SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE RAW REPORT
JANUARY 27, 2025
ATLANTA, GA. AT STATE FARM ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON NETFLIX (WORLDWIDE)
REPORT BY MAURICIO POMARES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTORS
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor
Attendance: WrestleTix reports that 12,082 tickets were distributed as shortly before showtime. The arena has a capacity of 21,000 spectators when configured for concerts.
[HOUR ONE]
– Michael Cole and Pat McAfee stood at ringside to introduce the show and recap the results of Saturday Night’s Main Event.
– Seth Rollins made his way to the ring to hype up the start of WrestleMania season. Rollins said that his year started badly and sat on the mat while describing how he felt after his loss from three weeks ago. Rollins said that he decided to start his path of redemption last week by beating Drew McIntyre. He said that he would continue his path by tossing everyone out at the Royal Rumble. Rollins hoped that CM Punk would be the last man in the ring, so he could crush his WrestleMania dreams. Rollins wondered whether he should challenge Gunther or Cody Rhodes.
– Gunther interrupted to ask Rollins where he was while he was defending his world title against Jey Uso. Gunther said that Rollins has only been whining, instead of focusing on the Royal Rumble. Rollins said that the World Heavyweight title wouldn’t exist without him. Gunther put over how much of a threat Rollins was before claiming that he was no longer the best wrestler in the world. Gunther told Rollins to win the world title, so he can show him that his name was the only one that should be associated with the World Heavyweight title.
– Logan Paul interrupted to talk about commanding attention, but was barely hearable due to the boos from the fans. Logan said that they should pay attention to the man who built a WWE career faster than them. He said that he would enter the Royal Rumble and win it by working smarter. Logan teased the chance of facing Gunther. Gunther told Logan that he now wanted him to win, so he could shut him up and humiliate him. Rollins finished by saying that he agreed, but the only one that would be humiliated would be Gunther at WrestleMania.
– Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed CM Punk about his chances of winning the Royal Rumble. Sami Zayn interrupted to talk about what Punk said last week about him not being on the same level. Sami told him that he was right because only one of them was a WrestleMania main eventer. Karrion Kross met Sami to tell him that this was his greatest shot at winning the Royal Rumble and he shouldn’t follow his heart. After Kross walked away, Sami briefly crossed paths with Cody Rhodes.
(Pomares’s Analysis: A decent segment to start teasing the plans for the world title at WrestleMania. Seth Rollins confronting Gunther seems to be a bit of a misdirection and I really get the feeling that it’s gonna be Logan that gets the world title match. Unless someone pops up, there aren’t many opponents that could feasibly face Gunther at WrestleMania.)
[Commercial Break]
– A-Town Down Under and the Creed Brother were shown watching from the crowd.
(1) WAR RAIDERS (Ivar & Erik) vs. JUDGMENT DAY (Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh) – World Tag Team Championship
Judgment Day threw Ivar out of the ring and hit Erik with a leg drop. Dominik nailed Ivar with a suicide dive, only for Erik to pummel him with forearm strikes. JD caught Erik with a jawbreaker, allowing Dominik to nail him with a dropkick. JD crashed into Ivar with an Asai Moonsault, accidentally crashing head-first into the announce table. Dominik and JD stomped Erik down, only for Ivar to shut them down with a back body drop and a sidewalk slam. Ivar crushed JD with a seated senton, but missed a running clothesline over the barricade. Erik blocked a hurracarrana and powerbombed Dominik into JD, setting them up for a cannonball from the barricade from Ivar, as WWE Raw went to commercials.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Dominik hit Ivar with a slingshot senton, but Ivar quickly retaliated with a double handspring back elbow. Erik tagged in to lay Dominik out with a Xploder and a back suplex. Erik cracked JD with a knee strike to the back of the head before laying Dominik out with an uranage and a knee to the face for a nearfall. Dominik evaded the pop up powerslam, allowing JD to tag in. JD evaded the War Machine and cracked Erik with a headbutt.
Ivar knocked JD down with a boot to the face, only for JD to catch him off-guard with a Saito suplex. Ivar avoided a Frog Splash and blasted Dominik with a leg lariat. Carlito showed up to pull Erik off the apron and spit an apple into Ivar’s face behind the referee’s back. JD crushed Ivar with a moonsault, followed by a Frog Splash from Dominik for a nearfall. Erik launched JD out of the ring while Ivar knocked Carlito off the apron. Dominik tripped Ivarin ot the ropes, but the War Raiders immediately took him out with the War Machine.
WINNERS: War Raiders at 11:56 (Still World Tag Team Champions)
(Pomares’s Analysis: Pretty good match that it’s going to be remembered by the insane bump to the head that JD McDonagh took. Really nasty stuff, but he seems to be okay despite taking such a hit. I kind of enjoyed this more than the War Raiders’ title win against Finn and JD.)
