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With the Royal Rumble just a few days away, this week’s Raw go-home show set the stage for it perfectly. The various segments that took place this week showed why this year’s Royal Rumble is more unpredictable than any other in recent memory. From John Cena, C.M. Punk, Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, and even Logan Paul, there is a case you could make for any of them to win it. With one last chance to build momentum heading into Saturday, two of those men would face off in this week’s main event. While this is a match we have admittedly seen many times recently, perhaps the outcome to this one would produce a different result.
Much like last week’s main event though, the real story surrounding this match would be everything that happened after. In addition to that, we had an opening segment with the World Heavyweight Champion and two other potential Rumble winners, the first World Tag Team Title defense of the War Raiders, the continued misfortunes for the New Day, and a very heated and personal face to face segment to close the show. With this weekend being the kickoff to WrestleMania season, this week’s Raw succeeded in making you even more excited for it.
War Raiders vs. Judgment Day
Latest Developments:
On the December 16 Raw, the War Raiders defeated the Judgment Day’s Finn Balor & JD McDonaugh to win the World Tag Team Championship thanks to an assist from Damien Priest. Two weeks ago, the War Raiders fought off the rest of Judgment Day to back up Priest as he defeated Balor in a Street Fight to end their long feud. Last week, it was revealed that Balor was injured during that match with Priest, and he will be out of action for a while. With the Judgment Day slated for a championship rematch against the War Raiders, Dominik Mysterio volunteered to take Balor’s place and team up with JD for the rematch. The match between both teams was made official for this week’s Raw.
Early in the match, JD hit a Springboard Moonsalt onto Ivar on top of the announce table. Unfortunately, JD injured himself while performing the move to the point where the announcers were worried that he suffered a broken neck. Despite the injury, JD got back up and continued the match. JD at one point even hit another Moonsalt onto Ivar inside the ring, which was followed by a Frog Splash from Dominik that did not lead to a win. The War Raiders recovered and ultimately hit Dominik with the War Machine to get the win and successfully defend their titles.
Analysis:
While this was a very good match, the real story coming out of it was the injury to JD McDonaugh. You could clearly see from the replay that the back of his head hit the announce table hard. You knew that he was hurt badly both from the impact and the fact that Michael Cole was calling out for help for him. Even though it perhaps wasn’t a wise decision, the fact that he got back up and finished the match was commendable. Considering that he’s never really been taken too seriously since he’s been in Judgment Day, his performance here and the crowd reaction he got for it felt like a real turning point for him.
The War Raiders once again put on an impressive performance, despite not getting much TV time recently. It’s strange that considering they’ve been the champions for six weeks, this was their first title defense. For as talented of a team as they are, they along with the rest of the tag division deserve to be featured a lot more than they are. Now that it seems like the Judgment Day is in their rearview, a feud that would continue to keep the War Raiders relevant is one with the New Day. Whether they keep the belts longer or end up dropping them in that feud, matches with the New Day with the heat they have right now would only benefit both teams as well as keep the World Tag Team Titles as a regular part of the show.
Grade: B+
Rey Mysterio vs. Xavier Woods
Latest Developments:
Ever since Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods turned on Big E, one person who has been a constant thorn in their side is Rey Mysterio. For the past six weeks, they have had various run-ins with Mysterio that all started when Mysterio kicked them out of the locker room. They would finally get the chance to settle their issues in the ring last week as Kofi and Mysterio went one on one. After a fun and competitive match, Mysterio picked up the surprise win. After the match, Kofi & Xavier attacked Mysterio before the L.W.O. came out to make the save.
This week, Mysterio went one on one with Xavier in Xavier’s hometown of Atlanta. As Kofi & Xavier came to the ring, Xavier was surprised to not see his family sitting in the front row after he had mentioned he bought tickets for them. After Xavier threw Mysterio back first against the announce table, he saw that his family had arrived. Xavier angrily asked them where they had been and they responded by revealing that they were wearing shirts that said, “New Day Sucks.” The distraction allowed Mysterio to hit Xavier with the 619 and the Dropping the Dime for the win.
Analysis:
As hot as this heel turn started for the New Day, situations like this are an example of how they’re starting to cool off. While they have been great in this role, the fact that they haven’t won a match yet is troubling. As fresh new heels with a lot of heat coming out of what they did to Big E, having them lose the way they have been doesn’t seem to be doing them any favors. Despite those concerns, the moment when Xavier’s family revealed that they were wearing “New Day Sucks” shirts was hilarious. After Kofi’s mom walked out on him a few weeks ago, it was only fitting that Xavier receive the same treatment from his family.
Towards the end of 2024, the New Day segments were some of the best segments of Raw every week. Even though they’re still entertaining, it seems like this storyline with them has been stalling. As fun as their matches with Mysterio have been, the losses combined with them not doing anything that significant to gain more heat recently has hurt them. If the storyline has a chance of gaining some of that steam back, they need to do something with them soon to spice things up. Hopefully, the best involving New Day is still yet to come as perhaps they’re saving it all for WrestleMania season.
