sami Zayn jumped Strowman from behind, leading to the six men in the ring brawling while Lesnar looked on.

Brock eventually joined the foray, of course, and was the last man standing before Raw went to commercial break.

Enzo & Big Cass defeated Rusev & Jinder Mahal

In his first match back after a kayfabe injury, Enzo Amore pinned Jinder Mahal when Colin Cassady assisted with the Bada Boom Shakalaka. It doesn’t seem like Rusev’s feud with Enzo and Big Cass is over, however.

Ariya Daivari defeated Lince Dorado

With Jack Gallagher and Austin Aries providing guest commentary, Ariya Daivari was able to get Lince Dorado to tap out in this match. On 205 Live, Daivari will face Gallagher in an “I Forfeit” Match.

Gallows & Anderson defeated Sheamus & Cesaro by Disqualification

When Sheamus accidentally hit the referee — believing him to be one of his opponents — the referee was down and out immediately. As the action continued inside the ring, another referee made his way down and counted to three after Sheamus was hit by the Magic Killer. It looked like Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows were new Raw Tag Team Champions. The first referee got up and reversed the decision, however, awarding the match to the challengers by disqualification. Cesaro and Sheamus remain the champs.

Before the match, it was announced that both Cesaro and Sheamus would be entering the Royal Rumble Match, and the commentary team noted how that might impact their already contentious relationship.

Neville Attacked Rich Swann and Tony Nese

Before Rich Swann could even start his non-title match against Tony Nese, No. 1 contender Neville came out of the audience and attacked him from behind. When Swann’s scheduled opponent Tony Nese tried to join in on the beat-down, Neville tossed him out of the ring before continuing his assault on the WWE Cruiserweight Champion.

Big E defeated Titus O’Neil

As The New Day were cutting an in-ring promo about winning this year’s Royal Rumble Match, they were interrupted again by Titus O’Neil. After claiming that he was going to replace The New Day instead of join them, a match was set up between O’Neil and Big E.

With Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston at ringside, the stipulation for this match was that if Big E lost, he had to give up his spot in the 30-man battle royal to Titus. Fortunately for The New Day, Big E won and all three will compete in the Royal Rumble 2017 main event. The other stipulation was that if O’Neil lost, he agreed to never talk to The New Day again.

Charlotte Flair mocked Bayley

The Raw Women’s Champion came to the ring to cut an in-ring promo about her match against Bayley at Royal Rumble 2017. As Charlotte Flair mocked Bayley for being “just an average fan” like those in attendance, she showed old pictures of Bayley and even a few poems that she had written when she was younger.

Although things didn’t really get physical, Bayley eventually came out with a response, showing that Charlotte’s words weren’t ruining her spirit.

Cedric Alexander defeated The Brian Kendrick

Although Cedric Alexander broke off his kayfabe relationship with Alicia Fox a week ago, she came to ringside during his match with The Brian Kendrick and provided something of an assist for her ex.

WWE Raw: Alicia Fox
What is going through the mind of Alicia Fox? [Image by WWE]

The drama continued to build, however, as Alexander refused Fox’s attempt at a post-match hug and Noam Dar creepily watched the whole thing from the back with a huge smile.

Nia Jax attacked Sasha Banks

In a pre-recorded segment, Nia Jax attacked Sasha Banks as she warmed-up in the ring before Monday Night Raw. In an interview backstage during Raw, Jax said that the “hype is over” and that she “broke the boss.”

Kurt Angle announced for WWE Hall of Fame 2017

With the “Road to WrestleMania” almost under way, WWE announced that Kurt Angle would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of WrestleMania 33 weekend. Between now and April, several former WWE Superstars will be added to the list.

Jeri-KO and Braun Strowman defeated Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn

Very predictably, with the Royal Rumble less than two weeks away, the Monday Night Raw main event broke down into chaos before the show was over. The action continued long after Braun Strowman pinned Sami Zayn. Before it was all over, the brawl spread all the way up the ramp to the announce table, which would eventually be the landing space for Roman Reigns as he received a Powerbomb from WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens.

The above WWE Raw results have been corroborated by WWE’s official Monday Night Raw page.

RELATED REPORTS BY THE INQUISITR

Updated WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Card

  • The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Chris Jericho, The New Day, Cesaro, Sheamus, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Baron Corbin, and 15 others TBD — Royal Rumble Match
  • Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns — WWE Universal Championship Shark Cage Match
  • Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Bayley — Raw Women’s Championship Match
  • Rich Swann (c) vs. Neville — WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match
  • AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena — WWE Championship Match

WWE Royal Rumble 2017 will be the next PPV featuring stars from Monday Night Raw (although it will also include competitors from SmackDown LIVE). Fewer matches are generally scheduled for WWE’s annual January PPV, since the Royal Rumble Match can take upwards of 90 minutes, with the lead-in promos and post-match shenanigans. Royal Rumble 2017 will air live on Sunday, January 29, from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. As more information is confirmed, it will be updated at WWE’s official Royal Rumble preview page.

WWE HOF: Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle will get his WWE Hall of Fame ring in 2017 [Image by WWE]

Where To Watch WWE Monday Night Raw

The WWE Royal Rumble 2017 will air live on the WWE Network on Sunday, January 29 at 8/7c. The Royal Rumble Kickoff Show will begin at 7/6c.

Episodes of WWE Monday Night Raw air live on the USA Network at 8/7c. Replays of WWE Raw aren’t made available on the WWE Network until several weeks after the original air date. However, a 90-minute version of Monday Night Raw is available to stream on-demand the following day with a Hulu subscription.

[Featured Image by WWE]

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