Monday 25 January 2021

WWE Raw Full Show 25 January 2021 WWE Raw Highlights 25 January 2021

 

WWE Raw 1/25/21 January 21st 2021

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WWE Raw Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from January 25

Sana Ejaz Khan

    Credit: WWE.com

    Six days before the Royal Rumble, WWE Raw hit the USA Network needing to build anticipation and excitement for the annual extravaganza and sought to do so with a faceoff between WWE champion Drew McIntyre and Hall of Fame No. 1 contender Goldberg.

    That segment headlined a show that also saw a championship defense and another Superstar looking to earn a title opportunity.

    What went down, who built momentum heading into Sunday's event and what does it mean for the Raw brand moving forward?

    Find out with this recap of the January 25 broadcast.

Drew McIntyre and Goldberg Face Off, The Miz Teases Money in the Bank

1 OF 11

    Credit: WWE.com

    WWE champion Drew McIntyre returned two weeks after his positive COVID-19 diagnosis for a showdown with Goldberg, six nights before his date with the Hall of Famer at Royal Rumble.

    McIntyre discussed his recovery from the illness and put over his top contender, noting that Goldberg has defeated every opponent he has come back and challenged. He vowed to put an end to the WCW icon's newest streak...just in time for Mr. Money in the Bank The Miz and John Morrison to interrupt the proceedings.

    The former tag team champions teased Miz cashing in Money in the Bank on Sunday night.

    Goldberg entered the ThunderDome and came face-to-face with McIntyre. "You. Me. Sunday. You're next."

    The babyfaces wiped out Miz and Morrison with a spear and a Claymore, respectively, before coming face-to-face once more in a final sell-job for their PPV title clash.

         

    Grade

    A

        

    Analysis

    There is a lot to be said about WWE turning to another star of yesteryear to bolster one of its pay-per-view main events, but in terms of putting the final sell on Goldberg vs. McIntyre, this worked extremely well, and that is because the company's creative team didn't overthink things.

    Goldberg is a badass. McIntyre is a badass. This had a badass staredown and let the visual speak volumes. On top of it all, WWE Creative planted the seeds for Miz to cash in Money in the Bank in a moment that would throw WrestleMania prognosticators into an uproar.

    A hot start to the show.

Charlotte Flair vs. Shayna Baszler...Until It Wasn't

2 OF 11

    Credit: WWE.com

    A year ago, Charlotte Flair vs. Shayna Baszler would have been a pay-per-view main event.

    Monday, the second-generation competitor and The Queen of Spades battled in a singles match that lasted mere seconds before Nia Jax saved partner Baszler, drawing a disqualification. Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke hit the ring to fend off the heels until Lacey Evans joined the fray, an all-out brawl leading into the commercial break.

    Predictably, a Six-Woman Tag Team match ensued following the timeout.

    Flair and Baszler paired off briefly before the fight spilled to the floor. Then, referee John Cone called for the bell, stating the latter did not beat the count back into the ring. He awarded the contest to the babyfaces.

    WWE official Adam Pearce restarted the match during the break.

    Jax downed Brooke, wearing her out with a modified cobra clutch. Brooke fought her way back into the match and made the tag to Rose. The Golden Goddess laid out Evans while Flair flattened Baszler with a spear.

    Brooke continued her gutsy fight with Jax, only for The Irresistible Force to deliver a choke bomb and leg drop for the pinfall victory.

        

    Result

    Flair defeated Baszler via disqualification

    Flair, Rose and Brooke defeated Baszler, Jax and Evans

    Baszler, Jax and Evans defeated Flair, Rose and Brooke

        

    Grade

    C+

        

    Analysis

    Two false finishes? That botched countout?

    Why WWE decided it was necessary to overbook a match it very easily could have booked from the get-go is a question only it can answer, but the result was a confusing couple of minutes that ultimately gave way to a fun, energetic tag bout that highlighted Jax.

    It's not surprising that WWE opted to put the emphasis on her, either. The Royal Rumble match is one that, historically, features a dominant competitor at some point. Jax can fill that role, the female equivalent to Big Show or Kane.

    Would it have meant more if she pinned Flair? Sure, but it served its purpose.

Xavier Woods vs. Slapjack

3 OF 11

    Credit: WWE.com

    Mustafa Ali's personal vendetta against Kofi Kingston again reared its ugly head this week as the beloved babyface's tag team partner Xavier Woods battled Ali's Retribution henchman Slapjack.

    Woods took the fight to the masked villain, rocking him with the Honor Roll and picking up the win with a shining wizard, staring at Ali as he made the cover.

    After the match, T-Bar flattened Woods on the floor and then joined Mace for a double chokeslam bomb at the direction of Ali. The leader of the faction ordered Slapjack to retrieve a chair and then demanded Woods look at him.

    Ali sat in front of Woods and addressed him. "All this talk of being a king of the ring, but you sure look like a peasant now." He told Woods to deliver a message to Kingston: Though Kofi cannot compete because of injury, there is a replacement. And his name? Mustafa Ali.