– Backstage, Ludwig Kaiser met Pete Dunne to tell him that somebody should show Penta his place. The New Day interrupted to agree that they had to deal with luchadors, only for Kaiser and Dunne to walk away. Cathy Kelley showed up to interview the New Day about Xavier Woods’ match against Rey Mysterio tonight. Woods said that he would win in front of his family who had yet to arrive at the arena.
– Rey Mysterio made his way to the ring, ahead of his match against Xavier Woods.
[Commercial Break]
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Raw: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
[HOUR TWO]
(2) REY MYSTERIO (w/Zelina Vega & Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde) vs. XAVIER WOODS (w/Kofi Kingston)
Rey put Woods in a headscissors lock and kicked him away before catching him with a springboard crossbody. Woods caught Rey with a shoulder tackle, a chop and an uppercut. Rey caught Woods off-guard with a shoulder tackle of his own, only for Woods to pummel him in the corner. Rey nailed Woods with a rising kick, followed by a hurracarrana. Woods tied Rey on the ropes and blasted him with a diving double stomp to the back, as WWE Raw went to an ad break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, they traded right hands, until Woods dropped Rey with a delayed vertical suplex. Woods nailed Rey with a series of jabs and chops, but Rey responded with an enzuigiri. Rey crushed Woods with a diving seated senton and a headscissors takeover. Woods swept Rey off the top turnbuckle, but couldn’t follow up with a superplex. Rey planted Woods with an avalanche Code Red, followed by a second one on the mat for a nearfall. Rey sent Woods into the ropes with a dropkick, but Woods rolled out of the ring and shoved him into the announce table. Woods confronted his family on the front row, only for them to reveal that they had ‘New Day Sucks’ shirts. Rey tripped Woods into the ropes and hit him with 619, setting him up for a slingshot splash and the win.
WINNER: Rey Mysterio at 10:58
(Pomares’s Analysis: Pretty good match to keep pushing the story of New Day which while still getting great crowd reactions, hasn’t really advanced much further since the New Day anniversary segment. Hope they start moving meaningfully after the Rumble.)
– A recap of Sami Zayn accidentally hitting Seth Rollins with a Helluva Kick.
– Backstage, Sami Zayn met Seth Rollins and told him that it was an accident. Rollins begrudgingly accepted that it was a mistake and told Sami that whatever his deal with Roman Reigns is makes him doubt. They stayed on good terms and Rollins wished Sami luck tonight.
– Jey Uso made his way to the ring to thank the fans for their support after losing to Gunther. Jey said that he knew that he could beat Gunther and said that he would throw everyone over the top rope, win the Royal Rumble and main event WrestleMania.
[Commercial Break]
– Backstage, Jackie Redmond interviewed Lyra Valkyria about her title win. Lyra said that she would be a fighting champion, but first she would enter the Royal Rumble. American Made interrupted to tell Lyra that Ivy Nile would take the belt from her. Lyra said that none of them would touch the Intercontinental title and Nile said that she would toss her out of the ring at the Rumble. American Made crossed paths with Alpha Academy while they were filming TikTok videos and called them pathetic.
(3) BIANCA BELAIR & NAOMI vs. JUDGMENT DAY (Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez)
Liv blocked the KOD, only for Belair to hit her with a shoulder thrust in the corner. Liv knocked Belair off her feet by pulling her braid, only for Belair to immediately kip up. Raquel tagged in and caught Belair with a corner splash. Belair and Naomi hit Raquel with a double Russian leg sweep and a double elbow drop. Raquel nailed Naomi with a corner splash, followed by a strike from Liv. Naomi took Liv down with an enzuigiri before she and Belair crushed her with a leg drop and a standing moonsault. Both teams started brawling, until Naomi and Belair crushed Liv and Raquel with high crossbodies, as WWE Raw went to a commercial break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Raquel laid Naomi out with a clothesline and put her in a spinning headlock. Raquel drove Naomi into the ring post and pulled her head into the ropes. Naomi caught Raquel off-guard with a Heat Seeker on the apron and cracked her with an enzuigiri, reaching Belair for the hot tag. Belair took Liv down with a dropkick, followed by a shoulder thrust and a bunch of right hands. Belair nailed Liv and Raquel with a double shoulder thrust and pummeled them with a load of right hands. Raquel tried to pull Belair’s braid, only for Belair to throw her out of the ring and hit Liv with a handspring moonsault. Liv caught Belair with a dropkick, setting her up for a Tree Slam from Raquel.
Raquel powerbombed Liv on top of Belair, but she kicked out at two. Belair evaded the Tejana Bomb, reaching Naomi for the tag. Naomi nailed Raquel with a slingshot facebuster for a two count. Raquel took Belair and Naomi down with a big boot and a Fallaway Slam. Liv hit Belair with a Codebreaker, only for Belair to counter Oblivion with the KOD. Dominik Mysterio showed up to distract the referee before receiving a plancha from Belair. Naomi crushed Liv with a split-legged moonsault, but Raquel broke the pinfall. Raquel hit Naomi with the Tejana Bomb, allowing Liv to get the three count.
