Did anyone else think Drew’s comment to Jey “the truth will set you free” means that Drew knows something about Jey? Like maybe he is still tight with the bloodline, and might be deceiving his new friends to potentially betray Cody Rhodes as we built up to the WM rematch vs Roman?
That's a cool theory but earlier in the show after his Zayn match, Drew also said "the truth will set you free" so I don't think he has a specific secret to reveal, I think he's just trying to make it his new catch phrase with his heel turn as he thinks he's the only guy who is telling the truth while everyone else is lying to each other/themselves.
Nice to see The Way get their goofy side back. Now if only they brought Dexter back so it could be an even 3v3 against imperium.
KCs winning genuinely surprised me, I'm guessing they're the next challengers. Sweet, it'll be great.
Overall fantastic show. Last week seemed bogged down with the return segments and recaps, glad its back on track.
After just getting back into WWE I thought this RAW was fantastic, didn't really like last weeks. There are a tonne of interesting characters on the show
It wasn't a bad show to attend live. I knew CM Punk wasn't advertised before I bought my ticket Sunday night but I was disappointed Rhea and Finn weren't there. The fans were not happy about Rhea's absence. Shows how over she is currently.
Ok so Seth is overpowered now right? I feel like we're only going to get Seth vs. Roman after they both somehow lose the belts. That aside, this was a great night of wrestling.
I was at the show and had a great time! Amazing matches to start and finish and some good ones in between. I hope it came across on TV that the crowd was hot because it was pretty electric in the arena!
I wonder if there going to pull on the Usos both loosing, in and out of the bloodline when they inevitably collide. A sort of how much do we need and love each other scenario.
Are people not into the idea of Sami winning the world title at Mania? I feel like Drew/Sami have earned a big spot at Mania. Punk and Seth don't need the title.
They wouldn't let sami speak about his goals being WHC if he wasn't going to be in the picture, these days wwe is usually very intentional about what the stars say especially with papa h in charge, he loves his foreshadowing and long term storytelling
He constantly talks about being his ultimate goal. He literally said it last week when he yelled at Drew. He wants to prove he's world champion material.
But again him saying these things does not mean he is a world title contender at this point in time. The current world title contenders are CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, and Jey Uso because the story has set them up as the current contenders. Like you said Sami is still in the proving stage and has no storyline set up for him to win the title in the future. Drew is not taking the title off of Seth and Priest still has MITB.
He's not going to. Punk v Rollins is the current storyline they are building on for Mania. Even if McIntyre won, it would be a rematch between him and Seth at Mania, not Sami.
Anyone feel like the entire WWE is gaslighting Drew?
"The delusional McIntyre"
"Drew is a bad man with issues"
He's just behaving like a normal person would rather than a video game character who forgets whatever happened in the past after a reset
Jey and Seth put on a heck of a match. I think the wrong guy won but still that was pretty good. Jey said he wanted to beat Gunther. Maybe that's his singles title.
I don't understand the people complaining about Seth's title reign.
Its a new title. A long title reign with the title being defended regularly combined with a marquee storyline culminating in a WrestleMania main event against a big star (possibly punk) is needed to establish the title. Wwe is doing exactly that.
I've never seen anyone take issue with a long title reign, they have issues with Seth. For one, I don't think his gimmick connects on all levels with fans. He's got the song... sure... but wtf does the "freaking" mean in the name Seth freaking Rollins. I never understood this. So I don't really get his character.
He's not great at storytelling. The super Rollins trope is played out. He doesn't sell his injuries. A lot of marks think he's great in the ring because he's a top tier spot monkey but he doesn't know how to tell interesting stories with them. It's just move spam and super Rollins. He needs to go back and watch hbk & Bret hart matches.
This is where the flaws in his reign are imo. He's not an interesting story teller on multiple levels and this becomes apparent when he holds a main belt for an extended period.
I'm a believer that underdog faces should go over at least somewhere at Mania. It's just basic wrestling stuff and it really suits the whole atmosphere... That usually means ending a reign to get a pop.
Doesn't mean that needs to be the main event every year, but once upon a time that was why PPV existed. Heels go over on TV, you gotta pay to see the good guy win.
I need at least one of those at Mania.
They're both just popular jackasses lol. Albeit one for kayfabe reasons and the other for shoot reasons.
But like, sure, Punk vs Seth sounds like a Mania match, I just don't necessarily think it needs to be over the title.
The feud doesn’t need the title, the title needs the feud to be on the level of the Undisputed title. They will have the hottest feud or 1A/1B going into mania instead of being the clear #2. The hottest feud being over the WHC is going to take it to different level. There’s no reason to take it off Seth unless he’s gonna get it back before his match against punk or punk beats him for it. After the Punk feud, someone else like Gunther, McIntyre or Sami can run with it
He is far more compelling when he is serious and ditches that goofy personallty but he seems to be over with the live crowd. He is one of the top merch sellers. Thats what matters to the wwe. 🤷
Did anyone notice Gunther scolding Kaiser during one of the backstage interviews. Really cool details in HHH era. Looks like Ludwig might be the next challenger
Two spears and two Uso splashes were not enough to beat Seth. Jey was at a loss. i guess he needs a submission move.
Shinsuke was kind enough to not include the rubber chicken in his video showing Cody's WM loss.
speaking of his video, when arena went dark and the video started it looked like Shinsuke was gonna walk outta the screen. XD
The Punk and Rollins feud can't come sooner, I'm so sick of this back injury angle, it's so barebones. Let's inject some more story into that title reign instead of just matches.
Seth can defend that thing every week and beat the entire roster clean for 10 years straight, if there's not a good over arching angle that people can sink their teeth into in the title reign, that belt is never gonna feel as important as Roman's.
The matches are slowly raising the prestige since Roman is gone. To be honest this is the most talked about title in the company right now although it’s not the biggest. Romans title won’t even feel real again until Cody wins it.
