Here are my Raw Thoughts, Facts, & Stats.
Because of Elimination Chamber taking up my day on Saturday, I only had Sunday to work on my Weekly Records and my day started late. So I will do 2 weeks next week. I apologize.
Before getting to Raw, I want to pay tribute to Ole Anderson. I never saw him wrestle as I started watching wrestling in 1987 & only WWF. I didn't start watching WCW until 1994 when I got cable. But, I know his history & his legacy as a member of The Horsemen, how he was the voice of The Shockmaster, & his run as a booker. RIP Ole Anderson as he joins the Heavenly Royal Rumble.
Poor Dominik Mysterio. Cool, they brought up Becky Lynch & Rhea Ripley's last match against each other in 2019 in NXT. They wrestled once & it ended in a No Contest. I thought they would ignore it. Solid interaction to start the build to WrestleMania. OK attack by Nia Jax.
OK promo by Nia Jax. Liv Morgan VS Jax might be OK. I will give Nia the benefit of the doubt & will try to be nice to her.
Sami Zayn VS Shinsuke Nakamura was incredible. I love that it got tons of time & the story of the match with Sami overcoming the odds. FACTS: This was Sami Zayn's 1st Raw since February 12 & his 1st Raw opener of 2024. This was Shinsuke Nakamura's 1st Raw since February 12 & his 1st Raw opener of 2024. This was the 7th 1-on-1 Match between them after NXT Takeover Dallas on April 1, 2016 (won by Nakamura), Smackdown on February 11, 2022 (won by Zayn), May 6, 2022 (won by Zayn), May 20, 2022 (won by Nakamura), June 24, 2022 (won by Zayn), & Raw on February 13, 2024 (won by Nakamura), so Zayn won 4 & Nakamura won 3. This was Zayn's 1st win since War Games at Survivor Series on November 25, 2023, 1st 1-on-1 win since he defeated JD McDonagh at Crown Jewel on November 4, 2023, 1st on Raw since he, Kevin Owens, & Cody Rhodes defeated The Judgment Day on August 21, 2023, & 1st 1-on-1 on Raw since he defeated McDonagh on August 14, 2023.
Good video on the feud between The New Day & Imperium, but they have not been feuding for 2 years. Stop that crap. They did wrestle each other in 6-Man Tags in 2022 on Smackdown, but it really wasn't a feud.
Cool, Pat McAfee being in WWE 2K24 sealed the deal. I'm buying it. LOL. Just kidding, I'm still going to get it. It looks like fun. I just need to find time to play it.
Raquel Rodriguez VS Chelsea Green was a quick match but I'm glad that Raquel can still wrestle given what she has been going through this weekend. FACTS: This was Raquel Rodriguez's 2nd week in a row on Raw & her 1st 1-on-1 Match on Raw since she lost to Nia Jax on November 20, 2023. This was Chelsea Green's 2nd week in a row on Raw & her 1st 1-on-1 Match on Raw since she defeated Natalya in a Trick or Street Fight on October 30, 2023. This was the 3rd 1-on-1 Match between them after Raw on May 15, 2023 & September 4, 2023, which were both won by Rodriguez. This was the 50th Match on Raw in 2024.
Great promo by Sami Zayn. Sami VS GUNTHER at WrestleMania. Yes, please.
Good Cody Rhodes promo. I will have great facts about his match with Grayson Waller later.
Great promo by GUNTHER. There are so many potential challengers for him at WrestleMania. I was not expecting The Judgment Day to come out to challenge him. If Dominik Mysterio wrestles GUNTHER, he & Rey will be the only father & son to wrestle in IC Title Matches at WrestleMania. This could get good. Maybe Damian Priest can defeat GUNTHER at WrestleMania & win the IC Title, then cash in MITB to win the World Heavyweight Title, becoming the only wrestler to hold all 3 titles at the same time.
Very interesting segment with Rhea Ripley & Dom & then Dom & Andrade.
The New Day VS Imperium was an awesome Street Fight. The finish was a shocker. Oh, & do the wrestlers themselves care about their ratings for WWEK 2K24? FACTS: This was the 3rd No DQ/Street Fight of 2024, 1st since NXT Vengeance Day on February 4, 1st on Raw since January 8, the 1st 2-on-2 Tag Team Street Fight since Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn VS The Judgment Day at Payback on September 2, 2023, & 1st on Raw since Kofi Kingston & Seth Rollins VS Baron Corbin & Bobby Lashley on May 20, 2019. This was Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods' 1st Raw since February 12. This was Kofi Kingston’s 7th No Holds Barred/No Disqualification/Street Fight in his Career & 1st since he & Woods lost to The Usos on Smackdown on January 7, 2022, giving him a No Holds Barred/Street Fight Record of 5-2-0. This was Xavier Woods’ 4th No Holds Barred/Street Fight & 1st since Smackdown on January 7, 2022, giving him a Street Fight Record of 2-2-0. This was Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci's 1st Raw since February 12. This was Kaiser & Vinci's 1st No DQ/Street Fight in their Career. This was the 2nd 2-on-2 Match between them after Raw on January 22 which ended in a Double Count Out, so New Day won 0, Imperium won 1, & 1 match ended in a NC.
