Tag: Riddle

Date: February 7, 2022
Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO 

Show Recap —

Jimmy Smith announced that the first hour of Raw on Syfy tonight would be commercial-free. Tonight’s show will have appearances by Lita and WWE Champion Bobby Lashley here in his hometown, as well as Riddle vs. Seth Rollins.

Academic Challenge: Quiz Bowl — Randy Orton & Riddle defeated Chad Gable & Otis

Chad Gable, who received pretty good heat, interrupted Kevin Patrick’s introduction. Gable explained the rules and said the first team to five points would win.

Patrick ran down the nine categories. Gable chose “U.S. Presidents” and the question asked who was the first to be elected to office with a college degree. Gable said he knew all about degrees thanks to his Master’s degree and told the fans not to boo education. Gable called George Washington a dumb-dumb before correctly guessing John Adams. 1-0 Alpha.

Riddle chose “Biology” and corrected guessed that an octopus has three hearts. 1-1. Gable chose “Greek Mythology” and correctly guessed that Icarus flew too close to the sun. 2-1 Alpha. Orton chose “Cartoons” and Riddle correctly guessed that Michelangelo was the Ninja Turtle that used nunchucks. 2-2. Gable was offended by the question.

Orton said Otis should answer the next one. Otis chose “Geography” and correctly guessed that Texas was the biggest of the 48 continental states. 3-2 Alpha. Otis said if it was the state was the lowest IQ, it would be Colorado.

RK-Bro chose “Pop Culture” next and the question was about the Baldwins. Neither of them knew the answer and Orton incorrectly guessed Alec Baldwin. Gable guessed it right to steal the point. 4-2 Alpha.

Gable asked for “Film & Movies.” Gable got it wrong as Otis kept saying, “ham” (which was a clue). Riddle correctly guessed that Hamlet is the Shakespeare play that has been adapted the most. 4-3 Alpha.

Orton asked for “Sports” and the question asked which quarterback threw the most touchdowns in team history. Orton knew the answer but let the Denver crowd help him correctly guess John Elway. 4-4. Gable wasn’t happy. The crowd told him that he sucked.

The last question was “Metric Conversions” and asked how many grams were in an ounce. Gable got it wrong. Riddle was about to answer but Orton said he’d take it and told Riddle he’s not the only one that bakes, bro. Orton correctly guessed 28 grams. RK-Bro win the Quiz Bowl and earn a tag title match.

Gable was pissed. Orton and Riddle bragged before they left. Gable whined and fell to the floor as the buzzer repeatedly went off.

The Street Profits entered and rubbed it in. Gable said they were about to get their asses kicked. Otis knocked down Montez Ford from behind. (We were about 22 minutes into the show by the time this was done.)

Non-title match: Raw Tag Team Champions Alpha Academy defeated The Street Profits (5:36)

Angelo Dawkins almost had it won after giving Gable a Silencer but Otis broke up the cover. Ford knocked Otis out of the ring and wiped him out with a flip dive. Dawkins and Gable exchanged counters until Gable caught him in a rollup for the pinfall win.

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There was a Lita video package.

Even though they said the first hour would be commercial-free, there was a Syfy ad for one of their shows followed by a trailer for WWE2K22.

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Bobby Lashley and MVP segment 

MVP introduced Bobby Lashley the way Paul Heyman introduces Brock Lesnar. The hometown crowd gave Lashley a standing ovation. MVP ran down recent events and the crowd booed the insinuation that Lashley only beat Lesnar because of Roman Reigns.

MVP said it should have been declared Bobby Lashley Day after his win but instead, they found out that he’d have to defend his title inside the Elimination Chamber. MVP said Lesnar did deserve credit for winning the Royal Rumble and deserved to face Reigns at WrestleMania. However, it was pure fantasy to think that Lesnar would take Lashley’s title at the Chamber.

MVP didn’t want to discredit the other Chamber competitors. He called AJ Styles and Seth Rollins two of the best to have ever done it, while Riddle and Austin Theory were the future of the company. But none of them compared to Lashley who was the baddest monster of them all.

Lashley insulted Lesnar, bringing up how infrequently he defended the title and wondered when was the last time he even wrestled on Raw. Lashley looked forward to pinning Lesnar once again. When Lesnar wakes up in the hospital, he could look forward to wrestling Reigns while Lashley went on to main event WrestleMania.

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Alexa Bliss segment

The psychiatrist admitted that Alexa Bliss and the replica Lilly looked good together (Bliss appeared to be in a good mood). He asked her to hand over the toy. She did but began crying. There was cheesy music playing in the background as they faded to black.

