Veteran NFL writer and Pat McAfee Show contributor Mark Kaboly breaks down Monday Night Raw on Netflix and recaps the Royal Rumble with 10 takeaways.

02:59

“Main Event” Jey Uso returns to Raw as the winner of the Royal Rumble Match. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more.

It’s Yeet time: If you were in anyway confused or bewildered with "Main Event" Jey Uso winning the Royal Rumble and punching his ticket to the main event at WrestleMania despite holding a singles title for 28 days over his 16 years with WWE, then the opening moments of Raw on Monday night should’ve cleared it up for you. Uso’s 10-minute entrance from the start of his music until the first word out of his mouth rivaled that of The Undertaker’s iconic WrestleMania walks to the ring. This isn’t suggesting that Uso can be compared to The Deadman, but Uco’s popularity is at an all-time high. People love the underdog, and Jey is that. It works. We have seen something similar play out like this in the past. Daniel Bryan was the massive underdog for a large part of his WWE career but caught lightning in a bottle with The "YES!" Movement that captivated the crowd and became a mainstream phenomenon (sound familiar?) that propelled him to the main event at WrestleMania. Bryan won two matches at WrestleMania XXX on the same day, including a Triple Threat Match that got him the WWE Championship. Who knows the longevity of this? It might be a couple of months or a career, but after Monday, even the haters have to be somewhat curious.

03:00

"Main Event” Jey Uso has a message for World Heavyweight Champion Gunther when The Ring General suggests that the Royal Rumble winner should choose WWE Champion Cody Rhodes instead of him at WrestleMania. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Gunther not having it: Gunther’s message to Uso didn't seem as powerful as it might have been by The Ring General, but the pockets of truth weaved in and out of it made it hit. In his eyes, beating Uso at WrestleMania doesn’t do anything to add to his resume. Gunther has won all three of his singles matches against Jey, including a few weeks back on Saturday Night’s Main Event. Jey has held a singles title for 28 days in his career, and Gunther is now over 850. Opposing John Cena, Roman Reigns, Seth "Freakin" Rollins or CM Punk would do much more for Gunther’s career than beating Uso, which leads me to believe that Uso’s opponent at WrestleMania might not be Gunther. We’ve been there and done that… at least that’s what Gunther is thinking. 

02:58

The Second City Saint earns his place inside the Elimination Chamber in a hard-fought showdown against Sami Zayn. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Putting on a clinic: The best match on Raw was Punk and Sami Zayn, even though it might not have passed the eye test at first glance. You figured that Punk would come away victorious with it being a Qualifying Match for the Elimination Chamber and he did. Zayn continues to be heavily involved in many stories and is getting his share of top-of-the-card billing, and Monday showed why. Even though he didn’t take to the mic to talk to Punk, his backstage versatility with Uso and Karrion Kross makes Zayn so easily be put into different elements of the show at the drop of a hat. He’s an elite Superstar, he has that best friend feel to him, and you can easily root for him.

01:04

Moments after CM Punk defeats Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens launches a vicious sneak attack on his best friend. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Quick but effective: Kevin Owens’ sneak attack at the end of Raw on Zayn and delivering a Package Piledriver while wearing a Zayn Forever t-shirt was a perfect cliffhanger to what was an entertaining Raw. Why did Owens attack his former best friend? Will Zayn be out for an extended period? Will the two Canadians meet at the Elimination Chamber in Toronto? Is this setting up a WrestleMania match? Owens continuing to be unhinged regardless of person, place or time is so good, and I don’t know if anybody on the roster could pull that off like Owens can. 

03:02

The Women’s World Champion tells Charlotte Flair to challenge her at WrestleMania. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Don’t fight it: WWE listens to its fans. A lot. It’s good for business when they do that, so who wouldn’t be shocked that Charlotte Flair eventually gets fed up with the boos from the crowd and morphs back to where she’s her best – a "bad guy." Charlotte’s return and victory at the Royal Rumble – definitely wasn’t appreciated by the hardcores online – also wasn’t universally accepted by the fans then and not at Raw on Monday. Her victory address was about as opposite of Uso’s as can be. Flair pulled out all of the babyface tricks, saying she missed the fans and that she fought her way back from a knee injury to no avail. That’s fine. To me, it’s strange. Flair coming back instantly makes her the top dog and rightfully so. It's not like she left because she wanted to. She was injured. Oh well, either way, she will be just fine.

