Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage and recap of the New Year's edition of WWE Raw, aptly titled “Day 1.”
Management wants this to feel like an important episode and has therefore booked matches for the top men's and women's titles. Here's a look at what WWE promoted at the start of the show:
- Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre (World Championship)
- Rhea Ripley vs. Ivy Nile (Women's World Championship)
- Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax
- Natalya and Tegan Nox vs. Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark
Let's take a look at everything that happened on the first Raw of 2024.
Raw started off a little differently this week as Wade Barrett and Michael Cole gave us and the live audience an overview of the card. Once they were done, Lynch headed to his first match against Jax.
The man was obviously the underdog against Jax. She was at a severe disadvantage in the areas of size and strength, but The Man has much more experience, speed and versatility.
Even though The Irresistible Force had the upper hand early on, this wasn't a one-sided fight. This wasn't a “heel dominates the babyface” match, but rather a back-and-forth exchange that allowed both competitors to steal the spotlight.
After the break, Jax hit a huge Samoan drop off the middle rope for a two count that made the crowd think the match was over. While it looked like The Man was preparing to win, Jax hit an uppercut out of nowhere before hitting her finisher for the win.
Despite some sloppy moments, this match was fun and another good example of how Jax has improved since his return to WWE. Lynch can bring out the best in anyone, so it was no surprise that this was the best match Jax had in this run.
Result: Nia Jax defeated Becky Lynch
Degree: b
Notable moments and observations
- It was a nice change to have the announcers give a quick overview of the card before jumping straight into the first game. Starting the show with a 20-minute promo became too much of a pattern for WWE for a long time. Variety makes the show feel fresher.
- Since her return, Jax has felt much more comfortable moving around the ring. She is quicker on her feet and can take impacts better.
- The way Lynch sold Jax's punch was perfect.
- Lynch was bleeding after the game, but it was hard to tell where it came from because it was only mild. It might even have been a fake to sell the punch.
Cody Rhodes went to the audience singing to his music and a large fireworks display. He talked about wanting to put his feud with Shinsuke Nakamura behind him, but Nakamura continued to attack him. We received another video of Nakamura speaking in Japanese. He said their story will end next week on Raw.
In the next match, Kofi Kingston teamed with Jey Uso to face Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci.
Uso and Kingston are two of the best singles tag team wrestlers in the WWE and have a long history together, so they worked like a well-oiled machine without much fuss.
Normally putting them in the ring with a team as smooth as Imperium would be a guaranteed recipe for success, but the match suddenly ended after the ringside doctor determined that Vinci could no longer keep up.
It's always good to play it safe, so it was the right decision to end the match rather than bring in Kaiser and continue. We will not rate this game. We just hope Vinci is okay.
Result: Kingston and Uso were declared winners due to a referee interruption
Degree: Incomplete
Notable moments and observations
- Kingston unveiled new gear this week. He was wearing shorts instead of his usual tights. It was hard to tell if it was a new look or if he had simply forgotten his equipment and had to improvise. His knee pads were plain black instead of the usual colorful designs he uses.
- Vinci hit a running crossbody that took Kingston down in no time.
The Miz came out and wished the crowd a Happy New Year before giving his usual Miz TV introduction. However, he was wearing wrestling gear instead of his usual suit, so this was clearly going to be some sort of match.
He tried to bring out Judgment Day, but R-Truth came out instead. After a while, JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio came out and told Truth that he wasn't in the group.
After some insults and yelling, The Awesome Truth reunited to face JD and Dom, but Truth still believed he was fighting for Judgment Day.
This fight wasn't meant to steal the show. It was meant to get a few laughs, advance the Day of Truth and Judgment Day storyline, and continue the babyface run for The Miz, and it worked.
McDonagh and Dom tried to get Truth to hit The Miz, but it ended with The A-Lister hitting JD with his finisher, securing the win.
Result: The Awesome Truth defeated JD McDonagh and Dominik Mysterio
Degree: B-
Notable moments and observations
- The reference to “Little Jimmy” was great.
- The Miz is more suited as a heel, but he's also good at crowd control as a babyface.
- The Miz's hurricanrana is more like a halficanrana. He doesn't make a full turn and ends up on his back instead of his stomach or feet like most people.
- Truth is 51 and can still carry a corkscrew shoulder bag like he doesn't care.
- Truth trying to tag in Dom so they could double team JD was hilarious.
The Creed Brothers came on stage with Nile, but walked to the back after wishing her luck so she could steal the spotlight in her title match against Ripley.
While both of these competitors are powerhouses in their own right, Ripley had a significant size and height advantage, making Nile an instant underdog.
There were a few moments of miscommunication in this match that led to awkward moments and near misses, but as the game progressed they seemed to find their rhythm.
Nile looked great as she gained momentum in the second half, executing moves like a headscissors takeover and a tornado DDT.
