WWE Raw results, Jan. 28, 2019: Brock Lesnar mauls Seth Rollins as their WrestleMania main event is set

The Kingslayer and WWE's "Moral Compass" square off as Triple H observes.

PHOENIX — Seth Rollins has won the Men’s Royal Rumble Match, he’s pointed at the sign, and he’s off on The Road to WrestleMania, whether he’s ready or not. Though The Kingslayer had promised to take his time deciding who he would challenge at The Showcase of the Immortals, Triple H came out to force his former protégé’s hand by informing him that WWE Champion Daniel Bryan and Universal Champion Brock Lesnar would both be in the building later in the night, and Rollins had to pick his poison by the end of the night.

The King of Kings’ session was quickly interrupted, however, by Dean Ambrose, who successfully wheedled his way into a match against Rollins by dropping a salient point or two (Rollins has pretty much never beaten him without help) and striking a nerve with Triple H, who was hesitant at first to make the match (“Do you need to ask your father-in-law for permission?”). Ambrose did indeed have Rollins’ number at the outset, as some combination of wear and tear and the magnitude of the choice before him seemed to leave The Architect a step slower than usual. In fact, Ambrose nearly ensnared Rollins in La Magistral, but The Kingslayer rallied in characteristic fashion, answering with the bucklebomb, superkick, and a Stomp to put Ambrose away — much to the visible frustration of The Lunatic Fringe.

The Olympic Hero rekindles his rivalry with his fellow former Raw authority figure.

You may remember a few months ago when Kurt Angle was savaged by Drew McIntyre, but what you may not recall is that The Olympic Hero was originally slated to face Baron Corbin that night. So, Angle’s bout with the former General Manager-Elect wasn’t just a grudge match with the man who replaced him as Raw’s showrunner, but a chance for the WWE Hall of Famer to exact some long-stewing redemption.

Unfortunately, redemption slipped through his fingers, as did The Lone Wolf’s ankle. Angle ensnared Corbin in his signature Ankle Lock and cranked hard, but Corbin escaped the maneuver, dropped his foe with the Deep Six and kept him down for three. Eager to rub his victory in the audience’s face, Corbin returned to the ring to administer the End of Days to Angle and cap off an evening of complete vindication — though not, perhaps, for the man everyone expected.

The Intercontinental Champion brutalizes Finn Bálor in the wake of The Extraordinary Man's clash with Brock Lesnar at WWE Royal Rumble.

Tapping out to a Kimura Lock wasn’t quite the ending Finn Bálor envisioned for his Universal Championship bout with Brock Lesnar. But the Irishman was willing to call it a moral victory, recasting Lesnar’s post-match beatdown of him as a reflection of the fact that he had, against all odds, made The Conqueror into a believer and asserted himself as a threat. Bobby Lashley? Not quite so easily convinced.

The All Mighty and Lio Rush hit the ring to talk themselves up at Bálor’s expense — a bit of overcompensation, Finn reasoned, for Lashley’s near-immediate exit from the Royal Rumble Match. The Intercontinental Champion responded by ruthlessly dropping the Irishman three times before Rush draped his shirt over the fallen Superstar’s body. It was a demoralizing ending to The Extraordinary Man’s fairy-tale run at the Universal Title, but there might be a silver lining for the fallen David: This time, Goliath seems to be coming to him.

Former tag team partners and longtime friends Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins join forces against Raw's "Top Guys."

Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins’ reunion last week was a major moment almost 10 years in the making, but the former WWE Tag Team Champions have a long way to go before they can hang with the likes of The Revival, who are borderline telepathic at this point in terms of their communication and skill. Add onto the fact that Hawkins still can’t quite shake the bad juju of his losing streak, and The Prince of Queens was ripe pickings for a Shatter Machine after a surging Ryder was sent tumbling out of the ring. The Ultimate Broski was more than supportive of his friend after the loss, but there’s still work to be done.

WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett and Road Dogg take issue with Elias' change of attitude, sparking a brawl with The Living Truth that ends in brutal fashion.

Elias isn’t happy. The Living Truth may have gone all man-of-the-people for a minute, but those days are behind him, and now he’s just performing for himself. That obviously didn’t sit well with Jeff Jarrett, who took a guitar across the back at the Royal Rumble, but another aggrieved party was the Road Dogg, who resurfaced for an impromptu duet of “With My Baby Tonight” alongside the WWE Hall of Famer to make up for the concert Elias would not give them. The Living Truth was once again unimpressed, and he shattered guitars over the backs of the D-O-Double-G and, after a brief fracas, Jarrett himself.

The Huggable One looks to reclaim the Raw Women's Title by going up against The Baddest Woman on the Planet.

Sasha Banks took Ronda Rousey to the limit at Royal Rumble. Bayley very famously defeated Sasha Banks in a match that provided one of the cornerstones of the Women’s Evolution. So, could The Huggable One succeed where her tag team partner failed against The Baddest Woman on the Planet?

No, she could not. But she came very close, thanks in part to the lingering damage from The Boss and the open-challenge stipulation that gave Bayley an element of surprise. An injury to The Baddest Woman on the Planet’s knee gave Bayley an extra leg up as well (so to speak), and The Huggable One capitalized with an impressive kneebar. She even tried to literally succeed where Banks failed by applying the Bank Statement. When that failed, Bayley went high risk by climbing to the top rope, and Rousey struck, rolling her off the turnbuckle and right into an Armbar for the submission win.

Of course, conspicuous by her absence was the Superstar who had won the Women’s Royal Rumble, who has harbored a grudge against Rousey for months and who was slated to make her decision as to who she’ll challenge at WrestleMania: Becky Lynch. The Man’s shadow loomed large even as Rousey and Bayley shook hands in the ring. And then…

The Monster Among Men squares off against The Scottish Psychopath in a true clash of titans.

Braun Strowman fought the good fight and narrowly missed out on WrestleMania in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match. And, having congratulated Seth Rollins on a battle well won, The Monster Among Men turned his attention to some unfinished business with Drew McIntyre, who helped injure Strowman a couple months ago and has been skating by untouched ever since.

That certainly ended as Strowman administered These Hands to The Scottish Psychopath, but ultimate payback was snatched from him in more than one fashion: Baron Corbin’s interference handed Strowman the disqualification win (a literal, if not satisfying, victory), and a two-on-one attack from the pair got the better of The Gift of Destruction, who suffered a double chokeslam atop the steel steps.