02:58

The Visionary calls out Sami Zayn to make it clear to him that he is levels above The Second City Saint. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Seth a true tweener: Rollins has straddled the line of "good guy" and "bad guy" quite well over the past few months. He’s been whining, complaining, doing unsavory stuff yet still gets a loud pop when he comes out. I’m not sure how much longer that will last based on Monday’s Raw episode. Rollins added manipulation into his arsenal when he spent all of his television time not addressing his post-elimination Rumble antics outside the ring that left Reigns out for the foreseeable future but trying to manipulate his friend Zayn with what felt like a motivational speech. It was all in the name of not what’s best for his friend but what was best for himself, and that’s not to face Punk in the Elimination Chamber if it all ends up going down that road. It makes me wonder when Rollins goes full-on bad guy because I think he just may be good at that.

03:02

The BruiserWeight emerges to interrupt Penta just moments after the luchador defeated Ludwig Kaiser, setting the stage of a vicious attack by the fallen Imperium Superstar. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Three ways for Penta: WWE is taking baby steps with Penta by matching him up against Chad Gable, Pete Dunne, and now Ludwig Kaiser for his first three singles matches with the company. It feels like Penta’s getting introduced to the WWE crowd that might not be aware of his resume more than the other way around. Penta has put together three solid matches with Monday’s against Kaiser being the best one. With Dunne somewhat interfering and Kaiser jumping Penta, it looks like a potential three-way at WrestleMania (or WWE Elimination Chamber) that would be a must-watch.

02:52

Logan Paul interferes in Rey Mysterio’s tag team match one week before he will battle The Legendary Luchador in an Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

New Day debut: New Day got a new entrance theme for their first tag team match since turning the return of "New Day sucks!". Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston defeated Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee with some help from Logan Paul. With The Maverick being from the Cleveland area and having Mysterio on the docket, it made sense for Paul to show up and mess with next week’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match opponent. My only question is if the timing was the best with The New Day debuting their new style in totality. 

03:01

Former Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan earns a place inside the career-altering Elimination Chamber after Rhea Ripley’s confrontation with Raquel Rodriguez creates bedlam. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more. #WWERAW

Rhea butting in: There may have been only four matches on the show. Liv Morgan and IYO SKY were either 1A or 1B, especially when you consider both spent over an hour in the Women’s Royal Rumble Match on Saturday. While the match in itself was fine, the takeaway here is how good of a villain Morgan is. Rubbing it in the face of Rhea Ripley being responsible for her entrance into the Elimination Chamber sounded like something you would hear coming out of a high school kid’s mouth, and I say that with all due respect.
 

10:00

CM Punk, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre, Jey Uso and more highlight one of the most star-studded Royal Rumble Matches in history, presented by Cricket. Catch WWE action on Netflix, Peacock, USA Network, CW Network, Sony India and more.

Rumble Review: Nobody had Uso winning The Royal Rumble, especially with the likes of Reigns, Rollins, Punk, Cena and McIntyre involved, making the outcome even more of a feel-good story. … We all saw Speed getting speared by Bron Breakker, but watching the reactions of the people outside the ring was almost as special. … If John Cena got the biggest pop, then Joe Hendry was a solid No. 2. … Having Punk, Reigns, and Cena all staring each other down was an iconic moment. … Jacob Fatu eliminating four guys before getting tossed by Braun Strowman protected each Superstar. … How the Rumble ended allowed it to be believable. … The Women’s Rumble had a nice mix of the past and the future. … Nia Jax came out looking the most dominant. … Cody Rhodes seemed on the brink of snapping. Some say he needed to do that to beat KO, but this title run might be getting to him. … The Ladder Match was refreshing because it didn’t rely on outlandish ladder spots. Instead, it used the ladder with punishing and brutal impact to tell the story.