After last week's pomp and circumstance on WWE Raw, the Netflix era properly began this week with a show that gave us more wrestling and storyline progression than the big event and fireworks last week. Here's what went down, and here's what you might have missed.
CM Punk Sets His Sights on John Cena
The show kicked off with CM Punk arriving at the venue in dramatic fashion, getting out of his rental car and heading straight to the ring, his entrance followed by thunderous “CM Punk!” chants from the San Jose crowd, as we were treated to more outstanding drone shots. Climbing onto the commentary table (after a tiny slip), Punk addressed his recent victory over Seth Rollins, his recovery from last year’s tricep injury, and his WrestleMania goals.
In a bold move, Punk challenged John Cena directly, as he teased the long history the pair shared, and in the process, hinting at potentially reigniting one of WWE’s most iconic rivalries. Punk officially declared his entry into the 2025 Royal Rumble (having done so off camera last week), making it clear that his journey to WrestleMania 41 starts here. The declaration, of course, was interrupted by Rollins, who, still reeling from last week’s defeat, confronted Punk. Rollins declared for the Rumble, promising to end Punk’s WrestleMania dreams. Drew McIntyre joined the fray, also throwing his name into the Rumble mix, and the segment ended with all three men set for a collision course at WWE’s most exciting match of the year.
Related
Penta Debuts in a Show-Stealing Match
After weeks of teasing, we finally got the debut of Penta El Zero Miedo, and it was nothing short of spectacular. Penta faced Chad Gable in a tremendous match that showcased his high-speed attacking abilities. The San Jose crowd was fully behind the Lucha Libre star, whose entrance even brought a young fan to tears. Penta won the match with the Penta Driver, and his emotional post-match promo struck all the right notes as he addressed the crowd in both English and Spanish.
Lyra Valkyria Makes a Name for Herself
In the finals of the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship Tournament, Lyra Valkyria defeated Dakota Kai to become the inaugural champion, and despite Kai's experience, Valkyria overcame the odds with her high-flying moves and won after a spectacular top rope leg drop. After the match, Kai had a nice show of respect by raising Valkyria's hand as fireworks lit up the inside of the arena.
Jey Uso Challenges Gunther — You Sure About That, Jey?
Gunther, ever the dominant WWE World Champion, cut a promo declaring himself distinctly underwhelmed with the WWE roster’s recent performances, which prompted one almighty YEET from Jey Uso, who challenged the Ring General to a championship match at Saturday Night's Main Event on January 25 in Texas. Gunther dismissed Jey's credibility, labelling him a "talented tag team wrestler", while Jey fired back with a promo that said he was ready to keep defying expectations. It was a great promo from Jey, but you have to think Gunther is going to brutalize the poor guy.
Damian Priest Defeats Finn Balor in a Brutal Street Fight
In the night’s main event, Damian Priest and Finn Balor went to war in a chaotic street fight that spilled into the crowd and featured several jaw-dropping spots, including a Falcon Arrow off a balcony. Despite interference from the Judgment Day and outside forces, Priest won after hitting South of Heaven to end the match. The match felt like it was finally putting an end to Priest's feud with Balor, and his former Judgment Day teammates, which is refreshing, as we need to see both these guys move on.
'WWE Raw' Ends When... It Ends?
One of the biggest perks of WWE Raw's move to Netflix is no longer being bound to the constraints of a timeslot. Previously, Raw was on from 8 PM to 11:15 PM on USA Network, which meant finding things to do for a long period of time. On WWE's premium live events, the shows usually consist of five to six matches, and the show ends when the matches have told the stories they want to tell. Last night's Raw ran 2 hours and 32 minutes. They told the stories they wanted to tell. This week’s episode felt concise and focused, with no wasted segments or filler matches, and it kept the energy high throughout the show. More of this, please.
Stay tuned for more as the Netflix era of WWE continues to roll along.
Your changes have been saved
Cast
Randy Poffo
, Chris Mordetzky
, Maria Kanellis-Bennett
, Ryan Parmeter
, Eric Thompson
, Nathan Everhart
, Brie Garcia
, Nikki Garcia
, Michael Hettinga
, Rod Zapata
, Bruno Lauer
, Jamie Gibson
, Emanuel Rodriguez
, Jonathan Good
, Bryan Danielson
, Carmella DeCesare
, Chris Irvine
, Michael Coulthard
, Ric Flair
, Paul "Triple H" Levesque
, Rebecca Quin
, John Cena
, Phil Brooks
, Yuvraj Dhesi
, Randy Orton
Image via Netflix
English (US) ·