RAW was in Boston, MA, tonight as the move to Netflix looms closer (three weeks from tonight). There is a narrative that WWE is holding back on its best product until the new year changeover, but with Saturday Night’s Main Event delivering this past weekend and a RAW show with a men’s IC and tag team title defenses scheduled for the show that offers plenty bang for your Punks.
The big story coming out of Saturday was what took place after the show went dark. Rhodes, fresh off his successful title defense, was attacked by Kevin Owens during his baby face commencement speech, which has become a Cody Rhodes staple. Owens then delivered a stack-up piledriver on Cody, and that angle was to keep the champ off TV for the remainder of the year.
But with so much firepower in WWE right now, Cody can afford to take time off as Punk picks up the slack.
Seth Rollins-CM Punk Gets Booked For RAW On Netflix
CM Punk started things off tonight with a full week of Rollins memes to fuel his program. He commented on Seth Rollins coming across as a scorned woman ‘ghosted’ for assuming their relationship was more than it was. It was nothing that escalated the storyline, but it had to be commented on if you’re in Punk’s position.
Seth eventually made his way out through the crowd to regain some of their good graces after a terrible ‘motivation reveal’ last week. He said he was ‘proud to be among the fans’ and that he is ‘still a fan’ at heart before unleashing the most venomous portion of his program. He said that he helped keep WWE together when Punk took his proverbial ‘ball home’ a decade ago, and then he claimed that all the while, Punk was hoping the company would fail in his absence. It was the quiet part being said aloud and not communicated in innuendos like McIntyre’s fiery promos through 2024. The pair eventually brawled in front of the crowd before being split apart, only to once again go at it. They were finally broken up before the first commercial break hit.
IT’S GETTING REAL… REAL FAST! 😳
Seth Rollins and CM Punk aren’t holding back!! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/UNxE7QSe5J
— WWE (@WWE) December 17, 2024
Upon returning from the break, Seth demanded “the biggest match possible” be made by RAW GM Adam Pearce—who snapped right back that he could make it happen if the two could keep from ‘crashin’ out’ on each other long enough to book it. That is when Drew popped up in a frame and started chatting in Seth’s ear about Punk.
Seth said that ‘mutual enemies’ do not make friends and that friendship is built on the kind of respect he has for guys like Sami Zayn and Jey Uso. He said the ‘jury was still out’ on McIntyre, but his brawl with Sami later on probably did not help the optics. Later in the evening, GM Adam Pearce announced that Punk-Rollins was made official for January 6th’s RAW on Netflix mega event. The crowd popped as you’d expect, and this match adds to an already stacked card that includes Roman Reigns versus Solo with the Ula Fala at stake.
The Day Of Judgement For Judgement Day And Newwww…
Finn Balor was noticeably irked at his Judgement Day cohorts following his failure to secure the WWE heavyweight title from Gunther Saturday Night. Liv, once again, answered Finn in a way that suggested she was trolling—or at least suggested a passive-aggressive attitude. She said he needed to focus on his tag team title defense with JD against the War Raiders—booked as tonight’s main event by Adam Pearce last week on RAW.
The War Raiders were given an ‘origin story’ style video package where they touched on their inability to secure tag team success in their initial run in WWE. It felt like the final chapter in their reset upon returning to WWE with the team name that struck fear throughout the Indies and Japan.
The match’s action was a crescendo of excitement that hit a climax at just the right moment. The crowd was very into the match, but it was tough to know if it was for War Raiders or against Balor. With the ref distracted, Balor attempted to grab a steel chair to give them the edge in the match, but when Balor grabbed the chair, he could not physically take it into the ring. After a moment of confusion, it was revealed that Damian Priest was ‘hiding out’ at the timekeeper’s table—preventing Finn from cheating out the win. The surprise distraction was enough to flummox Finn long enough for the War Raiders to hit their ‘team finisher’ (The War Machine) for the win to close out RAW.
How The Other Half Of The Judgement Day Livs
You could see the fracture in the group, but it is unclear whether a ‘civil war’ is in the works or a mere ‘break up’ angle. Either way, today’s JD exists in two trio factions. The main faction that consists of Liv, Dom, and Raquel Rodriguez, was out to cut a promo, but it was interrupted by Rhea Ripley to announce that she was the ‘number 1 contender’ for her title—a storyline that has been re-brewing since Rhea pinned Liv in War Games.
It was kind of a nothing announcement because the writing was carved into the wall, but Ripley did make some interesting comments. She said that her feud with Liv needed to end, sentiments expressed by some of the week-to-week fans of the product. The ‘final title match’ could be fun based on tonight’s segment where Liv introduced the ‘bullhorn’ as her new accessory (shout out to the “Mouth of the South”) while Rhea referred to Dom as Liv’s ‘chicken tender slut’ was hilarious.
Zoey Stark vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Kayden Carter
The segment led straight into the women’s IC tourney booked for tonight as Stark and Carter made their way to the ring where Rodriguez was waiting. Smart booking suggested Raquel get the win, even if she is not penned for the finals. That said, it was Stark who took the victory, but it was Carter who impressed beyond expectations. Stark has been great, and she will face Dakota Kai in the semifinals, but
Bron Breakker vs. Kaiser (IC TITLE)
It was an outstanding match that saw Kaiser in control often and early. It was not that Breakker was outmatched or outperformed—the two have proven by now that their chemistry is an equal output of effort on both superstars’ behalf—but it was surprising to see Kaiser get over as much as he did in the match. Breakker winning was no surprise, and neither will it be when Kaiser is given the opportunity to hold a ‘workhorse’ title.
Other Tidbits
Cody Rhodes Is Out!
It was announced that KO’s ‘stacked’ piledriver on Cody after ‘Saturday Night’s Main Event’ went off air caused the WWE world champ serious injuries that will keep him out of action for an unknown timeframe—though it was said X-rays revealed no fracture thus eliminating a long timetable. This is all likely a way of giving Cody the much-deserved family time leading into the holiday break. However, commentary put over KO in a big way, and the physical involvement of Paul “Triple H” Levesque has caused the kind of speculation that will keep the heat on simmer until Cody returns. One thing is clear: the Cody-Owens saga is not finished business.
New Day… New Dressing Room
New Day continues to draw the wrath of those in the back troubled by their treatment of Big E—which is basically everyone. This week, it was Rey Mysterio, the locker room leader, who stood up to represent the ‘boys in the back.’ Mysterio informed New Day that they were no longer welcome to dress with the rest of the locker room and needed to make ‘other accommodations.’
There was no actual segment planned for the New Day tonight, but the program is too hot to leave off of a pre-Netflix RAW. Instead, they got the story in where it fits in, and that successfully plays into the story of a distraught New Day that feels ‘looked over’ and annoyed that E is the source of people’s interest in them. Their segment ended with Jackie Redmond disrespecting New Day by quickly ditching the interview for a Pure Fusion Collective attack on Kairi Sane. It is a brilliant slow cook, but we still cannot be sure what’s actually cooking.
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