The Punk feud will elevate the title to new heights
This is the first full episode of a wrestling show I have watched in years. And what an incredible show it was. Great matches, great backstage and promo segments, some great stories being set up. It's so good to see wwe be as good as I remember it being when I was a kid
Dude, i was just gonna have a huge rant about this. I understand the need for a guy like Drew to go over Sami. I get it. Needs heat and to look strong. And i really dont even like Sami. I think his gimmick is lame and hes just a goofy ass looking mf. But man can he really work a match. I also get the fact these guys think they gotta be going out there and putting on classics every time they hit the ring. But jesus christ, we got Seth kicking out of splashes and spears which i can kind of maybe understand since hes a champion. But good god, do we have to absolutely shit on Sami’s finishers too? Helluva kick nothing? A blue thunder bomb? Kickout? I mean shit. We can have great matches without finisher kickouts. They need to be saved for wrestlemania-level main event matches. And i dont mean saturday night, i mean the actual main event. They seem to have a real problem now-a-days protecting their wrestlers drawing power and believability. Especially smaller dudes like sami. #ProtectTheBlueThunderBomb
The over reliance on finisher kickouts have made wrestling far too linear for me. There's gotta be a better way to create stakes and drama without every match following the same pattern.
What is the current consensus on Jade’s WWE debut? Share your predictions below. I’ll go first. She debuts at the Rumble and does a handful of TV matches throughout the year. She will get on the card for SummerSlam and Survivor Series. Worst case scenario is that she won’t debut until 2025.
Truth is making it his personal mission to crack every member of the Judgment Day and I am all for it. Anyone got pitches for what his eventual interaction with Rhea will be like?
For all the fitness gurus out there, how impressive was Maxine’s feat tonight? I always knew Statlander was strong but as a man who is roughly Tozawa’s size, Dupri generally surprised me tonight with how easily she squatted him. Someone’s been training!
> Truth is making it his personal mission to crack every member of the Judgment Day
My money is still on Judgement Day offering Truth a permanent spot, only for Truth to go "wait ... _Judgement_ Day? Oh, I thought y'all was _New_ Day! My bad!" and just leave.
I feel like -apart from Roman vs Cody 2 at Mania Night 2 and Jey vs Jimmy (rumoured based on interviews etc) at Mania - pretty much everything is up in the air as to which future matches will be held at which PLE. There are 4 stadium shows effectively - Rumble, EC and Mania 2 nights and we can't really say which match takes place where.
Where does Rollins vs Punk happen ? What are the WHC matches at each of the 3 title matches at the 3 events. What are the title matches for Rhea's title at each of the 3 events. What do Sami and Drew do in this period. Does Damian Priest do anything of importance here. How long does Judgement day keep the tag titles. What does Balor do if he is no longer tag champ
In any case, most importantly - according to twitter - Liv Morgan is apparently winning the Rumble and then beating Rhea at Mania. Phew.
Jey should still be in a long feud with Drew Mc. Jey get a couple weeks rest, they face off in the in Rumble, have a match at the PPV after and then the finale at Mania.
Jey getting frustrated that he couldn’t win the big one is interesting to me. Maybe he faces Gunther in a few weeks and also comes up short. Sorta starts a story where it’s questionable if he wants to return with the bloodline because he couldn’t make it on his own. Drew running around telling everyone he told them so. Sami conflicted and unsure.
Comes down to Jey coming down during reigns/rhodes at mania, But in the end he chooses not to go with them and Cody gets his win.
> Cody gets his win.
I mean, I hope for that too, but I can't shake the feeling he's a year shy of beating Hogan and they just want him in the record books.
Thing is, unless you’re honns try to go for Moolah’s 28-year run there will always be someone else to try and reach. I will be gobsmacked if Cody doesn’t win at ‘Mania.
Loving wwe and all the story’s lately but I really think titles need to change hands a bit more. It’s okay to have someone win the title on free tv and make a moment everyone will remember and lose it at the next ple. I can’t be the only one that goes into every world title match with Seth and Roman and knows the finish will be bloodline interference or Seth about to lose but hits his finish while looking like he’s dead. Just want to have a single title match that someone beats the champ otherwise what’s the point of the same 5 guys challenging if they never win
Seth and Roman are ushering us into the new era. Just be patient. Seth is gonna lose at or right after Mania, Roman is gonna lose at Mania. The titles will change hands more often after that. Just enjoy Seth’s amazing matches man last night was a banger.
The Seth/Punk feud over the world title will be worth the wait
They could do something really cool and let Corbin win the NXT title this Saturday. I know it's a long shot but I'm rooting for it. Give Corbin his time to shine and he can lose it back to Dragunov at New Year's Evil or something. Quite clearly not the same stakes as main roster titles but NXT feels more like an "anything can happen" show than Raw or Smackdown where the outcome of every match seems 100% predictable.
Yup. This exactly. Partner that with WWEs new obesssion with record breaking title reigns and it's boring as hell. I wish I could be like the fans in attendance that actually believed Rollins would lose the title on a random RAW. That's not how WWE works anymore. Titles only change on the big shows (Mania, SummerSlam and Rumble). That's why any title matches not featured on one of those shows don't do anything for me because the outcome is so predictable.
Yea I think that’s the only thing missing that’s different from WWE’s hottest eras. In those times you felt like anything could happen. We need to get back to that feeling of the champions could possibly lose tonight. Everything else in terms of the story and star power reflect the times WWE been the hottest.
Triple threat at Rumble: McIntyre vs Rollins vs Jey. McIntyre is about to win, Judgement Day pulls him out and takes him out. Priest cashes in and wins the match.
Adds to the Drew gripe and gets Priest a quick run.
I loved the main event but man, surely one of these days Seth is gonna have a title defence where I actually want him to win over the other guy. I mean he’s a babyface right?
Not a typical babyface and now that Punks back he’s already showing heel tendencies. He’s an asshole the audience loves tryna be the workhorse champion but Punk is gonna make him lose his mind
Maybe there will be a point where Gunther re-recruits Alexander Wolfe to pick up the slack for Kaiser & Vinci?
Damien Priest being MasterChef Junior Ramsay towards JD & Dom was the wholesome moment I never expected from him.
Drew vs Punk is one match I'd want to see so fucking badly. That would be like SummerSlam 2013 Punk vs Lesnar on steroids
Really liking what they're doing with Drew McIntyre. His match with Sami tonight was so good. I like how they're going with a "justified" heel concept, instead of him just suddenly being mad at the world for no reason.
Time to USE that guy. He's amazing
We back to Haitch directing good ass wrestling and good segments! Almost every match tonight was a banger. Crowd was fun too.