Grade: B
Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns
Latest Developments:
On the December 2 Raw, Drew McIntyre returned following a two-month absence and targeted anyone who was associated with Roman Reigns. On the Raw premiere on Netflix on January 6, Roman defeated Solo Sikoa to reclaim the ula fala and be once again anointed as the “Tribal Chief.” Paul Heyman asked Roman backstage later that night when he could book a celebration for him, in which Roman replied January 27. After Heyman announced that Roman would be entering the Royal Rumble on the January 10 Smackdown, Drew announced on Raw the following Monday that he would enter the Royal Rumble to put a stop to Roman once and for all.
This week, Heyman came out to the ring for a big reveal. That reveal was the cover of the new WWE 2K25 video game with Roman Reigns on the cover. Heyman was then interrupted by Drew, who came out to say that he was the daddy of the Bloodline. Drew explained as he dove into how after he defeated Heyman’s client at WrestleMania five years ago, that led to him getting into Roman’s ear and it resulted in the run the Bloodline went on from there. Drew told Heyman to tell his boy that he’s going to target him in the Royal Rumble, in which Heyman said he would pass that message on to Roman. Drew stopped Heyman as he attempted to leave and told him while he will take care of Roman too, Heyman’s boy that he was referring to was C.M. Punk and Drew told him to run.
Analysis:
With Drew targeting Roman’s allies ever since he returned, it was only a matter of time before he reached the person closest to him. This segment succeeded in building anticipation for Drew confronting both Roman and Punk in the Rumble match. While it seemed as if Roman was going to be here for this segment, it was a little surprising that he wasn’t. Even though he wasn’t there, everything here still delivered and accomplished what it needed to. As the Rumble is just a few days away, it was wise to hold off on a Roman and Drew confrontation.
What was most interesting was when Drew pointed out that he was responsible for the Bloodline becoming as successful as they did. When you look back at everything that happened before Roman became the “Tribal Chief” character, it does make sense. Without Brock Lesnar leaving for that year and a half period and Heyman being left with not much to do, who knows if the storyline with the Bloodline would’ve even come together the way it did. When you consider that and the vendetta Drew has had against Roman ever since losing to him at Clash at the Castle 2022, this is making a confrontation between Roman and Drew one of the main things to watch out for in the Rumble match. After watching this segment, it is clear that Roman and Drew is going to become a major feud over the next few months.
Grade: B
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn
Latest Developments:
Last week, Seth Rollins defeated Drew McIntyre in a thrilling match that could’ve gone either way. After the match, Drew attacked Rollins and as he was about to Claymore Kick his head against the post, Sami Zayn came out to make the save. After knocking down Sami and putting Rollins back in the ring to do more damage, Sami attempted to hit Drew with a Helluva Kick but hit Rollins by mistake. Despite forgiving him, Rollins told Sami that he’ll assume that it’s not an accident if it happens again. Over the weekend, Adam Pearce announced that Sami would face Drew one on one on Raw this week.
Drew and Sami faced each other in the main event this week. One thing that was constantly pointed out was that Sami was 0-10 against Drew in all their matches against each other. That losing streak to Drew would increase to 0-11 as a missed Helluva Kick allowed Drew to roll up Sami with a School Boy with his feet on the ropes for the win. After the match, Drew attacked Sami until Cody Rhodes came out to make the save. Kevin Ownes appeared from out of nowhere and attacked Cody but as Cody fought back, Drew attacked him from behind. As Drew had Cody against the turnbuckle, he ducked out of the way as Sami accidentally hit Cody with the Helluva Kick and Ownes nodded at Sami with approval.
Analysis:
While another good match from these two, Drew continues to have Sami’s number. As good as the match was, the main talking point was everything that happened afterwards. With Sami hitting Rollins accidentally with the Helluva Kick last week, hitting it on Cody this week now adds even more heat to that issue. After the segment Owens and Sami had last week where Owens expected Sami to have his back in the match at the Rumble with Cody, what happened here perfectly played into that. Of all the different stories going into the Royal Rumble, one of the stronger ones has been all the mystery surrounding what will happen with Sami.
Bringing up how he’s never won a World Championship and having him intertwined with multiple people over the last few weeks has made his involvement at the Rumble one to keep an eye on. From Rollins, Drew, Punk, and Owens, there’s a lot that could happen surrounding him on Saturday. After having another accident with the Helluva Kick this week, this will probably create more tension between Sami and Rollins. As Rollins had said earlier that he wouldn’t be sure if it would be an accident if this were to happen again, the fact that it did is going to lead to Rollins perhaps taking it out on him in the Rumble match. From what we’ve seen over the last two weeks and here especially, Sami is clearly going to play a huge part in the Rumble match and potentially the outcome of the Cody and Owens Ladder match.
