Here are my Raw Thoughts, Facts & Stats, & Rankings:
But first,
here's what happened in Week 2 of 2024 in WWE & NXT.Another year with a great Martin Luther King Day Video. Kudos to WWE's Production Team for putting this together.
Ihat's cool that Seth Rollins brought his daughter to Raw tonight. Jinder Mahal looked ready to go for his biggest match in his career.
Awesome segment with Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre. There are so many possibilities to win the Royal Rumble.
Another hilarious segment with R-Truth & Damian Priest.
#DIY VS The Judgment Day was an incredible match. I can't wait for DIY VS The Judgment Day for the Tag Titles or a Triple Threat with The Awesome Truth. FACTS: This was Tommaso Ciampa's 2nd week in a row on Raw, Johnny Gargano's 1st Raw of 2024 & 1st since #DIY & The Miz defeated Imperium on December 11, 2023 & their 1st 2-on-2 Match since they defeated Imperium on Raw on December 4, 2023. This was JD McDonagh's 3rd week in a row on Raw, making him the 1st wrestler to wrestle on every Raw of 2024 & was Dominik Mysterio's 1st Raw since they lost to The Awesome Truth on January 1, which was the last time they teamed up. This was the 1st time in his Career that McDonagh has ever teamed with the same wrestler multiple times & the 1st time that Mysterio teamed up with the same wrestler in 3 matches since he & Damian Priest defeated Alpha Academy (January 16, 2023), lost to The Usos (January 23, 2023), & defeated Johnny Gargano & Dexter Lumis (March 13, 2023) on Raw. This was the 1st Tag Team Match in Raw History to feature 2 2-time NXT North American Champions.
Fun segment with Adam Pearce, Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae & Chelsea Green & Piper Niven to set-up their match.
Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae VS Chelsea Green & Piper Niven was short but a good match. FACTS: This was Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae's 1st Raw of 2024, their 1st Raw match overall since they lost to Katana Chance & Kayden Carter on December 11, 2023, which was LeRae's last match, & was Hartwell's 1st match overall since she defeated Elektra Lopez on Main Event on December 21, 2023. This was Chelsea Green & Piper Niven's 2nd week in a row on Raw, making them the 1st women to wrestle 2 weeks in a row on Raw in 2024. This was Indi Hartwell's 1st win on Raw in her Career, Candice LeRae's 1st win since she defeated Xia Li on Main Event on June 8, 2023, 1st on Raw since she defeated Piper Niven on February 27, 2023, & their 1st 2-on-2 win since they defeated Zayda Ramier & Zoey Stark on NXT on June 1, 2021.
OK video on Nia Jax.
Good segment with The Judgment Day as they continue to plant the seeds of Damian Priest leaving the group.
Great GUNTHER promo. It's great to see Xavier Woods back. Woods VS Ludwig Kaiser will be great. I really hope that this New Day VS Imperium feud is going to lead to Big E coming back to wrestle GUNTHER for the IC Title at WrestleMania. But unfortunately I think that Big E is done as we haven't heard anything about his recovery.
Xavier Woods VS Ludwig Kaiser was an excellent match despite the DQ Finish. I never saw Woods like that. I want more of that Woods. FACTS: This was Xavier Woods' 1st Raw match of 2024, 1st match overall since he & Kofi Kingston lost a Tag Team Turmoil Match on November 27, 2023, & 1st 1-on-1 Match since he defeated Ivar on Raw on October 2, 2023. This was the 1st time in his Career that he wrestled a German wrestler. This was Ludwig Kaiser's 3rd week in a row on Raw, making him the 2nd wrestler to wrestle on every Raw of 2024. He is the only wrestler to wrestle The Alpha Academy (Otis (August 7, 2023) & Chad Gable (August 28,2023), #DIY (Tommaso Ciampa (September 25, 2023) & Johnny Gargano (October 16, 2023), & The New Day (Kofi Kingston (January 8, 2024) & Xavier Woods (January 15, 2024) in back-to-back 1-on-1 Matches on Raw & the 1st since Ivar on October 2, 2023 & October 9, 2023 to wrestle The New Day in back-to-back weeks on Raw. This was the 2nd DQ of 2024, the 1st since NXT on January 2, & 1st for the main roster & on Raw in 2024.
Good promo by Bronson Reed. Who was he talking about: Seth Rollins or GUNTHER.
Speaking of GUNTHER, we never got the #1 Contender's Match that Adam Pearce was going to set-up when he brought Kofi Kingston & Ricochet into his office.
Good segment with Xavier Woods & Ludwig Kaiser & Jey Uso coming to Woods' aid, slowly building to Uso VS GUNTHER.
Good video on Seth Rollins VS Jinder Mahal.
I don't care about sets, but I did read that they don't have the usual Raw Set because of the weather. They couldn't rig anything up to the ceiling because of the snow on the roof, so they had to use the live event set.
Akira Tozawa VS Ivar was a fun match. I like what happened afterwards with Maxxine Dupri & Valhalla getting physical, but please stop doing Headbutts. FACTS: This was Akira Tozawa's 1st Raw match of 2024 & 1st Raw since he lost to Ivar on December 18, 2023. This was Ivar's 2nd week in a row on Raw. This was the 2nd 1-on-1 Match between them after Raw on December 18, 2023, which was won by Ivar. This was Tozawa's 1st win since he defeated Wes Lee on Main Event on November 2, 2023 & 1st on Raw since he defeated The Miz on August 21, 2023.
Wait a minute, I wasn't paying attention earlier, but just heard it in the recap. When did Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre wrestle each other? I did the research. Besides 3 live events, they never wrestled each other 1-on-1 in WWE? Can someone help me?