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AJ Styles defeated US Champion Damian Priest in a non-title match (4:58)

They had a back-and-forth match. After a strike exchange, Styles hit a Pelé Kick which resulted in Priest collapsing on Styles for a nearfall. Priest knocked Styles off the top rope as he went for a Phenomenal forearm but as Priest ran off the opposite rope, Styles hit a great-looking Phenomenal forearm for the pinfall win.

The crowd liked Styles more than Priest and popped for the finish. Priest turned on his angry face after the match. (So they’re still teasing a heel turn for Priest.) 

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They announced a Women’s Elimination Chamber match with the winner earning a Raw Women’s title match at WrestleMania. The competitors so far are Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Doudrop and Nikki ASH. One more wrestler is still to be determined.

There was an NXT commercial.

Seth Rollins approached Kevin Owens as he warmed up. Owens said he would beat Theory tonight and they would have no choice but to put him in the Chamber match. Rollins acted like he was on Owens’ side but Owens didn’t believe him.

(The “commercial-free” first hour of Raw was very talk-heavy which I’m sure was deliberate. Of course, the second hour is starting with…)

[Second Hour]

Miz TV with Miz & Maryse and guests Rey & Dominik Mysterio

Miz introduced their guests Rey and Dominik Mysterio who received a good reaction. Rey basically accused Miz of cheating to win last week and Miz took offense. The crowd called him a cheater, too. Miz said Edge and Beth Phoenix cheated in their match and it never bothered anyone when Eddie Guerrero cheated. Miz said it was the Mysterios’ own fault that they lost last week.

Miz was offended that Rey got an opportunity to qualify for the Chamber while he didn’t. Miz noted that he was Mr. Money in the Bank and Rey said he cheated to win that, too. Miz said he beat Drew McIntyre and Rey again said he cheated to win. Miz ranted at the crowd for not getting enough credit. Miz thought he or Maryse should be on the cover of the video game, not Rey.

Dominik got in Miz’s face and told him to show his father some respect. Miz was amused and called for a rematch. Dominik accepted. Miz noted that Dominik was much taller than Rey and said, “are you sure you’re not Eddie’s son?” The crowd chanted for Eddie. Dominik decked Miz.

(There’s been way too much talking so far but I enjoyed this more than I thought I would and the crowd was into it.)

Dominik Mysterio (w/Rey Mysterio) defeated The Miz (w/Maryse) (1:40)

Maryse blatantly tripped Dominik a minute into the match. The ref told them not to call for the bell and instead tossed Maryse from ringside. As the ref told her to leave, Rey tripped Miz for real this time which led to Dominik using a schoolboy for the pinfall win. (Byron Saxton called this the biggest win of Dominik’s career.)

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Austin Theory was shown speaking with Vince McMahon in his office.

Bianca Belair defeated Nikki ASH (3:59)

Nikki targetted Belair’s leg and applied a single leg crab. Belair came back with a fallaway slam, body slams and a delayed vertical suplex for two (while still selling her leg). Nikki hit a tornado DDT for two. Belair kicked Nikki’s head into the ring post before hitting a KOD for the pinfall win.

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R-Truth, Tamina and Akira Tozawa were shown running through the back. They unknowingly ran right past Dana Brooke and Reggie. Brooke thanked Reggie for everything he’s done for her and she kissed him on the cheek. He asked her what that meant and she said it meant that they were friends (the crowd expressed their disappointment in that response). They hugged and teased kissing on the lips but they didn’t. They eventually ran off upon seeing the 24/7 crew coming in their direction. 

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Kevin Owens defeated Austin Theory (9:05)

Theory tried driving Owens back-first into the steel steps like he did last week but Owens fought him off and hit a senton off the steps which led to break.

Owens nailed a cannonball followed by a splash off the apron. (Corey Graves was surprised to hear that the fans were cheering Owens.) Owens went for a stunner but Theory countered into a back suplex for two. Owens hit a rolling fireman’s carry off the top which really popped the crowd. He tried a senton but Theory got his knees up.

However, Owens followed soon after with a stunner for the pinfall win. This felt like a pretty decisive win for Owens. The crowd was really into him, too.

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Riddle told Orton how excited he was to wrestle for the tag titles. Orton told him he had a huge opportunity to main event WrestleMania on top of that, but also had to focus on Rollins tonight. Riddle seemed focused. He left. But then he came back and told Orton they should have a party next week. Orton told him to focus on tonight.

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There was a video on Olympian Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee who Bianca Belair recently had the opportunity to meet.