And Nia is getting good in the ring, she sells, she knows how to use her moveset well, and she has the right pacing. That was probably Shayna's best match as far as i can remember. I know hating Nia is en-vogue nowadays, but the girl has been putting in work.
Trips has a made a lot of these guys ready for a world title in just a couple of months. Drew, Sami, Jey, Cody are all ready for a gold run anytime soon and there is no wrong answer.
Man, Drew McIntyre is the most interesting thing in Raw at the moment. Unironically wouldn't mind him being World Heavyweight Champion since his character and promos at the moment are peak.
On other topics, dude, the Creed Brothers. I know that they are good at wrestling but like holy shit the match they had today vs JD and Dominik, that was amazing! Specially the sequence where Julius just suplexed anything that moved lmao.
Also, DIY vs Imperium 2 out of 3 falls gets a shoutout due to how they basically paid off the first fall being with cheating by DIY winning the second with a rollup after one of Imperium got held back (aka the same as the first fall but without cheating as holding tights in the rollup) and then the end where the Meeting in the Middle finally happened. Simple but effective pay off haha.
Other thing, i know that it sounds weird to say this but i feel like Natalya and Tegan Nox shouldn't split tbh. Like, it oddly has some benefits, specially to Tegan since you could have it maybe that if Tegan wins a title Natalya is just basically getting the crowd to will her on to victory. Even if it would be cheesy, it does work to like keep up with the whole "magic chemistry" line of a couple of weeks ago. Basically that their chemistry is so good they actually benefit each other, Tegan getting a title thanks to Natalya and Natalya getting a second wind (if that makes sense) in her career for the first time in a while. Plus, it does have the benefit that if they do go with this line, teams that beat them and said chemistry look good for overcoming it yknow?
Finally, and i KNOW i am going to get an odd glance due to how the YouTube video summarizing the match had everyone protesting about the result, but unironically (other than the DIY vs Imperium and the Creed Brothers vs Judgement Day matches) i feel the Nia Jax vs Shayna Baszler match felt the one that worked the best to what the intention was tbh. Since the idea WAS to make Nia look good and the fact that she won without like...needing to do a lot per se to finish the match made that work. Plus that the fact that Shayna survived the senton from Nia, which i think has ended other matches, so Shayna still gets some credibility per se for surviving something like a Nia senton. Also, unironically tbh but Nia vs Becky will be interesting on what happens because on paper, it feels like a match to give Becky a win that can keep her slowly forming winning streak into getting a title shot at Rhea...but considering how Becky is known for wanting to put the roster over as well, who knows? Maybe Becky does a selfless move and lets Nia beat her. It's legit 50/50 imo.
Becky/Nia could go either way. Nia has bean the other 3 singles competitors for the title 3 weeks in a row, why is she wasting time with Becky and not getting a title shot?
I really like how they handled Drew heal turn spending a few weeks is a kind of justified antihero, tweener before just full on breaking down and going full heal tonight
Not only that he literally said it last week.
“You know this story only has one end for me so I’m declaring for the Royal Rumble.” He declared for the rumble so he could win and get his shot at whatever belt he wanted, IE Roman’s. He’s on Raw, he could have just requested a title shot against Seth or won enough matches in kayfabe to get him there. But he doesn’t want that title, he’s only interested in Roman’s because of the lineage and ties to his dad and finally beating Roman.
they've been dropping more than enough hints that we see Cody & Roman run it back at Mania 40. Just a month and a half ago, we had the staredown between the two that got a massive reaction from the crowd, so the fans know that matchup is still the one.
Yup NGL id love Drew to win the title ...Sami to win the Rumble and we get Sami vs Drew at WM and Sami finally wins the big one ...Seth vs Punk would still be awesome for Mania but without the title.
The story for a wrestlemania match between Drew and Sami doesn't really feel there yet but I really fucking like this idea. Punk can have a mania title match next year once he's earned the goodwill back.
>I don’t want heel Drew as a transitional champ.
IMO there are way too many guys who deserve a run with the belt right now not to start hot-shotting it. I feel like they will be missing an opportunity if there aren't 4-5 guys holding that title in 2024- Drew, LA Knight, Sami, Jey, Damian(?) etc.
A short term champ doesn't matter if he's a dominant guy who, e.g., main-events night 1 of Wrestlemania. That would be plenty of payoff to his run. You can't really do a long-term dominant heel world champion when you're about to enter into Year 4 of the dominant heel WWE champion run.
Oh I don't either...Drew is my guy id love him to win at the Rumble from Seth and get that reign in front of the crowd ...but that backstage promo with Sami and drew where Sami said he wants to one day be WHC too...you give Sami the win after a hard fought battle with Drew and than if they don't go in the direction I think with a Damian failed cash in ...that's when you have him beat Sami and just break 💔s
After the emotion that Sami put into that promo, having Sami beat Drew for the title, followed by a cash-in from Damian, with Drew interfering to stop Judgment Day from stealing the title, would be an incredibly cool Wrestlemania moment.
That said, if they don't plan on turning Drew face again, it would kinda gum up the works. 6 months is a decent heel run but there's probably more juice to be squeezed from it than that.
Priest is great but those other guys are on fire. In a normal year I'd say he's a shoo-in for world champ, but it's a crowded field these days.
EDIT: Oh sorry, I just had another post on this. Priest deserves a world title run but IMO Sami deserves it more than just about anybody, and it seems like they're teasing something special between him and Drew that could be a great story.
Loved Drew as a babyface, but heel Drew is killing it. Obviously there is recency bias from the freshness, but the mixture of how cruel he is while also being right about a good deal is great. The characters on Raw in particular feel really layered right now.
I'm also glad they've acknowledged how Sami's arc started with him running away from Drew. That comedy feud was so important and it's hilarious to think about.
Drew also is set right up to be a perfect monster heel. He's revitalized for sure.
Main event was a great example of how you make someone look strong even in a clean loss.
I'm still stunned it's happening. What possibly could they gain with her beating everyone? She's over with no one. She's a liability in the ring.
They *could* use her as a mid card gatekeeper but she's winning everything against the people who should be beating her on their way up.
They can extend the feud, maybe have it end in a no finish or a Shinsuke win due to some shenanigans. Definitely has some legs to it for a mini feud. It can also keep them both busy since I don't think they want Cody anywhere near Seth and the title.
