Jey Uso shocked the wrestling world Saturday night in Indianapolis by eliminating John Cena and winning the 2025 Men's Royal Rumble. Just 48 hours after the monumental win that cashed his ticket to WrestleMania 41 and a world title shot of his choosing, the immensely popular Superstar appeared on WWE Raw on Netflix from Cleveland.

What did Uso have to say about his win and who he plans to challenge in Las Vegas at The Showcase of the Immortals?

What did Charlotte Flair, winner of the women's Rumble match, have to say about her triumphant return?

Find out with this recap of a show that also saw the first two Elimination Chamber qualifying matches, one of which saw CM Punk square off with Sami Zayn.

Match Card

Announced in advance of the February 3 episode were:

• Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: CM Punk vs. Sami Zayn
  
• Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Iyo Sky vs. Liv Morgan
• Charlotte Flair appearance

Jey Uso Kicked Off Raw

The winner of the 2025 Men's Royal Rumble kicked off Raw, and after the electricity of his entrance, faced the crowd unsure of what to say to their overwhelming support. His face painted with emotions, he detailed his initial fears of being a singles star before admitting he has the confidence now.

World heavyweight champion Gunther interrupted and threatened punishment unlike any seen before if Uso chose to challenge him at WrestleMania.

The No. 1 contender said he would head to SmackDown and chat with Cody Rhodes, but regardless of who he chooses to compete against in Las Vegas, he will leave WrestleMania as champion.

Uso is the most buzzed-about star in WWE right now, and following up his momentous win in the opening segment was the right call. The emotion with which he addressed the WWE Universe and their reaction to him only supports the idea that Uso is the right guy at the right time to win the Rumble and challenge for the title on wrestling's grandest stage.

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Despite the internet telling the whole world that he was the wrong guy to win the Rumble, a huge ovation accompanied Uso to the ring.
• Chants of "you deserve it" greeted Uso before he could say a word and a standing ovation followed.
• Uso said he didn't have it, that he was too afraid of the "singles star thing," but coming out tonight, he's got it now. 
• "Let's be honest here, Jey: you can't even lace my boots," Gunther said.
• "If you choose me, every week is going to be hell, with WrestleMania being the most horrible display of violence this industry has ever seen," the world champion warned Uso.

Penta vs. Ludwig Kaiser

On the heels of a humbling Royal Rumble appearance that saw him eliminated by Penta in just six seconds, Ludwig Kaiser squared off with the masked newcomer in the night's opening contest.

The right-hand man to Gunther dominated the action, showing great aggression and fury as he wore down the luchador. Penta mounted a comeback, though, fired off his high-flying arsenal, and ultimately caught Kaiser with the Sacrifice armbreaker. The Penta Driver finished him off and delivered the babyface the hard-fought victory.

Pete Dunne interrupted an attempted interview by Jackie Redmond and Kaiser beat Penta down to close the segment.

This was another solid in-ring outing from Penta, even as things got somewhat clunky down the stretch. A feud with Dunne and Kaiser, in which he may have to consult some backup, is a solid enough way to utilize him for a few weeks before the WrestleMania plans become somewhat clearer for the newest sensation in WWE.

Result

Penta defeated Kaiser

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Penta is great at firing up and getting the crowd back into the match. The audience feeds off of his energy.
• Cole put over Penta's impressive string of victories to this point in WWE, running down the list of athletes he has defeated. It was a little touch that elevated the significance of the first few weeks with the company.
• Kaiser and Dunne allying is an interesting potential direction for both men. Especially given Dunne's history with Gunther. 

Charlotte Flair Promo

If you thought The Queen would be welcomed back with wide arms by the WWE Universe, you were sadly mistaken as Flair was met with more boos than cheers and only fed into them Monday night.

After trying to express how much she missed the fans and how the last year broke her physically and mentally, she almost dared the boos to continue, telling the fans that love her or hate her, she loves all of them.

Rhea Ripley interrupted as Michael Cole reminded the audience that Mami and The Queen have battled twice before at WrestleMania and teased another match-up between the two, though not as hard as the competitors themselves did.

Flair insulted Ripley, causing the women's world champion to beg her to pick The Eradicator and creating a cliffhanger surrounding the Rumble winner's WrestleMania choice.

This was fine and pushing Flair toward the heel side of things is the right call. She thrives in that role, and even if she opts to challenge Tiffany Stratton, she likely would have been booed in favor of Tiffy Time anyway.

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Flair admitting that last year broke her, only to be met with boos was rough. She fought through it nicely, though.
• Ripley's pop rivaled Uso's for biggest of the night to this point.
• After saying she would go to NXT to see if Giulia "inspires" her, Flair called Ripley "just a kid."
• "Pick me…please pick me…so I can beat the respect into you," Ripley implored The Queen. 
• Backstage, Sami Zayn congratulated Uso on his Royal Rumble victory, but he then had a tense confrontation with Karrion Kross, who threatened to become a problem for him if necessary.

Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee vs. The New Day

The rivalry between New Day and the LWO reignited Monday as Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods battled Rey Mysterio and WWE Speed champion Dragon Lee in tag team action. To secure a victory, Mysterio would have to overcome interference from Logan Paul, his opponent in next Monday's Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match.