[Third Hour]

Veer Mahan is coming.

Lita/Becky Lynch segment

Lita entered. She was excited to be on Raw in Denver. She was thrilled she got to be in the Rumble with the likes of Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey, Bianca Belair, and Rhea Ripley. Lita began speaking about Becky Lynch until Lynch interrupted.

Lynch mentioned Rousey running scared before saying it was great to hear her teenage idol say such nice things about her. She declined Lita’s challenge last week but there was a reason. Lynch idolized her growing up. On top of that, a lot of people turned up their noses at her when she arrived in WWE, but Lita didn’t and she was grateful for that. The crowd cheered.

Lynch said there would be no Becky Lynch without Lita but now that there was a Becky Lynch, there should be no Lita. The title was the most important thing to her and this was the most important time of the year. She had to get rid of friends and the fans to keep her title and had no problem doing that. She’d also have no problem putting down Lita.

Lita admitted that Lynch was the odds-on-favourite but she had no problem being the underdog. She was a punk-rock, dumpster-diving kid who chased her dreams, but it was the fans who helped her become a 4-time champion. The fans chanted her name while she lived her dream. She hasn’t had a title shot in 15 years but the fans still support her and she liked her odds.

Lita said Lynch should worry about how she’d feel when Lita became 5-time champion. Lynch said the fans were all Lita would ever have.

Lynch attacked but Lita fought back and gave her a Twist of Fate and moonsault.

This was pretty good.

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Owens approached Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville (who had her arm in a sling thanks to Rousey). Owens asked them if he’d be in the Chamber thanks to his win. They said no — the qualifying match was last week. Owens couldn’t believe it. They were pretty dismissive and Deville said Owens may not even be on WrestleMania.

Owens said they can’t take this from him or the people of Texas because Texas loved him. Owens said he became Universal champ in Texas and he had his first Mania in Texas. He knew everything about Texas — the cowboy boots, the rodeos, the bulls (he pointed at his bull tattoo). He told them that he needed this and asked them to think about this.

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Doudrop defeated Liv Morgan (8:04)

A Doudrop crossbody led to break one minute into the match. Doudrop remained in control until Morgan came back with a dropkick off the middle rope, followed by a Codebreaker for two. Doudrop followed with a facebuster for two. Morgan went to the middle rope but Doudrop yanked her down and hit a Vader Bomb for the pinfall win.

This was short thanks to the commercial break but the action was good while it lasted.

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Alexa Bliss segment #2

The psychiatrist said Bliss cried when she handed back the doll but she remained calm and that was progress. Bliss also recalled getting cut off by another driver recently but she didn’t retaliate. Someone else took her parking spot but she remained calm and got another spot instead.

On top of that, an evil creature of a woman jumped in front of her in line at the grocery store. He asked what this creature looked like. Bliss basically described Lilly before saying she chucked her down in the aisle before hitting her with a loaf of bread. The guy said they had more work to do.

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Next week on Raw on Syfy:

• Damian Priest defends US Title against AJ Styles
• Brock Lesnar appears
• RK-Broga Party

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Rollins told Patrick he planned on main eventing WrestleMania as the champion.

Riddle defeated Seth Rollins via DQ (7:42)

Rollins powerbombed Riddle into the barricade barely a minute into the match and that led to a break. Rollins remained in control until Riddle came back with a Pelé kick, forearms and a suplex. Riddle followed with a PK before wiping out Rollins with a dive.

Owens ran out through the crowd and attacked Riddle for the abrupt DQ. Orton ran down and laid out Owens with an RKO. Graves wondered what might happen next.

Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens defeated Riddle & Randy Orton (8:09 of TV time)

Jimmy Smith couldn’t believe what we were seeing, a tag team match.

Owens was down and Rollins tried to get him back into it by smacking him on the shoulder. Owens screamed at him and told him he just got hit with an RKO (which was funny).

Orton gave Rollins a backdrop onto the announce table. Riddle tagged in but so did Owens and he cut off Riddle with a superkick. They worked over Riddle until Riddle dodged a Rollins frog splash before hitting Owens with a knee strike.

Orton made the hot tag and hit Rollins with clotheslines, a powerslam, and draping DDT (Owens ate a powerslam too). Rollins blocked an RKO as Riddle tagged himself in. He knocked down Owens and Rollins with kicks but Rollins came back with consecutive elbow strikes. Rollins followed with a curb stomp for the pinfall win. (The finish felt a bit flat.)

Orton gave Owens an RKO following the match. Rollins laughed and walked away.