Dueling chants from both women turned into shouts of “This is great!” before Nile hit a German suplex from the middle rope. However, Ripley was able to fend off a crossbody with a head kick before hitting Riptide to secure the win and retain her title in an entertaining performance that helped put Nile on the map.
Result: Rhea Ripley defeated Ivy Nile
Degree: B+
Notable moments and observations
- These are two of the most muscular women in WWE history. It's great that there are a variety of different women in the department.
- Nile attempted a leapfrog but couldn't quite get over Ripley in the corner, making it look a bit awkward. However, they recovered quickly.
- You can tell that Ripley loves working with smaller opponents that she can easily throw around.
- Ripley headbutting Nile to counter a crossbody was incredible.
Triple H. WWE
Throughout the show, WWE praised the return of a former WWE Champion, and when it was finally time for the segment, Jinder Mahal erupted with boos.
The Maharaja yelled at the crowd because they were disappointed that he was the surprise return that Triple H had been talking about. As he began to give a promo that devastated America, he was interrupted by The Rock's entrance music.
The big guy got a big bang when he came out and greeted the fans in the aisle. He even stopped to take a selfie with a child before sitting on the apron to pose.
This was the usual rock segment. He said his lines, cracked up the crowd, insulted the heel and gave him a new demeaning nickname. Mahal attacked him, but Rocky ended up getting the upper hand and hit the spinebuster followed by the People's Elbow.
As he prepared to wrap things up, he referenced “The Head of The Table” and hinted that a feud with Roman Reigns could be possible. Aside from the last sentence, the whole thing was a paint-by-numbers rock promo, but that's what WWE wanted and it works, so it's hard to be mad at it.
Degree: b
Notable moments and observations
- The boy who took the selfie was so excited. He will remember this forever.
- The Rock's take on The Iron Sheik could use some work, but he has the lingo down pat.
Natalya, Tegan Nox, Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark. WWE
The women's tag team division had two segments this week. The first was a short video package showing Chelsea Green and Piper Niven showing up to a club to face Kayden Carter and Katana Chance, and the second was a tag match that pitted Natalya and Nox against Baszler and Stark.
Natalya and Nox are both competent performers, but Baszler and Stark had a slight edge. The Queen of Spades brought her MMA experience to the game and Stark brought her strength and agility.
Shortly after the bell rang, the show was paused, so much of this fight was played in picture-in-picture during the commercial. Baszler and Stark took the win with a double combination.
It may have been a substitution, but it gave Stark and Baszler a much-needed win as they make their way toward becoming contenders for the women's tag titles.
Result: Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark defeated Tegan Nox and Natalya
Degree: C
Notable moments and observations
- The club section looked a lot more fake than WWE probably intended. You could tell there was no music playing in this room as they spoke.
- Nox's new gear looked like the front of an '80s Trapper Keeper, but in a good way.
The main event of the New Year's edition of WWE Raw was the world title match between McIntyre and Rollins. They had been preparing for this match for weeks, so it felt more like a PPV match than a normal Raw main event.
The Scottish warrior came out of the gate hot and immediately took control. The visionary had received several staples to close a wound after their last encounter, so he was already at a disadvantage before the bell even rang.
They had the last 20 minutes of the show, so they had plenty of time to make things competitive and give both men some standout moments.
It seems redundant to say that this was a good game. Everyone knows how good these two are, so it won't surprise anyone to learn that they worked well together.
Both men came close to winning several times with some of the biggest moves, but they both seemed to dodge every stomp or claymore attempt. Finally, Damian Priest came out to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, but McIntyre hit him with a claymore before he had the chance.
He hit Rollins with another Claymore, but as he went for the pin, Rollins landed his foot on the bottom rope. The Scottish Warrior tried to put him through the announce table, but the Visionary countered and hit a Pedigree. This allowed him to hit the Stomp to win the match and retain his title.
Result: Seth Rollins defeated Drew McIntyre
Degree: B+
Notable moments and observations
- Samantha Irvin seemed a little more energetic than usual during her introduction to this show.
- McIntyre unleashed some heavy punches during an exchange.
- The powerbomb counter that Rollins used when McIntyre tried to hit the Claymore Kick was an incredible display of strength.
WWE spiced up this episode of Raw by naming it “Day 1” from a previous PPV and announcing a big return and two title matches.
The big return was The Rock, who received a warm reception but ultimately won't impact WWE programming unless his taste of a match against Reigns becomes a reality.
Ripley and Rollins retained their belts in two entertaining matches, R-Truth and The Miz reunited and picked up a win, and Lynch helped Jax have one of the best matches of her WWE career.
Even though this was supposed to be a special episode, it didn't feel much different than what we get every week. Sure, The Rock showed up, but that was all that mattered.
Andrade El Idolo's rumored return to WWE didn't happen, but that's probably wise so his comeback wasn't overshadowed by The Rock.
WWE is still producing solid programming every week, so hopefully we can expect this trend to continue in 2024.
Degree: B-