Grade: B
Cody Rhodes vs. C.M. Punk
Latest Developments:
Last January, Cody Rhodes eliminated C.M. Punk to win the Royal Rumble and went on to win the WWE Championship from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL in April. During the Rumble match, Punk suffered a torn tricep that caused him to miss WrestleMania and kept him out of action for most of 2024. When Punk returned to the ring in the latter part of the year, he had a memorable feud with Drew McIntyre that saw him win their final encounter in a Hell in a Cell match at October’s Bad Blood. Punk then moved on to a feud with Seth Rollins that resulted in Punk defeating him at the first Raw on Netflix January 6. The following week on Raw, Punk declared his entry into the 2025 Royal Rumble match.
This week as Cody Rhodes was in the ring recovering from an accidental Helluva Kick and cutting a promo about his upcoming Ladder match with Kevin Owens, Punk came out to confront him. After asking Cody as his friend if he was ok, Punk said he could tell that the pressure of being champion was starting to get to him as he had gone through the same thing when he was the champion for 434 days. Punk then went on to say the good news was that somebody was going to take the title from him at WrestleMania, but the bad news was that somebody was him. Cody responded by mentioning that he was always chasing Punk throughout his career but now, it was Punk chasing him. Cody concluded the segment by stating that he hopes Punk catches up and wins the Rumble because he wants to see the look on his face when Punk finds out that the best in the world isn’t the best in the world anymore.
Analysis:
This segment was hands down the highlight of the whole show. Considering that Punk and Cody had a back-and-forth segment like this on the go-home Raw before last year’s Royal Rumble, it was only fitting that they had another one here. From how intense, compelling, and personal this segment was, you walked out of it feeling like this is the match that should be this year’s WrestleMania main event. When you look back on the year both men have had, a match between them feels like the biggest main event WWE could put on this year. Even though this year’s Royal Rumble is as unpredictable and stacked with star power as any other, it would feel wrong if anyone other than Punk wins it after what we saw here.
One of the best parts of this segment was Punk attempting to relate to Cody by bringing up the pressures he dealt with when he was champion for 434 days and then using it to tell him he was going to be the one to take the title from it. Cody’s comeback about Punk now chasing him and then saying he’s going to prove Punk’s not the best in the world anymore ended this with the perfect cliffhanger. While it seemed like a few months ago that Cody would be facing The Rock and Punk would be facing Rollins at WrestleMania, this segment in a way made you glad that those matches are likely not happening anymore. This segment delivered in every way from quality, building anticipation for the Royal Rumble, and in making you believe that this is the right main event for WrestleMania. With their star power and especially considering that they were two of the biggest stars in AEW just a few years ago, a match between these two has dream match written all over it.
Grade: A
Other Highlights from Raw
Seth Rollins, Gunther, and Logan Paul Segment
Seth Rollins came out to open the show to talk about how he was going to toss out everyone from John Cena, Jey Uso, Roman Reigns, and C.M. Punk last to win the Royal Rumble. After debating which champion he would challenge at WrestleMania, Gunther came out to tell him that he hopes Rollins wins the Rumble and challenges him so he can show why the World Heavyweight Title is synonymous with him. The two of them were then interrupted by Logan Paul, who came out to a hoard of boos and declared his entry into the Royal Rumble. After listening to Paul play up the possibility of choosing to face him at WrestleMania, Gunther said that he now hoped that Paul wins the Rumble so that he could embarrass him and smack the smirk off his face. Rollins then said to Gunther that the only person who is going to get embarrassed is him if he decides to go after his title.
Analysis:
With the Royal Rumble as unpredictable as it is this year, this segment further played into that.This segment succeeded in both playing up the possibility of who will face Gunther at WrestleMania, while also showcasing how hated Logan Paul is by the audience. While the banter between the three of them was good, the main thing that stood out here was the heat Paul had from the minute he came out. Another part of this that stood out was when Gunther said that he hoped Paul wins the Rumble after hearing him run his mouth so much. Whether Rollins or Paul win the Rumble or not, this segment planted the seed for either one or the other being the opponent for Gunther at WrestleMania.
Bianca Belair & Naomi vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
After Liv Morgan pinned Bianca Belair in a six woman tag last Friday on Smackdown, Adam Pearce announced over the weekend that Bianca & Naomi would face Liv & Raquel Rodriguez in a non-title match this week on Raw. At one point in the match, Bianca blocked an ObLIVion attempt from Liv and turned it into a KOD. As she had her down for the pin, Dominik Mysterio came out to distract the referee. Bianca jumped over the top rope and hit Dominik with a Cross Body after tagging in Naomi and Naomi then hit Liv with a Split Leg Moonsalt. Raquel interrupted the count and dropped Naomi onto the apron as Liv covered Naomi with one arm for the win.
Analysis:
While the match itself was fine, this was more about what the outcome of it has set up going forward. Liv & Raquel winning set the stage for a future title match between these two teams. With Jade Cargill on her way back soon and the storyline surrounding her mystery attacker, all of that is likely going to keep Bianca and Naomi occupied heading into WrestleMania. Considering that they’re going to be too busy with that, it’s not going to make any sense for them to still have the titles as that all plays out. As Liv & Raquel have built up good momentum over the last few weeks, they seem like the right team for Bianca & Naomi to drop the titles to whenever that match happens.
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