Warning: The following copy has SPOILERS for WWE Monday Night Raw (Jan 13,2025)
WWEMonday Night Raw,live for its second week on Netflix, came live from San Jose, CA, asWWE’s 2025Royal Rumbleplans continue to take shape.CM Punk, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre opened the show, with Chad Gable vs a mystery Luchador opponent following shortly after. Ludwig Kaiser and Sheamus continued their long-running fued with another bruising encounter.
The first ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion was crownedin a tournament final between Dakota Kai and Lyra Valkyria, Rhea Ripley appeared after winning the WWE Women’s Championship on last week’sRaw,andFinn Balor and Damian Priest’s Street Fight provided the night’s Main Event.
The 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble Heats Up
An All-Time Royal Rumble Line-Up Awaits On February 1st
Monday Night Rawpicked up wherelast week’sRawended last week, with CM Punk delighting in his victory.Punk goaded John Cena in a mouth-watering face-to-facefor old school fans, and Seth Rollins declaring for the Royal Rumble on a revenge mission is a delicious addition to this year’s Rumble. Rollins has always had his eyes on the prize when it comes to WWE gold. Seth’s hatred for Punk is blinding his bigger goals, and the idea ofRollins’s sole mission being to ruin Punk will make him entering the Rumble a real moment.
Drew McIntyre entering the Rumble is adding an extra layer to this situation in less obvious ways. His distain for Punk is going to run and run, butDrew continues to impress with his wrestling IQ, calling for everyone to focus on Roman Reigns. The Tribal Chief is surely the favorite for the Rumble. Stopping Roman Reigns should be every major contender’s priority and The Scottish Warrior is right to recognize that.
Penta Makes His WWE Debut
The Worst Kept Secret In Wrestling Is Finally Out In The Open
Working on the proviso that CM Punk was a free agent,Penta became WWE’s first signing from AEW since Jade Cargillin September 2023. The company’s latest acquisition is being tipped for big things in 2025, with Penta being introduced as the second-best luchador of all time by Michael Cole (behind Rey Mysterio Jnr, naturally) speaking loudly about WWE’s expectations. WWE Shop might have let the cat fully out of the bag by posting his merch earlier in the day, but Chad Gable asking for “the best luchador you can find” had it meowing pretty loudly for the last week anyway.
No matter how you feel about how it was announced, Gable and Penta were perfect for one another and went over 13 mins, firing up an already excitable crowd. Perhaps best of all,WWE had Penta cut a promo almost entirely in his native tongue. It is a wonderful expression of international wrestling flavors being represented in today’s WWE, and further evidence of the company’s focus on its global audience.
Gunther Is Not Impressed By Jey Uso
The World Heavyweight Champion Has Savage Words For His Next Challenger
Afterhe missed last week’s Netflix curtain raiser,belittling Jey Uso as nothing but “a really talented tag team wrestler” cut him deep. Jey retorted in rare emotional form, adding a layer of seriousness to his colorful, Yeet-worthy presentation. The pair are now set for a World Heavyweight Championship match atSaturday Night’s Main Event, and it only took one segment to make that a red-hot proposition.
The Curious Case Of Sami Zayn
Seth Rollins Casts WWE’s Most Lovable Superstar In A Different Light
Sami Zayn is one of WWE’s most beloved characters. Much like Ferris Bueller, the sportos, the motorheads, geeks, bloods, wasteoids, and dweebies all adore him. They think Sami’s a righteous dude. But, due to some choice words from Seth Rollins,this week’sRawchallenged the audience to view Sami Zayn in a different light.
Seth Rollins’s words about Sami’s dedication to assisting Roman Reigns’s dreams hit homewith both Zayn and the TV audience. To add more curiosity to the situation, Karrion Kross also brought his presence to Sami’s door. After appearing before the split of both Awesome Truth and The New Day, The Curse of Karrion Kross might be about to claim its next victim.
Lyra Valkyria Creates WWE History
The Rookie Superstar Is The First Women’s Intercontinental Champion
Rubber-stamping that the NXT system is producing superstars again,Lyra Valkyria is the first ever Women’s Intercontinental Champion. This happened in her rookie year, something also shared by fellow 2024 NXT call-up and the men’s Intercontinental Champion, Bron Breakker.
The result is something of an upset, despite Valkyria beating Kai in the Queen Of The Ring qualifiers last year. Nevertheless, Valkyria’s technical prowess shined throughout, with her Running Powerbomb looking particularly impressive.It’s a big show of faith in the Dublin-born rookieand an interesting starting point for the Women’s Intercontinental title.
Damian Priest Shines In Incredible Main Event
A Sensational Street Fight Between The Former Teammates
In a feud that has simmered for years and raged sinceBalor cost Priest his World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlamlast August,Damian Priest and Finn Balor had their best match to date in their Street FightonMonday Night Raw. This brawl had a feral quality, and Priest’s Broken Arrow spot off of the concourse and through a table below should be used on highlight reels for years to come. The crowd had around 6 different “this is awesome" chants, as Damian Priest defeated Finn Balor in a match that included weapons, tables, and non-stop action.
It feels reductive to talk about the Monday Night Wars in 2025, but as part of the winning team,Triple H understands the need to keep establishing stars. The War Raiders are helping out in Raw’s Main Event on the world’s biggest streaming service. The jaw-dropping spots were relentless all the way through the match, and if this was Netflix’s audience’s first look at Damian Priest, he looked like a wrestling god.
The 2025Royal Rumblegets more stacked with every passingWWE Rawbroadcast. It is increasingly difficult to pick a winner but, better still,the narrative around CM Punk, Roman Reigns and John Cena alone is making the men’s Rumble match unmissable. Nia Jax declaring for the Women’s Rumble by bullying Rhea Ripley and Bayley, and the relative shock of Lyra Valkyria being crowned the first Women’s Intercontinental Championship, are adding to an exciting and rapidly changing hierarchy in WWE’s Women’s division.Damian Priest and Finn Balor laid a marker for 2025’s best matchesin a contest that sets Priest up for his next steps, and The Judgment Day’s long-running drama set to boil over.
