Here are my Raw Thoughts, Facts & Stats, & Rankings:
As much as I wanted Seth Rollins to vacate the World Title so it can be decided in the Royal Rumble, I am happy that he won't have to. Also, he deserves to take a break to heal everything. He has been a workhorse of the company. Get well soon, Seth. Looking forward to seeing him return at WrestleMania. GUNTHER's promo was good. I would love to see a match between them. They had a quick match that ended in a Disqualification on November 8, 2019.
Damn, The New Day VS Imperium was great. But this was the 5th No Contest of 2024. I'm tired of them already even with this fun brawl. At least Kofi is OK & will be in the Royal Rumble for the 15th time. (Don't listen to the WWE BS about 16 (The Greatest Royal Rumble doesn't count). FACTS: This was Kofi Kingston's 1st Raw since January 8 & 1st Raw opener of 2024. This was Xavier Woods' 2nd week in a row on Raw & his 1st Raw opener of 2024. This was the 1st time that The New Day teamed up since a Tag Team Turmoil Match on November 27, 2023 & 1st 2-on-2 Tag Team Match since they lost to The Judgment Day on November 6, 2023. This was Ludwig Kaiser's 4th week in a row on Raw, making him the 1st wrestler to wrestle on every Raw of 2024 & 1st Raw opener of 2024. This was Giovanni Vinci's 1st Raw & Imperium's 1st 2-on-2 Tag Team Match since they lost Kofi Kingston & Jey Uso on January 1 & was Kaiser's 1st Raw opener of 2024.
WWE 2K24 looks awesome. I don't play video games any more but I actually might start with this.
Good segment with The Judgment Day. I can't wait for the 1st ever 1-on-1 Match between Damian Priest & Drew McIntyre. Also, #DIY VS Judgment Day will be awesome next week.
Ivy Nile VS Valhalla was a short match but pretty good. I hope this is the start of Valhalla being more of an active wrestler. FACTS: This will be Ivy Nile's 1st Raw since January. This will be Valhalla's 1st match of 2024 & her 1st match since she lost to Maxxine Dupri on July 31, 2023.
Good promo with The New Day & Jey Uso. Kofi Kingston VS GUNTHER will be excellent.
Nia Jaxs promo was OK (I'm not going to be negative). Becky Lynch was pretty good. It was good to see Bayley. It's Royal Rumble Week. Who cares about Brands?
Screw the WWE BS (including the fake Greatest Royal Rumble). There have only been 1260 Participants in Royal Rumble History. The 10th Participant of the 2nd Rumble on Saturday will be the 1300th Rumble Participant of All-Time. Kane has eliminated 47 wrestlers in 20 Rumbles. Kofi Kingston will be in his 15th Rumble on Saturday. For the real numbers, go to
darrenswinloss.wordpress.com/wwerr2 OK interaction with Becky Lynch & Rhea Ripley.
Hilarious segment with The Miz & R-Truth. And they are right for once, Miz has been in 15 Rumbles. BONUS ROYAL RUMBLE FACT: If Miz competes on Saturday, he will be wrestling at his 19th Consecutive Royal Rumble PPV, which is the Most Consecutive Rumble PPVs in History. This will be the only Stat I will be posting. You will have to wait for my Preview after Smackdown for more.
The Miz VS Dominik Mysterio was great. I like the beatdown by Finn Balor afterwards & then the save by #DIY. FACTS: This was The Miz's 4th week in a row on Raw, making him the 2nd wrestler to wrestle on every Raw of 2024. This was Dominik Mysterio's 2nd week in a row, 1st 1-on-1 Match since he lost to Dragon Lee at NXT Deadl1ne on December 9, 2023, & 1st on Raw since he lost to Randy Orton on November 27, 2023. This was the 4th 1-on-1 Match between them after Raw on January 31, 2022 (won by Miz), February 7, 2022 (won by Mysterio), & April 4, 2022 (won by Miz), so Miz won 2 & Mysterio won 2. This was Mysterio's 1st win since he defeated Nathan Frazer on NXT on October 31, 2023 & 1st on Raw since he defeated Ricochet on October 30, 2023.
Good promo by Damian Priest & more hijinks by R-Truth.
Good promo by Bronson Reed. Jey Uso VS Reed will be great.
