'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Royal Rumble is only six days away, and naturally, the red brand was looking to build up its competitors with one of the biggest shows of the year coming upon us. It was an eventful RAW, with a lot of the stars shining. There was a title change, too.
Who got the most and least out of it? Let's take a look at the results.
Winner: Andrade
It's nice to see Andrade finally getting used properly on the main roster, nearly two years after his arrival. He and Rey Mysterio have always done great work together and this was no different. The ladder match was widely advertised and was the biggest selling point for tuning in to RAW last night. It didn't disappoint us.
Zelina Vega made her presence felt, allowing Andrade to send Mysterio through a ladder, climb up, and take the title down for the win and a successful title defense.
Afterward, Humberto Carillo came out to save Mysterio, signifying that he and Andrade will soon have a match. That should be a good one, too.
Winner: Aleister Black
Ever since his move to RAW, WWE has done a great job in making Aleister Black feel like a big deal. He defeated a local jobber in seconds, hitting the Black Mass immediately. The match thus put over his finisher as one of the most formidable moves in the company, aside from putting over Black himself.
Suddenly, Aleister Black looks like a dark horse to win the Royal Rumble or eliminate Brock Lesnar. While that still probably won't happen, can you rule it out at this point? He's been one of the best-handled competitors in the company these last few months, showing that the brass is high on him.
That we have to consider it is alone a sign of huge progress.
Winner: Ricochet
Paul Heyman came out to do his usual promo, but he was interrupted by Ricochet, who said he wasn't scared of Brock Lesnar. Brock Lesnar laid him out for his efforts, but either way, this might be a sign of progress for Ricochet.
While Ricochet was surprisingly the most successful NXT call up for much of 2019, he has been lost in the shuffle for the last few months. I'm sure that he would put on a good match with Lesnar if given the chance, or at the very least have a good confrontation in the Royal Rumble with him. We'll just have to see where it goes.
Winner: Buddy Murphy
While it was surprising to see the titles change after the Viking Raiders had a confrontation with AOP earlier, Buddy Murphy definitely got the best of this situation. He went from looking despondent to now winning his first main roster title alongside no less a figure than Seth Rollins.
After struggling to get on TV following his call up from 205 Live last April, there's no denying that this is major progress. Buddy Murphy has arrived for real.
Loser: Rusev
The feud must continue. That's all too often WWE's MO. And once again, Rusev was humiliated. Lana's distractions eventually allowed Bobby Lashley to hit a spear against Rusev and defeat him. Once again, Rusev cannot get any modicum of revenge on the man that stole his wife.
I have to keep asking these questions - is Rusev's contract coming up? Is this a burial on the way out? Because that's sure what it looks like. You can be sure that Rusev isn't going to advance in the company anytime soon at the very least, that's for sure.
Beyond that, this feud has been bad from the beginning and for some mind boggling reason, it's not only continuing, despite Rusev's clear inferiority at this point, but it's taking up these main event slots. Now, that's understandable in the sense that WWE puts it there because RAW's viewership always drops significantly in the third hour, but still, you'd think that they'd try to keep viewers around by putting on something good. This is not that.
