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WWE Raw Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From Jan. 12
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE Raw on January 12.
With this week's show taking place in Düsseldorf, Germany, fans in the U.S. had a special start time of 2 p.m. EST.
Here's a look at what WWE advertised for Monday's show:
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's Raw.
Your New Tag Team Champions
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Raw opened with a recap of last week's show, with the primary focus being on the match between Punk and Bron Breakker. After the obligatory shots of people arriving at the arena, Sky and Ripley made their way to the ring.
The Eradicator said it was a long road to the titles, but they finally beat The Kabuki Warriors to claim gold. Sky said Asuka and Kairi Sane have no respect, but she and Ripley respect each other, and that is why they won.
Ripley said they were going to issue a challenge to any tag team, but before she could finish her sentence, Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez came out to stake their claim at a title shot. It didn't take long for Bayley and Lyra Valkyria to join the party.
This was a pretty standard "The new champions have multiple people wanting a title shot" segment. We've seen this kind of thing countless times before. It's an easy way to create multiple paths for the story to go.
Asuka and Sane showed up and pulled the champions out of the ring before a huge brawl ensued. Sky and Ripley recovered and cleared the ring. This was a decent segment, but it didn't make any of the challengers look like a real threat.
It's always good to make your champions look strong, but when you are trying to build a new feud, you need the challengers to look like they have the champion's number in one way or another. This segment failed to do that.
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
Je'Von Evans vs. Bravo Americano
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Last time in action: Je'Von Evans defeated Julius Creed (Main Event, Jan. 5), Los Americanos defeated The War Raiders (Main Event, Jan. 5)
One of the recent NXT call-ups was in action this week when Evans took on one-third of the Americano trio, Bravo. As usual, El Grande and Rayo Americano were by their partner's side.
Evans took control early and used his agility to keep Bravo off balance. He hit a series of high-flying moves that had the crowd cheering for him.
Rayo distracted the ref so Grande could hit a kick that allowed Bravo to take control. He hit a quick slam for a two-count before trying to ground Evans in a headlock.
The Young OG turned things around with a dive over the top rope, followed by a running knee strike. A few moments later, the OG Cutter got him the win.
This was a short match, but they made it entertaining with a handful of impressive spots. Evans looked great, but he was forced to retreat when all three masked men started attacking him.
If this match had more time and Bravo was allowed to wrestle his own style, it could have been the best thing on the show.
Result: Evans defeated Bravo
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
The Champion Speaks
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During a backstage moment, Adam Pearce was shown giving Paul Heyman a warning about Breakker, for if and when he arrived at the arena.
After a break, the world heavyweight champion came out to address the crowd following his successful title defense last week against Breakker.
Punk talked about being on the Road to WrestleMania and how anything can happen. He mentioned Cody Rhodes losing the WWE title as an example, but he said he plans to be the champion forever and is moving past The Vision.
It looked like he was going to make this a short promo, but Balor came out to interrupt before Punk could leave. He said he isn't waiting for the Rumble or Chamber to get his title shot.
Punk said he has been waiting for Finn to take his shot, but has been too busy playing video games and shining Morgan's shoes. He said he wanted to put the title on the line against Balor tonight, which got a loud pop from the crowd.
Balor said he wanted to wait until next week, when they are in his home country of Ireland, and Punk agreed, but said he will still be the champion after next week.
This was a pretty straightforward segment, but that worked to its benefit. This is a match a lot of people want, so they didn't need to take a complicated route to get there. Balor and Punk did a good job creating hype for this quickly.
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
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Kabuki Warriors vs. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria vs. Roxanne Perez and Liv Morgan
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Last time in action: Kabuki Warriors lost to Sky and Ripley (Raw, Jan. 5), Morgan defeated Valkyria (Raw, Jan. 5), Bayley defeated Perez (Raw, Dec. 19)
The triple threat tag match to find new No. 1 contenders for the women's tag titles was up next. Bayley, Asuka and Morgan started in the ring for their teams.
Asuka was the first one to tag out after a quick back-and-forth sequence, but the others quickly followed, so all three fresh partners were in the ring.
Sane, Valkyria and Perez had a much more physical exchange. It eventually spilled out of the ring, where Sane took out all five of the other women with a huge dive from the top turnbuckle to the floor.
All six of these women are known for being good performers, so it came as no surprise that they worked well together to put on a fun match.
Sane was definitely a standout, both for her in-ring ability and for her charisma. Even when she wasn't the legal competitor, she was doing something to make the match more entertaining.
All six women participated in several spots involving multiple competitors, but the action got away from them and the ref had to remind Asuka that there was no tag when Sane tried to pin Morgan at one point.