         

    Result

    Woods defeated Slapjack

        

    Grade

    B

        

    Analysis

    Ali is one of the most engaging and intriguing characters on Raw, and this storyline with New Day is great stuff. "KofiMania happened at my expense!" he exclaimed in his pre-match promo and then sent the former WWE champion a message in an apropos twist of fate.

    See, Kingston capitalized on an opportunity presented him as a result of Ali's injury. Now, Ali enters the Royal Rumble match as a replacement for the injured Kofi. It's karmic, and while Ali is unlikely to win, it throws gasoline on a fire that should result in some great in-ring work and storyline potential when Kingston returns from injury.

Riddle and R-Truth Interrupt 'The VIP Lounge'

4 OF 11

    Credit: WWE.com

    The Hurt Business hit the ring for another edition of "The VIP Lounge."

    United States champion Bobby Lashley and Raw tag team champions Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin expressed their gratitude for MVP's belief in them by presenting him with a "THB" necklace. Alexander took credit, further creating tension between him and Benjamin, before 24/7 champion R-Truth interrupted.

    The usual suspects arrived in time to chase after the 24/7 title but found themselves on the receiving end of a beatdown at the hands of the no-nonsense Hurt Business. This left MVP alone in the ring, where Riddle appeared and rocked him with a big knee strike.

    Riddle escaped, leaving the dismayed faction to stare him down.

        

    Grade

    C

        

    Analysis

    This was fine for what it was and further hinted at an eventual split between an overzealous, overconfident Alexander and an increasingly peeved Benjamin.

    Beyond that, it was further proof that three hours is entirely too long for a wrestling show and leads to the presentation of mostly unnecessary segments. Everything about this could have been accomplished in the framework of a match rather than in an entirely separate segment leading to a match featuring the same crop of Superstars later in the show.

    It overexposes the talent and gives fans the option of changing the channel if they are not sold on what they have seen out of the performers.

Sheamus vs. John Morrison

5 OF 11

    Credit: WWE.com

    Earlier in the afternoon, Sheamus and John Morrison were announced for the Royal Rumble match. In the evening, they battled in a singles match while The Miz, totally coincidentally in wrestling gear, watched from the floor.

    A spirited back-and-forth exchange early gave way to Sheamus grounding Morrison with an armbar. The Shaman of Sexy recovered briefly but ate an Irish Curse as the former WWE champion continued to control the pace.

    Morrison finally turned the tide in his favor, targeting the left leg of The Celtic Warrior.

    Sheamus caught Morrison mid-flight and drove him into the mat en route to a near-fall. The heel answered, hanging his opponent up on the top rope. Sheamus rebounded, rocked Morrison with a knee to the face and put him away with White Noise for the win.

    After the match, Miz challenged Sheamus to a two-on-one match, citing the need to "keep your head on a swivel."

        

    Result

    Sheamus defeated Morrison

        

    Grade

    B-

        

    Analysis

    Anyone who remembers the battles Sheamus and Morrison had a decade ago knows how good, physical and hard-fought they were. This was a nice reminder, as the strikes were solid and the chemistry was clearly still there.

    The only thing hurting the match's ability to garner a higher grade was the lack of time. This felt very much like a match that had a lot more to offer but fell victim to time constraints. Given how good this was, WWE officials might want to consider a rematch on a grander stage at some point in time.

    The Miz issuing the challenge for a handicap match is, as we have already discussed, textbook WWE overexposing its talent.

Sheamus vs. John Morrison and The Miz

6 OF 11

    Credit: WWE.com

    Back from the break, Miz and Morrison beat down Sheamus, using the numbers game to their advantage as they punished The Celtic Warrior and wore him down ahead of Sunday's Royal Rumble match.

    The fight spilled to the floor, where the former tag team champions downed him. Miz and Morrison punished Sheamus, dominating him for the majority of their clash.

    The Irishman fought back, laid into the opposition with 10 Beats of the Bodhran for each man and set up for the Brogue Kick. Morrison grabbed his leg, but Sheamus recovered and rocked him with his finisher. The Miz capitalized on an opening and delivered the Skull-Crushing Finale for the win.

       

    Result

    Miz and Morrison defeated Sheamus

        

    Grade

    C+

        

    Analysis

    This really positioned Sheamus as a world-beater, a guy who showed tremendous guts in accepting the challenge of former tag champs and nearly upset them. His performance on this night is most notable, but it still raises the question: Why did this handicap match exist?

    Miz and Morrison got back a semblance of heat, but a win in a handicap match does not make up for Morrison's loss moments earlier and the ass-whupping they caught in the opening segment. No one really benefited from this, especially considering we already knew Sheamus is double-tough.

    It was, like most segments when WWE looks to eat up time with overly long matches, good enough but not at all a necessary part of the show.

