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WWE RAW REPORT
JANUARY 20, 2025
DALLAS, TEX. AT AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON NETFLIX
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor
Attendance: WrestleTix reports that 14,137 tickets were distributed as of showtime. The arena has a capacity of 21,000 spectators when configured for concerts.
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[HOUR ONE]
– Earlier today, Nia Jax assaulted Rhea Ripley as she made her way into the arena. Adam Pearce and various guards showed up to separate them and force Jax to leave.
– Jey Uso made his way to the ring to say that this weekend he would take home the big one. Gunther interrupted to call Jey a funny little man and said that last week he was actually excited to face him. Gunther said that after seeing Jey make his way to the ring like the mascot of the people, he was no longer interested. He said that he might as well be facing Jimmy Uso. Gunther said that he didn’t believe Jey saying that he would bet on himself. Gunther said that Jey always showed up for Jimmy, Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes which made him an useful idiot
– Gunther said that at Saturday Night’s Main Event, he would expose him as a flash in the pan that had no business being close to the world title. Jey agreed that he was the mascot of the fans and that they would be by his side when he won the world title. Jey said that Gunther would respect him and pointed out that had actually main evented WrestleMania unlike Gunther. Gunther clobbered Jey with a forearm strike and they started brawling, until Jey sent him out of the ring with a superkick.
(Pomares’ Analysis: A decent opening segment to be the final build to this title match, but nothing we haven’t seen before. Gunther’s promo resembled more of his work prior to losing to Cody, meanwhile Jey’s felt like a step back after the emotion he showed last week.)
– Backstage, the New Day met JBL and bribed him to let everybody know that they were the victims of a smear campaign when he commented on their match tonight. JBL said that he understood them and how they had to get rid of the guy everyone loved, so they could get attention.
– Rey Mysterio made his way to the ring, ahead of his match against Kofi Kingston.
[Commercial Break]
– Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed Bayley about her match against Nia Jax tonight. Bayley officially announced that she had moved back to the Raw roster and declared that she would take part in the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble. Bayley said that she could take on Tiffany Stratton, Rhea Ripley or even Roxanne Perez. Jax interrupted to say that she would deal with Stratton and win the Rumble.
– The New Day started making their way to the ring, but immediately asked for their old music to be cut off. They took back their money from JBL who was on the commentary table.
(1) REY MYSTERIO vs. KOFI KINGSTON (w/Xavier Woods)
Kofi dropped Rey with a waist lock takeover, followed by a shoulder tackle. Rey tripped Kofi into the ropes, only for Kofi to avoid the 619 and sweep him off the apron. Kofi stomped Rey down and caught him with a Pendulum kick. Kofi blocked a sunset flip powerbomb and flipped over Rey’s body to stomp him down. Rey drove Kofi head-first into the steel steps with a hurracarrana, as WWE Raw went to commercials.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Rey caught Kofi with a flying crossbody, followed by a diving seated senton. Rey missed a springboard crossbody, but was able to hit Kofi with a basement dropkick. Kofi got Rey with an eye poke, followed by a high crossbody to the back for a two count. Rey avoided Trouble in Paradise and sent Kofi to the ropes with a hurracarrana. Woods tripped Rey off his feet before the referee ejected him. Rey knocked Woods off the apron, only for Kofi to whack him from behind with a forearm shot. Kofi withstood a 619 and blocked a slingshot splash with his knees to get a two count. Rey countered SOS with a pinning combination for the win.
WINNER: Rey Mysterio at 10:31
– After the match, Xavier Woods returned to the ring to assault Rey Mysterio alongside Kofi Kingston. Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro ran to the ring to chase the New Day away and check on Rey. Kofi pulled Wilde out of the ring and rammed him into the ring post.
(Pomares’ Analysis: A pretty good encounter to finally take the next step in this New Day story. I’m not the biggest fan of the New Day losing their first match as heels, but it isn’t that big of a deal since it was a singles match. This is clearly leading to the New Day beating the LWO and starting their path to the tag titles.)
– A video package was shown, recapping Penta’s debut from last week.
