In case you missed the show, the following is the WWE Monday Night Raw results, highlights and headlines from the show on February 7th.
NXT Results, highlights and headlines from last week’s show
WWE RAW Results 2/7
RK-Bro best Alpha Academy in the final of their Academic Challenge
Alpha Academy def. Street Profits
Promo Package for Lita’s career highlights sets up her vs. Becky Lynch at Elimination Chamber
MVP and Bobby Lashley Promo: Bobby Lashley will leave the elimination chamber still as your WWE champion, no matter if Brock is there or not
Alexa Bliss Therapy Session: She hands Lily away
AJ Styles def. Damian Priest
Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens are still believing in each other… for now
MizTV: The Mysterio’s come to hype up WWE2K and set up a rematch against the Miz from last week
Dominik Mysterio def. The Miz
Bianca Belair def. Niki A.S.H.
Dana Brooke and Reggie run away from the 24/7 championship crowd, and get weirdly romantic
Kevin Owens def. Austin Theory
Lita confronts Becky Lynch, lays her out
Randy Orton gives Matt Riddle a pump up speech
Kevin Owens begs for a chance at WrestleMania, on behalf of the fans in Texas
Dew Drop def. Liv Morgan
Riddle def. Seth Rollins via DQ, Kevin Owens beats up Riddle to set up tag match
Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens def. RK-Bro
WWE RAW Highlights From 2/7
The Academic Challenge Continues to Be a Masterclass
Dumb comedy it may be, but the final part of the academic challenge continued to make me laugh, and better yet, made me care about the RAW Tag Team Championships. Riddle and Randy Orton are over like rover, and Chad Gable especially is a great arrogant foil to the duo. The quiz bowl itself had a couple of highlights, between getting the crowd to cheer for John Elway or of course leading up to a joke about RK-Bro being suspiciously knowledgeable about grams and ounces.
But my personal highlight was Otis whispering “I’m the man” suddenly into the microphone, it made me chuckle. I’m glad they didn’t stretch this challenge any longer, but it had a good run and this is the most important Alpha Academy or even the RAW tag division has felt in a long time. The short match between AA and the Street Profits afterwards was a great exclamation point on the tag teams in RAW currently to close this beginning portion of the show.
AJ Styles vs. Damian Priest
This match was awesome in the ring, in unsurprising form for AJ Style and Damian Priest. AJ Styles was fighting to show his top form going into the elimination chamber match, while Damian Priest was trying to overcome a recent skid as US Champ. The action was great, and for a 10-minute match, this did about all you could ask.
A last-second reversal into a Phenomenal Forearm got Styles the win, and momentum heading into the chamber match. It’s a little weird to have Priest lose as US champ of course, but for now, it’s tolerable because they seem to be telling the story that this is leading to a more aggressive personality change for Priest rather than his recent Jekell and Hyde persona. Hard to complain about a fun, short barn burner like this one.
The KO Show
Kevin Owens is really working a masterclass right now. His backstage conversation with Seth was a plead for his best buddy to have his back and the genuine pain in his voice when Seth said he believed in Owens and he couldn’t quite believe it was perfect. Then, a great showing in the ring was followed by more drama, as he was shocked to learn he still wouldn’t be added to the elimination chamber match. Yes, it was hilarious that he was arguing on behalf of Texas, but this is such good TV. The main part of RAW that makes it watchable every week is the Seth and Owens dynamic, and at this point, they have so many options.
While the WWE title seems like it won’t be there’s to fight over, a tag team title run would be stellar at this point. Even a non-title mania match would be good, but I hope they see there’s more meat on the bones here than that.
WWE RAW Lowlights From 2/7
Spooky Bliss has a Long Road Ahead
The therapy sessions trying to fix the broken state of Alexa Bliss have been meh so far, but this week showed that there might be plans for these to stretch all the way to WrestleMania. Tonight’s segment focused on Alexa Bliss giving her replica Liy doll back to the good doctor and… that was it. Then later, we got a much more “Goddess” like Alexa, but still, it was another two-minute segment. A two-minute segment tops, and while it shows some progress made, it’s really slow.
If this all ends with the return of goddess Alexa, it may have been worth it, but for now, these are just pointless. We could’ve told the same story in a month, rather than what may turn into a few months of two-minute shorts. Besides, the return of Alexa Bliss will only retain its luster for so long, and this may be pushing the realm of reasonability. Please flip the switch and bring her back sooner than later.
What Was the Point of Rollins vs. Reigns at the Royal Rumble?
Two weeks after the Royal Rumble, and the DQ finish to the Seth Rollins-Roman Reigns Universal Championship match looks more pointless than ever. When it was basically a knockout win for Reigns, I held out hope that it might lead to Rollins being introduced to the Brock Lesnar vs. Reigns Mania match, but no. Instead, it all meant nothing, and Rollins has his eyes on the WWE title once again.
Listen, it was obviously a fill-in match for Lesnar since he was WWE champion now, but could they really have not pinned Rollins? His story still works, his character wouldn’t have suffered. But instead, it only validates that their Rumble match was a colossal waste of time and potential from those two stars.
WWE Highlights
With the recent release of Shane McMahon from WWE, backstage rumors still swirl about heat against Shane, as now reports have surfaced that WWE officials have warned AEW not to sign Shane because of personality concerns.
With many released WWE stars becoming available to compete this week, rumors have swirled about upcoming debuts in AEW and elsewhere. Tony Khan has promised a “forbidden door” debut this Wednesday, and names like Keith Lee and Shane Strickland are at the top of the list for possible debuts, along with Athena (formerly Ember Moon) as well. In any case, many of these beloved former WWE stars may appear on TV sets abroad soon in shocking fashion.
Tonight’s big moments set up major title feuds. The men’s elimination chamber match for the WWE title had several matches building up to it, but especially a good babyface promo from Lashley in his hometown declaring his focus is still on Brock Lesnar. Lita had another great promo with Becky Lynch, before hitting her with a moonsault to lead up to their title match at the chamber. And of course, RK-Bro continued their entertaining streak, winning the academic challenge against Alpha Academy gaining a Tag Team title shot as well. Overall, a pretty good night for RAW.
