Videos:
Seth Rollins vs. Sami Zayn – Match Clip (WWE YouTube)
Match Video (Full) – Coming This Week

Seth Encounters Mick Foley Backstage
Seth is getting ready for a match and wrapping his wrists when he encounters Raw GM Mick Foley. Mick looks sullen and Seth immediately attributes the GM’s expression to Mick having just finished a phone call with Stephanie McMahon. Mick informs Seth that he will be facing Sami Zayn in a match tonight on Raw. A confused Seth inquires about why he is facing Zayn when they were just partners the previous week. Mick Foley repeats that the Rumble is every man for himself and Stephanie wishes that each Rumble spot be earned. Then comes the bombshell, if Zayn wins the match he will receive Seth’s rumble slot. A determined Rollins thinks the situation is funny and is confident that he will not be sitting this WrestleMania out.

Sami Zayn def. Seth Rollins (Seth Rollins loses his Rumble spot to Sami)
The mantra of this year’s Royal Rumble Match is “Friend vs. Friend, Foe vs. Foe, Every Man For Himself.” That was put to the test on Raw, where Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn — two guys who, if not friends per se, certainly don’t have beef — went head-to-head over The Architect’s Royal Rumble Match opportunity. It was a stipulation arranged by Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon … and sealed, in part, by her husband.

Zayn turned in a strong performance, though he struggled to close the deal against Rollins down the stretch of the contest. Fortunately for him, the sound of Triple H’s theme song stopped The Architect in his tracks. Rollins, who has been chasing The Game since his former mentor cost him the WWE Universal Title, immediately turned his focus to the stage, and Zayn reacted quickly with a small package. The darndest thing about all this? Triple H never even showed up. And now, Rollins’ Road to WrestleMania just got that much more uncertain. Your move, Rollins. (This Paragraph is credit WWE.com)

Seth Stalks Around Backstage
An understandable angry Rollins is storming through the backstage area yelling for Triple H and declaring “somebody knows something around here!” When he hears his name called, he turns to face Mick Foley once again. Mick claims to know nothing of the swerve tonight that cost Seth his match. Seth continues to yell and scream then storms off camera. Mick Foley tries to say he’ll get to the bottom of the situation (in a very unbelievable way).

Videos:
Brock Lesnar Confronts Rumble Participants – Opening Segment (WWE YouTube)
Zayn Tries to Fire Up Roman & Seth – Backstage Segment (WWE YouTube)
JeriKO & Strowman vs. Seth, Roman & Sami – Match Clip (WWE YouTube)
Tag Match Video (Full)
Opening Segment & Locker Room Backstage Segment (Full)

The Royal Rumble Competitors Meet Again
With the Royal Rumble just two weeks away and the ranks of the Rumble Match itself starting to fill up, Raw began with the biggest meeting yet of potential favorites to prevail in the manic match. What began as an address from recently dethroned United States Champion Roman Reigns quickly turned tense with the arrival of WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens, current U.S. Champion (and new Grand Slam Champion) Chris Jericho, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman and, finally, Brock Lesnar.

But it was the sudden return of Sami Zayn — taken out by Strowman two weeks ago — that lit the proverbial fuse on the whole thing, instigating an all-out brawl. And Lesnar ultimately had the last word in said brawl when he stormed the ring and annihilated Rollins and Zayn (Strowman opted out of a fight) before delivering one last F-5 to Reigns.

(Main Event Match, Braun Strowman & Jeri-KO def. Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn & Roman Reigns)

Both squadrons of Raw’s six-man main event spent the lead-up the match planning for the long game in the Royal Rumble Match (Sami Zayn even attempted a Shield fist bump), but the lingering lesson of the bout may well be that the 30-man melee is, at heart, anyone’s game. The bout broke down before the bell even rang and continued to do so at various intervals throughout the contest, with Roman Reigns often taking the worst of the punishment from Jeri-KO (KO in particular) and Braun Strowman.

Seth Rollins gave his team some relief by beating back Jericho and helping chop Strowman down to a knee with Reigns, but unfortunately, even a weakened Strowman was too much for legal man Zayn — The Monster Among Men snuffed out Sami’s Helluva Kick attempt and won the match with a Runnng Powerslam. But when he tried to put Sami Zayn through the announce table, Rollins and Reigns came to the rescue, instigating a massive brawl that ended with Owens powerbombing Reigns through the announce table. The Rumble Match may be anybody’s game, but as far as the WWE Universal Title Match goes? For now, it’s advantage: Owens.

Videos:
Seth vs. Braun Strowman – Match Clip (WWE YouTube)
Seth & Strowman Interrupt the US Title Match – Match Clip (WWE YouTube)
Match Video (Full) – Coming This Week

Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman (Double DQ)
Roman Reigns’ odds of retaining his United States Title went from rough to near-insurmountable over the course of about five minutes in the beginning of Raw when Braun Strowman came to the ring to exact revenge on The Big Dog for last week’s double Spear. The Monster Among Men picked a hell of a time to make his move, as the bell hadn’t even tolled on Reigns’ U.S. Title defense against Jeri-KO when Strowman came calling. The Gift of Destruction’s assault was thankfully cut short by the arrival of Seth Rollins, whom Strowman had been fighting backstage before Raw even started in earnest.

Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon — who was in the middle of evaluating Mick Foley when Strowman broke loose — made her entrance right as the chairs came out and managed to salvage the debacle by sanctioning the immediate matchup of Rollins vs. Strowman. She also gave Reigns till later in the night to prepare for a reset of his title defense, but that might all be for naught. Thanks to Strowman, Reigns’ handicap might have gone from metaphorical to literal.

(Match)

Seth Rollins went high-risk against Braun Strowman, but, alas, high reward was in short supply at the end of the impromptu matchup that saw an impending victory slip from The Architect’s fingers. Which isn’t entirely to say Rollins lost the match. He did so much damage to Strowman with a Frog Splash late in their matchup that, even though Rollins missed a top-rope leap to the outside and found himself hurled into the audience, The Gift of Destruction was too winded. He couldn’t get both himself and Rollins back into the ring to beat the 10-count. The decision freed Strowman up to wail on The Architect with a chair, but Rollins quickly countered and managed to drive Strowman off for the time being.

Videos:
Seth vs. Owens – Match Clip (WWE YouTube)
Match Video (Full) – Coming This Week

Seth Rollins def. Kevin Owens (By DQ)
It’s official: The latter half of Jeri-KO has been knocked out of Raw’s United States Title clash. In a bout that could have potentially ensured Chris Jericho a 2-on-1 advantage over Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens’ brash temper got the better of him and it’s Seth Rollins who will have a free pass to ringside when his former brother goes to battle. Rollins was sitting pretty in the driver’s seat, taking the fight to the timekeeper’s area when he found himself on the verge of a double count-out. The Architect sprinted back to the ring to break the count, only Owens was lying in wait with ring bell in hand. The Prizefighter’s subsequent attack of Rollins’ ribs with said bell cost him the match, but given that Rollins was too banged-up to Pedigree KO after the match, The Architect’s assistance of Reigns may well not amount to much.

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