WWE RAW Results – January 4, 2020

Written by Liam Stewart • Published 5th January 2021
WWE Raw Results

Keep up with all of tonight’s WWE RAW results as the show emanates from the WWE ThunderDome inside Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida with a special edition of WWE RAW -Legends Night!

Check out the results from last week’s RAW!

Tonight’s Results:

  • The New Day defeat The Miz & John Morrison
  • AJ Styles defeats Elias
  • Peyton Royce and Lacey Evans defeat Charlotte Flair and Asuka
  • Matt Riddle defeats Bobby Lashley
  • Lucha House Party defeat The Hurt Business
  • Randy Orton defeats Jeff Hardy
  • Drew McIntyre retains the WWE Championship vs. Keith Lee
  • Goldberg vs. Drew McIntyre set for the 2021 Royal Rumble Match

WWE RAW Results and Analysis provided by ITRWrestling writer Liam Stewart

MizTV with The Miz & John Morrison, Teddy Long returns.

  • The Miz run downs the shows and legends in attendance whilst Morrison does poor impersonations of each legend including Torrie Wilson, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair
  • Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton is announced by The Miz for later in the show
  • The first guest of the new year on MizTV is The New Day – Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston
  • The New Day state that this is no longer MizTV and is now New-Day-Talks
  • Woods states that New-Day-Talks is like a cook out and The Miz and Morrison are not invited
  • As Miz attempts to regain control, Woods and Kingston take turns impersonating The Miz and Morrison
  • Comedy reigns for the opening ten minutes, with The New Day running through several sketches and mocking The Miz’s interview skills
  • Teddy Long tells Miz and Morrison they will face-off against The Undertaker however, Adam Pearce reminds him of Survivor Series
  • The former SmackDown GM states he has a back up plan, it’s a tag team match playa

Analysis: This opening segment was fun, hokey and incorporated a legend into the mix. I feel like that is going to be the running theme of the episode and as long as they are all as enjoyable and entertaining as this segment then we are in for a treat. It is worth pointing out that at this point there has been zero mention of what happened between Bliss and Orton which is questionable given the show went off air with a small woman possibly being burnt alive…

The New Day [Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston] defeat The Miz and John Morrison via pinfall in 6:45

  • During the opening exchanges of the match both teams pivot back and forth for control of the momentum and ring early on.
  • Kingston and The Miz exchange a series of fluid counters including a SOS transitioned into a Boston Crab attempt by Mr.Money in the Bank.
  • Morrison blindsides Woods gaining control for The Dirt Sheet, however, a mistimed standing Shooting Star Press attempt by ‘The Prince of Parkour” ensures The New Day regain the advantage quickly.
  • Eventually Miz and Morrison manage to gain control with an assist from a well hidden piece of interference from Miz on the outside.
  • Commentary put over the threat of Miz’s Figure Four, stating that he was taught it by ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair
  • Morrison attempts a quick pin utilising his feet on the ropes, however, Kingston prevents the pin and sets up Woods to connect with the Shining Wizard to pick up the win.

Analysis: Technically this was completely fine, two very competent teams putting on a perfectly serviceable TV match. However, this was missing the same key ingredient a lot of RAW is missing each week. Stakes. Outside of momentum there was nothing to gain from winning this match. The New Day were always going to get a rematch for the titles and having this match to make it appear that it isn’t just a rematch clause is equally as uninspired as utilising a rematch clause is itself.

Randy Orton confirms he did not burn Alexa Bliss alive last week

  • Orton states that as much as he wanted to, he could not bring himself to do to Alexa what he did to The Fiend
  • He says that he hates himself for showing compassion, hates himself more than ever.
  • Continuing Orton asks the audience to imagine what he could do if he channeled that anger towards others.
  • ‘The Viper’ wraps up stating that it’s time to remind some old friends why he is ‘The Legend Killer’

Analysis: I am in two minds about this promo segment, one one hand it is pretty uninspired to conclude the intense and show stopping performance of last weeks closing events…with a simple interview. It would be like if the end of Infinity War was just a title card saying who dies in Endgame and who does not, it’s just meh. However, the tease at the end that Orton may be devolving back into the Legend Killer character again was a very fun tease and I am excited to see who he interacts with.

