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WWE RAW REPORT
JANUARY 6, 2025
INGLEWOOD, CALIF. AT INTUIT DOME
AIRED LIVE ON NETFLIX
BY MAURICIO POMARES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor
Attendance: WrestleTix reports that 17,003 tickets were distributed. The arena has a capacity of 17,927,spectators when configured for basketball.
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[HOUR ONE]
– The show opened with a curtain covering the ring. A video was projected on the curtain. The video highlighted the story of wrestling and its rise during the era of television. Numerous memorable moments were shown on the curtain while describing the nature of wrestling stories and the element of truth that lies in them. The video ended with a man finishing a painting of a ring canvas featuring many of WWE’s greatest wrestlers. The curtain was dropped and Triple H stood tall in the ring to tell the crowd that they were being seen by the entire world and welcomed the fans to the Netflix era.
(Pomares’ Analysis: A really well-done video package to open the show with some ideas I’m not a huge fan of. Acknowledging the existence of heels and faces, as well as the concept of ‘shoot’ and ‘work’ really didn’t sit well with me as part of the actual televised show.)
– The lights turned off and The Rock made his way to the ring. Rock talked about traveling the roads with his father and how they watched wrestling back in the day. Rock mentioned how Netflix had changed the game and acknowledged the executives at Netflix that made this possible. He praised the work that Cody Rhodes had made over the last year. Rock mentioned Roman Reigns and said that he would have an eye on his match tonight before walking away.
(Pomares’ Analysis: The Rock was such a charismatic presence on TV that it nearly makes you ignore how little his promo accomplished. There’s every chance he could set up an angle later in the night, but for now that felt like a lot of corporate talk you would hear in an investors call and a sign that Rock is probably off this year’s WrestleMania.)
– Solo Sikoa made his way to the ring, as Michael Cole and Pat McAfee were shown on commentary.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Just putting this here to express my disappointment at Pat McAfee returning to commentary.)
[Commercial Break]
(1) ROMAN REIGNS (w/Paul Heyman) vs. SOLO SIKOA – Tribal Combat Match
They locked up and pushed each other to the ropes, until Roman dumped Solo out of the ring. Solo rammed Roman into the ring post and laid him out with a clothesline. Roman caught Solo with a couple of clotheslines, followed by a load of clotheslines into the corner. Solo surprised Roman with a strike to the head, only for Roman to send him out of the ring with a big boot. Solo put Roman down with an uranage onto the announce table and smashed a monitor on his head. Before Roman could react, Solo hurled the steel steps into his head, as WWE Raw went to commercials.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Solo introduced a couple of chairs to the ring and pummeled Roman with it. Solo put a chair on Roman’s neck, but missed a running hip attack into the steel steps. Roman smacked Solo with numerous chair shots and smashed his head into one. Solo avoided a Con-Chair-To and hit Roman with a low blow, setting him up for Spinning Solo and a two count. Roman stopped Solo from introducing a table by hitting him with a drive-by dropkick. Roman set up a table in the ring, only for Solo to clobber him with a kendo stick to the head.
Solo punished Roman with various kendo stick shots to the abdomen and back. Solo pressed the kendo on Roman’s mouth, but Roman managed to push it away and put him through the table with a powerbomb. Tama Tonga pulled the referee out of the ring while Jacob Fatu showed up behind Roman. Fatu clobbered Roman with a thrust kick and planted him with an Impaler DDT, setting him up for a moonsault. Solo hit Roman with the Samoan Spike, but he managed to kick out at two. Solo took the referee out with a Samoan Spike and threatened to attack Roman with another Samoan Spike.
Sami Zayn and Jimmy Uso showed up to make the save and lay Tama and Fatu out. Jimmy and Sami blasted Solo with a superkick and a Helluva Kick, allowing Roman to follow it with a Spear. A referee ran down to make the count, but Solo kicked out at two. Sami and Jey took Tama and Fatu out with a suicide dive and a Tope con HIlo. Kevin Owens showed up to lay Roman out with a Stunner for a nearfall. Cody Rhodes ran to the ring to start a brawl with Kevin before taking him out with the Cody Cutter. Solo blocked the Superman Punch, but Roman countered the Samoan Spike with a Spear. Roman nailed Solo with another Spear to pick up the win.
WINNER: Roman Reigns at 21:30
(Pomares’ Analysis: The wrestling essentially didn’t matter until the interference started happening. Solo has improved, but this gave me flashbacks to his match against Cody at SummerSlam where something similar happened. I wish Roman’s matches had a little more variety because we’ve seen a version of this match many times and I’m no longer that interested in seeing them.)
– The Rock showed up to present Roman Reigns with the Ula Fala and hugged him.
