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‘WWE Monday Night Raw’ Results: Undertaker Enters Royal Rumble — Roman Reigns Loses United States Title

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 11:35 PST, Jan 9, 2017

With less than three weeks remaining before Royal Rumble 2017, WWE returned to the site of WrestleMania 30 for this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw, which was advertised to feature the return of Shawn Michaels, a message from The Undertaker and a handicap title match pitting Roman Reigns against Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho. Two big names joined the Royal Rumble Match and the site for WrestleMania 34 was officially announced.

WWE Monday Night Raw Results

The following includes the results of all the matches and segments from WWE Raw on January 9, which aired 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. The return of Goldberg to WWE Raw last week was apparently just what the red brand needed, as Stephanie McMahon’s show defeated Shane’s show in the first week of 2017. Will The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and a Roman Reigns title match be enough to win the ratings war for the second week in a row?

Roman Reigns defending the United States Championship against Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho [Image by WWE]

Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman confronted Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley

As Commissioner Stephanie McMahon was giving General Manager Mick Foley his 2016 performance review backstage, they were interrupted by Seth Rollins. The Architect informed the Raw management duo that he was officially entering the Royal Rumble Match. Braun Strowman interrupted to say that he wanted a match with Goldberg or Brock Lesnar. Instead, Rollins picked a fight with Strowman.

Stephanie also asked Mick Foley about The Undertaker showing up, as the General Manager was reportedly responsible for starting the rumors. Foley simply told McMahon to trust him when it comes to The Undertaker. Later, about an hour into the program, when the Dead Man still hadn’t showed up, the Commissioner told the General Manager that he had one hour to produce The Undertaker in the middle of the ring; Foley’s entire performance review would depend on it.

Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins interrupted Roman Reigns vs. Jeri-KO

Before the United States Championship Handicap Match could really get under way, Braun Strowman came to the ring to attack Roman Reigns, who laid him out at the end of last week’s Raw with a double-team spear, along with Goldberg. Before long, Seth Rollins came to the ring to save his former teammate from The Shield, and they chased Strowman, Owens and Jericho out of the ring with steel chairs.

Stephanie McMahon came out to say that the U.S. Title Match would be rescheduled for later in the show, while Braun Strowman vs. Seth Rollins would happen right away.

Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman ended in Double Count-Out

As the fight between Strowman and Rollins made its way through the WWE Universe at ringside, neither wrestler was able to get back to the ring before the referee reached a ten-count. After the match, Rollins was only able to fend off Strowman from further assault by using a chair to keep him at bay.

Nia Jax attacked Sasha Banks and shoved Charlotte Flair

As Bayley and Sasha Banks were talking about the Raw Women’s Championship Match scheduled for Royal Rumble 2017, they were interrupted by the champ, Charlotte Flair. The three of them were joined soon after by Nia Jax. As Nia attacked Sasha’s knee, Charlotte took out Bayley. Then, to show she isn’t friends with anyone, Jax grabbed Charlotte and shoved her.

Later, Bayley and Sasha would ask Stephanie McMahon for a tag team match against Charlotte and Nia next week. Instead, the Commissioner booked the match for this week.

Jack Gallagher defeated Drew Gulak

With Austin Aries replacing Byron Saxton on commentary, Jack Gallagher defeated Drew Gulak in Cruiserweight Division competition. After the match, as Charly Caruso interviewed Gallagher in the ring about his feud with Ariya Daivari, the Extraordinary Gentlemen invited Daivari to “parley” on 205 Live.

Shawn Michaels was interrupted by Rusev, Lana and Jinder Mahal… then Enzo and Big Cass

Shawn Michaels came to the ring and initially talked about the Royal Rumble event returning to San Antonio twenty years after HBK won the WWE Championship at the very same event. He then started to talk about his movie, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, which he shamelessly plugged and the audience reluctantly sat through. It wasn’t long before he was interrupted by Rusev, Lana and Jinder Mahal. And it wasn’t long after that before Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady joined them. Eventually, after everyone was given ample time to cut in-ring promos, a match was set up between Jinder Mahal and Big Cass, with everyone else remaining at ringside.

Big Cass defeated Jinder Mahal

The WWE is clearly holding off on the big pay-off match between Big Cass and Rusev. Cassady got a fairly decisive win in this match, and HBK was allowed to hit Rusev with Sweet Chin Music at ringside.

Neville defeated Lince Dorado

In another competitive Cruiserweight Division match-up, Neville’s dominant streak continued. As he tried to assault Lince Dorado after making him tap out, WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann made the save.

Sheamus defeated Luke Gallows

With Cesaro and Karl Anderson both providing guest commentary for this match, it wasn’t a big surprise that things got physical between them, causing a distraction for their tag team partners in the ring. After Anderson defeated Cesaro last week, the Raw Tag Team Champions evened the score when Sheamus got the pinfall victory over Gallows.

The Undertaker announced his entry into the Royal Rumble Match

Not long after Stephanie McMahon psyched-out the WWE Universe by killing the lights before coming to the ring, The Undertaker really showed up to take over the segment that was currently being run by Steph and Mick Foley. He announced to the world that he will be entering the Royal Rumble Match at the PPV, and that “no one controls The Undertaker.” It would appear as though this proclamation was meant to clarify that he’s a permanent “free agent” and isn’t a part of the Raw or SmackDown brand.

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Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax defeated Sasha Banks and Bayley

Even though Sasha Banks wasn’t at full strength for this match, she and Bayley didn’t back down from the challenge. Unfortunately for Banks and Bayley, Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax were just too much, as Jax pinned Bayley to pick up the win for their team.

The New Day rejected Titus O’Neil — Kofi Kingston defeated Titus O’Neil

After failing to impress The New Day last week, Titus O’Neil apologized for attacking Xavier Woods and asked for a second chance. After replaying a video of Titus messing up during his NXT competition days, they told him he could redeem himself by completing the keg-carrying task successfully.

After a disagreement over the outcome, Titus stepped into the ring for a one-on-one match with Kofi Kingston. O’Neil lost to a member of The New Day for the second week in a row.

Chris Jericho pinned Roman Reigns for the U.S. Championship

Defending the United States Championship in a Handicap Match against Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho was just too much to ask of Roman Reigns. Less than three weeks before Royal Rumble 2017, Y2J becomes the new U.S. Champion, and Roman’s chance to become a double-champion at the Royal Rumble has vanished.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXihZnf1TdU

Updated WWE Royal Rumble 2017 Card

  • The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Seth Rollins, Chris Jericho, Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, The New Day and 20 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
  • 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). 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.

Last time the Royal Rumble was at the Alamodome, Shawn Michaels faced Sycho Sid for the title. [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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