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With it being the second to last Raw on the USA Network, this show felt more like one used to build towards next week’s USA finale and the big debut on Netflix in two weeks. Considering that and this week also being a pre-taped Christmas episode, there wasn’t too much that happened that was out of the ordinary.
One of the few storylines that did get a boost was the one centered around Drew McIntyre. Despite the decisive finish to their match at Saturday Night’s Main Event, the issues between McIntyre and Sami Zayn are far from over. With a heated segment between the two to start the show, the two would find themselves facing each other again in the show’s main event.
In the middle of all this, we saw the return of someone who’s recently been out of action as well as the appearance of some unlikely allies for Drew. In addition to that, we had Damien Priest get some help in his never-ending battle with the Judgment Day, Seth Rollins expressing his excitement for his upcoming match with C.M. Punk, and the New Day receiving disapproval for their recent actions from one unlikely person. While not as eventful as the last few weeks, this week’s edition of Raw still gave us a lot to look forward to.
Damien Priest vs. Finn Balor
Latest Developments:
Last week, Damien Priest cost Finn Balor & J.D. McDonaugh the WWE Tag Team Titles as they were defeated by the War Raiders. This week, the Judgment Day were backstage as Finn and Liv Morgan argued about the match’s outcome. As Liv told Raquel Rodriguez to tell Finn that she knew targeting Priest again would lead to what happened, Finn told McDonaugh to tell her to worry about her own problems. The arguing continued until Dominik Mysterio attempted to put a stop to it by reminding everyone that it was Christmas. Dominik then volunteered to have a match with Priest later in the night, which Finn took as Dominik acting like he was better than him.
As Dominik and Priest had their match, Priest noticed someone in the front row dressed as Santa. Priest ripped off that person’s beard and it turned out to be none other than J.D. McDonaugh. Priest attacked McDonaugh then attacked Carlito as he found him hiding under the ring, and Finn then appeared to attack Priest and caused a disqualification as all of Judgment Day ganged up on Priest. The War Raiders then came out to even the odds, and they hit Dominik with a War Machine as Priest then laid out Finn with a South of Heaven as the three of them celebrated in the ring. Later in the night, it was announced that Priest along with the War Raiders would face Finn & McDonaugh & Dominik next week in a six-man tag team match.
Analysis:
You can tell from the backstage segment alone that the tension between Judgment Day is only getting worse. The way Liv and Finn were criticizing each other through someone else despite being in the same room was something straight out of a high school drama.
It’s clear from the recent losing streak and his issues with both Liv and Dominik that this is all leading to Finn being kicked out of the group. Before that happens, the feud between Finn and Priest needs to be put to an end. After how everything went down here, it looks like that’ll be happening sooner than later.
The match between Priest and Dominik was nothing special as it was only really used to set up the six-man tag for next week. The one part of all this that was funny was McDonaugh getting attacked while being dressed up as Santa and the expression on his face when he got caught. The match next week should be a wild one and more than likely, we’ll see more dissension among the Judgment Day come out of it.
Although it hasn’t been announced yet, the final match between Priest and Finn will probably happen on the first Raw on Netflix in two weeks. The ending to that match will finally mark the end of this feud and more notably, the end of Finn as a part of Judgment Day.
Grade: C
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Chad Gable vs. Alpha Academy
Latest Developments:
Earlier this year, Chad Gable berated and humiliated his American Alpha stablemates Otis, Akira Tozawa, and Maxxine Dupri on a weekly basis. Fed up with Gable’s mistreatment, the three of them eventually cut ties with him after Otis shoved him down. Since then, Gable formed American Made along with the Creed Brothers (Brutus & Julius) and Ivy Nile. Last week, Gable with the rest of American Made confronted Otis, Tozawa, and Maxxine backstage as he criticized them for making a joke out of what he made them. Gable then said it was time to kill his darlings and he would start with Tozawa.
This week, Gable went one on one with Tozawa and defeated him with the Ankle lock. Despite winning the match, Gable refused to let go of the hold. Otis then came in to interrupt and he proceeded to grab Gable and toss him across the ring. Despite the Creed Brothers jumping in the ring to back up Gable, Otis refused to back down. Gable constantly yelled at Otis that he never learns and that he’s too stupid before he and the Creeds left the ring.