(Pomares’ Analysis: That as well as the hug to Cody Rhodes from earlier tonight pretty much confirmed that The Rock is not wrestling at this year’s WrestleMania.)
[Commercial Break]
[HOUR TWO]
– Another ∅ vignette was shown, featuring the face of a luchador mask and revealing his name as Penta.
– It was confirmed that next year’s Royal Rumble would take place in Saudi Arabia.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Not a fan of this nor the Riyahd Season logo on the canvas.)
– They showed Gabriel Iglesias, Ashton Kutcher, Michael Che, Rey Mysterio, the War Raiders, LA Knight and Wale watching the show from the crowd.
– John Cena made his way to the ring to talk about how big things are now that they are on Netflix. Cena talked about starting his career in LA and winning his first world title in the city. Cena thanked the fans before speaking about all the names that he could face at WrestleMania and on his last match. He said that a lot of people are asking when he will become a 17-time world champion.
– Cena said that he didn’t see it happening and said that he hadn’t won a singles match in a long time. Cena claimed that it would never happen and said that it would take a miracle to do so. He started listing some of the things he could before mentioning the Royal Rumble. Cena said that it would be his last Rumble and thanks to LA he was confident that he would win the Royal Rumble match.
(Pomares’ Analysis: A solid promo from John Cena that accomplished its simple goal of confirming that he would take part in the Royal Rumble. I expected for someone else to interrupt, but there’s plenty of time to do that later.)
– A video package showcasing Logan Paul was shown before showing him in the crowd.
– Liv Morgan made her way to the ring, ahead of her match against Rhea Ripley.
[Commercial Break]
– Seth Green, Macaulay Culkin, Danielle Fishel, Naomi, Bianca Belair, X-Pac, Shinsuke Nakamura were shown watching the show from the crowd.
(2) LIV MORGAN (w/Dominik Mysterio & Raquel Rodriguez) vs. RHEA RIPLEY – Womens’ World Championship
Ripley stomped Liv’s foot and laid her out with a Tree Slam, forcing her to roll out of the ring. Ripley crushed Liv with a cannonball off the apron before Dominik grabbed her leg. Liv caught Ripley with a jumping knee, only for Ripley to counter a hurracarrana with a powerbomb onto the announce table, as WWE Raw went to an ad break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Liv stomped Ripley down and took her down with a diving bulldog for a two count. Liv attacked Ripley with a kick to the abdomen and a stomp to the back, only for Ripley to lay her out with a series of clotheslines. Ripley put Liv down with a facebuster, followed by a sliding knee strike. Ripley dropped Liv with a deadlift suplex and a release German suplex for a two count. Liv evaded the Riptide and hit Ripley with a backstabber, setting her up for a Tornado DDT and a two count.
Liv nailed Ripley with an enzuigiri, but RIpley shocked her with Riptide for a nearfall. Dominik distracted the referee, allowing Liv to hit Ripley with Oblivion onto a chair for a close nearfall. Liv planted Ripley with the Three Amigos and crushed her with a Frog Splash for a two count. Ripley blocked Oblivion and slammed Liv to the mat before finishing her with two back-to-back Riptides.
WINNER: Rhea Ripley at 11:41 (New Women’s World Champion)
– After the match, Dominik Mysterio tried to hug Rhea Ripley, only for Ripley to hit him with a low blow and the Riptide. The Undertaker showed up on his motorcycle to celebrate alongside Rhea Ripley.
(Pomares’ Analysis: A pretty good match to finally put an end to one of the worst booked title reigns of 2024. Rhea Ripley back atop the division just in time for WrestleMania season really opens up the gates for many tantalizing matches at the Grandest Stage of Them All. I’m really looking forward to the women’s Rumble with Ripley and Stratton as the top champions.)
– Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed Adam Pearce who seemingly made some sort of deal with Bayley. Chad Gable and American Made interrupted Pearce’s interview to say that he had his sights on singles gold in 2025. Gable said that he would prove that he had no issues with luchadors and asked Pearce to book him against a luchador next week.
[Commercial Break]
– Footage of The Rock hanging out backstage and confirming that he would appear on tomorrow’s NXT was shown.
– Bill Simmons, Vanessa Hudgens, Michelle McCool, Damage CTRL and Lyra Valkyria were shown watching the show from the crowd.
– Jey Uso made his way to the ring, accompanied by Travis Scott, ahead of his match against Drew McIntyre.
[Commercial Break]
[HOUR THREE]
(3) JEY USO vs. DREW MCINTYRE
Jey hit Drew with a suicide dive while he made his entrance. Drew blocked a second suicide dive and floored Jey with an overhead throw on the floor. Once the match started, Jey nailed Drew with an enzuigiri, only for Drew to hit him with a rising kick mid-air. Drew attacked Jey with a series of chops and pummeled him in the corner. Jey nailed Drew with right hands and an enzuigiri, setting him up for a corner hip attack and a high crossbody. Drew dropped Jey with a neckbreaker, but Jey blocked his Claymore kick with a superkick for a two count. Drew blocked an Uso Splash with his knees and put him down with a spinebuster, following it with a powerbomb for a nearfall.
