WWE Raw: 3 Questions from the January 9 Show

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:46 p.m. ET

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What were the biggest questions Raw left behind after the January 9 edition?

Raw featured a number of returns and big moments this week. The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels would return to the ring to hype his upcoming debut movie. Undertaker would also make his return after creative played with the audience for a while. While those two returns are huge, it goes without saying that the 3-hour format would hurt the show this week as well.

Raw was much more packed this week. Braun Strowman made his presence felt yet again. Chris Jericho finally won the title that evaded him all this while. In the process, we would witness a very fragile and beaten Roman Reigns in the ring. Team Kevin and Chris showed more unity than ever before and now they hold both men’s singles titles on Raw.

Elsewhere on the card, the New Day continued to interact with Titus O’Neil. The Cass – Rusev rivalry continued painfully. Cruiserweights found a fair amount of air time. Both Jack Gallagher and Neville made the most of this. However, despite so much happening on the show, the three-hour format made for painful viewing at times. Raw continued to feature the authority figures prominently, even in the Undertaker return segment. That was totally unnecessary and dragged the segment. What were the biggest questions of the night though? Join us as we analyze the three hours of Raw for questions.

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3. What Did Rusev Do to Deserve This?

Rusev’s roller coaster career continued its downward fall on Raw. This has been the trend all throughout the Bulgarian Brute’s career. He debuted on the main roster and made short work of his foes. Rusev won the US title and then ran into a wall. A wall named John Cena. From the peak of his heel run, Rusev would fall down the card after losing to Cena at Wrestlemania. What followed were meaningless angles and feuds with Ziggler/Summer Rae/Lana and finally the League of Nations.

However, he would mount a comeback and win the prestigious title yet again. This time, Rusev’s downfall began after feuding with Roman Reigns. Fans would witness that a steel chain and the accolade couldn’t get the win for Rusev. Reigns went over Rusev cleanly in a mediocre feud that had ample intensity in the ring, at times. Following this, Rusev’s roller coaster career began dropping down the card faster than ever before.

That now brings us to the question. What did he do to deserve this kind of treatment from creative? The old monster heel Rusev is merely a memory and Lana is just a shadow of her former self. If being paired up with Jinder Mahal wasn’t bad enough, Rusev would feel the band this week. Yes, he got a sweet chin music from Shawn Michaels. Let’s take a list here. Not the list of Jericho but the list of former stars who beat Rusev down:

This is after neglecting the league of nations episode from WrestleMania. Seriously creative, what did Rusev or Lana do to deserve this? Creative would be better of ending the Rusev – Enzo and Cass feud at the earliest.

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2. Where is the Undertaker Headed to?

The Undertaker would make his return to Raw in the same city his legendary streak ended. Much like his appearance at SmackDown’s 900th episode, the dead man raised more questions than provide answers. Undertaker would announce his entry into the royal rumble. However, that was just the beginning. The Phenom made it very clear that he was in it for himself and that the brand wars do not appeal to him.

That raises plenty of questions, though. What does the Undertaker have in store for us? This could very well be the Deadman’s final Royal Rumble appearance. Will he go on to win it all and headline Wrestlemania this year? If that be the case, where would the Undertaker go? Would he go after the Universal title or the WWE title? Whatever the dead man chooses, expect a wild reaction from the WWE Universe.

A brief moment during the segment showed Braun Strowman watching the proceedings on a television backstage. Could this be a sign of things to come? A year ago, nobody would have wanted this match. However, Strowman has come a long way and the crowd’s reaction to this little tease is proof of how far he has come as a performer.

If the Phenom doesn’t win the Rumble, what awaits him? He could pick a Wrestlemania feud with any of the stars from Raw and SmackDown. However, who would it be? Will it be Braun Strowman? Will it be John Cena? Would it even be Sting?

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1. Will Roman Reigns Win the Title at Royal Rumble?

The main event of Raw featured Roman Reigns defending his US title against team Chris and Kevin. Reigns took the fight to his opposition even before the bell rang. A desperate Reigns would try to lock Jericho in the shark cage to even the odds. However, Kevin Owens was there to help his best friend.

From there, the heels systematically destroyed Roman Reigns. Every time the big dog mounted a comeback, the heels were there to cut him off. Finally, after a code breaker followed by a pop-up power bomb on the apron, Reigns was down for good. Jericho would pin the big dog to grab his first US title win.

However, does this mean Roman Reigns could very well win at the Rumble? We had reported rumors about Reigns potentially being in the Rumble match itself. Now that he has dropped the US title that did neither the title nor the title holder any good, is Kevin Owens’ title reign about to end at Royal Rumble?

Or are creative in the process of rebuilding Roman Reigns’ character? Perhaps dropping the title and losing his Universal title match could set a heel turn in action much like Ziggler. Jericho now holds the United States title. He could very well use that while being locked up in the shark cage to help KO. Imagine a scene where the referee is down and out and when Jericho drops the title into the ring from above. KO grabs it and blasts Reigns with the US title to retain the Universal title at Royal Rumble. Would that be the case eventually?

Are creative looking for ways to redesign Roman Reigns’ character? Reigns took quite the beating this week. He looked more human in the process. Perhaps, creative is trying to recreate the magic that had fans cheer him when he beat the hell out of Triple H.

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