Chad Gable VS Ivar was amazing. Ivar moves so quick for a big guy. So, right now out of the last 3 weeks, Tozawa was the only member of The Alpha Academy to defeat Ivar, as Otis & Gable both lost to him. FACTS: This was Chad Gable's 1st match of 2024, 1st overall since The Alpha Academy defeated Meta-Four on NXT on December 15, 2023, & 1st on Raw since he he lost to Shinsuke Nakamura on November 20, 2023. This was Ivar's 3rd week in a row on Raw. He is the only wrestler to wrestle all 3 members of Alpha Academy (defeated Otis (January 8, 2024), lost to Tozawa (January 15, 2024), & now Gable (January 22, 2024) & both members of The New Day (Xavier Woods (October 2, 2023) & Kofi Kingston (October 9, 2023) on back-to-back weeks.
For the record, I will be watching Love And WWE with Bianca Belair & Montez Ford. I like all WWE Reality Shows.
Wow. CM Punk & Cody Rhodes have wrestled each other twice in 1-on-1 Matches. Punk def Rhodes on 9/22/08 & Rhodes def Punk by CO on 12/29/08. Their 1st meeting was the 800th Episode of Raw & here they are face-to-face 800 Episodes later. Even though Punk's promo was incredible, he was wrong. He has been in 6 Royal Rumble Matches. Rhodes has been in 9.
I'm glad Michael Cole corrected himself about who won the Royal Rumble back-to-back years.
Great video on Hulkamania. I may not like Hulk Hogan the person or the wrestler, but if it wasn't for him, I probably would not be a wrestling fan. LOL. If Hulk Hogan is in the Royal Rumble, then he will have to win like The Iron Shiek (RIP Sheiky Baby) in the Gimmick Battle Royal. There would be no way he can do a bump over the top rope.
Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae VS Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark was a decent match. I like Damage CTRL attacking Kayden Carter & Katana Chance to build to their match on Smackdown. The Women's Tag Division is heating up. FACTS: This was Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae's 2nd week in a row on Raw, making it the 1st time they teamed up 2 weeks in a row in their Career. This was Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark's 2nd week in a row on Raw. This was the 1st time that Baszler teamed with the same wrestler 3 matches in a row since she & Ronda Rousey defeated Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (June 5, 2023 Raw), Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre (June 23, 2023 Smackdown), & lost to Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (July 1, 2023 Money In The Bank). This was the 1st time that Zoey Stark teamed with the same wrestler 3 matches in a row since she & Nikkita Lyons defeated Toxic Attraction (October 4, 2022) & lost to Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (October 25 & November 8, 2022) on NXT.
Solid promo by Drew McIntyre.
They officially announced Damian Priest is in the Royal Rumble. I hope they announce more official participants before Saturday.
OK segment with Natalya, Tegan Nox, Adam Pearce, & Damage CTRL. Natalya will be the only woman to be in every Women's Royal Rumble unless Liv Morgan, Carmella, & Tamina are in it.
Jinder Mahal & Indus Sher was OK.
Part 2 of WWE BS with more wrong facts. For real, true, Royal Rumble Records, visit darrenswinloss.wordpress.com/wwerr2.
So right now, only 7 men (GUNTHER, Lashley, McIntyre, Nakamura, Priest, Punk, & Rhodes) & 4 women (Bayley, Belair, Jax, & Lynch) are announced for the Royal Rumble. They better announce more so I can have the most complete Preview as possible.
Next week's Raw will be incredible, as we pass the Royal Rumble Exit & head towards Exit 2 at Elimination Chamber on the Road to WrestleMania Drew McIntyre VS Damian Priest was an excellent match. R-Truth was hysterical as always. What a fun way to end the Final Raw before the Royal Rumble. FACTS: This was Drew McIntyre's 1st Raw since January 1. This was Damian Priest's 2nd week in a row on Raw, 1st 1-on-1 Match since he lost to Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel on November 4, 2023, & 1st 1-on-1 Match on Raw since he defeated Sami Zayn by Disqualification on October 30, 2023.
Here are my Raw Match Rankings:
1) Drew McIntyre VS Damian Priest
2) Chad Gable VS Ivar
3) The New Day VS Imperium
4) The Miz VS Dominik Mysterio
5) Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell VS Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark
6) Ivy Nile VS Valhalla
Ends a fun Raw. I liked all of the matches & segments but the Punk/Rhodes Segment was my favorite of the night. This might be the first time in many years that are so many possibilities to win Royal Rumble & I wouldn't be upset. I can't wait for Saturday.
Ends Raw Thoughts, Facts & Stats, & Rankings. For more visit,
darrenswinloss.wordpress.com which will be updated after Royal Rumble with this week's results.
And visit
darrenswinloss.wordpress.com/wwerr for the Complete History of the Royal Rumble PPV, which will be updated next week as well.
Enjoy the final episode of Barmageddon of this season. Good night.