Here are my Raw Thoughts & Facts & Stats:
Here's everything that happened the last 2 weeks on Raw, NXT, Main Event, Smackdown, & Level Up including Elimination Chamber.
darrenswinloss.wordpress.com/2k24wk/Good recap of The Rock's promo from Smackdown.
I like the idea of both Cody Rhodes VS Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins VS Drew McIntyre being "Co-Main Events" of WrestleMania, but for the record whatever match closes is the real Mania Main Event.
The opening segment with Rhodes & Rollins was good, but then it dragged on & got stupid with Rollins calling The Rock "Diarrhea Dwayne". I want wrestling, not 23 minutes of talking. If Rhodes & Rollins VS Rock & Reigns is made official, it will be the 2nd year in a row a Tag Match will be the main event of #WrestleMania & the 1st time a World Champion will be in a Tag Team Match at WrestleMania since Hulk Hogan at WM 1.
Cool. Very classy for Michael Cole to mention Sting.
Dominink Mysterio VS GUNTHER was a fun match. Dom sold his ass off for GUNTHER. FACTS: This was Dominik Mysterio's 1st Raw since February 19, 1st Raw opener since January 15, & 1st 1-on-1 Match on Raw since he defeated The Miz on January 22. This was his 2nd match in a row against a foreign wrestler (lost to Kevin Owens on Smackdown on February 16), which was the 1st time that happened in his Career since he defeated Butch (UK, July 21, 2023 Smackdown) & Sami Zayn (Canada, July 24, 2023 Raw). This was GUNTHER's 1st Raw since February 19, 1st Raw opener since February 12, & the 2nd time he wrestled a Mysterio, as he defeated Rey Mysterio on Smackdown on October 28, 2022. This was GUNTHER's 1st Non-Title Match since he defeated Otis on Raw on August 14, 2023. Every other match he has had on Raw since then have been Intercontinental Title Matches.
Interesting segment with Damage CTRL being on Raw & Shinsuke Nakamura talking to Adam Pearce.
Kayden Carter & Katana Chance VS Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark was OK. Baszler & Stark remain undefeated in Tag Team Matches. Baszler & Stark VS The Kabuki Warriors could be a great match. FACTS: This was Kayden Carter's 1st Raw since she & Katana Chance lost to The Kabuki Warriors on February 5 & Katana Chance's 1st Raw since February 19. This was Shayna Baszler's 3rd week in a row on Raw & the 1st time in her Career that Zoey Stark wrestled 4 weeks in a row on Raw.
Poor Dominik Mysterio. Interesting interaction again with Dom & Andrade. I wonder how The Judgment Day will take care of Imperium & what
JD McDonagh's going to do to GUNTHER.
Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax was OK but Liv Morgan's interference was expected. FACTS: This was Becky Lynch's 1st Raw since she defeated Shayna Baszler on February 5. This was Nia Jax's 2nd week in a row on Raw. This was the 2nd 1-on-1 Match between them after Raw on January 1, which was won by Jax. This was the 2nd week in a row that Raw had 2 Women's Matches. This was the 7th DQ of 2024 & the 2nd week in a row on Raw.
Cool to see Ricochet. Wow, JD McDonagh really wants GUNTHER. I'm interested in seeing what Adam Pearce decides for the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania.
Good segment. Becky Lynch VS Liv Morgan should be good next week. I like Rhea Ripley laughing at her.
Good video on Jey Uso VS Drew McIntyre. It should be a classic tonight.
Awesome. Chad Gable VS JD McDonagh VS Shinsuke Nakamura VS Bronson Reed VS Ricochet VS Sami Zayn in a Gauntlet Match to determine GUNTHER's WrestleMania Challenger. I like the idea of a 1-on-1 Match at Mania instead of a Multi-Man Match. It's more prestigious (And it's easier for me & my records).
Stop with the BS about Andrade's debut. It's his return. You can't have 2 debuts.
Andrade VS Apollo Crews was really good though short. It should have gotten 2 segments. It's good to see Crews on Raw instead of being on Main Event, but he's been having great matches there too. It was a good return for Andrade. FACTS: This was Apollo Crews' 1st Raw since he lost to Damian Priest on July 24, 2023. This was Andrade's 1st match overall since the Royal Rumble on January 27 & 1st on Raw since he lost to Angel Garza on October 12, 2020. This was the 7th 1-on-1 Match between them after Smackdown on July 2, 2019 (won by Andrade, also took place in San Antonio), July 16, 2019 (won by Crews), August 20, 2019 (won by Andrade), Raw on April 27, 2020 (won by Andrade), & May 20, 2020 (won by Crews (won the US Title), & Backlash on June 14, 2020 (won by Crews), so now Crews won 3 & Andrade won 4.