WINNERS: Judgment Day at 12:32
(Pomares’s Analysis: Decent match with the same annoying ending that we see in every Judgment Day match. This will probably set up a future title match and I could even see them taking this story to WrestleMania.)
– Backstage, Cathy Kelley interviewed Rhea Ripley about her successful title defense at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Ripley said that it didn’t matter who won the Royal Rumble, she would brutalize them at WrestleMania. Bayley interrupted to tease the possibility of facing Ripley at WrestleMania. Iyo Sky showed up to tell Bayley that she would see her on Saturday.
[Commercial Break]
– A video package was shown, featuring Penta announcing that he would enter the Royal Rumble.
– Paul Heyman made his way to the ring to present Roman Reigns as the cover of WWE 2K25. Heyman said that Roman had gone back to the mindset of one versus all. Heyman said that just like Roman took back his Ula Fala, he would take back his championship and it would all start at the Royal Rumble. He said that there were dozens of people backstage begging to be Roman Reigns.
– Drew McIntyre showed up to tell Heyman that he was responsible for all the success he has had. Drew said that he was the daddy of the Bloodline and he didn’t like it. He said that after he won the 2020 Royal Rumble and slayed the Beast who sent Heyman to sea. Drew said that Heyman swam back to shore and found Roman in a bad moment. Drew told Heyman to tell his boy that he would eliminate him before revealing that he was talking about CM Punk.
(Pomares’s Analysis: Decent exchange between Drew and Heyman to keep the Roman and Punk’s plates spinning, but this felt more like a plug for 2K25 than a proper follow-up to any of these stories.)
– Backstage, Bron Breakker gloated about defeating Sheamus before declaring for the Royal Rumble. Penta interrupted to stare at Breakker’s belt and walk away.
[Commercial Break]
[HOUR THREE]
(4) SAMI ZAYN vs. DREW MCINTYRE
Drew pushed Sami to the ropes and shoved him away. Drew blasted Sami with a chop to the chest, only for Sami to respond with a rising kick and send him out of the ring. Sami crashed into Drew with an Arabian moonsault. Sami pummeled Drew down with a barrage of right hands, following it with chops to the chest. Drew caught Sami with a rising kick and maintained control over him with chops. Sami hit Drew with a diving elbow drop before spiking him with a Satellite DDT for a two count. Drew swept Sami off the top turnbuckle, only to miss a Claymore kick and crash onto the announce table, as WWE Raw went to its final commercial break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Sami caught Drew with a clothesline, only for Drew to shut him down with a spinebuster. Drew immediately planted Sami with a sitout powerbomb for a two count. Sami countered an avalanche White Noise with a sunset flip powerbomb for a nearfall. Drew blocked the Blue Thunderbomb and hit Sami with a back elbow. Drew blocked the Xploder into the corner and threw Sami across the ring with a Belly-to-belly suplex. Sami caught Drew with a boot and the Blue Thunderbomb for a nearfall.
Drew stopped Sami atop the turnbuckle, only for Sami to knock him down with a series of headbutts and forearms. Drew planted Sami with a Spider suplex, only for Sami to counter the Claymore kick with a crucifix pinfall. Sami drove Drew into the ring post and floored him with a Xploder into the corner. Drew avoided the Helluva Kick and got the win with his feet on the ropes.
WINNER: Drew McIntyre at 14:39
– After the match, Drew McIntyre assaulted Sami Zayn, until Cody Rhodes made the save. Kevin Owens showed up to attack Cody and Drew joined in the beat down. Sami accidentally blasted Cody with the Helluva Kick and Kevin walked away happy with the result.
(Pomares’s Analysis: Pretty good main event match to once continue pushing the story of Sami Zayn and how he can’t defeat Drew McIntyre. The fact that Drew had to blatantly cheat to do so, really does a good job in giving Sami some justified frustration going into the Rumble. The post-match angle was pretty good and really makes me excited to see the follow-up in the story between Kevin and Sami.)
[Commercial Break]
– A video package was shown, highlighting Roman Reigns as the cover of WWE 2K25.
– Cody Rhodes stood to his feet and said that the world title was about the mindset. Cody said that he was ready to move past Kevin Owens before CM Punk interrupted. Punk asked Cody if he was okay and said that the title burns you out when the reign lasts so long. Punk told Cody that he would always be his friend, but no one could have prepared him for this. Cody asked Punk what was next after tonight.
– Punk said that Cody would have to do media, hang with his family, face Kevin Owens, go through Raw and SmackDown, until a man wins the Royal Rumble and takes his title. Punk said that he was the one that would win the Royal Rumble. Cody talked about their history and how Punk was now the one that had to catch him. Punk said that there was a graveyard of people that wanted him to catch them, until he did. Cody said that he hoped Punk won, so he could find out that the Best in the World wasn’t the Best in the World anymore.
(Pomares’s Analysis: I wasn’t fully on board early on, but by the end, this ended up as an incredibly strong exchange. Cody and Punk successfully made a believable case for why they should be the main event of WrestleMania which is impressive when last week that wasn’t even a possibility in most people’s heads.)
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.