– Backstage, Chad Gable admitted that he had a problem with luchadors and that he would go talk with Dominik Mysterio to deal with it. Ivy Nile and the Creed Brothers said that they had their sights on the Women’s Intercontinental and World Tag Team titles.
[Commercial Break]
– Sami Zayn stood in the ring to address the fans. Sami said that he spoke with Adam Pearce and officially entered the 2025 Royal Rumble match. He said that after speaking with Seth Rollins last week, he started thinking about what he personally wants. Sami said that there was a top echelon of WWE superstars and they were all entering the Royal Rumble and the thing that they had in common was that they had a world title to their name. Sami said that he didn’t need a world title for his career to be complete, but he wanted one.
– Kevin Owens interrupted and made his way to the ring, only for Sami to say that he knew that this was coming. Sami asked Kevin how they would do this since he was aware of what Kevin did to Cody after he teamed up with Roman Reigns. Kevin said that this was different because Sami had history with Roman just like they did and he forgave Roman just like he forgave him.
– Kevin said that he fully believed that Sami could win the Royal Rumble. He said that they won the tag titles in the main event of WrestleMania and they could make history by fighting for the world title when he won it at the Rumble. Kevin said that he would have Sami’s back and he hoped that Sami would have his at the Rumble before walking away.
– Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed Sheamus about the importance of winning the Intercontinental title. Sheamus said that he has been chasing that title since he was a child and that he would finally win the last title he hasn’t won. Bron Breakker interrupted to tell Sheamus that he would break him like an old man and told him to just retire.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Sami Zayn is one of the most genuine promos in all of WWE and that pure genuinity was on full display throughout the entirety of this segment. Kevin Owens continued to do amazing work and has already planted the seeds for what could be an outstanding WrestleMania match.)
[Commercial Break]
[HOUR TWO]
– A recap of Nia Jax assaulting Rhea Ripley earlier tonight was shown.
– Roxanne Perez was shown watching the show from the first row.
(2) BAYLEY vs. NIA JAX
Bayley attacked Jax with a series of forearms, uppercuts and right hands. Jax blocked a Samoan Drop and spiked Jax with a DDT. Jax planted Bayley with a headbutt and a slam before pressing her boot into her chest in the corner. Bayley withstood a uranage and knocked Jax off the top turnbuckle, setting her up for a suicide dive. Bayley got in Perez’s face in the crowd and nailed her with a forearm strike. Perez was carried out of her seat by security, as WWE Raw went to an ad break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Bayley avoided a senton and nailed Jax with a pair of elbow drops for a two count. Jax blocked a cutter using the ropes and pulled Bayley’s arm into them. Bayley evaded a leg drop to the arm on the apron and hit her with a sunset flip into the ring post. Bayley nailed Jax with an Annihilator and a diving elbow drop, but she kicked out at two. Jax put Bayley down with a tilt-a-whirl shoulder breaker and smashed her shoulder into the ring post.
Jax crushed Bayley with a hip attack into the ring post, only for Bayley to sweep her off the top turnbuckle. Bayley immediately hit Jax with a running knee to the head for a two count. Bayley countered an avalanche Samoan Drop with a sunset flip powerbomb, followed by a diving elbow drop for a nearfall. Jax managed to hit Bayley with a Samoan drop and a senton before taking the win with the Annihilator.
WINNER: Nia Jax at 12:22
– After the match, Rhea Ripley showed up to brawl with Nia Jax, but numerous referees, agents and guards separated them. Jax swept Ripley off the apron and smashed her head into the announce table. Ripley crashed into Jax and a bunch of guards with a cannonball off the table. Ripley grabbed a mic and challenged Jax to a match at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
(Pomares’ Analysis: Not a bad match by any means, but after their first match I’ve never been particularly excited about this pairing in the ring. The post-match was fun and I’m happy Ripley vs. Jax will be solved this weekend and not overstay its welcome. I wish Bayley had a bigger program after last year’s world title match, but at least this story with Roxanne Perez has potential.)
– A recap of Damian Priest defeating Finn Bálor last week was shown.
