SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE RAW TV REPORT
JANUARY 1, 2024
SAN DIEGO, CALIF. AT PENCHANGA ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON USA
REPORT BY MAURICIO POMARES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett
Ring Announcer: Samantha Irvin
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
[HOUR ONE]
– Michael Cole and Wade Barrett stood in the middle of the ring to run down tonight’s match card.
– A video package was shown recapping the rivalry and history between Becky Lynch and Nia Jax.
(1) BECKY LYNCH vs. NIA JAX
Lynch evaded Jax’s right hand, but Jax blocked a diving crossbody. Lynch nailed Jax with an enzuigiri, only for Jax to lay her out with a bodyslam. Jax crushed Lynch with an elbow drop before receiving a series of forearm strikes. Lynch avoided a Bear Hug and a seated senton, setting Jax up for low facebuster. Jax blocked a Xploder, but Lynch still hit her with a flipping Stunner and a dropkick. Lynch knocked Jax down with a missile dropkick before receiving a Samoan Drop, as WWE Raw went to commercials.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Lynch crushed Jax with the Molly-Go-Round for a close two count. Jax missed a leg drop on the apron and accidentally punched the ring post. Jax knocked Lynch off her feet with a headbutt, only to miss a follow-up cannonball. Back in the ring, Lynch nailed Jax with a diving leg drop, followed by the Dis-Arm-Her. Jax managed to break the hold and plant her with a powerbomb for a nearfall.
Lynch stopped Jax atop the turnbuckle with chop blocks, but couldn’t follow up with the Manhandle Slam. Jax dropped Lynch with an avalanche Samoan drop for a close two count. Lynch shoved Jax over the top rope and pummeled her down. Jax blocked the diving leg drop with a punch to the face before getting the win with the diving seated senton.
WINNER: Nia Jax at 11:52
(Pomares’s Analysis: Arguably Nia Jax’s greatest singles match in God knows how long. They are really building this feud as a historic rivalry and I expect Becky to come out on top at the end. Wouldn’t be surprised if Becky beats Nia around Elimination Chamber before going to a title match at WrestleMania.)
[Commercial Break]
– Cody Rhodes made his way to the ring to say that he was stuck on Shinsuke Nakamura. Cody said that he was stuck on Nakamura because this should be over. He dared Nakamura to come out and face him, so this could end tonight. Nakamura appeared on-screen to claim that it was easy to get in Cody’s head. Nakamura told Cody that his story wouldn’t end tonight and that he would give him one more week to dream. He finished by saying that he would finish his story next week before misting the screen.
(Pomares’s Analysis: Well-executed promo that was pretty much there to keep the plates spinning for one more week. I really hope they don’t try to extend this feud to the Royal Rumble after their last match ended in a lackluster DQ.)
– A recap of Jey Uso defeating Ludwig Kaiser a few weeks ago was shown.
– Jey Uso and Kofi Kingston made their way to the ring, ahead of their match against Imperium.
[Commercial Break]
(2) JEY USO & KOFI KINGSTON vs. IMPERIUM (Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci)
Vinci put Kofi in a wrist lock, only for Kofi to shut him down with a splash. Vinci caught Kofi with a running crossbody before giving Kaiser the tag. Kofi knocked Vinci off the apron, only for Kaiser to blast him with an uppercut. Kofi caught Kaiser with a springboard dropkick, but couldn’t follow up after Vinci tripped him. Imperium crushed Kofi with a double dropkick on the apron, as WWE Raw went to an ad break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Kofi blocked a corkscrew crossbody from Vinci with a dropkick, reaching Jey for the hot tag. As soon as Jey entered the ring, the bell rang while referees checked on Vinci who seemed to be hurt.
WINNERS: Jey Uso & Kofi Kingston via referee stoppage at 6:23
(Pomares’s Analysis: Not much to say here. Just wishing a speedy recovery to Giovanni Vinci and that whatever happened to him wasn’t serious.)
– Highlights from WWE’s final tour of the year were shown.
– The Miz made his way to the ring for his Miz TV segment.
[Commercial Break]
[HOUR TWO]
– A video package hyping up the encounter between Rhea Ripley and Ivy Nile was shown.
– Backstage, The Creeds and Alpha Academy were helping Ivy Nile train for her title match.
– The Miz briefly speculated about the returning WWE champion before introducing the Judgment Day to the ring. R-Truth made his way to the ring instead of any member from the Judgment Day. Truth said that he was sure the rest of Judgment Day was behind him. Truth claimed that he had done administrative work for the Judgment Day and was now focusing on making them more likeables. JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio interrupted to tell Truth that he wasn’t part of Judgment Day.
