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After a memorable and chaotic Raw that took place last week, this week’s show showed no signs of slowing down. As last week ended with the surprise return of Drew McIntyre, he has since revealed the motive behind his recent actions. With his return, he has now put himself in a new heated rivalry where the first match will take place much sooner than expected. Considering some of the things he revealed, he could also have another rivalry waiting for him right around the corner. Like Seth Rollins, it’s clear his recent issues also stem from his hate for Roman Reigns.
For as strong as 2024 was for Drew, it seems like he’s prepared to end it with a bang. In addition to that, we had a big change to the upcoming World Heavyweight Title Match for Saturday Night’s Main Event, C.M. Punk and Seth Rollins continued their war of words, everyone letting the New Day know how they felt about what they did to Big E, and an “anything goes” main event between Rhea Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez. While Raw is typically less interesting during the month of December, this show proved to be an example of how that’s not the case this year.
Gunther vs. Finn Balor vs. Damien Priest
Latest Developments:
Thanks to Finn Balor’s interference, Gunther defeated Damien Priest at Survivor Series to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. After Finn demanded a title shot the following Monday on Raw because of the part he played in the outcome, Gunther simply told him that he never asked for his help and that he didn’t owe him anything. Upset by Gunther’s lack of appreciation, Finn attacked him later that night following his win over Dominik Mysterio and hit him with three Coup De Grace. It was announced right after that Gunther would defend the title against Finn at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
This week, Gunther opened Raw to cut a promo before being interrupted by Finn, Dominik, JD McDonaugh, and Carlito. As the four of them were about to enter the ring to attack him, Damien Priest came out and fought them all off. As Gunther then attacked Priest and was about to put him through the announce table, he was interrupted by Finn with a Sling Blade. After Finn hit Gunther with a Coup De Grace from the apron to the floor, Priest once again fought off the rest of Judgment Day in the ring before Finn took him down and hit him with the Coup De Grace three times to end the segment. Backstage a few moments later, Adam Pearce informed Finn that he and McDonaugh be defending the tag titles against the War Raiders next week with Judgment Day barred from ringside, and the match between he and Gunther for the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event would now be a triple threat with Priest being added to it.
Analysis:
While it seemed like a triple threat between these three was the eventual destination, it was surprising to hear that it would be happening as early as this weekend. While there’s no guarantees of how this will all end up for him, it is refreshing to see Finn Balor in the title picture again. From the work he’s been doing recently, he is showing that he can hold his own in the main event scene long term. Even though he probably won’t win the title this Saturday, this storyline seems like a step in the right direction for him. As another singles feud between Finn and Damien Priest doesn’t seem that interesting, having Gunther and the title added to the mix gives all this an extra boost.
Much like his feud with Priest heading into Survivor Series, this was the second week in a row that someone got the better of Gunther. Despite the help from Judgment Day, Finn standing tall over both Priest and Gunther in this segment is a clear sign that he will be the ex-factor in Saturday’s title match. Another noticeable part of all of this was the little shot that Finn took at Dominik regarding him not deserving a title shot. As things have been getting tense between them recently, that issue could play into the finish on Saturday as well as the finish in the tag title match next week. For as good as this all was and the fact that the triple threat between these three is happening so soon, it feels like this could all extend far beyond Saturday.
Grade: B
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C.M. Punk vs. Seth Rollins
Latest Developments:
C.M. Punk and Seth Rollins have been at odds with each other since Punk’s return to WWE last year. With many confrontations between them since then, things really hit a boiling point last week on Raw. As Rollins threatened to finally knock out Punk after putting it off for so long, Punk simply told him that he doesn’t think about him at all. In response, Rollins shoved down Punk and the two of them got into a brawl before it was quickly broken up by Sami Zayn and Jey Uso. Rollins was so heated that he even got into an argument with Sami that led to them having a match at the end of the show (which Rollins won).
This week, CM Punk did a sit-down interview with Jackie Redmond where he brought up how when Rollins was 16, he asked Punk to train him to be a wrestler for free. He then went on to say that he “Shielded” Rollins from being fired by WWE over a decade ago and while he did a good job filling his shoes in his absence, he concluded by saying the starter’s back and it’s time for the second string to get back on the bench. Rollins came out to the ring later to cut a promo on Punk where he dove into Punk ghosting him and everyone else in WWE when he left a decade ago, how much it bothered him to hear Punk bash the company in his absence, and that he only came back because the money was right. Before being interrupted by Sami Zayn, he concluded by saying that he accomplished everything Punk did twice and was also able to do what he never could do and that was be in the main event of WrestleMania.
Analysis:
The feud between these two continues to grow more heated every week. Considering how they came to blows last week, it was smart to keep distance between them while still maintaining that tension. Out of both promos, Punk’s came off the most effective despite being shorter and not happening in front of the audience. The line that hit the hardest was when Punk referred to Rollins as second string and that it was time for him to get back on the bench. More than anything, you get the vibe from the feud that Rollins is more obsessed with Punk than Punk is with him.
While some of what Rollins said about Punk’s behavior may have been true, that didn’t stop the crowd from chanting Punk’s name. The main line that stood out from him was when he mentioned that he main evented WrestleMania before Punk was able to. Overall, his promo last week when he was in the ring with Punk was stronger as you felt the intensity more from him there. With WrestleMania still four months away, these recent interactions between them are making it feel like we may get the match between them much sooner than that. As appealing as it would be, a match this big with so much personal animosity should be saved for the biggest stage possible.
Grade: B
Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre
Latest Developments:
As Jey Uso was found attacked backstage last week, it led Sami Zayn to believe that Seth Rollins committed the attack. Sami constantly accused Rollins during their match to the point where he almost hit him with a chair, with that distraction leading to a Rollins win. After the match, Sami was then hit with a Claymore Kick from a returning Drew McIntyre. This week in a pre-taped promo, Drew said that he attacked Sami because of how willing he was to team with Roman Reigns. Also in the promo, he revealed that it was he who attacked Jey Uso for the same reason he attacked Sami.