R-Truth vs. AJ Styles

7 OF 11

    Credit: WWE.com

    Earlier in the show, R-Truth told Adam Pearce he wanted an opportunity to prove he could compete in the Royal Rumble match. AJ Styles, on a roll of denying Superstars said opportunity, stepped up to battle the 24/7 champion in a non-title bout.

    An angry, determined and focused Styles systematically picked Truth apart. When the beloved babyface tossed him to the floor in a preview of Sunday's Rumble, Styles answered with raw intensity.

    Truth again mounted an offensive, channeling John Cena as he delivered the Five Knuckle Shuffle. An attempt at the STF proved costly as Styles reversed into the Calf Crusher for the win.

        

    Result

    Styles defeated Truth

        

    Grade

    D

        

    Analysis

    Well, this got Styles on television and reminded us that Omos is really, really tall.

    Otherwise, it was an uncompetitive match that saw a former world champion beat a comedy act.

    Next!

'Alexa's Playground'

8 OF 11

    Credit: WWE.com

    Ahead of her Raw women's title match against Asuka later in the show, Alexa Bliss joined us for a remote edition of "Alexa's Playground" and recapped the last few weeks in her feud with Randy Orton.

    She said she could not wait to see "him" again, a reference to The Fiend, before revealing that she doesn't feel like playing this week.

    The camera shot a close-up and, with the magic of preproduction, flashed bits and pieces of The Fiend's face with a voice-over of "let me in" while Bliss stared menacingly into the camera.

        

    Grade

    A

        

    Analysis

    Was this little more than a recap segment? Sure.

    Was Alexa Bliss utterly fantastic? Hell yeah.

    Little Miss Bliss has been nothing short of extraordinary and one of the bright spots in some pretty awful episodes of Raw. She has completely embraced this character, and the result is one of the most interesting and engaging characters on the show.

    It was on full display here, and the segment worked exponentially because of it.

Riddle Runs the Gauntlet

9 OF 11

    Credit: WWE.com

    Riddle entered a gauntlet match for the opportunity to challenge United States champion Bobby Lashley on Monday night and immediately faced fierce competition in the form of Shelton Benjamin.

    The former intercontinental champion downed Riddle with a spinebuster and dominated the majority of the action. An ill-timed bit of interference from Cedric Alexander distracted the referee and robbed Benjamin of a roll-up win. Seconds later, Riddle pinned him with a victory roll to eliminate Benjamin.

    MVP, playing peacemaker, fell prey to a heel hook by Riddle and had no choice but to tap out.

    Back from the commercial break, Alexander rocked his opponent with a gutbuster. Riddle answered with strikes, but Alexander downed him and scored a near-fall. MVP corrected him from ringside, telling him he would have had the win had he cradled his head, his tone that of a frustrated mentor.

    Riddle delivered an exploder. Alexander countered a triangle choke with a powerbomb. Riddle recovered and caught Alexander with another victory roll for the win.

    Lashley wasted no time sending a message to Riddle, beating him down and leaving him lying in the aisle.

         

    Result

    Riddle defeated Benjamin, MVP and Alexander

        

    Grade

    A

        

    Analysis

    Riddle and Alexander tore the house down in the final third of this gauntlet match, demonstrating the sort of chemistry that creates genuine excitement for an eventual showdown between them. Everything was smooth, flawless even. They cut an even pace and showcased some strong grappling and counter-wrestling until the finish.

    It is that finish, as well as the mounting dissension within Hurt Business specifically involving Alexander, that really put this over the top.

    What started subtly as professional envy on the part of Benjamin has evolved into overconfidence, arrogance even, on the part of Alexander. That is costing The Hurt Business the dominance it has enjoyed to this point. MVP's prized addition may be the very piece that brings about the group's unraveling.

    That thread has helped make for one of the best ongoing stories on the Raw brand.

Edge's Announcement

10 OF 11

    Credit: WWE.com

    Edge returned to WWE television Monday with an update on his injury status.

    He recalled the words of his mother shortly after he was forced to retire nearly a decade ago, giving up a World Heavyweight Championship he never lost.

    He talked about the long journey back and the injury that derailed his comeback a year ago.

    Finally, The Rated-R Superstar announced his entry into the Royal Rumble match this Sunday night in the biggest blockbuster announcement of the show to this point.

        

    Grade

    A

        

    Analysis

    Edge delivered his typically excellent emotion-filled promo, painting the picture for the audience and letting them know how incredibly important going out on his terms is to him.

    He reminded us of the obstacles before looking forward, announcing his return in the Rumble and leaving it up to fate, determination and grit to decide whether he will have the outcome he so desires.

    The announcement adds another layer to Sunday's pay-per-view and provided that boost in significance to a show that had done a rather so-so job of conveying the importance of the event to The Road to WrestleMania.

Raw Women's Championship Match: Asuka vs. Alexa Bliss

11 OF 11

    Credit: WWE.com

    A week after thoroughly defeating Asuka, Alexa Bliss sought to win a shiny new toy as she challenged The Empress of Tomorrow for the Raw Women's Championship.