They traded numerous right hands, until Drew spiked Jey with a Future Shock DDT for a nearfall. Jey blocked the Claymore kick with a Spear for a two count. They traded numerous strikes, until Drew caught Jey with a Claymore kick for a shocking nearfall. Drew pummeled Jey down and beat him down with numerous chops. Jey collapsed off his feet before Drew could go for the Claymore kick. Jey avoided a Claymore kick and shocked Drew with a crucifix pinfall for the three count.
WINNER: Jey Uso at 10:20
(Pomares’ Analysis: A fine match with a surprisingly disconnected crowd after the entrances. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with this one, but this feels like it needed an actual angle to push the storyline forward. At least, this means that they are still pushing Jey Uso as a singles threat going into 2025.)
– A video package was shown, featuring Gunther training as world champion while claiming that he was where dreams, ambitions and hopes go to die.
– Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed comedian Gabriel Iglesias about his Netflix special and the debut of Raw on Netflix. The New Day interrupted to complain that they haven’t gotten the chance to explain themselves. They said that they shouldn’t waste time on buffons like Gabriel. Alpha Academy showed up to wish Gabriel a new year and walk away with him.
– Backstage, Paul Heyman asked Roman Reigns about the date of his next appearance. Roman said that he would be on January 27 and closed a door behind him that had WWE 2K25 written on it.
[Commercial Break]
– Richard Guy, Tiffany Haddish, Bron Breakker, Tiffany Stratton and Nikki Bella were shown watching the show from the crowd.
– Hulk Hogan showed up on the entrance way alongside Jimmy Hart to muddled boos from the crowd. Hogan talked about his tag team partners and the partnership between WWE and Netflix while the crowd kept on booing him.
(Pomares’ Analysis: The biggest waste of time on the show, but I gotta hand it to the Los Angeles crowd for their reaction.)
– It was announced that Dakota Kia and Lyra Valkyria would fight to crown a Women’s Intercontinental champion; Sheamus would take on Ludwig Kaiser; Chad Gable would face a luchador; and Damian Priest would battle Finn Bálor in a Street Fight.
– Stephanie McMahon was shown watching the show from the crowd.
– Seth Rollins made his way to the ring, ahead of his match against CM Punk.
[Commercial Break]
(4) CM PUNK vs. SETH ROLLINS
They immediately started exchanging right hands, until Punk clotheslined Rollins out of the ring. Punk missed a plancha, allowing Rollins to hit him with a suicide dive. Rollins cleared the announce table and nailed Punk with a chop to the chest. Punk launched Rollins over the barricade and dove on top of him. Punk blocked an axe handle with a gut punch before throwing him into the ring. Back in the ring, Punk avoided the Curb Stomp while Rollins blocked the GTS with a flurry of elbow strikes. Punk caught Rollins with a big boot and hung him on the top rope before dropping him with an avalanche swinging neckbreaker, as WWE Raw went to commercials.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Punk missed a corner knee strike, allowing Rollins to nail him with a forearm strike. Punk caught Rollins with two jumping knees and a series of clotheslines, followed by a swinging neckbreaker. Punk hit Rollins with a neckbreaker using the ropes, following it with a suicide dive. Rollins caught a high crossbody and sent Punk out of the ring with a GTS. Back in the ring, Punk shocked Rollins with a Curb Stomp for a two count. Rollins blocked the GTS and hit Punk with another GTS for a two count. Punk avoided a second Curb Stomp and rolled out of the ring before smashing his head into the announce table. Rollins blocked a GTS atop the announce table and dropped him with a Pedigree on the table.
Back in the ring, Rollins put Punk down with another Pedigree, but he kicked out at two. They started trading slaps and forearm strikes, until Punk caught Rollins with a roundhouse kick. Rollins countered a jumping knee strike with a buckle bomb, setting him up for a Curb Stomp. Punk managed to put his foot on the ropes to break the count at the last moment. Punk knocked Rollins off the top turnbuckle, but immediately jumped back to the top. Punk shocked Rollins with an instant GTS, making him stumble back onto his shoulders. Punk nailed Rollins with another GTS to pick up the win.
WINNER: CM Punk at 18:58
(Pomares’ Analysis: This was both a really good match and also a bit of a disappointment. This feud has been building for the entirety of Punk’s second run in WWE and this was hyped as the biggest episode of Raw in history, so I guess I expected something more from these two. If anything, it feels like the feud isn’t over which wasn’t the impression I got of the build to this match.)
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