Show Recap —
Raw opened with a drone shot of the Shark Tank in San Jose,
showing the sold-out crowd. There was a video package of
Raw’s debut on Netflix last week.
CM Punk arrived just in time through the loading dock in a
black Chevrolet Tahoe. The camera followed him through
Gorilla and into the arena. (Punk embraced fans in the front
row, put on a kid’s Jey Uso shades and made the “Yeet”
gesture.)
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The crowd loudly chanted for Punk as he took it all in. He
told the fans that the chants did his heart good. Punk
acknowledged all the firefighters and first responders
throughout the great state of California, as well as
everyone helping from other states, and Canada and Mexico.
The crowd cheered.
Punk spoke about his win over Seth Rollins. He had a lot on
his mind and a lot on his plate, but Rollins was no longer
one of them. The Royal Rumble didn’t go well for him last
year, thanks to his triceps. It was his dream to win the
Rumble, but that was taken away.
Punk mentioned that John Cena declared for the Rumble, but
he was declaring for the Rumble, too. Punk planned on
throwing out 29 other men and winning the Rumble. He told
them to play his song, but Rollins’ music played instead.
Punk acted (overacted) annoyed.
Rollins was cheered. He removed his shades to reveal a black
eye. The crowd then chanted for Punk. Punk noticed the black
eye and moved in for a closer look.
Rollins reiterated what he had said before. Win, lose or
draw, he planned on being on Raw. If he didn’t show up when
times were hard, that wouldn’t be him, that would be Punk.
Rollins said he’d rather be the worst version of himself
than be any version of Punk.
Rollins said he has lost a lot of matches, including at
WrestleMania, but last week’s was the worst of his career.
He has never been more disappointed in himself to
underestimate Punk and lose on the biggest stage of his
career. The only way to make up for it was to take Punk’s
dream and flush it down the toilet. Rollins planned on
winning the Rumble.
Drew McIntyre interrupted. McIntyre referred to one of them
as more disgusting and selfish than ever. Punk said the last
time McIntyre stood in the ring with him, he was in tears,
covered in blood and begging for his life. If McIntyre
wanted to step in the ring with him again, it would take
more than 15 stitches to close the wound.
McIntyre said he wasn’t talking to Punk. He was talking to
Rollins. Rollins extended him the same invitation. McIntyre
said they were both so alike.
McIntyre said Rollins was all talk. He talked about being a
leader, but he was nowhere to be found during Tribal Combat
because he was too concerned with his own match—which he
lost anyway. He called Rollins pathetic. Rollins said he
didn’t have patience for this.
Punk didn’t either and was ready to fight with either of
them. McIntyre teased a triple threat but backed down to the
dismay of the crowd. McIntyre said there were more important
things going on. McIntyre again spoke about Roman Reigns and
said he would be the reluctant hero. McIntyre declared for
the Rumble so he could get his hands on the title before
Reigns could.
********
Damian Priest, Finn Bálor & JD McDonagh, Dakota Kai & Iyo
Sky, and Lyra Valkyria were shown arriving earlier.
********
Penta defeated Chad Gable (13:25)
Penta entered as Gable’s surprise opponent, and Michael Cole
called it the worst-kept secret in the business.
They had a WWE-style match. They went back and forth early
on, Gable got the heat, Penta came back, and they traded big
moves until Penta got the win.
Penta wore black, white and red. He went to do the zero
miedo taunt right away, but Gable cut it off. They had a
back-and-forth exchange, which led to a “Penta” chant. Penta
messed up a springboard leg drop and set up for a dive, but
Gable cut him off and hit a suplex.
Penta came back with a superkick and corner handstand into a
dropkick. Gable ducked a right hand and gave Penta a German
suplex on the apron. Gable smashed his leg against the ring
post and continued to work his leg over. The crowd gave
Gable “You suck” chants.
Penta avoided a diving headbutt and hit a superkick, but
Gable cut him off again, suplexing him into the turnbuckles.
