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WWE

The Road to WrestleMania 35 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is alive and it is well. One night after WWE anointed crowd favorites Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins as winners of their respective Royal Rumble matches, Monday's episode of Raw produced the exact amount of intensity and drama that's expected during what is typically the greatest stretch of WWE booking all calendar year. Not only did Lynch make a surprise appearance on this week's show, she joined Rollins in being tasked with choosing which champion they would be challenging come April 7.  

Let's take a closer look at what went right during a quick-moving and fun three hours of sports entertainment.  

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Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey set for 'Mania 

Rousey entered the ring for what was advertised as being an open challenge match. She was unable to deliver much of the promo she had planned, however, as Rousey was routinely flustered by the crowd's negative reaction to her microphone struggles. She even broke character and laughed before awkwardly attempting to trick the crowd as to when she would begin her promo again. Rousey went as far as juggling the microphone while agitatedly waiting for an opening that never came as the crowd's booing only intensified after she pointed to the WrestleMania sign. Suddenly, Bayley's music hit and she clumsily accepted a challenge that was never officially given.  

Raw Women's Championship -- Ronda Rousey (c) def. Bayley via submission: This three-segment match saw Rousey sell a variety of storyline injuries as the crowd continued to boo her. Bayley landed an elbow off the top rope before applying her teammate Sasha Banks's finishing move, the Banks Statement, until Rousey barely crawled to the ropes to break it. Rousey eventually finished Bayley off by leaping to the top rope to land a creative slam in which she held onto Bayley after the impact on the ground and reversed into an armbar to force a quick tap.  

After Rousey and Bayley shook hands after the match, out came Lynch in a surprise appearance that popped the crowd. Lynch said she was back to prove that Rousey isn't the "baddest woman on the planet" and that unlike Seth Rollins, "I don't need much time to think. I choose you." Lynch closed her promo by saying she would break Rousey's mystique at WrestleMania, take her title and "kick your ass in front of the whole world." 

After an initial stumble while the crowd booed, Rousey recovered and delivered an intense response of her own. 

"How long have you been 'The Man,' Becky?" Rousey said. "Because I've been a household name for more than a decade. Any ring I step into is mine and I'm going to own you at WrestleMania." Mic drop.  

There's no need to sugarcoat it -- Rousey's earlier promo was one of the worst performances on a microphone by a wrestler in recent memory as she continued a downward slide in terms of week-to-week promos and allowed the crowd to completely dismantle her. Everything that happened after that, however, was pure gold. Lynch had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand as she brilliantly taunted Rousey while accepting a match that outright deserves to headline WrestleMania 35 on April 7. And Rousey, to her credit, was able to bounce back nicely to close the segment by transferring her energy from that of bubblegum pop as a babyface to that of a mercenary heel. Considering how intense her delivery was and how over Lynch currently is with the WWE universe, it wouldn't be a bad idea to turn Rousey at least quasi-heel over the next two months, utilizing her former MMA training partners in NXT as muscle. Grade: A 

Brock Lesnar delivers message to Seth Rollins 

Rollins opened Raw by celebrating Sunday night's victory and pointing to the WrestleMania sign. Out came Triple H to deliver an emotional speech in which he shared how proud he was of Rollins before challenging him to choose between Lesnar and Daniel Bryan by the end of the show for his WrestleMania title match. Dean Ambrose ran in to trade insults with Triple H before challenging Rollins to a match. After Triple H decided to leave without answering, Ambrose secured himself the match by challenging his bosses' manhood. "What's the matter? Do you have to ask permission from your father-in-law first?" Ambrose said. 

Seth Rollins def. Dean Ambrose via pinfall: This three-segment match was a good one, featuring a series of near falls from Ambrose. But Rollins was able to put him away after hitting a Stomp to get the pinfall. After a commercial, Ambrose sat on a chair inside the ring and appeared ready to deliver a heartfelt speech until Nia Jax and Tamina Snuka interrupted ahead of the next match, with Jax knocking Ambrose out of the ring after he looked away from their staredown.  

