Let's get started with the first Raw of the year and get this off to a great start:
-The Bloodline holds the show hostage-Or do they, as this gets shut down rather quickly as the authority shuts them down and removes them then gives them matches throughout the night. It gets things off to a hot start, plays off last week's loss on Smackdown seeking revenge, and provides a key setup for the night's action with people the group has targeted trying to fight back and get revenge. Rather than repeat what happened two weeks ago with The Bloodline running wild the whole show unchecked, this works rather nicely.
-Bianca Belair vs. Alexa Bliss-So this was a big mess in just about every sense of the word. First, there was zero chemistry between them as Bianca wanted to go faster and Alexa, trying to sell, kept making her wait so they seemed to be off, which should have been the first sign they didn't need to go through two sets of breaks. Then there are the people at ringside with the Uncle Howdy masks which officially signals the return of possessed Alexa from the Fiend era which I'm not looking forward to as it just feels lazy to return her to the gimmick once again when something else could be easily inserted to cause the turn. Then comes the awkward acting with the freak-out after the screen flashes which made it quite comical more than anything especially with the referee beat down and Bianca being taken out at ringside. I don't mind the action of it all which is all quite good but the way we get there isn't that appealing.
-Theory Speaks-Another 'New Year, New me' spiel that speaks nicely to his harder character and sets up more heat for later tonight.
-Elias vs. Solo Sikoa-A highly enjoyable match, with enough plunder spots to make it seem Elias had a shot but did seem like a match to highlight Solo's bad-assery taking all sorts of punishment while still going strong which is great to see. Nothing groundbreaking but still fun to see.
-Kevin Owens/Street Prophets vs. The Bloodline-An engaging tag match that shows off the exploits of six of the best on the roster for some fun. Montez being distracted by Bianca was a little odd, he looked more like someone unwilling to tag with KO than someone broken up by an attack on his wife but it got made up for with some solid action here. The Bloodline win is the right call to keep them going strong and set up their fight for control of the company and their post-match shenanigans that get interrupted by Drew and Sheamus is a solid way to set up that match on Friday while evening the odds for the numerous Bloodline run-ins over the past few months.
-Dexter Lumis vs. Chad Gable-A solid TV match, just more of Gable giving off the skills to carry anyone to a workable outing. Dexter looked more human than at any time previously and he won by smarts with the rollup than anything else which is an interesting touch. More of that, please.
-Bayley in the ring/Becky Lynch (and Mia Yim) vs. Io Skye and Dakota Kai-Seems like a weird in-ring segment to have them in the ring to get immediately get run down with Becky arriving to remind her of how they started in the same city which is all this seemed to be going for. The idea of trying to call into question Bayley's intensity to keep fighting and having to hide behind Io and Dakota is fun and sets up a solid reason for the just-announced handicap match but this feels like the storyline is getting skipped around to get to this point when some back-and-forth content could've set this up better.
As for the match, this was pretty solid and booked rather nicely. Becky starts out strong and fiery as she has the hot start before Io and Dakota take control being the proper team as they should. Don't get the lack of heat from the crowd who didn't even get the Mia Yim arrival to turn into a true tag-team match as there was some solid action here, especially once she arrived after the commercial break. A great ending sequence makes for a great ending to this big as it furthers the storyline while integrating Mia into this as a fine backup to give her something to do.
-Seth Rollins Speaks-Nothing much to add, plays off Austin's remarks from earlier while again fueling the match later tonight.
-Alexa Bliss Speaks-Now, this is what I meant earlier as there's something here they could've leaned into more than returning the Bray Wyatt influences to her: she hung out with her long enough that she wants the title back. Short, simple, to-the-point, and far more intriguing than before. I'll still give it a shot but it's got some work to do to win me over.
-Dominik is out of the slammer-So they're just going all in on this now with Dom being the awkward, silly comedy heel who thinks he's hard and I'm all for it. Rhea has apparently screwed a personality into him and I'm into it, let's see what happens now that they're getting more pieces in motion for this.
-Seth Rollins vs. Austin Theory-Some fun stuff here, they got time to work and showcase their solid in-ring chemistry that highlights Seth more than anything who can join the upper echelon of workers in the company. A solid series of back-and-forth encounters, some fine near-falls, and believable counters with the brief bits about the knee damage to cause some doubt which plays into the defeat rather well, overall being a great main event.
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