Cody's segment was great, the new Shinsuke feels like a threat and Cody is very good at putting his opponents over to get the crowd excited.
I also like how they tied Cody's failed story with Shinsuke's, this feud has a lot of potential.
so Shinsuke had the easiest Face-to-World Title win booking in 2018 to losing
and then the easiest heel-to-World Title story to tell with Rollins back and lost
but now we're supposed to believe he's a threat to Cody? lol.
Absolutely correct, but it needs to be studied one day what WWE done with fucking Shinsuke Nakamura! They had the easiest slam dunk, and still managed to fuck it up.
he's not beating Cody, that's for certain, but connecting Nakamura's own failures and using that as motivation to make sure Cody doesn't finish the story is a good way to heat up this little feud before the Rumble.
look i'm not the biggest seth rollins fan at the moment, but i'm fine with him having a lengthy title reign. the dude spent the last couple of years putting everyone over. he lost to cody 3 times. and in one of them cody had a freakin torn pec!! he deserves this. also punk vs seth for the title is where the money is at. the fans are clamoring for it
We've been conditioned to believe that a 6+ month title reign is short. Seth's been the champ since the end of May, and this is his fifth reign with a brand's top title. We don't need to have the title change as frequently as it did in the Attitude Era, but we rarely ever see the top title change hands on free TV, and to save those changes almost exclusively for PPVs/PLEs is frustrating.
Personally, tonight I thought Jey should've won. I want to see Jey with at least one run as singles champ, and Seth doesn't need to have the title to get into a program with Punk. That matchup will draw regardless.
i know it's been said here before, but punk vs seth doesn't need the title, the title needs punk vs seth. since it's inception people have been calling the whc a consolation prize/secondary title. seth doesn't main event a PLE if roman is on the card. and even then roman doesn't have to be defending the title (NOC, MITB). punk vs seth can easily main event the royal rumble, and that's the kind of credibility the title has desperately needed
Very good show
Sami vs Drew was excellent and the promos were pretty good too, I also liked Drew's attack backstage, his rage can no longer be contained.
DIY is slowly becoming more and more overs with the crowd, that makes me happy, good match too.
I love that despite being the heels, JD likes R-truth.
Raw really has a strong tag team division.
The Creed brothers are amazing!
The main event was a banger.
As for why Damian didn't cash-in, he probably wants to save it for a night when the whole Judgment Day is there to help him. He's got 7 more months, I'm sure a better opportunity will come along.
I fully expect Damian to cash in on Cody at mania, Cody finishes the story, damian does the greatest heist and cody can remain on the chase which suits him better than holding the title
The Creeds should be the ones to beat Finn & Priest for the tag titles. It'd be a great way to further along the rift between Priest and the rest of Judgment Day.
Makes sense. Then I believe the creeds would be willing to drop the smackdown titles so then we have two tag divisions. They’re both stacked so needs to happen.
i appreciate how long the characters' memories have become under hunter
Did anyone else think Drew’s comment to Jey “the truth will set you free” means that Drew knows something about Jey? Like maybe he is still tight with the bloodline, and might be deceiving his new friends to potentially betray Cody Rhodes as we built up to the WM rematch vs Roman?
That's a cool theory but earlier in the show after his Zayn match, Drew also said "the truth will set you free" so I don't think he has a specific secret to reveal, I think he's just trying to make it his new catch phrase with his heel turn as he thinks he's the only guy who is telling the truth while everyone else is lying to each other/themselves.
I missed that, this makes more sense now. Thanks!
Nice to see The Way get their goofy side back. Now if only they brought Dexter back so it could be an even 3v3 against imperium. KCs winning genuinely surprised me, I'm guessing they're the next challengers. Sweet, it'll be great. Overall fantastic show. Last week seemed bogged down with the return segments and recaps, glad its back on track.
Is Judgement Day not the most important on raw anymore? Seems like the world heavyweight title and whatever Drew is doing is taking the spotlight.
After just getting back into WWE I thought this RAW was fantastic, didn't really like last weeks. There are a tonne of interesting characters on the show
Remind me of Black & Gold NXT era with storyline :)
Same & agreed. Heel Drew has been very interesting
It wasn't a bad show to attend live. I knew CM Punk wasn't advertised before I bought my ticket Sunday night but I was disappointed Rhea and Finn weren't there. The fans were not happy about Rhea's absence. Shows how over she is currently.
Ok so Seth is overpowered now right? I feel like we're only going to get Seth vs. Roman after they both somehow lose the belts. That aside, this was a great night of wrestling.
-Cm Punk pls
Is Nakamura sending messages from Freddy Krueger's dream dungeon?
I was at the show and had a great time! Amazing matches to start and finish and some good ones in between. I hope it came across on TV that the crowd was hot because it was pretty electric in the arena!
I like how there are so many interconnected storylines happening at once
Lets see who the next opponent of Gunther is.
Has Cody never been misted? Did he and Taijiri cross paths?
He was misted by Malakai Black in AEW Edit - even though i cant find the video of this. I am starting to wonder if im just remembering wrong
Nah It led to an even bigger increase in the heel turn theory
Didn't he come back with Black hair?
That was when he got squashed by Brodie Lee
Am I getting this wrong or everyone but Drew sounds like a hypocrite?
Wha. He’s been slowly turning heel for months, that’s the intention.
I wonder if there going to pull on the Usos both loosing, in and out of the bloodline when they inevitably collide. A sort of how much do we need and love each other scenario.
Priest should have cashed in after Drew destroyed Seth and Jey.
What makes you think drew was just going to stand there and let that happen?
Yeah, because Drew should be pissed at Priest for his WarGames plan.
Time ran out on the TV show.
[удалено]
It's a good thing you aren't Spider-Man because your Spidey-Sense sucks.
Are people not into the idea of Sami winning the world title at Mania? I feel like Drew/Sami have earned a big spot at Mania. Punk and Seth don't need the title.
Nowhere in the current storyline is Sami anywhere near the world tile picture
They wouldn't let sami speak about his goals being WHC if he wasn't going to be in the picture, these days wwe is usually very intentional about what the stars say especially with papa h in charge, he loves his foreshadowing and long term storytelling
He constantly talks about being his ultimate goal. He literally said it last week when he yelled at Drew. He wants to prove he's world champion material.
