Warning: The following copy has SPOILERS for WWE Monday Night Raw (Jan 6,2025)
WWEpresented arguably the biggest night in the history ofMonday Night Raw, asthe first live show of the Netflix era took place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, CA. Roman Reigns defeated Solo Sikoa in Tribal Combat to stand as WWE’s Only Tribal Chief after run-ins from Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, The Bloodline and more. The Rock and Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque opened the show, with the former putting the Ula Fala on Roman at the match’s end.John Cena also declared himself for the 2025 Royal Rumbleas he begins his year-long Farewell Tour.
Rhea Ripley is once again the WWE Women’s Champion after defeating Liv Morgan, with The Undertaker joining her to celebrate. Travis Scott walked Jey Uso to the ring, before he stole a victory from Drew McIntyre. Hulk Hogan was loudly booed by the audience andCM Punk defeated Seth Rollins in the night’s bitter and personal Main Event. Sheamus vs Ludwig Kaiser, a Street Fight between Damian Priest and Finn Balor and the Women’s Intercontinental Championship match between Dakaota Kai and Lyra Valkyria will take place on next week’sMonday Night Raw.
A New Era, But Familiar Faces Open Raw On Netflix
There’s No School Like The Old School
It was imperative that WWE open Monday Night Raw with recognizable faces, and so it came to pass astwo of the biggest names from the Attitude Era opened Raw on Netflix. Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesqueopened the show with an incredible montageand short speech, before The Rock arrived with a message about the importance of the night that felt more from his role as a member on the board of WWE ownership group, TKO, than in character as The Final Boss.
Johnson’s promo was a strange move that drew some controversy from some sections of social media immediately. The whole package effectively ignored last year’s heel run entirely, asThe Great One introduced the Tribal Combat match. But there is logic here: the Netflix Era opened the doors to a significant element of casual and lapsed WWE fans who won’t have kept up withRaw’sprevious storylines, or even The Rock’s return.
Roman Reigns Is The Only Tribal Chief
Paul Heyman Stays In Place As Reigns' Wiseman
After a million run-ins and a thrilling back-and-forth match,Roman Reigns is once again WWE’s Only Tribal Chief. Solo Sikoa put up a great fight, but Reigns hit a final Spear for the pinfall, before The Rock entered the ring to place the Ula Fala around Roman’s neck. It returns a regal nature to Roman and will begin his mission to regain WWE gold in the near future.
If people were curious about Netflix’s influence on the more violent side of professional wrestling, the first match of the Netflix era featured plenty of traditional WWE hardcore spots including a table spot, a low blow, vicious kendo shots, multiple chair shots and so, so many run-ins. It wasa brilliant opening match to show the world where WWE is in 2025.
John Cena Declares For The 2025 Royal Rumble
The Farewell Tour Has One Of Its Major Steps Confirmed
Kicking off his year-long Farewell Tour in Los Angeles,John Cena became the first man to declare himself for the 2025 Royal Rumble match. This emotional tour de force included Cena reminding everyone that he hasn’t won a single’s match since beating Triple H at the Greatest Royal Rumble in April of 2018, before name checking Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre, and Gunther as possible opponents.
Cena received a standing ovation whenhe admitted that it would take a miracle to win his historic 17th WWE Championship, but if John Cena believes, you can bet that we the people believe. Cena then said he isn’t coming to enter the Royal Rumble, he is coming to win the Royal Rumble. Let’s get that miracle, John.
Rhea Ripley Takes Back (Almost) Everything From Liv Morgan
Mami Is Back On Top
After a feud that begun when the champion injured the challenger,Rhea Ripley dethroned Liv Morgan to become the WWE Women’s Championonce more. Morgan has been a phenomenal champion to the very end, using Eddie Guerrero’s Three Amigos suplexes and frog splash finisher in this match to antagonize everybody. Ripley countered Oblivion to hit two Riptides to pick up the victory.
