On the Royal Rumble “go-home” episode of RAW, a final few additions to the Royal Rumble were announced. Live from Atlanta, Georgia, there were a few expectations for tonight, with a potential Charlotte Flair return buzzing throughout social media. Saturday Night’s Main Event aftermath aside, the show could certainly elevate both Rumbles after tonight.
In fact, Bron Breakker declared for the Rumble in a backstage segment during RAW’s final hour. In it, he made fun of the “old men” in the Rumble that were ‘no match for Breakker.’ Then, Penta entered the shot and the crowd went nuts. That simple segment is a perfect example of short, effective storytelling that creates potential payoffs on Saturday.
The announcement that iShowSpeed will be live streaming from the Royal Rumble has sent shockwaves through the streaming community. In fact, Kai Cenat, pound-for-pound top five streamers in the world, was a featured guest tonight. He essentially threw down the gauntlet on iShowSpeed – the two have a long history streaming together and Speed has taken some of his worst bumps on stream with Kai—creating the assumption that we will see the two of them mix it up (in the Rumble or otherwise). WWE has certainly raised the profile of the Rumble before tonight even started, but utilizing local ATL rappers like they did at October’s Bad Blood is also smart.
Biggest AEW Match Happening At Mania?!
CM Punk and Cody Rhodes ended up being the final segment of RAW, and while this feels like an odd place to begin, it is also the most telling segment of the night as far as future direction is concerned. Cody has been thrown in with The Rock, John Cena, and Logan Paul as potential Mania opponents, but nothing is set in stone and tonight’s segment could sway Saturday’s booking.
Cody was already out at ringside after attempting to save Sami Zayn (SEE BELOW), and the sequence of events leading to Punk and Cody facing off aside was worth it. Punk asked Cody if he was ‘okay.’ And Cody, sweaty and disheveled, looking like he had not slept in weeks, looked through Punk with a ‘checked out’ expression. Punk called Cody a friend and Cody returned the gesture, but there was animosity in the air. Maybe misdirected frustration, or perhaps the beginning of a full-on snap.
The American Nightmare has been put on notice!#RawOnNetflix pic.twitter.com/gEXv0NP4rd
— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2025
Punk told Cody that he ‘sees the road that Cody is on,’ and it is one he traveled, wondering if he let Rhodes down for being unable to prepare him for something that ‘not even his father’ could have prepared him for. They spoke candidly, and not in ‘wrestler’s voice,’ either, rarely regarding the fourth wall speaking personally.
Punk told Cody that he would not sleep this week, running down “The American Nightmare’s” likely itinerary for Rumble week, which included media calls and meet-and-great events. But he made it clear that this is what Cody wanted, claiming the good news is that someone will one day outwork him and take his title—relieving him of his burden. “Since I’m your one true friend, I’m going to stab you in the front,” Punk said after admitting that he is the guy who will take the title from Punk. Cody said he hopes that Punk wins the Rumble because he wants him to “catch up” to the heights that Cody has reached. The tension built and it may have been a bad time for CM Punk to have an “open-heart convo” between friends.
“A good friend will always stab you in the front.” pic.twitter.com/FUt2xhrhaK
— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2025
This is an incredible storyline that highlights Punks’ biggest insecurity—never being good enough or polished enough in the eyes of WWE to be ‘the guy,’ the face of the company. For Punk, his comeback is difficult to translate over to casuals since he’s accomplished so much, but he is chasing more than Cody’s title. Punk is after Cody’s spot.
Seth Rollins Odd Man Out… Logan Paul Heat All The Way Up
With all the major names surrounding this weekend’s Royal Rumble, there aren’t as many competing narratives as you think. Cena and Punk are running similar storylines, albeit with much different career stakes, and Roman Reigns is locked into the comeback narrative as he looks to regain the title from the man who beat him for it.
However, guys like Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre represent the everyday superstars that “keep the lights on” when the ‘big names’ are away until the next big four PLE. So, Seth kicking off this ‘go-home’ episode was needed to sell the believability of him winning the Royal Rumble.
Instead, the program was a strong indicator that Rollins is not ‘over’ right now and could benefit from a full healtransition. He attempted to sell his babyface narrative against Punk, but the crowd was having none of that and started chanting Punk. He spoke about his intentions to win the Rumble and went as far as naming the competitors he could throw out, but when he got to Roman’s name, the crowd reacted strongly—AGAINST. They booed the idea of him eliminating Rollins, and the only thing that saved him was Gunther coming to the ring.
They went back and forth, but the entire segment heated up when Logan Paul made his way to the ring. His promo was barely audible with all the heat that he was receiving from the ferocious crowd. Paul declared for the Royal Rumble by teasing which champion he would pick. With Gunther in the ring, the crowd was intrigued enough by the prospects of a Gunther-Paul matchup that they stopped booing (for a moment). The segment ended awkwardly but did the job, and well, now WWE will have to decide what moments to cash in with Paul but look for him to ‘make a splash’ this weekend.
The Judgement Day (c) vs. War Raiders—WWE Tag Team Titles
This was a terrific match for both teams and despite the War Raiders winning the match and tag titles, it was JD McDonagh that will go down as the MVP of the match. The title match was months in the making but was booked and promoted for the card weeks in advance. The War Raiders have been on a momentum train that cannot be denied, while the champs have been mostly inactive in tag competition.