Analysis:
For how hot the storyline was with Gable constantly berating the other members of Alpha Academy earlier this year, it never had a real conclusion. As the people really started getting behind Otis, it felt like it was leading to a possible Summerslam match between him and Gable that unfortunately never happened. Despite the great heel work he was doing around that time, Gable has really cooled off since this storyline was dropped and he failed to win the Intercontinental Title. Even though the American Made stable in a way fits him more, how often they lose has made it hard to take them seriously as a threat. Going back to this feud between Gable and American Alpha isn’t a bad idea, but it does feel like it’s too little too late.
Dropping this feud as abruptly as they did didn’t do any of them any favors and while it looks like we’re at least going to get the blow off for it, there’s not much they can do now to capture what they had before. Considering their appearance on Smackdown a few weeks ago, it seems like Gable and the rest of American Made will be moving there in the next few weeks. With that being the case, it feels like this feud was only picked up again so that it could be settled officially before that potential move happens. While this feud probably won’t go on past the first Raw on Netflix, there’s perhaps a chance that they can create something good come out of its ending. Regardless of how it turns out, this storyline will go down as one of the few that WWE fumbled this year.
Grade: C
C.M. Punk vs. Seth Rollins
Latest Developments:
Last week, C.M. Punk and Seth Rollins had another war of words that led to a big brawl between the two. It took officials multiple attempts to separate both men until they were finally able to keep them apart. Later, Adam Pearce announced that the two will face each other on the first Raw on Netflix January 6. Last Wednesday, WWE held a press conference at the WWE headquarters promoting the upcoming show with both men present. To no surprise, Punk and Rollins once again got into each other’s faces and had to be separated by Triple H and Adam Pearce.
This week, Rollins did a pre-taped interview with Jackie Redmond where he talked about his feelings about finally facing Punk. As Jackie asked him where his hate for Punk came from, he said that it was the hypocrisy surrounding the fact that Punk needed WWE and WWE didn’t need him. Rollins then went on to say that this is going to be a fight and how he wanted to throw the remote through the TV when he saw Punk stand beside Roman Reigns at Survivor Series. Rollins continued by saying he just couldn’t wait to fight Punk any longer after seeing that and that the world is going to see a violent side of him that they’ve never seen before when the match happens. He ended the interview by saying he must extract this demon from his soul or he’s going down.
Analysis:
While it was short, this interview was effective in further exploring the issues Rollins has with Punk. The main thing to take out of it was when Rollins said that we’re going to see a side of him we’ve never seen before. Considering his feelings for Punk and the fact that the fans cheer for him despite those issues, this all makes a Rollins heel turn feel inevitable. Those comments he made in that interview all but confirmed that we will see him turn to the dark side during that match. With it being announced as the main event of that first Raw on Netflix, that turn feels like a fitting way for the show to end.
Having this match as the main attraction is going to be a hot way to start 2025 and will be one of the best stories to lead the company through the first few months of the year. As mentioned last week, this feud is too hot and too personal to blow it off in just one match. With the two of them both being advertised for Raw next week, you know we’re going to get one final heated segment between them before the match. Punk vs. Rollins along with the other matches announced for the first Raw on Netflix are really making that show feel like a PLE in a way no episode of Raw has ever felt before. As unfortunate as it was that we didn’t get this match at WrestleMania XL due to Punk’s injury, the way everything has played out between them recently is making this upcoming match more than worth the wait.
Grade: B
The New Day Heel Turn
Latest Developments:
Ever since Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods turned on Big E three weeks ago, they have not been popular with the audience or anyone backstage. Last week, both attempted to enter the locker room before being stopped by Rey Mysterio. Mysterio told them that everyone in there including himself didn’t like what they did to Big E. Despite pleading their case, Mysterio told them that it was best if they found somewhere else to change as they angrily walked away. This week, Kofi & Xavier came out through the timekeeper’s area to interrupt Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett as they were discussing their recent actions.
