WWE RAW recap and reactions: Running the gauntlet before the Elimination Chamber

The latest episode of WWE RAW served as the go-home show for the Elimination Chamber event to be held at Saudi Arabia.

Rhea Ripley in action on WWE Raw. (Image: WWE)
By Shayne Dias | Feb 15, 2022 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The latest episode of WWE RAW came to fans live from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Unsurprisingly, the focus was on the Elimination Chamber premium live event.

This was evident throughout the show, but perhaps the most fun part of it was the gauntlet match featuring the five women announced for the WWE RAW women’s championship inside the Chamber.

And just in case you didn’t know this already, Rhea Ripley is a big-time star. And she proved it with a good showing in the gauntler match, as she played the role of the ‘Iron woman’.

She first easily squashed former tag partner Nikki ASH, before Liv Morgan took her to the limit but still lost. But it was the arrival of Doudrop that really changed the dynamics.

The Scottish star beat on Ripley and pushed her to the absolute limit. The Aussie won with a Riptide, but was clearly spent. And then arrived Bianca Belair.

The former RAW women’s champion was the one who pinned Ripley, and gave her props afterwards. But the win was more than just for momentum; Belair will now enter the Chamber match last, which is a massive advantage for the EST.

This was simple, effective and told a good story through wrestling. More of this, please?

RK-Bro take another L

This wasn’t a good week for Randy Orton, despite teammate Riddle throwing a Bro-ga Party to celebrate their win over Alpha Academy in the Academic Bowl.

No, Orton was too busy focusing on Seth Rollins to attend the party. But he still ended up losing to Rollins in the main event anyway.

The story here was that Orton wanted to avenge Ridde’s loss to Rollins, which makes sense. And he might just have done it too, were it not for those pesky Academy kids.

When they entered, Riddle came out too in order to even up the numbers. But Chad Gable and Otis laid boots on him, which distracted Orton enough for Rollins to take advantage.

So now Rollins has wins over both Riddle and Orton. And Orton is not someone who takes losing lightly. Is this a tease for dissension and a break-up?

Guess we’ll only know next week.

WWE Raw: best of the rest

  • The show opened with WWE champion Bobby Lashley cutting a promo, which everyone interrupted. Brock Lesnar came out last, cleared house and hit Austin Theory with an F5 for good measure. Wonder who’s the favourite going into the Elimination Chamber?
  • The Street Profits beat the Dirty Dawgs in a standard tag team match. What’s more notable was Tommaso Ciampa being on commentary as follow-up to Dolph Ziggler’s NXT appearance.
  • Kevin Owens cut a promo insulting the city of Dallas, Texas. Gee, where could that possibly be leading?
  • Damian Priest beat AJ Styles to retain his United States championship.
  • Alexa Bliss is… cured apparently? And she will be the final woman in the women’s Elimination Chamber match.
  • Omos beat Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander in a handicap match.
  • Becky Lynch and Lita had a surprisingly forgettable contract signing segment. But the match is now official… I suppose.
  • Reggie beat Dana Brooke to win the 24/7 championship.
  • Alpha Academy beat The Mysterios in a tag match. The Miz and Maryse were on commentary and Miz attacked Rey Mysterio because they have a match this Saturday.

This was a fine episode. Not good, not bad… just fine.

Grade: C