I get the muting of the crowd on USA Network with the Holy S*it Chants, but it was stupid they did it on Peacock during Elimination Chamber & also they blacked out the screen when the 1st row gave Dominik Mysterio the bird. We pay for Peacock, so it should be unedited.
Good segment with Adam Pearce talking to Bronson Reed on the phone & then Chad Gable. I guess we're going to get a multi-person match maybe for the IC Title at WrestleMania.
Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae VS Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark was a decent match to set-up Baszler & Stark as The Kabuki Warriors' next Women's Tag Team Championship Challengers. FACTS: This was Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae's 2nd week in a row on Raw & their 1st 2-on-2 Match on Raw since they lost to Baszler & Stark on January 22. This was Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark's 2nd week in a row on Raw & their 1st 2-on-2 Match on Raw since they defeated Chelsea Green & Piper Niven on January 29. This was the 2nd 2-on-2 Match between them after Raw on January 22, which was also won by Baszler & Stark. This was the 1st Raw since February 5 to have 2 Women's Matches.
Hilarious segment with R-Truth (glad he's back from Austria), #DIY, & The Miz (glad he's out of the locker room).
I can't believe they got their results wrong. Drew McIntyre was #2 in the Chamber & LA Knight was #1. They even said it during the match. Besides the Chamber Mistake, Drew McIntyre's promo was great. I love his dig at CM Punk. Seth Rollins' response was incredible. WrestleMania will be the 12th 1-on-1 Match between them going back to NXT in 2012.
Liv Morgan VS Nia Jax wasn't that bad, but it should have been a 1-segment match. And it ends in a DQ, thanks to Becky Lynch. The best part was Nia hurting her hole. FACTS: This was Liv Morgan's 1st Raw since February 12. This was Nia Jax's 1st Raw since she defeated Becky Lynch on January 1. This was the 3rd 1-on-1 Match between them after NXT on January 27, 2016 & June 22, 2016, which also won by Jax. This was the 1st Raw since February 5 to have 3 Women's Matches. This was the 5th DQ of 2024, 1st since NXT on February 13 & 1st on Raw since January 15.
Good promo by Grayson Waller.
Nice tribute to Ole Anderson.
Sorry, I missed the segment with Becky Lynch (I heard her voice while I was in another room).
Good segment with Jey Uso & Drew McIntyre & their brawl.
Good Raw next week with Lynch VS Jax & Uso VS McIntyre.
Cody Rhodes VS Grayson Waller was an excellent match. I had a feeling something was going to happen when the match ended with 10 minutes left of Raw. FACTS: This was Cody Rhodes' 2nd week in a row on Raw, his 1st Raw main event since February 5, making him the 1st wrestler of 2024 to go from the Raw opener to the following week's main event, the 1st time he wrestled an Australian in his Career, & the 1st time he wrestled 3 foreign wrestlers in a row since he lost to Sheamus (June 21, 2013 Smackdown), Chris Jericho (June 26, 2013 Main Event), & Antonio Cesaro (July 1, 2013 Raw). This was Grayson Waller's 1st match since the Royal Rumble on January 27, 1st 1-on-1 Match since he lost to Trick Williams on NXT on January 2, & 1st Raw match & main event in his Career, & the 1st time he wrestled a 2nd Generation Wrestler since he lost to Jey Uso on Smackdown on July 28, 2023.
Great Paul Heyman promo. Cool cameo by Tough Enough Alumni AJ Kirsch as part of Heyman's security (LOL suspended NYPD officers in California). I love Cody getting protection with the chair & taking out the security. I can't wait to see what happens on Friday.
Here are my RAW Match Rankings:
1) Sami Zayn VS Shinsuke Nakamura
2) The New Day VS Imperium
3) Cody Rhodes VS Grayson Waller
4) Raquel Rodriguez VS Chelsea Green
5) Liv Morgan VS Nia Jax
6) Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae VS Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark
EXIT 10 on the Road to WrestleMania: Raw in San Jose, CA was another good one, with solid wrestling, great promos, & great builds to WM.
NEXT STOP: EXIT 11 Smackdown in Glendale, AZ
Ends Raw Thoughts, Facts & Stats, for W/L Records, Facts & Stats, which will be updated this weekend, check out
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