After criticizing both announcers for their comments about them, they then entered the ring and were once again booed relentlessly by the audience as they once again claimed they did nothing wrong to Big E. Kofi then pointed that the audience ruined the experience for his mother that was sitting in the front row and as he attempted to hug her, she refused, shook her head at him in disappointment, and walked away from him. Backstage, they ran into Rey Mysterio as he apologized for how he handled their interaction last week and as he expected them to apologize also, they refused as they maintained they didn’t do anything wrong. Mysterio told them both that they were now on their own and to get used to hearing the words “New Day sucks.”
Analysis:
Week after week, they continue to build on how mad everyone is at Kofi & Xavier for what they did. While last week’s segment wasn’t one of the stronger ones involving these two recently, this week’s stepped things right back up. Of all people, even Dominik Mysterio told them they were crazy for how they treated Big E. The best part to come out of all of this was the appearance of Kofi’s mother. Out of anyone to drive home how wrong they were for their actions, there was no one better than Kofi’s own mother to do that.To have her walk away from him in disgust the way she did just further establishes how universally despised they both are now.
One thing Kofi & Xavier have excelled at over the last few weeks is acting delusional over why everyone seems to be so mad at them. Anytime someone acts that way, it only makes you dislike them even more and that’s one of the main reasons why this heel turn has been as successful as it’s been. That delusion was put on display once again as even though Rey Mysterio apologized for how he acted last week, they still refused to apologize for what they did to Big E because they really believe that they did nothing wrong. As we saw last week and once again here, it’s looking like Kofi & Xavier are going to feud with Mysterio and the L.W.O. for the next few weeks. While the outcome of those matches is a foregone conclusion, it will be worth watching to see what they do next to build more heat for themselves.
Grade: B+
Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn
Latest Developments:
After Drew McIntyre returned to attack Sami Zayn on the December 2 Raw, Drew would once again get the better of Sami in their match at Saturday Night’s Main Event as he defeated him with the Claymore Kick. The following Monday on Raw, Sami attacked Drew from behind as he attempted to confront Seth Rollins and both men brawled before being separated. As Drew opened Raw in the ring this week to cut a promo about how all except one person checked up on him in his absence, Sami came out to interrupt. Sami explained how everyone deals with the same issues that Drew does, but the difference is that they don’t point the finger at everyone else for it. Drew responded to a challenge from Sami with a reminder that Sami had never once defeated him and how it was best that he leaves the arena, in which Sami responded with a right hand. As Drew quickly gained the advantage and attempted another Claymore, a returning Jey Uso came out to make the save as he and Sami double clotheslined Drew out of the ring to end the segment.
Drew and Sami would face each other later in the show’s main event, where Drew for the 10th time would defeat Sami with the Claymore Kick. Drew continued his attack on Sami afterwards until Jey Uso came out to make the save and hit him with a Spear. As Jey attempted a Splash from the top rope, he was attacked by Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, and Tomma Tonga. Drew stared at the three of them briefly before leaving the ring and the three of them continued their attack. Solo would hit Jey and Sami with Samoan Spikes and Jacob would hit Sami with a Springboard Moonsalt. Solo, Jacob, and Tomma put Jey and Sami on top of each other as they stood over them to end the show.
Analysis:
What really stood out between Drew and Sami this week even more than their match was the back-and-forth promo they had to start the show. This was the first time we really got to hear Drew talk in the ring since he’s been back, and it was interesting to hear him dive into why he had been gone. One detail to pay close attention to is when he mentioned that only one person checked on him while he was away, but he never revealed who that person was. Sami’s intensity when he came out to respond to Drew was incredible, especially when he dove all the loss and sacrifices that come with being a superstar. While it was great to see Jey Uso return to end the segment, it kind of felt like his return should’ve been saved for another time since this was a pre-taped show.
While better than their match at Saturday Night’s Main Event, this match between Sami and Drew produced the same predictable outcome. Considering that it was constantly brought up that Sami had never defeated Drew, it feels like we’ll eventually see this match again to further play into that. In the meantime, a feud between Drew and Jey over the next weeks is the right way to go as it’s something fresh that will also further the story of Drew’s issues with Roman Reigns. With Solo and the rest of the new Bloodline coming out to save Drew, it could be possible that the person Drew was talking about in his promo earlier was Solo or maybe even The Rock. With Solo and Roman set to face each other on the first Raw on Netflix, it now seems like a certainty that Drew will somehow play a factor in it.
Grade: B
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