Cool Ivy Nile VS Valhalla coming soon & Gable VS Ivar next week, which we have never seen before.
Awesome segment with Rhea Ripley & Becky Lynch. They only wrestled once in a 1-on-1 Match on NXT on November 20, 2019, which ended in a No Contest. I haven't decided who I wanted to win the Women's Royal Rumble, but Becky is now my pick. Bianca Belair can get IYO SKY another way.
Great promo by Seth Rollins. I will have all of my facts later for Rollins VS Jinder Mahal.
The Awesome Truth VS The Judgment Day was a fun match. Truth was awesome as usual, but there goes Miz's 2024 Undefeated Streak, he's now 2-1 in 2024. FACTS: This was The Miz's 3rd week in a row, making him the 3rd wrestler to wrestle on every Raw of 2024, R-Truth's 1st Raw since January 1, & the 1st time they teamed up in 2 Matches on Raw since they lost to John Cena in a Handicap Match (October 24, 2011) & defeated Cena & Zack Ryder (November 7, 2011). This was the 1st time that The Miz teamed with the same wrestler in back-to-back Tag Team Matches since he & Tommaso Ciampa defeated Cedric Alexander & Mustafa Ali (August 15, 2022) & Bobby Lashley & AJ Styles by Disqualification on (August 22, 2022) on Raw & Truth teamed up with the same wrestler in back-to-back Tag Team Matches since he & Shelton Benjamin lost to Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen (October 6, 2022) & defeated Duke Hudson & Von Wagner (November 3, 2022) on Main Event. This was Finn Balor's 2nd week in a row on Raw, Damian Priest's 1st Raw since The Judgment Day defeated The Creed Brothers on Raw on December 18, 2023, which was the last time they teamed up.
OK promo by Jinder Mahal
Love the use of WWE Legends & wrestlers to promote Ted on Peacock. I have to watch it soon.
Tegan Nox & Natalya VS Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark was an OK match.
FACTS: This was Tegan Nox, Natalya, Shayna Baszler, & Zoey Stark's 1st Raw since Baszler & Stark defeated Natalya & Nox on January 1, making it the 1st match to be re-matched in 2024. This was the 1st Raw since January 1 to have 2 Women's Matches.
Next week's Raw should be incredible with CM Punk & Cody Rhodes face-to-face, Ivy Nile VS Vahalla, Chad Gable VS Ivar, & Drew McIntyre VS Damian Priest.
Seth Rollins VS Jinder Mahal was incredible. Mahal can be an excellent wrestler when he's allowed to. Indus Sher was awful. They couldn't even put Mahal's foot on the rope. I had a feeling that Damian Priest wasn't going to cash in with Drew McIntyre lurking for next week. I guess I have to save my Money In The Bank Cash-In Facts for another time. Also, I really hope that Seth Rollins didn't hurt his knee that bad. That's all we need is him being injured during Rumble to Mania Season. FACTS: This was the 2nd World Heavyweight Championship Match of 2024 & 1st since Raw on January 1. This was Seth Rollins' 1st Raw match & main event since January 1. This was Seth Rollins’ 11th World Heavyweight Championship Defense, so if he would have lost, he would have been the 1st to lose in his 11th Defense which is the Most Defenses of All-Time. As of Raw, Seth Rollins’ World Heavyweight Championship Reign has lasted 233 Days, so if he would have lost, he would have been the 1st to lose in 219 Days, which is both the Shortest & Longest Reign of All-Time. This was Jinder Mahal's 1st match overall since a Battle Royal on NXT on March 28, 2023, 1st 1-on-1 Match since he defeated Julius Creed on NXT on January 10, 2023, his 1st match on the main roster since he lost to Braun Strowman on Smackdown on November 11, 2022, his 1st match on Raw since a Battle Royal on June 27, 2022, & 1st 1-on-1 Match on Raw since he lost to Xavier Woods on October 18, 2021. If he wins, Jinder Mahal would be the 2nd 1st-time Champion in a row, the 2nd in a row to be a former United States Champion, the 2nd in a row to be a former WWE Champion, & the 1st to be a former 24/7 Champion. This will be the 3rd 1-on-1 Match between them after NXT on August 29, 2012 & December 12, 2012 (both won by Rollins) & Raw on May 28, 2018 (won by Mahal by DQ), making this the 1st time 2 wrestlers wrestled each other for both the NXT & World Heavyweight Championship. The World Heavyweight Championship has never changed hands in 2024, with the last title change taking place at Night of Champions on May 27, 2023 when Rollins defeated AJ Styles to win the Vacant Title. It has changed hands once in History.
Here are my Raw Match Rankings:
1) Seth Rollins VS Jinder Mahal
2) #DIY VS The Judgment Day
3) Xavier Woods VS Ludwig Kaiser
4) Awesome Truth VS The Judgment Day
5) Akira Tozawa VS Ivar
6) Natalya & Tegan Nox VS Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark
7) Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae VS Chelsea Green & Piper Niven
Ends another incredible Raw. There was nothing that I didn't like. There were excellent to good matches. All of the promos were great. This might be the most excited I have been for this time of year with the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, & WrestleMania.
Ends Raw Thoughts, Facts & Stats, & Rankings, for more visit
darrenswinloss.wordpress.com & get ready for the Royal Rumble by checking out the Royal Rumble Match History at
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Enjoy Barmageddon. I will watch it another time on DVR. I'm exhausted. Good night as snow sticks on the ground for the 1st time in New York City in 701 Days.