The final Monday Night Raw on Cable TelevisionbeforeWWEmoves its signature show to Netflix next week was one rammed full of incident.CM Punk and Seth Rollins had an all-timer of a mic battlethat simply has to be seen to be believed. Both men were left snarling at each other as Raw went off the air. No punches were thrown. Just molten hot rage and personal, below-the-belt jibes.
Elsewhere, Dakota Kai and Lyra Valkyria will compete for the first Women’s Intercontinental Championship. Sheamus returned to attack Ludwig Kaiser, The New Day were a nuisance all evening and landed a match with Rey Mysterio and the LWO. Damian Priest and The War Raiders defeated The Judgment Day, and Chad Gable’s renaissance continued with a win over Otis.
1The New Day Hijack Raw
Happier days of Booty-O’s feel so far away, as the sheer level of fanatical booing that greets Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods is intensifying on a weekly basis. The New Day have begun generating heat that is hotter than the surface of the sun on a weekly basis since turning their back on Big E.Woods and Kofi insisted on hijacking plans for Main Event Jey Uso to open Monday Night Raw, but the OG Bloodline member arrived to a hero’s welcome, with the dastardly duo left unable to get their words out among a chorus of boos. Jey Uso’s message to them was loud, clear, and delivered in three straight words:New Day Sucks.
2Jey Uso Calls Out Drew McIntyre, But Be Careful of What You Wish For.
Fresh from receiving all manner of plaudits in the end-of-year Best Of lists,Drew McIntyre capped his great 2024 by laying waste to Jey Uso. After dealing with The New Day, Jey Uso turned his attention to calling out the Scottish Warrior, only to be greeted by Solo Sikoa on the big screen. Solo laid bare his intentions to destroy Roman Reigns on next week’s Raw on Netflix premiere, before Drew came out of the crowd and furiously attacked Uso from behind. Jey put up a good fight, but a brutal Claymore left him surrounded by WWE officials and questioning his life choices. They will meet one-on-one on next week’s Raw.
Chad Gable and Otis first tagged together on December 11th, 2020 in a SmackDown defeat to Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura, but amazingly,this was the first ever match between the former tag team partners. Perhaps it was a loud Texan crowd hopped up on the Holiday spirit, but the crowd was red hot for a match that was years in the making and felt important despite having no direct stakes.Chad Gable claimed the victory via submission, and it felt significant for the Olympian.
Last week, as he tore at Akira Tozawa’s ankle in excruciating fashion, Chad Gable put his finisher back on the map. His new way of selling his ankle lock, slamming himself to the canvas and wrenching Otis’s ankle as he writhed in pain, looked phenomenal here, andthis win is the perfect launchpad for Gableand American Madeto make a real impact in WWE in 2025.
4Dakota Kai vs Lyra Valkria for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship
After Dakota Kai’s hard-fought and grueling victory against Zoey Stark, Iyo Sky was defeated by Raw rookie Lyra Valkyria in one of the biggest shocks in recent Raw history. It looked as though two members of Damage CTRL would compete for the new championship, butDakota Kai and Lyra Valkyria will battle to be named the first Women’s Intercontinental Championon next week’s Raw on Netflix debut. One of these wrestlers’s lives is about to change forever. May the best woman win.
5Damian Priest and the War Raiders Rise
Damian Priest and the War Raiders worked from the very first week, as they defeated the Judgment Day in a 6-man tag match. Three generations of kids raised on the Undertaker are about to pop for Damian Priest when he hits Netflix next week, and his heavy metal union with new tag team champions the War Raiders is as satisfying in the ring as it is from an aesthetic standpoint. Priest making the building shake with his hot tag showed why this should be a trio we see plenty of in 2025.
Priest was then swarmed after the bell by the Judgment Day, despite victory having already been secured.The intrigue continues to build around the Judgment Dayas their internal animosity shows no sign of slowing down. Listening to Finn did not end in a win. Again. It feels like a lifetime ago that the Judgment Day held all of the gold. Liv Morgan’s Last Woman Standing Match with Rhea Ripley has huge stakes for this version of the group. The whole empire could crumble next Monday night.
6CM Punk and Seth Rollins Keep Raising the Stakes
Forget hyperbole. The battle of words between CM Punk and Seth Rollins can claim to beone of the most personal and intense segments in WWE history. The gloves were off to such an extent that CM Punk used Vince McMahon as a lead pipe to beat Seth with multiple times. Becky Lynch’s name was dragged, to which Rollins responded that Punk “wouldn’t know what it is to have to look after children” and referenced Colt Cabana and AEW in the most direct way that anyone has dared to yet. Their eyeball-to-eyeball staredown as Raw went off the air on cable television felt as real as professional wrestling possibly can.
This is a feud that has been years in the making. This level of verbal hostility simply has to be seen to be believed, and this isa segment worthy of setting up the Main Event in one of the biggest nights in the history of the WWE. Hit play on the video, let the words fly like bullets, and pick a side to be on next Monday night. It is going to be ugly. We can’t wait.