    She threw the already-concerned champion off early in the match, tossing her to the floor and then riding a toy horse in the middle of the ring.

    She dominated the action, overwhelming Asuka with an arsenal of mind games.

    The champion mounted a late-match comeback before Bliss' old theme music played and she appeared in her old Goddess apparel. Appearing confused and scared, she lured Asuka in and sent her into the corner. The lights dimmed and a pink light engulfed the ring.

    Bliss shook off a knee to the face and applied the Mandible Claw...just in time for a burned Randy Orton to appear and deliver an RKO. The show went off the air with Orton standing over Bliss.

        

    Result

    Bliss defeated Asuka via disqualification

         

    Grade

    C+

        

    Analysis

    The layout of the match and the theatricality within is not something everyone will be eager to embrace. Traditional wrestling fans will denounce it, while fans of theatricality will champion what this Bliss character brings to the table.

    It creates controversy and debate, something that is rarely bad in wrestling.

    With that said, there is a very real issue with the way Asuka has been used throughout her title reign.

    Never the star, always the second-most-important performer in any storyline she has appeared, she continues to be underutilized and mismanaged by a creative team that has never understood or embraced what Triple H and NXT accomplished with her.

    She deserves better than that.

    Randy Orton dropping Bliss with an RKO was the next natural progression in this story, so the show-closing angle was fine in that regard. Unless The Fiend returns at the Rumble, this was a curious conclusion to the final episode of Raw before the PPV.

Sunday 24 January 2021

UFC 257 Poirier vs McGregor Full Show

 

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Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and the Real Winners and Losers from UFC 257



    Chris Unger/Getty Images

    Conor McGregor. Fight Island.

    Put them together, and the stories write themselves.

    The melding of the UFC's most famous athlete and its most interesting venue was made official Saturday night when the former two-division champ returned for the first time in 371 days for a high-end lightweight match with former foe and fellow top contender Dustin Poirier.

    Their main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi came atop a UFC 257 pay-per-view show on ESPN+ that was hosted by Jon Anik, who shared the mic with Daniel Cormier and Paul Felder, while Brett Okamoto worked the room for pre- and post-fight features.

    It was the promotion's third show of a busy week in the United Arab Emirates playpen following an appearance on ABC last weekend and another ESPN date Wednesday morning. 

    About 2,000 socially distanced fans were in the stands, according to the UFC, in a venue that holds 18,000.

    Ten other bouts were included on the early preliminary, preliminary and main show portions of the pay-per-view card, which began with a flyweight duel between Amir Albazi and Zhalgas Zhumagulov just after 7 p.m. ET and ended when the main event winner's hand (sorry, no spoilers here) was raised at 12:42 a.m.

    The B/R combat sports team was back to take a look at the show from top to bottom and assemble a list of the real winners and losers from the return of the Notorious One. Click through to see what we came up with and feel free to drop a line and leave your own viewpoints in the comments.

Winner: Vengeance

1 OF 10

    Jeff Bottari/Getty Images

    OK, McGregor. Back to the drawing board.

    A KO victim when they first fought in 2014, Poirier weathered a striking storm in the first round of the rematch before establishing himself in the second with leg kicks and catching the Irishman with a series of punches that put him down, and out, at 2:32 of the second.

    It was a jolt to a sport that had waited 371 days for its king to return, but not to Poirier, who lost inside two minutes in the first fight in 2014 but had rebounded with 10 victories and an interim title reign in the intervening six-plus years.

    He was a sizable under dog but entered the cage ranked second in the lightweight division to McGregor's fourth and seventh on the pound-for-pound list to his opponent's 13th.

    His win was the ninth in UFC history in a rematch by a fighter who'd been stopped in the first round.

    "I'm happy, but I'm not surprised," Poirier said. "We're 1-1. Maybe we have to do it again."

    McGregor was swinging for the fences and landed several strong blows in the opening stretch of the first round, but Poirier got inside and scored a takedown and extended the round. McGregor was back up and landed more jolting blows later in the first, but Poirier handled them better and was talking back and forth with the former two-division champ as they engaged.

    Poirier's kicks to McGregor's lead leg calf limited the Irishman's movement as the second round began and allowed Poirier to land stunning blows of his own. He rattled McGregor badly as the Irishman retreated to the fence and then dropped McGregor to the floor with a hard right.

    Two more ground strikes brought Herb Dean in for a rescue.

    "The goal was to be technical and pick my shots, not brawl at all," he said. "I have a tendency to get crazy and try and hurt guys. I felt like this was a title fight. I'm the champion."

    McGregor, who fought less than a minute in 2020 and had been off since 2018 before that, claimed the absence from regular work didn't help his cause.

    "It's hard to overcome inactivity. I wasn't as comfortable as I needed to be," he said. "I have to dust it off and come back at it. You don't get away with being inactive in this business.

    "It's a tough one to swallow."

Winner: Making an Entrance

2 OF 10

    Jeff Bottari/Getty Images

    Street cred is no issue for Michael Chandler.