A backstage interview involving Bryan and Erick Rowan ended with Bryan saying he would end all of Rollins's WrestleMania hopes tonight if he was chosen. Later on, Braun Strowman congratulated Rollins on his Rumble victory and instructed him to choose wisely. The show's final segment was set aside for Rollins to make his decision. Lesnar and Paul Heyman crashed Rollins's introduction by walking out and Heyman established how easy of a decision Rollins had in picking Bryan. Out came Rollins, who got in Lesnar's face before delivering a punch. Lesnar absorbed a pair of kicks before reversing into an F5. He went on to land his finishing move five times on Rollins, including the last one on top of the title belt. After a beaten Rollins screamed, "Is that all you got," Lesnar came up with a sixth F5 to end the show.  

There was plenty to like in this bookending Rollins's story, which served as the show's foundation. Ambrose and Triple H proved to be magic on the microphone in the opening segment while exchanging heated trash talk. The overall representation of Rollins's character was just as expertly portrayed late as he refused to give up despite Lesnar growing angrier with each finishing move. Should WWE play into the history of their WrestleMania 31 match as part of the storyline, the build has a chance to be as truly special as their match already promises to be. Grade: B+ 

What else happened on Raw? 

  • Nia Jax & Tamina Snuka def. Mickie James & Alexa Bliss via pinfall (Elimination Chamber qualifying match): Jax and Snuka qualified for the inaugural women's tag team championship match inside Elimination Chamber on Feb. 17 with a dominant victory. One night after taking part in the men's Royal Rumble match, Jax hit a double Samoan Drop on James and Bliss before getting the pin.
  • Baron Corbin def. Kurt Angle via pinfall: Corbin cut a promo berating the WWE Hall of Famer until Angle fired a right hand to begin the match. The finish came when Corbin broke free from an ankle lock to land a Deep 6 for the 1-2-3. After briefly exiting the ring, Corbin returned to hit End of Days, appearing to hurt his ankle in the process, and blamed the crowd afterwards as he limped away.  
  • Bobby Lashley attacks Finn Balor: After hobbling his way to the ring, Balor cut a promo about his loss to Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. "I'm standing out here with my head held high because last night, Brock Lesnar beat me," Balor said. "And then he beat me again because I made Brock Lesnar believe." Out came Lashley who, after being heckled by Balor for his short appearance in the Royal Rumble, quickly attacked him. Lashley landed a trio of hard slams before Lio Rush took off his t-shirt and laid it over a prone Balor, likely signifying the start of a new feud.  
  • The Revival def. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins via pinfall: This Ryder-Hawkins reunion saw Raw announcer Michael Cole throw to archive footage looking back on their title reign more than a decade ago. Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson made sure the reunion was a not off to a hot start, however, hitting Hawkins with a Shatter Machine for the pin.  
  • Elias takes out a pair of WWE legends: Elias interrupted his own song to tell the crowd he doesn't want to perform for them anymore and only wants to perform for himself. Out came Jeff Jarrett and the Road Dogg for a fun segment in which they heckled Elias and sang Jarrett's "With My Baby Tonight" song. Elias took out Road Dogg with a guitar and later did the same to Jarrett after the two traded punches.   
  • Mojo Rawley cuts chilling backstage promo: Rawley, while staring into a mirror, blamed himself for the current mess he's in. After labeling himself the greatest combination of talents that WWE has ever seen, Rawley snapped and said, "but they call me a nobody because of you! That ends … now! Soon, everyone will see who I really am!" 
  • Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan def. Natalya & Dana Brooke via pinfall (Elimination Chamber qualifying match): The Riott Squad became the second team to qualify for the inaugural women's tag team title match at Elimination Chamber by capitalizing on the disharmony that Natalya and Brooke showed in a pre-match backstage promo. Natalya put Morgan into a Sharpshooter and Brooke ran in to knock Ruby Riott off the apron and prevent her from interfering. But Logan shoved Brooke into Natalya to break the hold. Morgan followed by rolling up Natalya for the pin. 
  • Braun Strowman def. Drew McIntyre via disqualification: The climax of this physical match saw Strowman attempt to gain revenge on McIntyre for his attack last month on Raw by lifting up the ring steps. But out came Corbin to force the DQ by attacking with a chair. Strowman rallied to floor both with running shoulder tackles until a Claymore kick from McIntyre knocked him out. The heels followed with a double choke slam on the steps.