As the match progressed, the legal men in the ring—Dom and Erik—fought as JD McDonagh and Ivar battled on the outside. JD had Ivar stunned and attempted a springboard moonsault from the ring apron, but the momentum from landing on Ivar propelled his momentum backward and he hit the back of his head against the commentator’s desk. It was a gruesome scene and the replay provoked groans from the crowd.
Amazingly, JD recovered and continued in the match—taking a devastating bump to the back of the neck as the match progressed. War Raiders took the victory, but the clout that clip will give JD in a Reels/Shorts/TikTok world will likely make losing the titles easier to handle. Still, it puts Dom and the rest of Judgement Day in a precarious situation. With all of their gold gone and the weird energy surrounding them, the faction’s future and direction are unclear.
New Day, No Fam-Rey Mysterio vs. Xavier Woods
In one of the best storylines of the night, Xavier Woods claimed his family would be in the building to see him compete against the legendary Luchador Rey Mysterio Jr. Woods made the claim in a backstage interview but was then asked by Kofi if they were ‘already in the building.’ Woods admitted that he had not heard from a single family member, but he fully expected them to be in attendance considering the ‘amount of money he spent on front row seats.’
That was a sort of sneaky line—if it was indeed a poke at the ‘highbrow’ ticket prices for WWE events that have drawn coverage from media outlets recently—but sure enough, his family did arrive, seated next to Lil Yachty. His father, Alvin, his mother, Angelita, and his sister, Amber (who had previously never seen her brother compete live) all arrived in the match’s final segment.
Woods, who had control of Rey at that point, noticed his family’s arrival and approached them. The family looked at Woods stoically before revealing they were wearing “New Day Sucks” T-shirts (available on WWE.com, of course). Woods was irate with frustration and in his confusion, began a very public argument with his sister before Mysterio took control and hit Woods with the 619 for the win.
The entire program was terrific and adds a completely new layer to this New Day saga, but it also underscores the lack of a true antagonist. Later on, Pat McAfee grabbed the mic for some impromptu ringside hosting and spoke with the fam, asking if a reconciliation could be possible—to which Mama Woods expressed hope. On another note, Lil Yachty ‘simped’ hard for Rhea Ripley moments later and it was awesome.
Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action
The Head of the Table, The OTC, YOUR Tribal Chief and #WWE2K25 cover star, @WWERomanReigns! Please join his Wiseman @HeymanHustle and ACKNOWLEDGE HIM. ☝️ pic.twitter.com/bgdyU5H6xx
— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2025
- Paul Heyman came out to formally announce that Roman Reigns will be getting the cover of WWE2K25. The big banner dropped, displaying the cover before McIntyre’s entrance. It should be noted that The Undertaker is on alternative cover.
- Drew McIntyre and Sami Zayn tore the house down in one of the strongest matches on RAW this year. Zayn was beaten and slammed by Drew, who vowed to target CM Punk in this weekend’s Rumble. Sami was close to picking up the win after landing a ‘Blue ThunderBomb” on Drew, but McIntyre was able to put Zayn away before Cody Rhodes came to make the save.
- Penta is as over as it gets and was victorious over Pete Dunne tonight.
- While Cody was duking it out with Drew, Kevin Owens attacked Cody. That is when Sami ‘accidentally’ caught Cody with the ‘HelluvaKick’—ending the segment. With Seth Rollins already questioning Sami for ‘accidentally’ landing on him recently and the two discussing on camera backstage, this certainly adds an interesting wrinkle to this weekend’s “every man for themselves” contest.
- In a non-title match, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez were victorious against tag team champs Bianca Belair and Naomi. The champs had the match in hand, but Latino Cheat struck again when Dom distracted the ref while Bianca held the pin. Bianca tagged in Naomi and then took out Dom with a crossbody from inside the ring. But the distraction was enough for Judgement Day to get the win. The tag champs will have to regroup with a title defense on NXT 24 hours from now. The challengers, Lash and Lakara are riding their own wave of momentum into the ring.
- After the beef (work or not) with Corey Graves relinquishing commentating duties on the big brands, it was thought that heat existed between Graves and Pat McAfee. Though Graves never mentioned Pat directly, all indications were that he was referencing the extremely famous podcaster and ESPN host. Tonight, McAfee shouted out Graves by reminding Cole of the entire NXT commentating desk when only Vic Joseph was referenced. McAfee also gave the nod to Booker, but it was definitely an indication that there is no beef… at least on McAfee’s behalf.
Jey Luce-Ohh?
Jey Uso had all the pomp and circumstance of a major superstar when he made his way through the crowd with rapper Quavo of Migos’ fame. The two entered the arena through the crowd and the scene was… well… lit. But there had to be at least one person in the back wondering what that moment would have been like if Jey actually won.
The promo was a big nothing other than Jey declaring for the Rumble (there should be an amendment in WWE that nobody can enter the Rumble that has had a title match that year) and it, of course, got over with Quavo standing below Jey standing on the commentator’s desk for some reason.
Discover more from Fights Around The World
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