    A former All-American wrestler in college, the 34-year-old honed his MMA chops during a long run in the Bellator promotion that included three lightweight title defenses amid three reigns as champion.

    So it’s no surprise that he was unfazed by a UFC debut against the likes of Dan Hooker.

    The world’s sixth-ranked lightweight and a winner in 10 of his 15 octagonal appearances, Hooker promised before the fight to break the UFC’s “shiny new toy.”

    Didn’t happen.

    Instead, Chandler took his first steps toward superstardom with a scintillating first-round stoppage, then went old-school Ric Flair with a post-fight callout that included McGregor, Poirier, and recently retired lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.

    “There’s a new king in the lightweight division,” Chandler said. “God bless. See you at the top.”

    The Tennessee resident’s initial stay in the Octagon officially lasted 159 seconds, ending when Chandler lunged forward with a right to the body and followed with a left hook to the chin that instantly dropped Hooker to the floor. Chandler immediately pounced and delivered better than a dozen ground strikes with no reply before referee Marc Goddard intervened.

    Chandler immediately climbed to the top of the cage and backflipped back into the center of the mat.

    “That’s why you paid the big bucks for Michael Chandler,” Cormier said. “Dana White backed up the Brinks truck to the Chandler household. Now you know why. You wanna talk about making a UFC debut, Michael Chandler just did that as good as you can do it.”

Loser: Stalling the Stream

3 OF 10

    Getty Images

    Paging the IT Department.

    Seems the UFC’s debut blockbuster of 2021 was not without its technical glitches.

    Twitter was buzzes with complaints from several fighters on the promotional roster, in fact, pointing out login and loading issues with the live stream that went for $69.99 a pop in the U.S. and more elsewhere.

    The cost, incidentally, was bumped up $5 to begin the new year.

    Earlier in the week, some Google searches were suggesting the event had been called off

    Among the frustrated purchasers going vocal Saturday on social media were UFC fighters Kelvin Gastelum, Lauren Murphy, Jessica-Rose Clark and Megan Anderson.

    Yahoo’s Kevin Iole tweeted about a half-hour into the pay-per-view broadcast, saying he’d been that the problems were due to some 1.3 million people trying to get on at the same time and it would improve as the rush receded.

    Many replies to his tweet, however, suggested the problems were continuing well into the show, which began at 10 p.m. ESPN's Michael Eaves tweeted shortly after 11 p.m., saying "We are aware of an issue impacting some fans' ability to to access tonight's PPV event and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible."

Winner: Playing Through Confusion

4 OF 10

    Jeff Bottari/Getty Images

    Marina Rodriguez scored two TKOs on Saturday night.

    The powerful Brazilian strawweight dropped phenom Amanda Ribas with a laser-guided counter right hand, then battered her with a series of hammer strikes to prompt the intervention of Herb Dean.

    But while it looked like the big ref was moving in to stop the fight, he didn’t.

    And though Rodriguez has disengaged thinking her work was done, she quickly restarted the assault with an elbow and another huge right, this time making sure Dean waved it off for good before exulting with her joyous corner team.

    It ended, officially, at 54 seconds of the second round.

    “He came close to us and I thought it was over,” Rodriguez said. “Once the fight got back on, it was OK, let’s go.”

    Though she was slotted two slots ahead of the 10th-ranked Ribas at 115 pounds, the streaking 33-year-old was a plus-800 underdog to win the fight and a plus-2000 proposition to end it with a second-round stoppage. It boosted her to 3-1-2 in six UFC fights and was her sixth by stoppage in 13 career wins.

    Ribas, meanwhile, had arrived with 10 wins in 11 fights and was 4-0 in the UFC. She controlled the first round after scoring an early takedown and was pursuing a ground game in the second when she ran into Rodriguez’s game-changing shot.

    “She was going to take me down and grapple. We were able to take our game plan into action in the second round,” said Rodriguez, who then turned toward the crowd and yelled “now you know who I am.”

Winner: Fighting Frenetically

5 OF 10

    Chris Unger/Getty Images

    Wondering what it's like to get caught in a meat grinder?

    Try fighting Arman Tsarukyan.

    The sturdy Armenian was a tenacious striking and takedown machine against American veteran Matt Frevola, getting his foe to the mat seven times in the first 10 minutes and landing better than 100 strikes overall. He earned a unanimous-decision win in their fast-paced three-rounder at lightweight.

    Two judges scored it 30-27 in the winner's favor, while the third had it 30-26.

    Now 16-2 since going pro in 2015, the 5'7" Tsarukyan won his third straight since dropping his UFC debut to Islam Makhachev in 2019. He was 1-1 in two fights after turning pro at age 19, then won 12 in a row before the loss to Makhachev.

    He finished with 103 strikes and 10 takedowns for the entire fight. Frevola, who'd been scheduled to meet striker Ottman Azaitar before the Moroccan was pulled from the card and dismissed from the UFC for a safety violation, had 51 strikes and was 0-of-2 in takedown tries.