AJ Styles [w/ Omos] defeats Elias [w/ Ryker] via pinfall in 6:55

  • Prior to the match Angel Garza is shown winning the 24/7 Championship before interacting with Alicia Fox, Sargent Slaughter, Mickie James and Tatanka
  • Omos is now called or at least the pronunciation has changed again to Omas
  • AJ Styles joins Bobby Lashley and Daniel Brian in entering himself into the WWE Royal Rumble Match
  • In a direct continuation of their match from last week [see last weeks WWE RAW Results for more] Elias dominates Styles using his superior physicality and size + weight advantage
  • Styles is caught by a jumping knee from Elias in a direct counter to the Phenomenal Forearm
  • The former WWE Champion hits The Styles Clash to pick up the win, Ryker attempts to blindside Styles with Elias guitar however Omos comes out of nowhere and destroys the instrument with a well timed Big Boot

Analysis: think something RAW should look to work on in 2021 is the unjustified continuation of matches week to week. Styles vs Elias happening under the exact same pretences as last week for very little reason If the rematch is explained/justified its easier to engage with. Much like the opener earlier today this match was technically solid and had good moments but there was no reason for the rematch and no stakes to it either, Styles is in the same position after winning twice and Elias has not lost anything as a result of his defeats.

Peyton Royce and Lacey Evans defeat Charlotte Flair & Asuka [w/ Ric Flair] via pinfall in 9:01

  • Prior to the match ‘The Queen’ enters herself into the 2021 Royal Rumble Match
  • Asuka makes her way to the ring following Charlotte and Ric Flair’s pyro filled entrance
  • Following an Ad-Break Randy Orton is shown confronting The Big Show who he aggravates and calls a coward for refusing to get physical
  • The match initially sees Royce and Evans utilise underhanded tactics and referee distractions to dominate Flair
  • Eventually Charlotte makes the tag to the WWE Raw Women’s Champion who cleans house immediately and gets a near fall on Royce
  • A strange turn is added to the matches story as commentary discuss rumours that Lacey Evans and Ric Flair were getting a little too friendly backstage earlier in the night
  • This theme is then discussed further as Evans is flirting with Flair on the outside before using the miscommunication between Ric and Charlotte to blindside the Women’s Tag Team Champion with a double leg take down.
  • The distraction on the outside allows Royce to take down Asuka from behind before her and the former Forgotten Sons Valet commence a two-on-one beatdown of ‘The Empress of Tomorrow’
  • Evans counters a Hip Attack attempt from Asuka into a back body drop before attempting to kiss Ric Flair only to receive a baseball slide from Charlotte
  • However, Ric Flair blinded by lust for Lacey Evans trips Charlotte Flair up as she hits the ropes allowing Peyton Royce to get a quick roll-up victory over one half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions

Analysis: Asuka once again an after thought whist remaining WWE Raw Women’s Champion, furthermore if we needed a way to get a pair of challengers for Asuka and Charlotte I am not sure Ric Flair sex angle was the way many people wanted it to happen. I hope this plays out over the show and ends with Charlotte taking out her father and possibly planting the seeds of a more aggressive edge to ‘The Queen’.

Matt Riddle defeats Bobby Lashley [w/ MVP] via pinfall in 8:24

  • Lashley is blindsided by a riled up Riddle who bullrushes the almighty and leaves him shaken before the bell
  • Both men exchange a flurry of strikes before Riddle utilises a triangle arm bar to dump the United States Champion over the top rope
  • Bobby Lashley wipes Riddle out with a big fireman’s carry into the LED turnbuckle coating on the outside
  • The match starts at a slower pace however eventually we get a superb flurry of strikes and intense offence from both performers as the match progresses towards the finish
  • A Dominator is counter into the Final Flash Knee by Riddle, however, Lashley kicks out at one
  • Lashley locks in the Hurt Lock, however, as the referee moves to avoid Riddle kick as he attempts to escape Riddle taps
  • The referee did not see the tap and therefore Riddle is able to take advantage of Lashley breaking the hold and picks up the win via roll-up

Analysis: This was by far the best match on the show so far, Riddle and Lashley shared a fantastic chemistry most likely due to their matched past in Bellator and UFC. There was a fantastic series of counters, flurried offensive exchanges and unpredictable offence. I thought the finish although communicated poorly was creative and helped progress the feud, this was Lashley’s first defeat in several months and Riddle out witting the business men of The Hurt Business suits his character perfectly.

Dana Brooke defeats Shayna Baszler via pinfall in 2:01

  • Before the bell Mandy Rose is jumped by Baszler from behind who lays her out before being confronted by Dana Brooke
  • Baszler continues to target Brooke’s injured knee however whilst locking in the rear-naked Brooke falls back to get a quick pinfall
  • Mandy Rose makes her way back into the ring hitting a bicycle knee strike onto Baszler to end the segment

Analysis: I don’t fundamentally disagree with this result, we are a long way from dominant Shayna and even when she was her losses came in this manner. The segment was booked as if she didn’t care about the actual result but rather inflicting pain. I just hope that we see that this loss matters and that Dana and Mandy are rewarded for their victory, otherwise this was pointless.