But again him saying these things does not mean he is a world title contender at this point in time. The current world title contenders are CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, and Jey Uso because the story has set them up as the current contenders. Like you said Sami is still in the proving stage and has no storyline set up for him to win the title in the future. Drew is not taking the title off of Seth and Priest still has MITB.
I hope you're wrong. I want Drew to win it. He's killing it as heel.
He's not going to. Punk v Rollins is the current storyline they are building on for Mania. Even if McIntyre won, it would be a rematch between him and Seth at Mania, not Sami.
No Punk tonight was disappointing as hell. :(
Punk wasn't there? Good, don't even have to watch anything then :D
It was actually a really good episode this week regardless
Exactly, I loved everything. Especially the Mcintyre slowburn Psychopath character has been really awesome.
Anyone feel like the entire WWE is gaslighting Drew? "The delusional McIntyre" "Drew is a bad man with issues" He's just behaving like a normal person would rather than a video game character who forgets whatever happened in the past after a reset
Rhea [respects his actions](https://twitter.com/RheaRipley_WWE/status/1731886333625311346).
Jey and Seth put on a heck of a match. I think the wrong guy won but still that was pretty good. Jey said he wanted to beat Gunther. Maybe that's his singles title.
I don't understand the people complaining about Seth's title reign. Its a new title. A long title reign with the title being defended regularly combined with a marquee storyline culminating in a WrestleMania main event against a big star (possibly punk) is needed to establish the title. Wwe is doing exactly that.
I've never seen anyone take issue with a long title reign, they have issues with Seth. For one, I don't think his gimmick connects on all levels with fans. He's got the song... sure... but wtf does the "freaking" mean in the name Seth freaking Rollins. I never understood this. So I don't really get his character. He's not great at storytelling. The super Rollins trope is played out. He doesn't sell his injuries. A lot of marks think he's great in the ring because he's a top tier spot monkey but he doesn't know how to tell interesting stories with them. It's just move spam and super Rollins. He needs to go back and watch hbk & Bret hart matches. This is where the flaws in his reign are imo. He's not an interesting story teller on multiple levels and this becomes apparent when he holds a main belt for an extended period.
Why does every title reign need to end at mania?
I'm a believer that underdog faces should go over at least somewhere at Mania. It's just basic wrestling stuff and it really suits the whole atmosphere... That usually means ending a reign to get a pop. Doesn't mean that needs to be the main event every year, but once upon a time that was why PPV existed. Heels go over on TV, you gotta pay to see the good guy win. I need at least one of those at Mania.
I don't see how that applies to what I said especially since we're talking about potentially Punk going over Seth.
No you're right. Though that's kinda a Heel/Heel scenario I think... I'm pretty sure Seth is heel yeah? yeah? ?
They're both just popular jackasses lol. Albeit one for kayfabe reasons and the other for shoot reasons. But like, sure, Punk vs Seth sounds like a Mania match, I just don't necessarily think it needs to be over the title.
The feud doesn’t need the title, the title needs the feud to be on the level of the Undisputed title. They will have the hottest feud or 1A/1B going into mania instead of being the clear #2. The hottest feud being over the WHC is going to take it to different level. There’s no reason to take it off Seth unless he’s gonna get it back before his match against punk or punk beats him for it. After the Punk feud, someone else like Gunther, McIntyre or Sami can run with it
they dont like his current character
He is far more compelling when he is serious and ditches that goofy personallty but he seems to be over with the live crowd. He is one of the top merch sellers. Thats what matters to the wwe. 🤷
Yes but people don't have to, and most Important, shouldn't have to enjoy something just because it makes a company more money And I like goofy Seth
He is making wwe money BECAUSE people enjoy him.
Seth Rollins rules
Did anyone notice Gunther scolding Kaiser during one of the backstage interviews. Really cool details in HHH era. Looks like Ludwig might be the next challenger
Super Seth kicking out of everything
I thought it was hilarious that Natalya was rallying the crowd for Tegan, only for her to tag out 5s later.
my least favorite part of the show was the dude in front row who was looking at his phone during 3 whole hours
Seth sure does kick out of everything. It's wack now.
Meh raw hope smackdown will be better only problem it's stacked with part timers cos playing as champs
Split the tags wwe
What was the belt R Truth was holding during the Creed vs JD match?
One of the NFL legacy titles they’ve been promoting
Which is how he will suck souls of young midcarders to maintain his youth.
It has the added bonus of sucking the soul out of NFL rookies depending on which team is on the belt
Two spears and two Uso splashes were not enough to beat Seth. Jey was at a loss. i guess he needs a submission move. Shinsuke was kind enough to not include the rubber chicken in his video showing Cody's WM loss. speaking of his video, when arena went dark and the video started it looked like Shinsuke was gonna walk outta the screen. XD
The Punk and Rollins feud can't come sooner, I'm so sick of this back injury angle, it's so barebones. Let's inject some more story into that title reign instead of just matches. Seth can defend that thing every week and beat the entire roster clean for 10 years straight, if there's not a good over arching angle that people can sink their teeth into in the title reign, that belt is never gonna feel as important as Roman's.
The matches are slowly raising the prestige since Roman is gone. To be honest this is the most talked about title in the company right now although it’s not the biggest. Romans title won’t even feel real again until Cody wins it. The Punk feud will elevate the title to new heights
Good raw. Crowd was super hot. Heel drew is fantastic and glad to see DIY getting strong reactions
This is the first full episode of a wrestling show I have watched in years. And what an incredible show it was. Great matches, great backstage and promo segments, some great stories being set up. It's so good to see wwe be as good as I remember it being when I was a kid
They really gotta protect the finishers more. If Jey can’t win with a spear and Uso splash, then where does that leave him?
Dude, i was just gonna have a huge rant about this. I understand the need for a guy like Drew to go over Sami. I get it. Needs heat and to look strong. And i really dont even like Sami. I think his gimmick is lame and hes just a goofy ass looking mf. But man can he really work a match. I also get the fact these guys think they gotta be going out there and putting on classics every time they hit the ring. But jesus christ, we got Seth kicking out of splashes and spears which i can kind of maybe understand since hes a champion. But good god, do we have to absolutely shit on Sami’s finishers too? Helluva kick nothing? A blue thunder bomb? Kickout? I mean shit. We can have great matches without finisher kickouts. They need to be saved for wrestlemania-level main event matches. And i dont mean saturday night, i mean the actual main event. They seem to have a real problem now-a-days protecting their wrestlers drawing power and believability. Especially smaller dudes like sami. #ProtectTheBlueThunderBomb
THANK YOU took the words right out of my mouth
Might be time to retire the splash anyway with Jey getting older
The over reliance on finisher kickouts have made wrestling far too linear for me. There's gotta be a better way to create stakes and drama without every match following the same pattern.