    "Everything looked great for this young man tonight," Cormier said.

Winner: Going for GOAT

6 OF 10

    Jeff Bottari/Getty Images

    If you're going to do a callout, make it memorable.

    That's clearly what Julianna Pena had in mind Saturday night.

    The 31-year-old was on her back and facing adversity for much of the first two rounds against fellow ranked bantamweight Sara McMann, but she flipped the script in the third and submitted the former 135-pound title challenger with a rear-naked choke just 81 seconds before the final horn.

    Fueled by that emotion, she startled Anik and got a response from the small cage-side crowd by setting her sights on the greatest female fighter in combat sports history.

    "Amanda Nunes, I want to fight you," she said. "It's time for her to quit ducking. That's my fight."

    The seventh-ranked Pena improved to 11-4 as a pro and won for the fifth time in seven UFC appearances against No. 9 McMann. The 40-year-old McMann was submitted by Ronda Rousey in a title try back in 2014 at UFC 170 and lost to Nunes on a Fight Night show 18 months later.

    It was the first win in 18 months for Pena, who got a decision over Nicco Montano in July 2019 before a prolonged layoff and a submission loss to former world champion Germaine de Randamie in October 2020.

    "I feel great. I feel amazing," she said. "It played out exactly how I thought it would. Sara is the best wrestler in the division, and I beat her."

Loser: Bursting the Bubble

7 OF 10

    Francois Nel/Getty Images

    And suddenly, the early leader for this year's "What were you thinking?" award is Ottman Azaitar.

    The unbeaten German-born lightweight saw a promising Octagonal run cut short just days before an appearance on the UFC 257 card due to what the company called a "safety zone violation."

    The 30-year-old was removed from the show after Dana White told BT Sport (h/t ESPN) that an unauthorized person entered the fighter hotel to deliver a bag to Azaitar's room, using a wristband provided by the fighter. White said the individual "shimmied" across multiple balconies to enter Azaitar's room.

    The UFC released a statement addressing the incident:

    "UFC is aware of a recent violation of the health and safety protocols involving Ottman Azaitar. As such, Azaitar has been removed from the safety zone and his upcoming bout against Matt Frevola has been canceled. The organization continues to keep the health and safety of all participants as the top priority and will take action against anyone that does not adhere to the strict measures put in place."

    ESPN said Azaitar and his entire team were directed off the property Friday, and White told BT Sport, "It's just bad. He's gone. He's no longer a UFC fighter."

    Azaitar was already 11-0 in a career in which he'd fought in five countries before arriving in the UFC and racking up consecutive performance bonuses with first-round stoppage wins in Sept. 2019 and Sept. 2020.

Loser: Going for Choke

8 OF 10

    Jeff Bottari/Getty Images

    Nik Lentz is no stranger to the feeling.

    He cinches an arm under an opponent's chin, squeezes with all his strength and celebrates when the foe no longer has the breath to continue resisting.

    It's happened eight times in the veteran's career, accounting for more than a quarter of his 30 wins.

    But Movsar Evloev had no interest in becoming a statistic.

    The unbeaten Russian featherweight was in Lentz's patented guillotine grasp twice in the fight's first two rounds but stayed calm and relaxed while working his way to escapes both times before taking charge on his feet and striking his way to a split-decision win in their 150-pound catchweight, three-round match.

    Two judges gave the winner a 29-28 nod, while one saw it for a bloodied Lentz by the same count.

    B/R went with the majority and scored it for Evloev, who took the fight on short notice and improved to 14-0 overall and 4-0 in the UFC.

    "He loves breaking guys mentally and physically," Anik said of Evloev. "Nik Lentz is kind of the unbreakable type. But he got it done."

    Later, Evloev used his post-fight mic time to make a blanket callout.

    "I'm hungry," he said. "I'm angry. Dana [White], listen to me. I want top 15. I deserve it."

Winner: Finding New Stars

9 OF 10

    Chris Unger/Getty Images

    If you're mining the early preliminary landscape for jewels, you could do worse than Amir Albazi.

    Already the UFC's 15th-ranked flyweight after a single summertime Octagon appearance, The Prince made it two straight in impressive fashion by mixing sound striking with effective ground work in a three-round decision win over rugged second-time Octagon competitor Zhalgas Zhumagulov.

    All three judges scored it 29-28 in favor of the Iraq-born Albazi, who fights out of London and made his UFC debut with a first-round stoppage of Malcolm Gordon on a Fight Night show in July.

    Saturday's victory was just the second time in 14 pro wins that he went the distance to get his hand raised. 

    "I'm feeling great," he said, "but I like to finish fights."

    His opponent was impressed with him regardless. "His stand-up looked beautiful tonight," Felder said. "That's an impressive young man right there."

    Albazi showed post-fight emotion in dedicating the win to those who died in a suicide bombing in Iraq earlier in the week.

