Bliss and Howdy, Lashley Returns, Dominik Does It For Judgment Day

This week's Monday Night Raw emanated from Alabama with rumors that Bo Dallas might be backstage. The show kicked off with Kevin Owens getting a win and Dominik coming through for Judgment Day in a big way. Lashley returned, Alexa Bliss got Uncle Howdy'd and Seth Rollins and Austin Theory declared themselves part of The Royal Rumble. Here are your winners and losers for Raw, January 9, 2023:

Winner/Loser: Kevin Owens vs. Baron Corbin

This wasn't exactly a stellar way to start off Raw as the segment sort of dragged to kick off the three-hour program, but the long-term booking made sense as Corbin and JBL interrupted Owens to brag about how Corbin was the only person to pin Roman Reigns in the last three years. Owens was extremely bored with the verbal diarrhea (as were most fans) and took a nap on the corner turnbuckle. Offended, Corbin and JBL called out Owens who said they might as well have a match. That led to a singles bout that Owens predictably won.

Owens was attacked after the match by The Usos and Solo Sikoa. He managed to get the better of the group with a chair as his weapon of choice and The Bloodline were sent packing. Backstage, WWE official Adam Pearce told The Usos they had to leave and Sikoa had other work to do later. This was on OK segment that moved Owens' program with Reigns forward a bit, but this wasn't the most exciting opening.

Winner: Uncle Howdy Interrupts Alexa Bliss

WWE showed highlights of what Alexa Bliss did last week to Bianca Belair. When they cut back to the live feed, Bliss was standing on the announce table and discussed how good she finally feels to have found herself as the face of evil. She said she is in control and plans to take Belair's Raw Women's Championship. Uncle Howdy then interrupted and asked via video if Bliss really felt like she was in charge. He then came out and stood in the rampway laughing as WWE cut to a commercial.

This was a nice development both in terms of Bliss' storyline, Uncle Howdy's relationship with her, and where all things Bray Wyatt might go. It now brings into focus why the Wyatt symbol has been showing up in Bliss promos for the past few weeks.

Loser: Bayley Defeated Mia Yim

This match was OK, but the takeaway was how much was missing from the segment. Mia Yim was without her O.C. faction mates and Damage CTRL wasn't part of the proceedings. The match felt like a throw-in to get the three hours of content filled and there wasn't much riding on the match or the result. Both competitors did what they could to make the match entertaining and it was fine for what it was. The stakes just needed to be higher or there needed to be a reason for the contest.

After the match, it was announced that Johnny Gargano had suffered an injury and would be out of action for a while.

Winner: Bobby Lashley Returns

Any questions about whether Bobby Lashley was coming back as a heel were answered on Monday night. While Seth Rollins and Austin Theory verbally went at each other and both declared their entry into this year's Royal Rumble, Lashley made his way out to the ring to end the segment. He easily tossed Theory out of the ring and declared himself for the Rumble as well. Saying his suspension was lifted, Lashley was clearly playing the role of a babyface and prompting the crowd to cheer along with him as he said everyone in the Rumble was in trouble.

What does this mean for The Hurt Business and MVP, who appeared to be working on something with Adam Pearce last week? Could we get a new version of the group and could the group try and target Lashley? Time will tell. MVP approached Lashley backstage later in the night and tried to get Lashley back in the group and revealed his talk with Pearce was to get The Allmighty reinstated. Lashley said he was good with MVP, but not ready to be part of the faction again. MVP kept the invitation open.

Winner: Solo Sikoa

As Corey Graves said, "Keep stacking up the bodies." Solo Sikoa picked up another strong win this week on Raw when he took out Dolph Ziggler in a singles match. WWE is really going all-in with the Samoan Spike and it's great to see. It's a simple, yet dominant move that Sikoa can offer variations on as he delivers it. Kind of like an RKO or a Diamond Cutter, it can come out of nowhere, as it did when turned a powerbomb into the spike for the win.

Ziggler did his best, but he was no match for the bigger Bloodline member. It seems like Ziggler is going to have to answer to Mustafa Ali who wasn't happy that The Showoff turned down a chance to compete in tag team turmoil so he could get his hands on Sikoa. Clearly, that was the wrong choice and Ali is bound to be bitter about it.

Winner: Dominik "The Gangsta" Mysterio Wins It For Judgement Day

WWE is absolutely nailing this version of Dominik Mysterio. Fresh out of the slammer, he was rolling with his crew on Monday, dressed like Konnan and spouting quotes like he'd spent the last 20 years in jail. Pretending he's dangerous when he's not is hilarious is so entertaining and you can tell Judgment Day is up for playing along. The line, "Now I know how Martha Stewart feels," might have been the best line uttered on Raw in months.

During the tag team turmoil match, Dominik had to step up to the plate when a splash from Otis knocked Finn Balor out of commission. He was hesitant to do so, but he came through and reversed Montez Ford up, using the ropes and Ripley's help to get the win. Judgment Day will go on to face The Usos for the WWE Tag Team Championships. It was a big night for Dom.

Raw Match Results:

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