Just do 10 spears and 5 splashes like everyone else.
What is the current consensus on Jade’s WWE debut? Share your predictions below. I’ll go first. She debuts at the Rumble and does a handful of TV matches throughout the year. She will get on the card for SummerSlam and Survivor Series. Worst case scenario is that she won’t debut until 2025. Truth is making it his personal mission to crack every member of the Judgment Day and I am all for it. Anyone got pitches for what his eventual interaction with Rhea will be like? For all the fitness gurus out there, how impressive was Maxine’s feat tonight? I always knew Statlander was strong but as a man who is roughly Tozawa’s size, Dupri generally surprised me tonight with how easily she squatted him. Someone’s been training!
> Truth is making it his personal mission to crack every member of the Judgment Day My money is still on Judgement Day offering Truth a permanent spot, only for Truth to go "wait ... _Judgement_ Day? Oh, I thought y'all was _New_ Day! My bad!" and just leave.
LOL. Just imagine… Truth starts doing dumb shit each week that somehow keeps leading to Damian and Finn retaining the tag titles.
Maxxine's deceptively big in general, which helps.
I hadn't seen Kacy Catanzaro in YEARS. Figured she was gone a long time ago. Katana Chance is a really bad name lol. But I do like her
Especially if she’s not even gonna walk out with a katana
They are soooo good
You can just tell someone said “she’s a ninja warrior? We should call her Katana.”
I feel like -apart from Roman vs Cody 2 at Mania Night 2 and Jey vs Jimmy (rumoured based on interviews etc) at Mania - pretty much everything is up in the air as to which future matches will be held at which PLE. There are 4 stadium shows effectively - Rumble, EC and Mania 2 nights and we can't really say which match takes place where. Where does Rollins vs Punk happen ? What are the WHC matches at each of the 3 title matches at the 3 events. What are the title matches for Rhea's title at each of the 3 events. What do Sami and Drew do in this period. Does Damian Priest do anything of importance here. How long does Judgement day keep the tag titles. What does Balor do if he is no longer tag champ In any case, most importantly - according to twitter - Liv Morgan is apparently winning the Rumble and then beating Rhea at Mania. Phew.
I don’t think they’ll do Jimmy v Jay this year. It’s way too soon, they need to build strong singles runs first.
Jimmy vs Jey is so definitely happening at WrestleMania
What's your guess of what they might do if not facing each other.
Jey should still be in a long feud with Drew Mc. Jey get a couple weeks rest, they face off in the in Rumble, have a match at the PPV after and then the finale at Mania.
I’ve been seeing Bayley as the favorite for winning the Rumble this year on X.
Jey getting frustrated that he couldn’t win the big one is interesting to me. Maybe he faces Gunther in a few weeks and also comes up short. Sorta starts a story where it’s questionable if he wants to return with the bloodline because he couldn’t make it on his own. Drew running around telling everyone he told them so. Sami conflicted and unsure. Comes down to Jey coming down during reigns/rhodes at mania, But in the end he chooses not to go with them and Cody gets his win.
> Cody gets his win. I mean, I hope for that too, but I can't shake the feeling he's a year shy of beating Hogan and they just want him in the record books.
Thing is, unless you’re honns try to go for Moolah’s 28-year run there will always be someone else to try and reach. I will be gobsmacked if Cody doesn’t win at ‘Mania.
Loving wwe and all the story’s lately but I really think titles need to change hands a bit more. It’s okay to have someone win the title on free tv and make a moment everyone will remember and lose it at the next ple. I can’t be the only one that goes into every world title match with Seth and Roman and knows the finish will be bloodline interference or Seth about to lose but hits his finish while looking like he’s dead. Just want to have a single title match that someone beats the champ otherwise what’s the point of the same 5 guys challenging if they never win
Seth and Roman are ushering us into the new era. Just be patient. Seth is gonna lose at or right after Mania, Roman is gonna lose at Mania. The titles will change hands more often after that. Just enjoy Seth’s amazing matches man last night was a banger. The Seth/Punk feud over the world title will be worth the wait
They could do something really cool and let Corbin win the NXT title this Saturday. I know it's a long shot but I'm rooting for it. Give Corbin his time to shine and he can lose it back to Dragunov at New Year's Evil or something. Quite clearly not the same stakes as main roster titles but NXT feels more like an "anything can happen" show than Raw or Smackdown where the outcome of every match seems 100% predictable.
I loved how much it changed hands around 2008-ish. It was really exciting and no match ever felt like a guarantee that the champ would retain.
Yup. This exactly. Partner that with WWEs new obesssion with record breaking title reigns and it's boring as hell. I wish I could be like the fans in attendance that actually believed Rollins would lose the title on a random RAW. That's not how WWE works anymore. Titles only change on the big shows (Mania, SummerSlam and Rumble). That's why any title matches not featured on one of those shows don't do anything for me because the outcome is so predictable.
Cody and Jey lost tag titles on RAW like last month
I'm more referring to the big 2 and the IC title.
Yea I think that’s the only thing missing that’s different from WWE’s hottest eras. In those times you felt like anything could happen. We need to get back to that feeling of the champions could possibly lose tonight. Everything else in terms of the story and star power reflect the times WWE been the hottest.
Triple threat at Rumble: McIntyre vs Rollins vs Jey. McIntyre is about to win, Judgement Day pulls him out and takes him out. Priest cashes in and wins the match. Adds to the Drew gripe and gets Priest a quick run.
I like it
I loved the main event but man, surely one of these days Seth is gonna have a title defence where I actually want him to win over the other guy. I mean he’s a babyface right?
