10 Things Fans Need To Know About This Week's WWE Raw (Jan.9, 2023)

For the second week in a row, we had an average episode of WWE Monday Night Raw. It definitely hasn't been the best start of the year for the company. However, even if it's been a little slow, there are still some interesting things happening on the red brand.RELATED: Every Multi-Time WWE Royal Rumble Winner, Ranked Worst To BestThis Monday, MVP and Bobby Lashley talked business, and Uncle Howdy said hello to Alexa Bliss. Kevin Owens continued to build momentum heading into his match against Roman Reigns, The Judgment Day won an Undisputed Tag Team Championship shot against The Usos, and much more. Without further ado, let's take a look at 10 things fans need to know about this week's WWE Raw.

10 Kevin Owens Defeated Baron Corbin

This week's edition of Monday Night Raw began with an exchange of words between Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin and his manager JBL. The heels reminded Owens that Corbin is the last wrestler who could pin Roman Reigns and said Owens, on the other hand, has no chance against The Tribal Chief. They then decided to settle things in the ring.

It was a good match, just what you would expect from two solid performers. It was obvious that KO was going to win to build momentum for Royal Rumble, but Corbin still showed good offense, and it was an entertaining match. After the bout, The Usos and Solo Sikoa attacked Kevin Owens, but the latter fought back and got the last laugh.

9 Uncle Howdy Confronts Alexa Bliss

Alexa Bliss cut a promo saying that she doesn't regret what she did to Bianca Belair last week, that she hadn't felt this good in a long time and that she's the face of evil now. She also said she was going to go after the Raw Women's Championship, but Uncle Howdy interrupted her, first on screen and then physically appeared, though he didn't do anything more than that.

8 Bayley Beat Michin

Bayley decided to take on Michin, or Mia Yim, on her own, so she told Dakota Kai and IYO SKY to go backstage. It was a decent match, nothing special, although it was evident that Bayley and Michin have potential to deliver a great match under the right circumstances. In the end, Bayley beat Michin, but she cheated by leaning her legs on the rope.

7 Seth Rollins, Austin Theory & Bobby Lashley Announced Themselves For The Royal Rumble

Austin Theory was cutting a promo saying that he beat Seth Rollins and that the Now is forever. He also called himself Austin "Freakin" Rollins. Rollins then came to the ring. Theory said he was going to enter the Royal Rumble match and win it and then beat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. Rollins responded by saying that his knee wasn't 100%, but it will be for the Royal Rumble. Later, as Rollins was leaving, Bobby Lashley appeared, attacked Theory and also announced his participation in the Rumble.

6 Rhea Ripley Defeated Candice LeRae

Candice LeRae said in an interview that she is looking forward to the Royal Rumble match, but Rhea Ripley showed up to tell her that she was delusional, as she had no chance of winning the match. LeRae then challenged her to a match, which was not a good idea. The Nightmare won the match in dominant fashion, displaying lethal offense, as usual. It is worth mentioning that Ripley has not lost a singles match since May 30, 2022.

5 MVP Met With Bobby Lashley

MVP visited Bobby Lashley in the locker room and, firstly, asked him if things were okay between them and Lashley said yes. Then MVP proposed reuniting The Hurt Business, to dominate Monday Night Raw again.

He said Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin acknowledged their mistakes and are willing to get back in business. However, The All-Mighty turned down the offer. But then what about Omos? He hasn't appeared on TV in several weeks.

4 Johnny Gargano Is Injured

Unfortunately, during the episode it was revealed that Johnny Gargano suffered a shoulder injury and will be out of action for a few weeks. Gargano himself later confirmed the injury on his Twitter account, but hopes to recover in time for the Royal Rumble match. Johnny Gargano's main roster run has been pretty disappointing, and now this injury only makes things worse.

3 Solo Sikoa Defeated Dolph Ziggler

Solo Sikoa and Dolph Ziggler went one on one this Monday. It was a very good match, pretty clean and with a couple of outstanding spots. Few wrestlers can make their opponents look as good as Dolph Ziggler, and that's just what happened here. Ziggler put Sikoa over, making him look very powerful, although Ziggler also came close to winning with a Zig Zag. Sikoa now has nine undefeated singles matches on the main roster.

2 Dominik Mysterio Returned

After being arrested, Dominik Mysterio returned to Monday Night Raw with a new attitude. He is supposed to be a man now, even his new theme song says so. His experience in jail is supposed to have made him a meaner and tougher man, but Dom still has a lot of character work to do, as he still looks like a helpless kid.

On the other hand, The Miz said that his sources informed him that Mysterio was in prison for a just few hours, insinuating that Dom's survival story was false.

1 The Judgment Day Earned A Tag Team Championship Shot

The main event of this week's episode of Monday Night Raw was a Tag Team Turmoil match for a Tag Team Championship shot. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Damian Priest) eliminated The OC (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson), the team of Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander and Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis).

Finn Balor was unable to compete after a Splash from Otis, so Dominik Mysterio had to step in. Then the Street Profits came in and stole the show, both Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford had standout performances. However, the effort wasn't enough and in the end Dominik Mysterio (with help from Mami) pinned Ford for the win. Overall, it was a very fun match to watch and the final stretch was amazing.