Randy Orton defeats Jeff Hardy via pinfall in 12:01

  • Orton who over the previous month had been arguably a justified heel in his hatred of The Fiend has devolved into a full blown maniacal heel
  • Throughout the show Orton has been threatening to attack a range of legends including Big Show, Mark Henry and Ric Flair
  • Hardy is immediately at a disadvantage as Orton sticks him with a thumb to the eye before hitting a series of back body drops onto the announce table
  • In a beautifully uncomfortable moment Orton wrenches at both of Hardy’s ear lobes in a throw back to their 2018 TLC feud
  • Hardy hits a big outside dive to get back into the match before hitting a series of strikes and a Whisper in the Wind
  • It is not enough however as Orton hits the RKO for the win before confirming he will be entering the 2021 Royal Rumble Match

Analysis: This was a classic Orton match, rough, aggressive and a bit slow. I struggle to keep attention outside of the big moments such as the fantastic visual of the ear wrench. What I think was most disappointing however, is that despite the lead up to all of this focusing around Orton harassing legends he just won. There was no involvement from those he threatened it was a strange choice and meant that in a long match not a lot happened and once again, this result simply doesn’t matter.

Lucha House Party [Metalik and Dordado] defeat The Hurt Business [Alexander and Benjamin] via pinfall in 4:04

  • LHP are shown celebrating before their match with former Diva’s Champion Melina
  • Metalik starts things off against Benjamin hitting a beautiful dual rotation ‘Rana before receiving a big powerbomb for his troubles from the former US Champion
  • Benjamin and Alexander are unable to take advantage however as they begin to argue over who should be the legal man and who should get the victory
  • This allows LHP member Lince Dorado to get a quick roll-up victory before Alexander and Benjamin nearly come to blows.

Analysis: Above anything else I think it is a massively questionable deiscion to have Metalik in a match like this just two days before he competes against Santos Escobar for a major WWE Championship. Furthermore, from a storyline POV Metalik defeated The Miz last week and there was seemingly no continuation of this victory meaning that there was no momentum gain from it on WWE Raw at least.

The previous paragraph was written before the result and I think its important to keep it in because it shows that us wrestling fans don’t always know what we think we do and sometimes WWE make sensible decisions

Drew McIntyre defeats Keith Lee for the WWE Championship via pinfall in 21:01, Goldberg challenges Drew McIntyre for the title at the WWE Royal Rumble

  • The match feels like a big match however appears to be lacking the spice or flavour thats needed to make it special, be that a crowd or a real hatred or rivalry between the two competitors
  • Keith Lee asserts his dominance over McIntyre by immediately topping him in a range of test of strengths and dominating the faster paced McIntyre.
  • A huge forearm from the former NXT Champion wipes McIntyre out and sends him to the outside
  • The Limitless One continues to gain momentum and confidence as he body checks the WWE Champion over the barricade and onto the concrete below
  • Despite Lee’s early dominance McIntyre is slowly able to fight his way back into the match after wriggling out of a bearhug attempt and hip tossing the big man as the legends look on
  • At around the halfway point of the match we get a huge momentum switch at McIntyre puts Lee through the announce table
  • The Powerbomb is almost missed by a questionable camera cut that occurs at the moment of impact, great spot bad visual
  • McIntyre connects with the Future Shock DDT however much to Mickie James’ surprise reaction, Lee kicks out at two.
  • Both Superstars ascend to the top turnbuckle as Lee pounds down n Mcintyre’s back
  • Keith Lee and Drew McIntyre hit a picture perfect Spanish Fly off the top rope!
  • McIntyre connects with the Claymore kick after picking up the three-count and retaining via pinfall
  • Goldberg’s music hits and he marches down to confront Drew, he says Drew has everything except respect
  • Goldberg has challenged Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble as the show cuts off

Really easy to consume episode of WWE Raw this week, nothing dragged on longer than it needed to and was filled with a range of nice throwback moments. With all the moments that were speculated regarding the main event, The Miz’s cash in, Keith Lee’s Hurt Business alliance or Sheamus involvement, nobody predicted Goldberg. What a genuine shock.

Slightly disappointing to see the legends used in a very minimal and almost pointless manner but one must consider that this may be due to a range of external factors such as COVID procedures and testing factors.

Cedric Alexander and Matt Riddle are two rising stars on WWE Raw and they are a delight to watch each week for the WWE RAW Results. I must point out that WWE just dropped the Alexa Bliss fire angle completely and handled it in a uninspired interview segment and that was a major let down.

I cant pretend I want to see Goldberg vs. Drew McIntyre, like at all. I am intrigued to see what happens next week however and that is an improvement to previous weeks.