Penta came back with a slingblade, flip dive and backstabber
for two. Gable responded with a German suplex for two.
Penta came back with a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall.
Gable took an amazing bump on the destroyer, and the crowd
chanted, “This is awesome.” Penta did the zero miedo taunt
before kicking Gable in the head, but Gable hit a dragon
screw and applied an ankle lock.
Penta got out of it and hit The Sacrifice (hammerlock into
an armbreaker) and Penta Driver for the pinfall win.
— Jackie Redmond interviewed Penta post-match. He thanked
her and the fans. He called this his new home. He said
everyone had been waiting for this, but the truth was, he
had been waiting for this moment. He spoke in Spanish and
shouted out his family in the front row (some of whom were
in tears). This was a new era in WWE, but this was the Penta
new era. The crowd cheered.
It certainly wasn’t perfect, but I would call this a
successful debut in the end. The crowd was behind him.
(I have the ad-free feed, so the match continued through
whatever break they took. It was sort of odd seeing the heat
last as long as it did, even though it was a normal amount
of time, because it normally occurs during a four-minute
commercial break. So it felt like a longer heat sequence,
even if it wasn’t.)
********
Judgment Day met in the back. Finn Bálor sarcastically told
Liv Morgan that she would be champion again. Morgan said she
was at least successful at taking a piece of Rhea Ripley
with her. Dominik showed up, so Bálor let them sort their
issues out.
Dom had flowers and tried to explain what happened last
week. Morgan acted like she wasn’t upset and told him to go
grab her bags and have the valet ready for later. Morgan
tossed the flowers to Carlito. She left with Raquel
Rdoriguez. Dom was blissfully unaware and told Bálor
everything was good. He offered Bálor his help in tonight’s
street fight. Bálor told him to worry about his girl and to
go get her bags.
*******
Cathy Kelley interviewed PCF. They said what they did to
Kairi Sane was a message to everyone in the division,
including anyone considering moving over via the transfer
portal. They each wanted to become the IC champion.
Daniel Cormier and Bron Breakker were shown in the crowd.
********
Sheamus defeated Ludwig Kaiser (8:48)
This went to break early on, which took us to the top of the
hour.
Kaiser grabbed a shillelagh, but Sheamus nailed a knee
strike for two. Kaiser cut him off and went back on offence,
but Sheamus nailed a Brogue Kick for the pinfall win.
— Sheamus saw Bron Breakker in the crowd, and they went
face-to-face. Bron shoved him but a referee got between them
before it could escalate.
********
Kelley asked Rollins about McIntyre (the two men have a
match next week). Rollins owed him one for WrestleMania and
said next week would be fun.
Sami Zayn approached Rollins and offered an ear if he wanted
to talk following his tough loss. Rollins said last week was
rough for him, but it was great for Zayn. His boy Reigns got
the Ula Fala back. Zayn helped him last week just like he
did at WarGames. Rollins wondered if Zayn would keep helping
Reigns until he won the title—or if he would help himself.
********
Redmond interviewed McDonagh and Carlito and asked about the
tension growing between Morgan and Bálor. McDonagh called
her a spin doctor like the rest of the media. Redmond wasn’t
trying to cause drama and asked about Dom being in the
doghouse. McDonagh dismissed her again, and Carlito acted
like he couldn’t hear her questions. (This may have just
been a segment during commercials because it felt very
pointless.)
********
A disgruntled Karrion Kross informed Miz that the Wyatt
Sicks had been moved to Smackdown. Kross hoped Miz had
nothing to do with it.
Zayn approached and asked if Adam Pearce was in his office.
Kross said he overheard what Zayn said earlier. Kross and
Miz joked about the idea of Zayn winning another title. Zayn
said Miz had been Kross’ lackey lately, and nobody was even
thinking about him.
Miz reminded Zayn that he’s been world champion twice, which
is two more times than Zayn. Zayn said had a few things to
discuss with Pearce, and now one of those things was to get
a match against Miz tonight. (Kross made sure Miz knew he
was on his own against Zayn.)