Great promo by Sami Zayn & interaction with Ivar to set-up something later.
Nice tribute to Butcher Vachon.
OK segment with Indi Hartwell & Candice LeRae, Natalya & Tegan Nox, & Maxxine Dupri & Ivy Nile. And for the record, Maxxine has had 9 televised matches.
Who cares about faces or heels? The Judgment Day VS Imperium was incredible. It's the 2nd excellent match between 2 heels after Mysterio VS GUNTHER & we had a great face vs face match with Andrade VS Crews. FACTS: This was Finn Balor & Damian Priest's 1st Raw since February 19 & 1st 2-on-2 Tag Team Match on Raw since they defeated #DIY on January 29. This was Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci's 2nd week in a row on Raw. This was the 1st time they wrestled someone other than Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Tommaso Ciampa, or Johnny Gargano since they defeated Chad Gable & Otis on Raw on October 2, 2023 & the 1st time they wrestled someone other than the 2 teams I mentioned or The Alpha Academy since they lost to Drew McIntyre & Matt Riddle on Raw on July 10, 2023.
It's about time that Paul Heyman got inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame. He should have went in a long time ago but it obviously makes sense to do it in the Birthplace of Extreme, Philadelphia. Between his start as a photographer when he was a teen to his days managing The Dangerous Alliance in WCW to owning ECW, revolutionizing professional wrestling, to becoming a manager in WWE, creating several "Heyman Guys". Even now as The Wiseman to The Bloodline, all he has to say is one sentence & I'm buying whatever he's selling. I can't wait to hear his induction speech. It could be one for the ages.
LOL. Michael Cole is going crazy with Valhalla & the antlers. And she put them on him. Pat McAfee called Michael an Asshole for wearing it. Cole mentioned Jim Ross.
Sami Zayn VS Ivar was a fun match. Damn, I was not expecting Bronson Reed's attack on Zayn.
FACTS: This was Sami Zayn's 2nd week in a row on Raw & the 1st time he's wrestling someone other than Shinsuke Nakamura or Drew McIntyre on Raw since he lost to Seth Rollins on 11/6/23, which was the last time he wrestled an American on Raw. This was Ivar's 1st Raw since 2/19 & the 1st time he wrestled a non-American since he defeated Akira Tozawa on Raw on 1/15. This was the 1st time Zayn won 2 1-on-1 Matches in a row since he defeated Sheamus (February 12, 2022 Smackdown) & AJ Styles (February 19, 2022 Raw).
Good promo by GUNTHER exchange with Chad Gable. The Gauntlet Match will be incredible & no matter who wins, VS GUNTHER at WrestleMania will be excellent.
Good Jey Uso promo.
Hilarious segment with Xavier Woods, #DIY, & R-Truth playing WWE 2K24 & The Miz.
Then Pat McAfee making fun of Michael Cole with the Antlers.
Next week's Raw will be another good one. I hope the Gauntlet takes up 1 hour of the show.
Jey Uso VS Drew McIntyre was a great match. I figured Solo Sikoa & Jimmy would interfere to heat up Jey VS Jimmy at WrestleMania. I like Cody Rhodes taking out Solo & then Seth Rollins coming out but McIntyre taking him out. I can see a 6-Man Tag on the Raw before WrestleMania. FACTS: This was Jey Uso's 1st Raw match & main event since February 19. This was his 5th 1-on-1 match against a foreign wrestler in a row, which is the most in his Career (loss to McIntyre (Scotland, December 11, 2023 RAW), defeated Ludwig Kaiser (Germany, December 18, 2023 RAW), defeated Bronson Reed (Australia, January 29, 2024 RAW), & loss to GUNTHER (Austria, February 19, 2024 RAW). This was Drew McIntyre's 1st Raw since February 19 & 1st Raw main event since January 29. This was the 5th 1-on-1 Match between them after Smackdown on November 13, 2020, Raw on Septmeber 18, 2023, November 20, 2023, & December 11, 2023, which were all won by McIntyre.
Here are my RAW Match Rankings:
1) Dominink Mysterio VS GUNTHER
2) The Judgment Day VS Imperium
3) Jey Uso VS Drew McIntyre
4) Sami Zayn VS Ivar
5) Andrade VS Apollo Crews
6) Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax
7) Kayden Carter & Katana Chance VS Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark
EXIT 12 on the Road to WrestleMania: Raw in San Antonio, TX was another good one with a lot of great wrestling & great builds for Mania.
NEXT STOP: EXIT 13: Smackdown in Dallas, TX
Ends Raw Thoughts, Facts, & Stats. For W/L Records, Facts, & Stats, visit
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And for the Complete History of WrestleMania, visit
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