For anyone that didn’t read these back in October, here’s what’s going on. Each segment that aired during Monday Night Raw this October was graded on a scale of one to ten Woo’s. Every segment received a grade, and that grade was assigned to the wrestlers involved. Every month, these grades will be compiled, and we’ll list the best performers. Here are the best performers from the month of January.
Read More: Monday Night Raw Review: Royal Fallout
Monday Night Raw Review (January)
Top Ten Superstars
10. Gallows and Anderson (29)
Gallows and Anderson finally won Monday Night Raw’s Tag Team Championships at the Royal Rumble, and thank god. They’ve been so terribly misbooked for months, and now, at the very least, they can say they’re champions. I’m sick and tired of watching these two wrestle Cesaro and Sheamus, and hopefully they’ll make their way to SmackDown to reunite with AJ Styles at some point.
9. Bayley (30)
Watching Bayley was hard in January. She’s a ton of fun, and her feud with Charlotte is very good. However, it was obvious from the beginning that they weren’t going to end Charlotte’s pay per view streak anywhere but Wrestlemania. She’s doing good work, but unless they were going to put the Raw Women’s Title on the line, nothing eventful was going to happen.
8. Titus O’Neil (36)
Here’s the problem with the Woo system. Titus O’Neil had multiple segments on almost every Monday Night Raw last month. They were pretty bad, but not terrible, and those fives and sevens add up over time. Titus O’Neil basically made an ass out of himself twice a week on Raw every week, and here he is. Maybe next month, we’ll change the algorithm.
7. New Day (36)
The New Day are fantastic, but they’re floundering. They’re not in the title hunt, and lately they’ve been showing up to humiliate Titus O’Neil. They need to do something with this talented trio, as the weakened tag team division is quickly rushing them towards their expiration date.
6. Sami Zayn (46)
Sami Zayn is far too talented for his Wrestlemania status to be up in the air like this. He’s the only wrestler to put on two matches that were at least 10 Woo’s in January, and his work with Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins was fantastic. He’s my pick to win the Royal Rumble in 2018, but hopefully WWE won’t make us wait that long to give him something to do.
5. Braun Strowman (50)
Braun Strowman is getting better every week, and the way that WWE has booked him to be an unbeatable big man is fantastic. However, it looks like he’s destined to face off with Roman Reigns at FastLane, and hopefully that doesn’t mean he’s going to lose. First bet? Roman Reigns will be setting up a spear to finish Strowman when the Undertaker’s gong hits and the Dead Man interferes. Book it, Vince.
4. Roman Reigns (51)
Roman, Roman, Roman, what are we going to do with you? While there’s no doubt that Roman Reigns has improved lately, the fans still despise him. It seems like WWE might be preparing to turn Reigns heel, as his opponent at Mania looks to be the Undertaker and creative deliberately trolled the WWE universe at the Royal Rumble.
3. Seth Rollins (73)
Seth Rollins started doing his best work… and then he got hurt. Something happened with Seth Rollins halfway through January and he started putting in really fantastic work. His match with Sami Zayn was a blast, he floored everyone by showing up at NXT, and then last week he was fantastic. His injury came at the worst time, and hopefully he’ll be back in time for Mania.
2. Kevin Owens (74)
When you’re the Universal Champion, you’re gonna get a ton of television time. When you’re a fantastic wrestler and you’re the Universal Champion? You’re almost always going to land in the top five of this list.
1. Chris Jericho (93)
The number one wrestler on Monday Night Raw for the month of January was the United States Champion, Chris Jericho, and it wasn’t even close. Jericho is doing his best work in 2017, and it’s a damn shame that he’s leaving after WrestleMania. His work with the list, the gift of Jericho, and his best friend, Kevin Owens, makes Raw watchable. He’s absolutely fantastic, and has to be considered one of the best ever.
Best Segment: TIE
That’s right, in January, there were two segments that were two awesome to leave off the list. As far as Woo’s go, two segments defied logic and achieved the only Woo rating more prestigious than Meltzer’s six stars – 11 Woo’s.
Best Segment 1A: Braun Strowman vs. Sami Zayn (1/02/17)
This match was perfect. It could’ve gone either way, but despite that, Braun Strowman didn’t look like any less of a monster. Meanwhile, Sami Zayn was the perfect underdog. This match was booking magic, and having it be last man standing was the perfect fit.
Best Segment 1B: Seth Rollins and Triple H (1/30/17)
Wow. It’s a damn shame that Seth Rollins go hurt during this segment, because it was fantastic. Triple H cut an amazing promo, we finally got to see Seth Rollins and Triple H together on Monday Night Raw, and I didn’t expect Samoa Joe at all! It’s a damn shame that Rollins is hurt, and hopefully he’ll be back soon.
Worst Segment: Nia Jax vs. Ray Lyn (1/23/17)
This match exploited just how thin Raw’s women’s division really is. Nia Jax needs to look strong? Book her to destroy a jobber. That would be great except she’s already booked to look like a monster. Having her destroy no-name wrestlers when even Charlotte is afraid of her is just pointless.
Monthly Grade- 8/10 Woo’s
January was a solid month for Monday Night Raw. It seems like they’ve finally figured some things out, and if the show was an hour shorter, it would probably be better than SmackDown. Hopefully Seth Rollins’ injury isn’t too serious and he can come back soon, and Triple H becomes common place on Monday Night Raw again.
