WWE Monday Night Raw: Drew McIntyre clears the ring

WWE Elimination Chamber gets a big title match. 

In order to get the WrestleMania 37, men and women on the WWE roster must get through the Elimination Chamber. Monday Night Raw continued the storylines leading into that event, including the announcement that Drew McIntyre is defending the title in the cage against five former champions.

The night kicked off with a singles match between Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles, two of the men just announced for the Elimination Chamber. Hardy and Styles started off going back and forth until Styles landed a boot to the stomach to stop any of his opponent’s momentum. But Hardy is a veteran of the game and Styles could not keep him down forever, at least until he started to attack Hardy’s injured knee both in and outside of the ring.

That injury allowed for Styles to take over, focusing on Hardy’s badly hurt leg. Hardy fought back, laying Styles out with a Twist of Fate, but when he went for the Swanton Bomb, he crashed and burned into the center of the ring. Styles, locked in the Calf Crusher, forcing Hardy to submit in the middle of the ring.

New Day vs RETRIBUTION in tag action

The New Day were out next to compete against RETRIBUTION in tag team action. Slapjack and T-Bar took on Woods and Kingston. Woods started things off against Slapjack with both men exchanging multiple holds. T-Bar turned things around for his team momentarily, but they continued to struggle against the former tag team champions.

T-Bar and Slapjack were able to rebound, isolating Woods from Kingston and attacking them in their corner. Kingston eventually got the tag and the former WWE champion kicked things into a higher gear. The New Day exchanged a series of tags and hit the Day Break for the victory.

Charlotte Flair and Lacey Evans got into an impromptu match, after a back-and-forth moment in the ring. Flair was attacked before the match started, but even at a disadvantage she was able to deal with nearly everything Evans had to offer.

Evans took too much time trying to mimic the moves of Ric Flair, which allowed Charlotte to get back on the advantage, until Evans used Ric to her advantage. Flair would not stay down, but Evans was determined to win this match. Evans continued to try to pin Flair but could not get the win. Evans tried lock in the Figure Four, but Flair countered, cornering Evans, and battering her until the referee called for the bell, ending the match in a disqualification.

Angel Garza was enlisted by the Miz and John Morrison to help them against Damian Priest. Garza got off to a great start against the bigger man, even getting their help as the distracted the referee. He did not have that advantage for long though, once Priest got back to his feet, he would lay Garza out with a series of kicks and punches. Bunny’s help opened the door for Priest to hit the Reckoning on Garza and get the victory.

Keith Lee battles Matt Riddle

Matt Riddle took on Keith Lee in a singles match. Riddle tried to use his submission game against the bigger man, but Lee’s strength was too much when the match first started. It was working until Lee laid out Riddle after running him over with the Pounce. Riddle continued to fight back, however, cornering the bigger man for a moment.

Riddle was finally able to ground Lee, even hitting him with the Floating Bro. But Lee continued to kick out of every pin attempt. Riddle went back to the submission series, but Lee countered, even hitting him with the Spirit Bomb, which is where he would get the victory for the night.

The rivalry between Lana and Nia Jax continued, with the two women facing off against each other in a one-on-one battle. Jax did not waste any time, slamming Lana around the ring with multiple powerbombs. Jax continued to toy with Lana, but Lana fought back, landing kicks and slaps of her own. Lana had Jax teetering at one moment, hanging on the ring apron. Jax stepped outside the ring and that gave Lana the opening to run Jax through the table, winning the contest.

Shayna Baszler and Naomi got into it after the match, resulting in the two ladies having a singles match of their own. Baszler quickly grounded Naomi and attacked her arms with kicks and holds. Baszler would even lock in the Kirifuda Clutch, but Naomi rolled to the ropes. Baszler made the mistake of attacking Lana outside, and when she tried to get back into the ring Naomi rolled her up for the victory.

Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton battled in the main event of the evening. The match barely started before Sheamus ran down to the ring. The distraction was enough to help Orton get the advantage over the champion. McIntyre continued to fight back, laying Orton out with a Neck Breaker at one point in the match. Orton hit the Draping DDT and a Super Plex, but neither were enough to put McIntyre out. The finish came as a disqualification when Sheamus tried to get involved, hitting Orton by accident.

WWE Monday Night Raw results

• AJ Styles defeated Jeff Hardy via submission
• The New Day defeated RETRIBUTION via pinfall.
• Lacey Evans defeated Charlotte Flair via disqualification
• Damian Priest defeated Angel Garza via pinfall
• Keith Lee defeated Matt Riddle via pinfall
• Lana defeated Nia Jax in a table match
• Naomi defeated Shayna Baszler via pinfall
• Randy Orton defeated Drew McIntyre via disqualification