The Australian then declined Dirty Dom’s post-match advances with a low-blow and another Riptide, before walking to the back to be joined in a brief cameo by the motorcycle-riding American Bad Ass Undertaker. It was a good night for WWE’s Eradicator, and the question of what ‘Taker’s appearance means looms large. Honestly, it felt like little more than a smart way to use him without having to put him in the ring, and a cool nod of approval for Ripley. A sort of counter-signature on her victory.
WWE Welcomes Penta
The Rumored New Addition Is Confirmed With A Match Set Up For Next Week’s Raw
After a few weeks of ambiguous teaser videos,WWE confirmed the signing of one half of The Lucha Bros, Penta El Zero Miedo. Later in the show, Chad Gable would ask Adam Pearce to find him “the best luchador wrestler that he can for next week’s Raw”. It would appear that we are being treated to Chad Gable vs Penta on next week’s episode ofMonday Night Raw.
10 Best WWE Rivalries of 2024
Before WWE treads forward on the Road to WrestleMania 41 in 2025, it’s important to reflect on the best rivalries of 2024.
Jey Uso And Travis Scott Felt Enormous
The Entrance Was Presented As Its Own Segment, And You Can See Why
Travis Scott Yeeting and accompanying Jey Uso through the LA crowd, drone cameras capturing the crowd’s white-hot reaction, and the sheer vibrancy and energy of the superstar in question. If Netflix is about turning icons into superstars,Jey Uso’s entrance was the shining moment of WWE’s opening night on Netflix. His victory over Drew McIntyre wasn’t his most convincing, a roll-up after McIntyre controlled most of the match, but there’s no denying Jey Uso is set to be one of his generation’s biggest superstars.
Scott’s flagrant disregard for the very idea of WWE’s wellness policies was on full display, as the rapper came to the ring smoking marijuana - which the commentators attempted to play off as “sage”. Nobody fell for that ruse, and Scott can now claim a particularly specific record in WWE history. Fans may believe this is another mark of the shift into a more adult, less censored WWE era, but it still feels unlikely that smoking ring walks will be embraced. Much to Bronson Reed’s disgust, no doubt…
The Fans Speak Loudly On Hulk Hogan
Boos Ring Out For The WWE Legend
CM Punk Defeats Seth Rollins In A War
The Raw Main Event Has A Deeper Meaning Hidden At Its End
It couldn’t have been any other way.CM Punk and Seth Rollins’ bitter and intense rivalryhas felt personal every time they’ve have shared air, and the match itself shared that very same flavor. Rollins berated Punk and shouted that he “built this place”, as both men landed the other’s finisher on their opponent. The buckle bomb that Punk took was felt by the folks at home, and his desperate foot on the rope after Seth’s stomp (followed by a rawkus “this is awesome!” chant) was exhilarating.
It took 2 GTSes, and he looked like one of the undead from a George Romero flick as he delivered the second, butCM Punk battled to a hard-earned victorythat puts him directly in the WWE Championship picture. As pointed out by a particularly observant fan on X, the end was almost a carbon copy of how Punk beat Jon Moxley at AEW’sAll Outin 2022. Given WWE’s angling here consciously had Rollins criticize Punk for leaving WWE in 2014 - and where that ultimately led - it was a fitting touch to have him effectively borrow from the competition.
We never got to see the plannedWrestleManiamatch between Rollins and Punk thanks to the latter’s injury in 2023, and then the pivot to Punk and Drew McIntyre’s feud, but thisRawmatch-up felt like a’Maniastyle main event on a smaller scale. And you can be sure this isn’t the end for the pair.
As expected, it was an action-packedRawthat threw up all-manner of long-term questions.Did The Rock’s nice guy act signal the end of The Final Boss run?Penta appears to be set for a WWE debut on next week’sRawagainst Chad Gable, and, now that it’s been seen on camera,did Travis Scott just officially bring back the Hardcore Championship?And what didhis R-rated marijuana-carrying entrancewith Jey Uso mean for censorship on the future ofRawon Netflix? And finally, how will WWE continue to promote Hulk Hogan after such a public disaster, and is that the last we see of CM Punk and Seth Rollins’s feud? A lot of questions remain after a blockbuster night onWWE Raw.
