WWE Raw XXX preview (Jan. 23, 2023): Sami Zayn is guilty

Raw airs tonight (Jan. 23) with a live show from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is the final episode of Raw during the nine week build towards Royal Rumble, which takes place this Saturday (Jan. 28). It’s also the celebration of Raw’s 30th anniversary.

Sami Zayn is guilty

Sami Zayn was on the verge of becoming a full-fledged member of The Bloodline two months ago at WarGames. On that night, he chose loyalty to Roman Reigns over his friendship with Kevin Owens. But things have quickly gone south for the Honorary Uce.

Since WarGames, Zayn has been more aggressive in trying to make his mark as a proud member of The Bloodline, but he has stepped on Roman’s toes a few times along the way. Then, thanks to John Cena, Zayn made the terrible mistake of contributing to a loss on Roman’s near-perfect record as 2022 came to a close.

Roman has since snapped at Zayn multiple times, accusing him of wanting to take his spot as the Tribal Chief, and being insulted when Sami openly wondered if he was just being used. That seed of doubt was planted in Sami’s head by Kevin Owens.

Owens is challenging Reigns for the WWE Universal championship at Royal Rumble. During last week’s contract signing for that match, Owens ambushed the entire Bloodline and powerbombed Roman through a table. Zayn never made it out to the ring until all the damage was done and Owens had escaped. All the members of The Bloodline glared at Sami, wondering why he wasn’t there to watch the Tribal Chief’s back.

As a result, Sami Zayn is on trial tonight in the Tribal Court, which features multiple generations of The Bloodline. Sami’s defense for what happened at the contract signing will likely revolve around Roman ordering him to do menial tasks like getting the car and the jet ready for The Bloodline. But if you blame the mob boss when something goes wrong, you’re getting whacked. Sami’s in a tricky spot here; this could very well be the end of his run with The Bloodline if the family finds him guilty.

Looking ahead, a main event championship match between Reigns and Zayn pretty much has to happen at either Elimination Chamber in Montreal on Feb. 18, or at WrestleMania 39 in early April. If Zayn’s title shot is coming four weeks from now in Montreal, then The Bloodline needs to destroy him ASAP, because the clock is ticking.

Tonight makes sense for the turn because Reigns doesn’t need Sami to beat Owens at Royal Rumble. There is no way Roman is losing against KO, so it will be hard for Sami to screw that one up. If Zayn is instead booted out of The Bloodline tonight, it also creates a very interesting scenario where he is a more viable contender to actually win the Royal Rumble match.

This is Raw XXX, the 30th anniversary of Raw, and viewership for this show should rank among WWE’s best numbers of the year. It’s a great time to feature the big angle that results in Sami’s breakup from The Bloodline, giving the best story in WWE a major plot twist as the hard push to WrestleMania gets going.

The rest of the title scene

United States Champion Austin Theory is scheduled to defend his title tonight against Bobby Lashley. Lashley earned the title match with some help from Omos. It looks like this is all part of MVP’s plan to reunite The Hurt Business. Could Brock Lesnar show up to screw Bobby over? Lesnar has to be part of the Royal Rumble event, right?

The Judgment Day will challenge The Usos for the Raw tag team titles tonight. Is there any chance that Jimmy and Jey lose these belts before the Trial of Sami Zayn?

Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair will defend the belt against Alexa Bliss at Royal Rumble. Alexa’s bizarre relationship with Bray Wyatt and Uncle Howdy has been a significant part of this story, catching Belair somewhat off guard.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions IYO SKY and Dakota Kai needed a new challenge, and they seemingly have it now in the form of Mia Yim and Candice LeRae.

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- Becky Lynch and Bayley are going at it tonight in a steel cage match. This one has been building up for at least a couple months, and it looks to me like The Man is in good position to win.

- Raw XXX will feature plenty of nostalgia. Some of the WWE stars from the past who are expected to appear tonight include Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Bella Twins, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Ron Simmons, Teddy Long, and Jerry Lawler.

- I think this is The Undertaker’s first time back on Raw or SmackDown since his Final Farewell at Survivor Series 2020. Are we getting the Dead Man gimmick, Biker Taker, or something else? Will he get physically involved, perhaps with a chokeslam on an obnoxious heel like Chad Gable?

- Are the Banger Bros. coming on Raw XXX?

- Now that Seth Rollins is out of the United States championship picture, he can focus all of his attention on preparing for the Royal Rumble match.

- Bronson Reed’s first match back in WWE was a dominant win over Akira Tozawa. Will he feast on one more babyface ahead of the Royal Rumble match?

- Is Dexter Lumis going to have a very creepy interaction with a WWE legend?

- Mustafa Ali was failing to capture Dolph Ziggler’s attention, so he resorted to violence last week. How will Dolph respond?

- Cody Rhodes is returning to WWE in the men’s Royal Rumble match. Will Matt Riddle follow suit, or will he return in some capacity tonight?

- There are plenty of Royal Rumble entrants left to announce, especially on the women’s side of the ledger.

- Now that Vince McMahon is back as the Executive Chairman of WWE, will he book himself to return to TV on Raw XXX?

What will you be looking for on Raw?