WWE Raw results, recap, grades: Royal Rumble winners Cody Rhodes and Bayley face tough WrestleMania choices

Both Rhodes and Bayley were forced with potential detours on their Road to WrestleMania

Two days after Cody Rhodes and Bayley won their Royal Rumble matches, both were faced with difficult decisions on Raw. In addition to those compelling segments, CM Punk confirmed earlier reports of an injury that would force him out of WrestleMania 40.

Rhodes was confronted by world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins, who made a strong case for Rhodes to choose him over undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns. Meanwhile, Bayley was backed into a corner by Nia Jax, a move that may force Bayley to challenger her own teammate in a championship match at WrestleMania.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Cody Rhodes and Bayley face difficult WrestleMania decisions

Cody Rhodes came to the ring to address not just winning his second consecutive Royal Rumble, but ready to make it official that he would challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. Before Rhodes could finish his statement, Seth Rollins' music hit and the world heavyweight champion made his way to the ring. Rollins then launched into an impassioned speech in an effort to sell Rhodes on challenging for his title instead. Rollins made the case that Rhodes should want to challenge for the working man's title, a title Rhodes saw Rollins defend over and over while they were on the road while Reigns sat at home. Rhodes ended the segment by saying it was the last thing he imagined would happen when he woke up, but he would think about it.

Later in the night, Bayley started her promo backed by the members of Damage CTRL, discussing how she had said for a year and a half that the group would take over, with her as Royal Rumble winner, Iyo Sky as WWE women's champion and Asuka and Kairi Sane as women's tag team champions. Rhea Ripley interrupted the promo only to be attacked by Nia Jax on her way to the ring. Jax dominated Ripley before hitting her with the Annihilator. Damage CTRL then backed out the ring, leaving Bayley alone. Jax grabbed a microphone and told Bayley to pick Sky or anyone else because Ripley wouldn't make it to WrestleMania, leaving Bayley to say she would make her decision at SmackDown on Friday.

The segment with Rhodes and Rollins was fantastic. Rollins made a compelling case for why Rhodes should chose the world heavyweight championship rather than face Reigns for a second consecutive year. It's unlikely WWE would throw that curveball, but giving Rhodes a bit of tension over his decision was a solid move, especially considering how rare Reigns appearances will be to build to the match. Similarly, though less interestingly, Bayley has been backed into a corner. If Jax blocks her path to Ripley, she must face her Damage CTRL teammate in a world title match. The decision over which title to challenge for should not be easy, it should be both strategic and emotional and putting that on Rhodes and Bayley was the right move. Added points for Rollins' delivery in his segment. Grade: A

What else happened on WWE Raw?

• CM Punk confirmed that he suffered a torn tricep in the Royal Rumble. Punk said he would miss WrestleMania, struggling with the idea that his lifelong dream of main eventing WrestleMania may never happen. At the conclusion of the promo, Punk was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, who said he was not a spiritual man but that he prayed for Punk's injury and it happened. McIntyre attacked Punk before Sami Zayn ran in for the save. You can read more about Punk's injury here. The segment led to Zayn vs. McIntyre in the night's main event.
• Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship -- The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest) (c) def. #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa via pinfall when Balor hit Gargano with a Coup de Grace. After the match, Judgment Day called R-Truth to the ring before running Truth down and making it clear he is not in the group before the four men attacked. The Miz tried to make a save but was also beat down.
• Zoey Stark & Shayna Baszler def. Chelsea Green & Piper Niven via pinfall when Stark hit Green with Z360.
• Jey Uso def. Bronson Reed via pinfall with an Uso Splash.
• Andrade signed a contract cementing him as a member of the Raw roster after his return to WWE at the Royal Rumble.
• Intercontinental Championship -- Gunther (c) def. Kofi Kingston via pinfall with a powerbomb. Xavier Woods came to the ring to check on Kingston after the match only to be attacked by Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser. Woods nearly fought both off only for the Imperium members to beat him down and run him into the ring post.
• Drew McIntyre def. Sami Zayn via pinfall with a Claymore. McIntyre delivered an inadvertent low blow as Zayn tried to hit a Helluva kick but felt no remorse as he followed up with the Claymore to score the win.