It was easier said than done.

Despite a late match comeback that saw the babyfaces roll, keeping the heels off-guard, Paul made his presence felt. Mysterio struck out against the social media maven and paid for it as Paul laid into him and set him up for Woods and Kingston to defeat.

A solid match from an in-ring perspective, which should be expected given the talent involved, it ultimately took a backseat to Paul's shenanigans at ringside. What started as a run that exceeded expectations early on has devolved into "go away" heat for The Maverick. It will take a minor miracle to reverse that sentiment.

Result

New Day defeated LWO

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Before the match, Iyo Sky teased meeting Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania, only to get jumped by Liv Morgan. When Mami made the save, Raquel Rodriguez attacked her.
• New Day has darker theme music that, as Pat McAfee noted, "is quite the bopper." 
• The crowd was overwhelmingly hostile toward Paul.
• CM Punk vowed to beat Sami Zayn, win the Elimination Chamber, and head to WrestleMania 41.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Iyo Sky vs. Liv Morgan

Liv Morgan will compete inside the Elimination Chamber in Toronto on March 1 thanks to a controversial finish to her qualifying match against Iyo Sky.

The former women's champion was repeatedly cut off, taken down, and nearly beaten by The Genius of the Sky. Raquel Rodriguez interfered on her behalf but even that failed to derail Sky's moment.

When Rhea Ripley hit the ring to fend off Rodriguez, she also struck Morgan, drawing a disqualification and costing Sky the match.

The victorious heel slinked her way up the ramp with her bodyguard while a frustrated Sky verbally laid into the women's world champion and walked out on her.

The finish creates tension between Ripley and Sky, leading to a potential WrestleMania match. It also keeps Morgan in the mix until her expected tag team rivalry with Bianca Belair and Naomi takes over.

That the match was damn good and highlighted the strengths of each woman only served to enhance the entire thing.

Result

Morgan defeated Sky via disqualification

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Sky showed great aggression early on as she avenged the backstage attack that left her nursing a bum left shoulder.
• Morgan has grown as an in-ring performer exponentially over the last year and, amid criticism of her feud with Ripley and storyline with Dirty Dom, that does not get talked about enough.
• Sky had an answer for everything Morgan threw at her, including interference from Rodriguez.

Seth "Freakin" Rollins Promo

Seth Rollins cut a promo on the events of the Royal Rumble, taking great solace in knowing CM Punk and Roman Reigns did not win the match and are, as of now not headed to WrestleMania. He took pride in injuring The Tribal Chief and called out Sami Zayn before hyping him up for his Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match, encouraging him to get tough and beat Punk.

This was just moments after expressing his own desire to enter the Chamber and head to WrestleMania.

This was a great bit of character business from Rollins, who continues to denounce Punk as a person but in the promo with Zayn alone, attempted to manipulate the former Intercontinental champion into keeping Punk out of the Chamber because The Visionary knows he cannot beat The Straight Edge Superstar.

It also ended with a brief brawl with Punk, leading to a hot conclusion to a quality promo segment.

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Rollins takes glee in the misfortune of Punk. It is on brand and the consistency with which he expresses that hatred is admirable.
• "For the past 4 years, Roman Reigns has done nothing but hurt those close to him," Rollins said.
• "You are levels above CM Punk," Rollins told Zayn.

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: CM Punk vs. Sami Zayn

CM Punk joined John Cena as an entrant in the 2025 Men's Elimination Chamber match Monday night, defeating Sami Zayn in a superb main event.

The win came after 20-plus minutes of action that saw Zayn nearly upset Punk on more than one occasion. Each competitor prepared their finisher, only to have it countered or stunted before Punk finally caught a charging Zayn with Go To Sleep for the win.

After the match, the two combatants met in the middle of the ring for show of respect when Kevin Owens came from out of nowhere and dropped Zayn with a package piledriver, seemingly setting in motion a battle of good friends turned bitter enemies for WrestleMania 41.

A great match and a newsworthy angle to close out the show makes this an easy thumbs up.

Result

Punk pinned Zayn

Grade

A

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Punk's Bret Hart-inspired tights will always be top-shelf ring gear.
• For two guys wrestling each other for the first time, there was a smoothness to the match that is rare for first-time opponents. 
• Overconfident Punk taunting Zayn, only to almost get rolled up and beaten was a great moment that only enhanced the latter's underdog persona.
• Owens continued to troll his targets this week, wearing a "Sami Zayn Forever" shirt while he attacked its namesake.

Overall Grade

WWE continued its hot streak with another quality Raw that saw the company continue to hint at Jey Uso vs. Gunther for WrestleMania, hinted at Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley III while also pointing to Ripley vs. Iyo Sky in Las Vegas, featured two strong Elimination Chamber Qualifying bouts, and put an exclamation point on the show with the Kevin Owens attack of Sami Zayn.

With WrestleMania taking place two weeks later than normal, there is not the usual sense of urgency from a creative standpoint, nor does there have to be. Instead, this was a solid show that stayed within the context of ongoing stories without feeling the need to get overly fancy and water things down.

More of this, please.

Grade: B+