– Truth reminded JD that he was kicked out of the group after losing the Miracle on 34th Street Fight. Dominik tried to talk about Miz’s 2023, but was barely audible due to the crowd’s boos. Miz said that the only thing that he remembered from 2023 was Dominik being spanked by his father and being beaten down by CM Punk. They set up a tag match with Miz and Truth reuniting as the Awesome Truth. Miz and Truth sent JD out of the ring, as WWE Raw went to a commercial break.
(Pomares’ Analysis: This was a fine segment, but this feud between Judgment Day and R-Truth is starting to drag for me.)
[Commercial Break]
(3) THE MIZ & R-TRUTH vs. JUDGMENT DAY (Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh)
Back from break, Truth tagged from the wrong corner, allowing JD to hit Miz with an enzuigiri. Miz landed on his feet off a back suplex before taking JD down with a hurracarrana. Miz and Truth nailed JD with a running boot to the face and an elbow drop. Truth knocked JD down with the Lie Detector, followed by a corner splash for a two count. JD knocked Truth off his feet, setting him up for a 619 from Dominik, as WWE Raw went to commercials.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Miz hit JD with a clothesline into the corner, following it with a springboard crossbody for a two count. Truth tried to talk with Dominik in his corner while Miz took JD down with a bulldog. Miz tossed Dominik out of the ring before receiving a headbutt from JD. Truth teased punching Miz, only to accidentally punch JD. Miz knocked Dominik off the apron and beat JD with the Skull Crushing Finale.
WINNERS: The Miz & R-Truth at 7:29
(Pomares’s Analysis: Solid comedy match to continue the R-Truth and Judgment Day storyline. I’m mildly nostalgic for the Awesome Truth, but I’m not really interested in this becoming a long-term reunion.)
– At a nightclub, Chelsea Green and Piper Niven confronted Katana Chance & Kayden Carter. Chance & Carter claimed that they would be fighting champions before throwing drinks at them.
– Ivy Nile made her way to the ring, ahead of her match against Rhea Ripley.
[Commercial Break]
(4) RHEA RIPLEY vs. IVY NILE – Women’s World Championship
Ripley blocked a power move and shut Nile down with a boot to the face. Nile clocked Ripley with a couple of forearm strikes, followed by a high crossbody for a two count. Ripley blasted Nile with a spinning kick to the head and a couple of forearm strikes to the back. Nile put Ripley down with a leg-capture suplex, as WWE Raw went to an ad break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Ripley sent Nile out of the ring with a dropkick, only for Nile to launch her away with a German suplex. Nile clocked Ripley with an enzuigiri and a headscissors takeover, followed by a jumping leg drop for a two count. Nile spiked Ripley with a Satellite DDT, but Ripley shut her down with a headbutt. Ripley knocked Nile down with a missile dropkick for a close two count. Nile evaded the Riptide to hit Ripley with a roundhouse kick and a modified powerslam for a nearfall.
Ripley laid Nile out with a knee strike, a clothesline and a modified facebuster for a two count. Nile blocked a superplex, but couldn’t follow up with a sunset flip powerbomb. Nile pulled Ripley’s head into the turnbuckle and planted her with an avalanche German suplex for a close two count. Ripley blocked a diving crossbody with a headbutt, setting Nile up for a knee strike and the Riptide.
WINNER: Rhea Ripley at 13:01 (Still Women’s World Champion)
(Pomares’s Analysis: Aside from a couple of clunky moments early on, this was a great showcase for Ivy Nile. There is still work to be done with her, but she is clearly on the right path. Really curious as to why NXT barely did anything with her for the majority of her stint. As for Rhea, this was probably her second best defense since the Natalya match. I’m assuming Nia Jax is next in line after defeating Becky earlier tonight.)
[Commercial Break]
– Jinder Mahal made his way to the ring as the returning WWE champion that was teased during the weekend. Mahal called the fans out for being disappointed before insulting the United States of America. Mahal insulted the people’s lack of unity, claiming that he would be the one to unify them. He started speaking in Punjabi before revealing that it was the US National anthem that they were booing. Mahal continued speaking in Punjabi, until The Rock made a shocking interruption.