Other than that awkward moment, this was a solid performance from everyone involved. Morgan scored the win for her team by pinning Sane with Oblivion.
Result: Perez and Morgan won to become the new No. 1 contenders
Grade: B-plus
Notable Moments and Observations
Raquel Rodriguez is Not Playing Around
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Cole conducted an interview with Raquel Rodriguez on the stage. He said he was surprised to see her stoop so low as to attack an injured champion last week. Rodriguez said she is tired of waiting around and getting screwed out of the title.
Stephanie Vaquer showed up and security made Rodriguez leave, but she returned a few moments later and attacked the champion again. She slammed her injured leg into the concrete floor before finally leaving.
This was a short segment that repeated the same story beats as their previous encounter, but it also kind of worked. Having Rodriguez continually attack an injured champion will do one of two things.
We will either see Rodriguez end this story as the champion, or it will lead to Vaquer looking like a fighting champion who can retain the title even when the odds are stacked against her.
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
Bronson Reed and Austin Theory vs. Dragon Lee and Penta
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Last time in action: Reed and Theory defeated Punk and Rey Mysterio (Raw, Dec. 19), Dragon Lee and Styles lost to The Usos (Raw, Dec. 29), Penta lost to Solo Sikoa (Raw, Nov. 24)
Lee and Penta teamed up to take on The Vision's Reed and Theory in the next matchup. Heyman and Logan Paul were in their team's corner.
The Smooth Operator and Theory started for their teams with a quick lockup. Penta taunted the young star by strutting across his back at one point, and he followed up with a facebuster. Theory responded with a kick to the face before tagging in Reed.
Lee came in and the luchadores used their speed to take control of The Auszilla with some double-team offense. By the time the show cut to a break, Theory and Reed were back in control.
Penta and Lee are both gifted performers, Reed is one of the best big men in WWE, and Theory is a young star who has yet to reach his full potential, so there was more than enough talent in the ring to make this a good match.
It followed a predictable pattern, but the way it ended was surprising. As Lee was celebrating at ringside after a successful move, Breakker appeared out of nowhere to spear him out of his boots.
Breakker and The Vision continued their assault despite Pearce trying to stop them. He got in Breakker's face and it took everyone in The Vision to hold him back from beating up the GM.
Heyman tried to talk everyone down, but Pearce told them all to get out of the building. When the show returned, Pearce suspended Breakker indefinitely.
Result: Lee and Penta won by DQ
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
AJ Styles vs. Gunther
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Last time in action: Styles and Lee lost to The Usos (Raw, Dec. 29), Gunther defeated R-Truth (Raw, Dec. 29)
This week's main event saw Styles take on Gunther. Styles took the way Gunther bragged about retiring Cena personally, which led to this match.
The crowd was singing as the match began. Styles put Gunther in the corner and delivered a stiff kick that sent The Ring General to the floor to recover. The German fans were loud, but it wasn't always easy to tell what they were chanting.
Gunther tried to outwrestle Styles, but another kick to the thigh and a dropkick sent him out of the ring, which led to The Phenomenal One hitting a slingshot forearm over the top rope.
It seemed like Styles had his number until one huge chop sent him crashing from the apron to the floor as the show went to a break.
Styles tried work over his leg and make him tap out with a Calf Crusher when the show was back, but Gunther managed to make it to the bottom rope to force a break.
Unsurprisingly, these two veterans put on a great show. They made sure to sell all the big spots while also keeping a brisk pace that made both men look like tough competitors.
This is a combination that could have been a great world title feud during Gunther's reign, but they only ever fought on house shows.
Gunther broke out of the Calf Crusher again by slamming Styles' head into the mat several times, but The Phenomenal One locked it in again. Styles thought Gunther tapped and released the hold, but the ref didn't see it.
Gunther hit a low blow while the ref had his back turned, which led to him hitting a powerbomb for the win. The way this ended was a little confusing since the camera didn't show Gunther tap, but we got a better angle of it after the bout was over.
Result: Gunther defeated Styles
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
The Final Word
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Monday's Raw from Germany was a pretty down-the-middle episode, but it had a couple of highlights worth noting.
The women's triple threat tag match was a lot of fun, and Evans had an entertaining encounter with Bravo earlier in the show.
However, the main event was the best thing on the show. Even with a wonky ending, Styles and Gunther put on a great performance that proved WWE should have paired them up for a feud sooner.
With Saturday Night's Main Event and The Royal Rumble right around the corner, WWE is about to enter its busy season. Let's hope it has some surprises in store along the Road to WrestleMania.
Grade: B
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