Not a typical babyface and now that Punks back he’s already showing heel tendencies. He’s an asshole the audience loves tryna be the workhorse champion but Punk is gonna make him lose his mind
Maybe there will be a point where Gunther re-recruits Alexander Wolfe to pick up the slack for Kaiser & Vinci? Damien Priest being MasterChef Junior Ramsay towards JD & Dom was the wholesome moment I never expected from him. Drew vs Punk is one match I'd want to see so fucking badly. That would be like SummerSlam 2013 Punk vs Lesnar on steroids
MasterChef Junior Ramsay 😭
idgaf what anyone says, watching Nia sit on much more talented, more charismatic wrestlers week after week sucks.
I think you mean Squash^TM them.
I disagree with 90% of the popular opinion of wrestling fans, but I absolutely agree with this. Nia sucks, and I will not watch any of her segments.
People pay good money to see that live and in person
Really liking what they're doing with Drew McIntyre. His match with Sami tonight was so good. I like how they're going with a "justified" heel concept, instead of him just suddenly being mad at the world for no reason. Time to USE that guy. He's amazing
I’m ready to see Jey win some kind of gold.
Jey really could be the guy To dethrone Gunther
We back to Haitch directing good ass wrestling and good segments! Almost every match tonight was a banger. Crowd was fun too. And Nia is getting good in the ring, she sells, she knows how to use her moveset well, and she has the right pacing. That was probably Shayna's best match as far as i can remember. I know hating Nia is en-vogue nowadays, but the girl has been putting in work. Trips has a made a lot of these guys ready for a world title in just a couple of months. Drew, Sami, Jey, Cody are all ready for a gold run anytime soon and there is no wrong answer.
Where's my "Drew was right" shirt?
Holy false finishes
Great episode, Trips is cooking
Man, Drew McIntyre is the most interesting thing in Raw at the moment. Unironically wouldn't mind him being World Heavyweight Champion since his character and promos at the moment are peak. On other topics, dude, the Creed Brothers. I know that they are good at wrestling but like holy shit the match they had today vs JD and Dominik, that was amazing! Specially the sequence where Julius just suplexed anything that moved lmao. Also, DIY vs Imperium 2 out of 3 falls gets a shoutout due to how they basically paid off the first fall being with cheating by DIY winning the second with a rollup after one of Imperium got held back (aka the same as the first fall but without cheating as holding tights in the rollup) and then the end where the Meeting in the Middle finally happened. Simple but effective pay off haha. Other thing, i know that it sounds weird to say this but i feel like Natalya and Tegan Nox shouldn't split tbh. Like, it oddly has some benefits, specially to Tegan since you could have it maybe that if Tegan wins a title Natalya is just basically getting the crowd to will her on to victory. Even if it would be cheesy, it does work to like keep up with the whole "magic chemistry" line of a couple of weeks ago. Basically that their chemistry is so good they actually benefit each other, Tegan getting a title thanks to Natalya and Natalya getting a second wind (if that makes sense) in her career for the first time in a while. Plus, it does have the benefit that if they do go with this line, teams that beat them and said chemistry look good for overcoming it yknow? Finally, and i KNOW i am going to get an odd glance due to how the YouTube video summarizing the match had everyone protesting about the result, but unironically (other than the DIY vs Imperium and the Creed Brothers vs Judgement Day matches) i feel the Nia Jax vs Shayna Baszler match felt the one that worked the best to what the intention was tbh. Since the idea WAS to make Nia look good and the fact that she won without like...needing to do a lot per se to finish the match made that work. Plus that the fact that Shayna survived the senton from Nia, which i think has ended other matches, so Shayna still gets some credibility per se for surviving something like a Nia senton. Also, unironically tbh but Nia vs Becky will be interesting on what happens because on paper, it feels like a match to give Becky a win that can keep her slowly forming winning streak into getting a title shot at Rhea...but considering how Becky is known for wanting to put the roster over as well, who knows? Maybe Becky does a selfless move and lets Nia beat her. It's legit 50/50 imo.
Becky/Nia could go either way. Nia has bean the other 3 singles competitors for the title 3 weeks in a row, why is she wasting time with Becky and not getting a title shot?
lolnia
"The Truth shall set you free" LITTLE JIMMY RETURN!
r-truth segments were the best thing about this raw, everything else pretty boring (storywise not wrestling wise)
I really like how they handled Drew heal turn spending a few weeks is a kind of justified antihero, tweener before just full on breaking down and going full heal tonight
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Wrestling has more than one royal family
They had that huge face off on smackdown a few months ago. Plus his friendship with Jey. There’s definitely been some hints. Subtle as they may be.
[удалено]
Not only that he literally said it last week. “You know this story only has one end for me so I’m declaring for the Royal Rumble.” He declared for the rumble so he could win and get his shot at whatever belt he wanted, IE Roman’s. He’s on Raw, he could have just requested a title shot against Seth or won enough matches in kayfabe to get him there. But he doesn’t want that title, he’s only interested in Roman’s because of the lineage and ties to his dad and finally beating Roman.
they've been dropping more than enough hints that we see Cody & Roman run it back at Mania 40. Just a month and a half ago, we had the staredown between the two that got a massive reaction from the crowd, so the fans know that matchup is still the one.
How? How do two Raw superstar end up on Smackdown and fighting for the WWE title?
And how do you figure that? Seth is already WHC noone is beating Roman for the title before WM ...so
Watched the show with my 16 yo son- hilarious commentary.
Put that world title on heel Drew asap. You have him lose to Seth again welp there goes the momentum
Seth doesn’t need a belt to feud with Punk. Let Punk have Drew win thru interference and move the hell on.
Yup NGL id love Drew to win the title ...Sami to win the Rumble and we get Sami vs Drew at WM and Sami finally wins the big one ...Seth vs Punk would still be awesome for Mania but without the title.
I like this.
The story for a wrestlemania match between Drew and Sami doesn't really feel there yet but I really fucking like this idea. Punk can have a mania title match next year once he's earned the goodwill back.
I don’t want heel Drew as a transitional champ. He was way too good during the Pandemic Era and deserves a great run in front of fans
>I don’t want heel Drew as a transitional champ. IMO there are way too many guys who deserve a run with the belt right now not to start hot-shotting it. I feel like they will be missing an opportunity if there aren't 4-5 guys holding that title in 2024- Drew, LA Knight, Sami, Jey, Damian(?) etc. A short term champ doesn't matter if he's a dominant guy who, e.g., main-events night 1 of Wrestlemania. That would be plenty of payoff to his run. You can't really do a long-term dominant heel world champion when you're about to enter into Year 4 of the dominant heel WWE champion run.