– Backstage, Chad Gable talked with Dominik Mysterio in the Judgment Day’s den. Dominik gave Gable a number, so he could learn how to deal with luchadors. JD McDonagh said that they would have to forfeit their title match next week since Finn Bálor was still laid out. Dominik said that he could take Finn’s place and Liv Morgan sarcastically said that Finn wouldn’t mind.
– A video package was shown, recapping Lyra Valkyria’s title win from last week.
– A video package was shown in commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
[Commercial Break]
– Backstage, Sami Zayn told Seth Rollins that he appreciated their talk from last week. Rollins said that he was almost rooting for him, but when push came to shove he would throw him out of the ring at the Rumble.
(3) PENTA vs. PETE DUNNE
They started exchanging forearm strikes, until Penta caught Dunne with a thrust kick. Dunne clobbered Penta with a forearm shot to the back of the head and stomped his elbow. Penta caught Dunne with an enzuigiri, only for Dunne to respond with one of his own. Penta shocked Dunne with a thrust kick while he was mid-air. Dunne blocked a suicide dive with a forearm strike, followed by an Xplex on the apron, as WWE Raw went to a commercial break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Dunne nailed Penta with a forearm strike, only for Penta to catch him off-guard with a kick to the abdomen and an inverted sling blade. Penta hit Dunne with an elevated corner dropkick, followed by a Death Valley Driver for a two count. Dunne stomped Penta’s hand and cracked him with a kick to the head before receiving a thrust kick. Penta spiked Dunne with a Destroyer, followed by a Tope con Hilo. Back in the ring, Dunne countered another Destroyer with a sunset bomb for a close two count. Dunne snapped Penta’s finger and put him in a Triangle Choke, until Penta broke the hold with a backbreaker. Penta snapped Dunne’s arm with The Sacrifice and finished him with the Penta Driver.
WINNER: Penta at 10:03
(Pomares’ Analysis: Another strong showing from Penta just a week after his debut. I wish Pete Dunne was in a better position, but at least this beats losing to R-Truth.)
– A video package was shown, hyping up the arrival of Logan Paul to Raw.
– CM Punk showed up in the stands for an interview. Punk said that with the people by his side he was guaranteed to win the Royal Rumble.
[Commercial Break]
– A recap of Pure Fusion Collective injuring Kairi Sane last month was shown.
(4) PURE FUSION COLLECTIVE (Zoey Stark & Shayna Baszler w/Sonya Deville) vs. DAMAGE CTRL (Iyo Sky & Dakota Kai)
Baszler swept Kai off her feet, only for Kai to take her down with a dropkick. Kai caught Baszerl with a boot to the face before receiving a springboard missile dropkick from Stark. Stark put Kai in a headlock before she and Baszler nailed her with a backbreaker and clothesline combination. Kai kicked Baszler away and caught Stark with an enzuigiri, reaching Sky for the hot tag. Sky took Stark down with a dropkick and planted Baszler with a German suplex. Sky crashed into Baszler with a suicide dive and knocked Stark off her feet with a missile dropkick, setting her up for a double knee strike.
Deville distracted Sky, only for Kai to pull her off the apron. Baszler took Kai down with a clothesline while Stark blasted Sky with a thrust kick. Stark floored Sky with a modified pump handle facebuster, but she kicked out at two. PFC put Sky down with a Death Valley Driver and a sliding clothesline, only for Kai to break the pinfall. Kai took care of Stark with a Penalty kick before receiving a kick to the face from Baszler. Baszler put Sky in the Kirifuda Clutch, until Sky pulled her into the ropes and beat her with Over the Moonsault.
WINNERS: Damage CTRL at 6:14
(Pomares’ Analysis: Not a particularly interesting tag match in the grand scheme of things, but a really good look at how Iyo Sky elevated the quality of the match and got people invested in a short amount of time. I don’t know what the plan is, but Iyo Sky must absolutely be in a feature match at WrestleMania.)
[HOUR THREE]
– The commentary team ran down the card for Saturday Night’s Main Event.
– A video package was shown, recapping the rivalry between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre.
– Seth Rollins made his wya to the ring, ahead of his match against Drew McIntyre.
[Commercial Break]
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