UFC 257 Full-Card Results

10 OF 10

    Jeff Bottari/Getty Images

    Main Card

    Dustin Poirier def. Conor McGregor by TKO, 2:32, Round 2

    Michael Chandler def. Dan Hooker by TKO (punches), 2:39, Round 1

    Joanne Calderwood def. Jessica Eye by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

    Makhmud Muradov def. Andrew Sanchez by TKO (punches), 2:59, Round 3

    Marina Rodriguez def. Amanda Ribas by TKO (punches), 0:54, Round 2

    Preliminary Card

    Arman Tsarukyan def. Matt Frevola by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

    Brad Tavares def. Antonio Carlos Junior by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

    Julianna Pena def. Sara McMann by submission (rear-naked choke), 3:39, Round 3

    Marcin Prachnio def. Khalil Rountree Jr. by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

    Movsar Evloev def. Nik Lentz by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

    Amir Albazi def. Zhalgas Zhumagulov by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Friday 22 January 2021

WWE SmackDown Full Show WWE Smack Downs Highlights Full Show

 

WWE Smackdown Live 1/22/21 January 22nd 2021



Video Highlights Removed as new show uploaded


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WWE SmackDown Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction, Highlights from January 22

Sana Ejaz Khan

    Credit: WWE.com

    As WWE prepares for the Royal Rumble on January 31, it's all hands on deck as more and more Superstars declare their entries and attempt to qualify for the titular Rumble matches.

    This week's SmackDown continued to build up the pay-per-view while also dealing with some in-house business for the blue brand.

    After earning a title shot by defeating Sami Zayn last week, Appolo challenged Big E in a match for the Intercontinental Championship.

    We also saw Bayley and Bianca Belair compete on an obstacle course to see which one was the superior athlete, and Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens prepared for their showdown at The Royal Rumble.

    Let's look at everything that happened on Friday's show. 

Opening Segment

1 OF 8

    SmackDown opened with a video package recapping what happened last week with Reigns and Adam Pearce before The Tribal Chief and Paul Heyman made their way to the ring. 

    Reigns spoke about how Owens and Pearce might have put one over on him but he is the champion because he doesn't believe in the mentality of "Card subject to change." He said his back is starting to hurt from carrying this company for years.

    Pearce came out and said this has gone too far and things are getting out of control. Reigns said the only thing that is out of control is Owens being in a title match. 

    Reigns felt disrespected and had Heyman rip into Pearce. This led to Heyman challenging Pearce to a match, which was quickly accepted. 

                            

    Grade: B-

                            

    Analysis

    Pearce has grown into a great on-screen authority figure and seeing him used in more meaningful ways in recent weeks has been a lot of fun.

    This was a solid opening segment that probably lasted a few minutes longer than it needed to but never became insufferable. 

    Reigns was more vocal than usual, which helped express his rage at being tricked. Despite being a heel, almost everything he said was true, especially when it came to his health.

The Riott Squad vs. Charlotte and Asuka

2 OF 8

    The women's tag team champions took a trip to the blue brand this week to take on Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott with Billie Kay in their corner.

    The Queen and Riott started the match with a basic lockup and takedown combination. Asuka got the tag and ran Riott over with a shoulder tackle. 

    Morgan made a blind tag and hit a dropkick to Charlotte while she was distracted with Kay. She scored a two-count with a crossbody from the top rope. After a break, Riott and Morgan still had the upper hand. 

    Asuka tagged in and hit a running knee but Riott was there to break up the pin. Riott had Asuka pinned but Kay accidentally distracted the ref. The Empress recovered and tagged in The Queen to hit Natural Selection for the win. 

                           

    Grade: B

                           

    Analysis

    We are only a couple of weeks into this angle but Kay is already impacting the outcome of The Riott Squad's matches in a negative way, which means this union is doomed to fail.

    The match itself was pretty good and gave all four women a chance to showcase their skills. Morgan and Riott looked especially good despite Kay's involvement.

    The women's tag team division needs a lot of work but if The Riott Squad is one of the main duos holding it down, there is hope that it can improve in 2021. 

Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler

3 OF 8

    Daniel Bryan came out to talk about how The Royal Rumble event always makes him feel excited. He was eventually interrupted by Cesaro, who rubbed in how he beat Bryan last week.

    Cesaro issued an open challenge and Dolph Ziggler answered the call. We returned from a commercial to see the match getting going. They fought for control with a series of holds and reversals. 

    The Swiss Cyborg nailed an uppercut in the corner and swung Ziggler around by his feet. They went back and forth with near falls until The Showoff hit the Zig Zag for a two-count. Cesaro caught him and hit the Neutralizer for the win. 

                           

    Grade: A

                           

    Analysis

    This was what pro wrestling could be. Cesaro and Ziggler are miles ahead of most of the roster in terms of technical ability and they didn't even need a long match to prove how good they are.

    A few more minutes would have helped but they packed a lot into the time they had and told a solid story from bell to bell while Bryan provided context on commentary.

    Between this and his win over Bryan last week, Cesaro appears to be getting a push heading into the men's Royal Rumble match. Even if he doesn't win at the PPV, it's awesome to see a talented performer being used the right way for once. 