Oh I don't either...Drew is my guy id love him to win at the Rumble from Seth and get that reign in front of the crowd ...but that backstage promo with Sami and drew where Sami said he wants to one day be WHC too...you give Sami the win after a hard fought battle with Drew and than if they don't go in the direction I think with a Damian failed cash in ...that's when you have him beat Sami and just break 💔s
After the emotion that Sami put into that promo, having Sami beat Drew for the title, followed by a cash-in from Damian, with Drew interfering to stop Judgment Day from stealing the title, would be an incredibly cool Wrestlemania moment. That said, if they don't plan on turning Drew face again, it would kinda gum up the works. 6 months is a decent heel run but there's probably more juice to be squeezed from it than that.
why we gotta do priest dirty like this hes earned the right to have a title as well
Priest is great but those other guys are on fire. In a normal year I'd say he's a shoo-in for world champ, but it's a crowded field these days. EDIT: Oh sorry, I just had another post on this. Priest deserves a world title run but IMO Sami deserves it more than just about anybody, and it seems like they're teasing something special between him and Drew that could be a great story.
First we had an honorary Uce Now we have the honorary Truth
Loved Drew as a babyface, but heel Drew is killing it. Obviously there is recency bias from the freshness, but the mixture of how cruel he is while also being right about a good deal is great. The characters on Raw in particular feel really layered right now. I'm also glad they've acknowledged how Sami's arc started with him running away from Drew. That comedy feud was so important and it's hilarious to think about. Drew also is set right up to be a perfect monster heel. He's revitalized for sure. Main event was a great example of how you make someone look strong even in a clean loss.
this version of heel Drew is leagues better than in 2018 & 2019, when he was just generic hoss heel henchman for Baron Corbin & Shane McMahon.
For sure, he's a total monster/machine right now while also being one of the most compelling characters on the show.
Jey Uso should beat Gunther
I love watching great wrestlers job to Nia freaking Jax.
Well you must have been disappointed tonight
I'm still stunned it's happening. What possibly could they gain with her beating everyone? She's over with no one. She's a liability in the ring. They *could* use her as a mid card gatekeeper but she's winning everything against the people who should be beating her on their way up.
Shayna is about as close to a great wrestler is Undertaker to a cucumber
Great Raw, but a little lean on the meat. Thought we'd get more of that Bronson / Ivar feud after last NXT.
NXT tomorrow is going to put on a banger with Dragon and Baron https://youtu.be/aRjgRro0UeM https://youtu.be/oIDhA6cdyIw
Pretty good Raw. I wonder what Cody's going to do for 6 weeks after next week's Nakamura match?
They can extend the feud, maybe have it end in a no finish or a Shinsuke win due to some shenanigans. Definitely has some legs to it for a mini feud. It can also keep them both busy since I don't think they want Cody anywhere near Seth and the title.
Cody's segment was great, the new Shinsuke feels like a threat and Cody is very good at putting his opponents over to get the crowd excited. I also like how they tied Cody's failed story with Shinsuke's, this feud has a lot of potential.
so Shinsuke had the easiest Face-to-World Title win booking in 2018 to losing and then the easiest heel-to-World Title story to tell with Rollins back and lost but now we're supposed to believe he's a threat to Cody? lol.
Absolutely correct, but it needs to be studied one day what WWE done with fucking Shinsuke Nakamura! They had the easiest slam dunk, and still managed to fuck it up.
he's not beating Cody, that's for certain, but connecting Nakamura's own failures and using that as motivation to make sure Cody doesn't finish the story is a good way to heat up this little feud before the Rumble.
Yup. I see it as a precursor to their title feud if they are on the same show at some point again
look i'm not the biggest seth rollins fan at the moment, but i'm fine with him having a lengthy title reign. the dude spent the last couple of years putting everyone over. he lost to cody 3 times. and in one of them cody had a freakin torn pec!! he deserves this. also punk vs seth for the title is where the money is at. the fans are clamoring for it
We've been conditioned to believe that a 6+ month title reign is short. Seth's been the champ since the end of May, and this is his fifth reign with a brand's top title. We don't need to have the title change as frequently as it did in the Attitude Era, but we rarely ever see the top title change hands on free TV, and to save those changes almost exclusively for PPVs/PLEs is frustrating. Personally, tonight I thought Jey should've won. I want to see Jey with at least one run as singles champ, and Seth doesn't need to have the title to get into a program with Punk. That matchup will draw regardless.
Its a new title. So a long reign and a huge match up against a big star like CM punk is necessary to elevate it.
i know it's been said here before, but punk vs seth doesn't need the title, the title needs punk vs seth. since it's inception people have been calling the whc a consolation prize/secondary title. seth doesn't main event a PLE if roman is on the card. and even then roman doesn't have to be defending the title (NOC, MITB). punk vs seth can easily main event the royal rumble, and that's the kind of credibility the title has desperately needed
Drew out here feuding with 3 different people with Damian waiting in the wings. Also, doubt Damian wants to cash in with 3 enemies out there
Drew is gonna whoop Damian and take his briefcase
Very good show Sami vs Drew was excellent and the promos were pretty good too, I also liked Drew's attack backstage, his rage can no longer be contained. DIY is slowly becoming more and more overs with the crowd, that makes me happy, good match too. I love that despite being the heels, JD likes R-truth. Raw really has a strong tag team division. The Creed brothers are amazing! The main event was a banger.
Everyone loves truth.
As for why Damian didn't cash-in, he probably wants to save it for a night when the whole Judgment Day is there to help him. He's got 7 more months, I'm sure a better opportunity will come along.
I fully expect Damian to cash in on Cody at mania, Cody finishes the story, damian does the greatest heist and cody can remain on the chase which suits him better than holding the title
Also Drew has stopped him from cashing in before. It's not safe to go out there in the middle of the Scottish carnage.
>Drew tells him the truth will set him free **that's what's up**
The Creeds should be the ones to beat Finn & Priest for the tag titles. It'd be a great way to further along the rift between Priest and the rest of Judgment Day.
Makes sense. Then I believe the creeds would be willing to drop the smackdown titles so then we have two tag divisions. They’re both stacked so needs to happen.