Later in the show, Sami interrupted Seth Rollins’ promo to apologize for accusing him of the attack last week. He also said that his feud with Punk brings out the worst in him but despite that, he would let Rollins handle it his own way. Rollins thanked Sami before leaving the ring, and Sami then revealed that Adam Pearce made a match between him and Drew official for Saturday Night’s Main Event. As Sami headed to the back, he was once again sneak attacked by Drew before officials broke it up.
Analysis:
Much like the upcoming triple threat for the World Heavyweight Title, it’s surprising that this match between Drew and Sami is happening so soon. Despite that, getting a match like this isn’t something to complain about. One thing that stood out about all of this was Drew’s pre-taped promo where he explained his actions. Much like Rollins, he still holds that hatred for Roman to the point where he hates anyone who chooses to team with him. It was interesting that he didn’t hold it against Punk because he took a bribe, but he held it against everyone else because they did it willingly.
Although it added some heat to their match, Drew attacking Sami this week didn’t feel necessary after Drew had already done the pre-taped promo earlier. With the match between them already happening this Saturday, it feels like there won’t be a decisive outcome. This feud is one that will probably go on for a while and this match will just simply be the first installment. Considering that he was the one who attacked Jey Uso, this has also set up a potential feud between Drew and Jey whenever Jey comes back. After coming off the best feud of the year with Punk, this feud with Sami and potentially Jey gives Drew no shortage of interesting storylines to be involved in for the next few months.
Grade: B+
The New Day Heel Turn
Latest Developments:
Last week, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods turned on Big E during the New Day’s 10-year anniversary celebration. Claiming that he left them to start his new life, both Kofi & Xavier berated Big E to the point where he left the ring in tears. Both agreeing that it’s now only the two of them, they shook hands to a hoard of boos from the audience. From the time they arrived at the arena for Raw this week, they received the cold shoulder from everyone. One person who also expressed how he felt about them was WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, who told them that they should both be ashamed of themselves.
As they were being interviewed backstage by Cathy Kelly, they snapped at Cathy for asking them an unbiased question. Xavier then aggressively grabbed the camera from the camera man and followed Kofi with the camera as they walked out to the ring to another hoard of boos. After placing the camera down and both entered the ring, the crowd booed them heavily every time they tried to speak. While Xavier & Kofi claimed that they didn’t even do anything to physically harm Big E, the crowd drowned them out with boos before they could finish speaking. As the negative reaction from the audience only got worse, the two of them angrily left the ring.
Analysis:
In just one week, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods have become the two most hated men in the company. While we often see Dominik Mysterio get booed so loudly that he can’t even speak, no one could’ve ever imagined that these two would get this kind of reaction. If anyone needed proof of whether what happened last week worked, this was it. Even when they were heels in 2015, the New Day never received heat to the level that they did here. Arguably for the third week in a row, the New Day segment was the best part of Raw.
Considering how strong the crowd hate was for them this week, it now brings up the question of what they’ll do next to obtain even more heat. After these past two weeks, it’s clear that this new direction for Kofi & Xavier is something the audience can sink their teeth into. At the rate this is going, all of this could even lead to another run with the tag titles down the line. With the amount of heat they now have, this feels more than ever like it will lead to a Big E return to the ring. For as consistent as this storyline has been, it feels like it’ll only get better between now and WrestleMania.
Grade: A
Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Latest Developments:
Ever since Raquel Rodriguez cost Rhea Ripley the Women’s World Title at Bad Blood, she has constantly been a thorn in Rhea’s side in her feud with Liv Morgan. Last week, Rhea came out to save Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane from a post-match beating by Raquel and Liv. Despite having the advantage, the odds were too much for her as Raquel threw Rhea face first into the edge of the announce table. It was announced later that night that the two would face each other this week on Raw and at the start of the show, it was revealed that the match would be an Anything Goes match.
Both women beat the hell out of each other all over ringside and at one point, Raquel even hit Rhea with a Fallaway Slam over the announce table. Liv Morgan interfered later in the match, and it was looking as if both Raquel and Liv were going to get the better of Rhea once again. However, Liv’s upcoming challenger for her title Iyo Sky came out to even the odds and she took out Liv with a suicide dive. Rhea eventually recovered and was able to hit Raquel with a Riptide through a table to win the match. Afterwards, Rhea and Iyo both held the belt simultaneously and they stared each other down as the show went off the air.
Analysis:
As it initially felt like Rhea and Raquel were going to feud for a while, the ending to this match made you think otherwise. With the match starting as there were only 10 minutes left in the show, it felt rushed. After seeing some of their past matches in NXT, this match just didn’t have the same feel as those matches did. Something else that was clear from this is that the feud between Rhea and Liv needs to wrap up sooner than later. The segments involving the two of them and Raquel are becoming too repetitive and the way this match played out was another sign that this feud has passed its peak.
The most interesting part of all of this was what happened after the match. The stare down between Rhea and Iyo was a strong way for the show to end and it’s a match that has a lot of intrigue. As Iyo is set to face Liv for the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event, there could be a small chance that she wins the title there. As cool of a swerve as that would be, it should ultimately be Rhea who takes the title from Liv since Liv was the reason she had to forfeit it in the first place. While the Rhea and Liv feud feels like it needs to end soon, a potential feud between Rhea and Iyo feels fresh and exciting.
Grade: C
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(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com. You can also send live event results and news tips to pwtorch@gmail.com. Also, we’re always looking for volunteer contributors to help us round out of coverage of the pro wrestling scene.)
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