Sasha Banks vs. Reginald

4 OF 8

    Reginald tried to win over Sasha Banks with a rose at the start of the match but she smacked the taste out of his mouth. She tried to take him down but he flipped up to his feet.

    He grabbed Banks by the waist but she reversed it. He rolled right out of the ring and he backflipped off of the apron just to show off. The Boss made him pay with a baseball slide dropkick. 

    Banks took him down with a wheelbarrow bulldog but missed a meteora in the corner. Reginald ate a knee to the face but caught her in a crossbody. She sent him out of the ring with an arm drag and took him down with a meteora from the apron. 

    She eventually brought him down into the Bank Statement for the submission victory. 

                       

    Grade: C+

                           

    Analysis

    As impressive as some of Reginald's acrobatics were, this match still had some sloppy moments and awkward spots that would have benefitted from this bout being pre-taped.

    Still, this was better than anyone expected it to be, so that's a plus. The feud between Carmella and Banks didn't need this but it was a fun change of pace from what we have seen in the past.

    WWE has always shied away from intergender wrestling so it will be interesting to see if we get more matches like this down the road. 

Big E vs. Apollo Crews (IC Title)

5 OF 8

    As soon as the bell rang, Big E hit a huge belly to belly suplex followed by a splash on the apron. Crews fired back with a couple of kicks that rocked the champ. He got a quick two-count with a standing moonsault and stayed on the big man with a pair of German suplexes.

    Big E prevented a third and hit a big urinagi slam for another near-fall. Crews fought him off in the corner with a few headbutts. Sami Zayn had handcuffed himself in the aisle as a protest but he released himself and ran to the ring to hit both men with Helluva Kicks to cause a no-contest finish.

                              

    Grade: C

                             

    Analysis

    The match was just getting going when Zayn interfered, so it ended up stopping short of reaching its full potential in many ways.

    This might keep the storyline going but it still robbed us of what could have been a great title fight, so it's hard not to be a little mad about it.

    Crews, Zayn and Big E will likely end up in a triple threat match at The Royal Rumble to settle this once and for all. 

Bayley vs. Bianca Belair Obstacle Course Challenge

6 OF 8

    Bayley gave us a rundown of the obstacles before they took to the course. She decided to run the course first and pushed Belair out of the way. 

    She took her time getting through each obstacle and ended up cheating by running around the walls that were set up instead of climbing over them. She ended with a time of 1:12.

    Before Belair took her turn, Bayley had some of the obstacles made more difficult. Belair still flew through the course but when she got to the fireman's carry, she had to carry Otis instead of Chad Gable. She still did it and beat Bayley's time by 17 seconds. 

    Bayley attacked her and beat her down before throwing her into the pole of a basketball hoop that was part of the course. 

                            

    Grade: C+

                               

    Analysis

    This was nothing special in terms of entertainment value but Belair's physical prowess made it more enjoyable than it would have been without her.

    We all saw this ending with an attack so there was no surprise or swerve. It played out how it needed to even if it was the most predictable thing on the show.

King Corbin vs. Dominik Mysterio

7 OF 8

    Dominik Mysterio was looking to get some payback on Baron Corbin after The King defeated his father last week. Corbin's knights were absent once again.

    Dom went right after him and hit a few quick strikes before he sent Corbin out of the ring. The King leveled him with a clothesline for a two-count. 

    Corbin was able to secure the win with The End of Days. 

                                

    Grade: C

                             

    Analysis

    This wasn't bad but it also wasn't good. It just...was. We'll move on and forget about this in a week or two after one of the Mysterios beats Corbin in a rematch.

    It was nice to see Dominik again but it's hard not to wonder why WWE had him skip NXT altogether. He could benefit from having more time to polish his mic skills. 

Adam Pearce vs. Paul Heyman

8 OF 8

    As Heyman made his way to the ring, he pretended to suffer a leg injury. He did the same thing Pearce did last week and named a replacement. That is when Reigns came to the ring.

    As soon as he hit the ring, The Tribal Chief nailed him with a Superman Punch. Pearce tried to come back but a low blow stopped him in his tracks. 

    KO came out of nowhere and saved Pearce from certain destruction by attacking the universal champion. They brawled near the LED screens with fans on them before going back to the ring.

    Owens blocked a Superman Punch and hit a Stunner. It took several officials to keep them apart and even then, they still managed to get to each other a few times. KO hit a second Stunner before he put Reigns through the announce table with a Popup Powerbomb. 

                            

    Grade: B

                           

    Analysis

    We might not have gotten to see Pearce come out of retirement to hand Heyman a beating but we did get to see Owens destroy Reigns, so the show had a happy ending.

    It was clear Heyman was never going to have a real match but there was still hope for Pearce to get in a few good shots. Maybe he will have another chance in the future.

    The feud between Reigns and KO is being carried solely by the skill of the two men involved. The storyline is nothing special or original but how it is being executed has been fun to watch

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