*******
Oba Femi was shown in the crowd.
********
Gunther and Jey Uso segment
Gunther entered in a suit with his world title belt. He was
impressed with the spectacle of last week’s show, but “when
it comes to the performance in the ring, I was less
impressed.” Aside from him, he wished they had a roster that
could fulfill his high expectations. Everyone fought over
drama like who was “the head of the table” or “best in the
world,” but the only thing that mattered was the World
Heavyweight Championship.
Jey Uso entered (wearing a San Jose Sharks Yeet shirt) to a
big reaction. Jey said McIntyre and the Bloodline were
behind him now, and he wanted a title match at Saturday
Night’s Main Event.
Gunther said he knew he wouldn’t hold the title forever, but
Jey wouldn’t be the guy to take it. They wrestled twice over
the IC title, and Gunther beat him both times. Gunther knew
what Jey was capable of and it was a lot less than him. Jey
was entertaining, but Gunther would expose him as a really
talented tag team wrestler. “Main event” was a nickname to
Jey, but it was where Gunther belonged. A match at SNME
sounded good to him, but he advised Jey to consider his
choice. Gunther left the ring.
Jey said everything Gunther said was true. Jey spoke about
all the doubters, and he admitted he was scared to do it
alone but he woke up every morning trying to earn respect.
So at SNME, Gunther would respect Jey when he beat his ass
for the world title. Jey led the crowd in chanting, “Yeet.”
Gunther was amused.
Jey was good here.
(Cole said Jey winning the world title would be his first
singles championship in WWE, which is incorrect.)
********
There was a good video package for Lyra Valkyria and Dakota
Kai.
Kelley interviewed Bayley in front of her hometown crowd
(during an ad break). Bayley spoke about how much this
building meant to her. She put over Penta and spoke about
her title match against Tiffany Stratton on Friday. She also
put over Valkyria and Kai (despite their history). She poked
fun at Cole and had the fans yell, “Michael Cole’s an
idiot.”
********
Lyra Valkyria defeated Dakota Kai to become the first-ever
Women’s Intercontinental Champion (8:31)
Valkyria gave Kai a vertical suplex off the apron to the
floor, which got a good reaction (this led to an early
break). Kai fought back after the break, hitting a running
boot in the corner and flipping backstabber for two.
Valkyria blocked GTK and hit a running sit-out powerbomb for
two. Valkyria followed with an axe kick off the ropes for
two.
Kai responded with a scorpion kick, diving foot stomp, and
GTK, but Valkyria rolled out of the ring before Kai could
make a cover. Valkyria dodged a running boot and hit a
slingblade (Kai landed right on top of her). Valkyria
followed with Nightwing for the pinfall win.
— Pearce and Kai each raised Valkyria’s hand post-match.
Valkyria posed with the title belt as fireworks went off.
(This was fairly good for the time they had, but it felt
rushed. Based on the pace they were going, you could see the
result coming once Kai failed to get a cover after her
finisher.)
********
Kelley interviewed New Day (during a break). They were
pissed at Rey Mysterio, and Kofi Kingston said his mother
still won’t talk to him. Xavier Woods said they would return
to action next week and Kingston told everyone to be careful
what they wish for. Kelley was about to follow up, but Woods
told her that they were out of time.
********
Sami Zayn defeated The Miz (4:08)
They had a basic match until Zayn killed Miz with a Helluva
Kick, followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb for the pinfall.
(Cole yelled out, “Folks, Sami Zayn just got a win with the
Blue Thunder Bomb!” It’s good Zayn won with his secondary
finisher, but we could’ve done without Cole yelling about
it.)