[HOUR THREE]
Rock made fun of Mahal’s look while Mahal insisted on insulting the crowd. Rock called Mahal a no good dirty son of a b*tch basted and the Baywatch of Rock movies. He moved on to speak about Mahal’s comments on the United States. Rock led the crowd into chanting “Day 1 douchebag” at Mahal before mocking him by singing the national anthem with insulting lyrics. Mahal blindsided Rock, only for Rock to lay him out with a spinebuster and a People’s Elbow. Rock wished the San Diego crowd a happy New Year before asking them if he should sit at the Head of the Table.
(Pomares’s Analysis: This segment went on a bit too long for my liking and the pro-America promos have never done anything for me personally. Having said that, I can’t deny that the crowd absolutely ate every word that came out of the Rock’s mouth. For a second I thought that this was just a fun legend spot for him, until the sudden Roman Reigns reference. As funny as it would be for Rocky to take over Cody’s spot at WrestleMania, I think it’s very likely the match will take place at Elimination Chamber in Australia.)
[Commercial Break]
(5) TEGAN NOX & NATALYA vs. SHAYNA BASZLER & ZOEY STARK
Stark took Natalya down with an arm drag, only for Natalya to drop her onto the mat. Nox blasted Stark with a Penalty kick, but Natalya missed a follow-up clothesline. Baszler nailed Natalya with a knee strike for a two count, as WWE Raw went to a commercial break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Nox knocked Stark off the apron and blasted her with a running uppercut. Nox hit Baszler with a headbutt and a suplex into a facebuster, setting her up for a cannonball. Nox crushed Baszler with a Molly-Go-Round, but she managed to kick out at two. Baszler caught Nox with a kick to the back, only for Natalya to attack her from behind. Stark took Natalya down with a thrust kick while Baszler planted Nox with a German suplex. Stark immediately knocked Nox out with the Z-360 for the three count.
WINNERS: Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark at 5:36
(Pomares’s Analysis: Fine for the time given, but the crowd was very quiet throughout the whole thing.)
– A video package recapping the rivalry between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre was shown.
– Drew McIntyre made his way to the ring, ahead of his match against Seth Rollins.
[Commercial Break]
– It was announced that next week Cody Rhodes would take on Shinsuke Nakamura, that Kayden Carter & Katana Chance would give Chelsea Green & Piper Niven a title rematch; and that CM Punk would return.
(6) SETH ROLLINS vs. DREW MCINTYRE – World Heavyweight Championship
Rollins quickly sent Drew out of the ring and nailed him with a leaping forearm strike. Drew smashed Rollins’ head onto the announce table, but couldn’t follow up with an inverted Alabama Slam. Rollins went for a suicide dive, only for Drew to lay him out with a belly-to-belly suplex, as WWE Raw went to commercials.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Drew knocked Rollins off his feet with a chop to the chest. Rollins tried to make a comeback with right hands, only for Drew to drop him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Rollins couldn’t hit Drew with a sunset flip powerbomb, but was able to counter a powerbomb with a hurracarrana. Drew crashed into the ring post, allowing Rollins to knock him down with a Tope con Hilo. Rollins caught Drew with a Satellite DDT and a Frog SPlash for a close two count. Drew evaded a springboard moonsault, only for Rollins to surprise him with a superplex. Drew countered the follow-up Falcon Arrow with one of his own, as WWE Raw went to its final commercial break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from break, Drew dropped Rollins with an avalanche Air Raid Crash for a nearfall. Rollins clocked Drew with an enzuigiri and a thrust kick before receiving a Future Shock DDT. Rollins countered the Claymore with a sitout powerbomb for a close nearfall. Drew evaded the Phoenix Splash, but missed the Claymore. Rollins hit Drew with a thrust kick and a Pedigree, but he kicked out at two. Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio showed up at ringside with the briefcase in hand.
Priest clobbered Rollins with the briefcase behind the referee’s back, only for Drew to knock him out with a Claymore. Drew put Dominik down with a belly-to-belly suplex and Rollins with a Claymore, but his foot was on the rope at the last moment. Drew cleared the announce table, only for Rollins to drop him with a Pedigree on top of it. Back in the ring, Rollins nailed Drew with the Curb Stomp to pick up the victory.
WINNER: Seth Rollins at 18:06 (Still World Heavyweight Champion)
(Pomares’s Analysis: Another great title defense from Seth Rollins and the next chapter in Drew McIntyre’s apparent descent into madness. For a second there, they genuinely made me think Drew was actually going to win. With yet another loss, I wouldn’t be surprised if it leads to some sort of breaking point for Drew. I wouldn’t be surprised if we got Drew facing Sami at WrestleMania in what could end up being his final match.)
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