********
Two title matches were made official for SNME on January
25th:
Gunther vs. Jey Uso for the World Heavyweight Championship
Bron Breakker vs. Sheamus for the Intercontinental
Championship
*******
Rhea Ripley segment
Ripley entered to a strong reaction, and she declared, “Mami
is back on top!” She knew she sounded like a broken record
to some, but she wanted to remind those who forgot that she
was Rhea bloody Ripley. She was “one of” the most dominant
women in WWE, and she was once again the Women’s World
Champion. (She probably misspoke there.)
Nia Jax interrupted. She was loudly booed. She informed us
that she would win the Rumble and would take whatever title
she wanted. Stratton and Ripley might think they’re on top,
but Jax was the only woman on top of the division. Jax had a
few words for Bayley, who was still in the crowd, so she
jumped the barricade and entered the ring.
Bayley confronted Jax. She said this wasn’t her show, but
this was her city. She called Jax a “big, ol’ dumb idiot,”
so Jax shoved her down. Ripley headbutted Jax, so Jax
headbutted her to the ground. Bayley and Ripley worked
together to dump Jax from the ring.
Bayley was about to grab Ripley’s title belt for her, but
Ripley grabbed it instead. They hugged, but Bayley stared at
the belt as Ripley held it up.
********
Next week on Raw in Dallas:
The New Day return to action
JBL appears
Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
********
There was a video package for tonight’s street fight. Priest
entered for the main event at about 10:10 pm ET.
During a break, Redmond put over Penta’s win and interviewed
Rey Mysterio. Rey said he’s known Penta for a long time, and
WWE was his true home. Rey also had a few words for New Day.
********
Street Fight: Damian Priest defeated Finn Bálor (17:15)
Priest entered with a kendo stick. Bálor’s music hit for his
entrance, but he attacked Priest from behind with a kendo
stick. (The ref saw this coming and called for the match to
start even though Priest was about to be attacked from
behind.)
Priest fought him off anyway, and they battled near the
announce table as the crowd chanted, “We want tables.”
Priest gave him a flatliner onto the table and chucked him
over it. Priest grabbed a table from under the ring, but
Bálor attacked him, and they fought into the crowd. Bálor
hit Priest with a trash can, but Priest fought back and hit
him hard over the head with the trash can.
There was a great spot where Priest gave Bálor a falcon
arrow off some equipment boxes (about 10-15 rows up) through
some tables. Officials checked on both men as they went to
break. The crowd’s applause turned to booing when they
brought out a stretcher for Bálor (because they thought the
match might be called off.)
Medics put a soft brace around Bálor’s neck and placed him
on the stretcher as Priest gingerly made his way to the
ring. Pearce, Carlito and McDonagh checked on Bálor.
Back from break, Priest ran out of the ring to attack
Carlito and McDonagh. Priest hammered away at the helpless
Bálor. (Bálor was out of it and was tied down.) Priest
untied Bálor from the stretcher, rolled it down the ramp and
it collided with the side of the ring—and Bálor rolled right
off the stretcher and into the ring.
McDonagh and Carlito attacked Priest to help their friend,
who was still in a neck brace. McDonagh gave Priest a
moonsault. They helped Bálor to his feet and onto the top
rope. Bálor ripped the brace off and hit a Coup de Grace for
two.
Carlito and McDonagh set up a table, but the War Raiders ran
down to take them out.
Bálor hit a slingblade while still selling his neck. Bálor
hit Priest repeatedly with a steel chair. He placed Priest
seated on a chair and wrapped a chair around his neck. He
looked for redemption for Priest trying to kill him, but
Priest avoided his dropkick attempt and hit South of Heaven
for a nearfall.
Priest tried a Razor’s Edge through a table outside the
ring, but Bálor slipped out of it. Bálor placed Priest on a
table and hit a Coup de Grace through it. Priest responded
by driving Bálor through the barricade.
Priest hit a Razor’s Edge through a table and hit a South of
Heaven in the ring for the pinfall win. Priest posed for the
crowd as the show ended.
(The show wound up being about 2 hours and 35 minutes, about
30 minutes shorter than last week’s debut.
Paul Levesque and Lee Fitting’s names were shown again as
executive producers.)
