WWE Raw, featuring a confrontation between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes, was also newsworthy because it featured the latest injury update for Seth Rollins. Raw also featured a showdown between tweener heel Drew McIntyre and tweener babyface Damian Priest and Ivy Nile vs. Valhalla.
Last week’s broadcast of WWE Raw garnered 1.419 million viewers.
WWE Raw Results on January 22, 2024
- IMPERIUM vs. The New Day Ends in a Double Countout
- Ivy Nile def. Valhalla
- Dominik Mysterio def. The Miz
- Ivar def. Chad Gable
- Baszler and Stark def. Hartwell and LeRae
- Drew McIntyre def. Damian Priest
WWE Raw Ratings
- January 15, 2024 | 1.419 million
- January 8, 2024 | 1.464 million
- January 1, 2024 | 1.751 million
- December 25, 2023 | 698,000 million
- December 18, 2023 | 1.526 million
WWE Raw Ticket Sales
- WWE Raw Venue: Smoothie King Center (New Orleans, LA)
- WWE Raw Tickets Distributed: 8,537
- WWE Raw Tickets Available: 389
WWE Raw Royal Rumble Surprises (Pro Wrestling Bits)
WWE Raw Winners And Grades
Seth Rollins Kicks Off WWE Raw
Seth Rollins walked out emotionally, wearing a velvet lime-green suit and a knee brace. Before he could even speak, fans sang his song and chanted “thank you Seth!”
Seth Rollins teased that he wouldn’t be able to compete at WrestleMania 40 due to a Grade 2 MCL tear and a partially torn menial meniscus. Fans booed and chanted “no!”
Rollins was interrupted by IMPERIUM, led by GUNTHER, who said he was sad that such a fighting champion would not be able to make it to WrestleMania. GUNTHER admired Rollins for being a fighting champion that everybody could be proud of—just like GUNTHER.
Rollins told GUNTHER that GUNTHER didn’t let him finish. Because Rollins didn’t give a damn what the doctors told him, he would be at WrestleMania 40 to defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and walk out as champion. The segment then escalated further as The New Day jumped IMPERIUM as part of an increasingly heated feud.
For more on Seth Rollins’ segment, click here.
IMPERIUM Vs. The New Day Ends In a Double Countout
Despite being attacked by The New Day, IMPERIUM took control of the driver’s seat before WWE Raw went to break. When Raw returned from break, Kingston made a hot tag and ran wild on Ludwig Kaiser and Giovani Vinci. Based on the roll he was on, this may be the year that Kingston breaks his multi-year curse of botching Royal Rumble spots.
The grudge match between The New Day and IMPERIUM ended in a double countout, which further suggests that this feud may continue on to WrestleMania. With another two-night WrestleMania in 2024, all four of these men deserve it.
Xavier Woods, operating at an intensity that we’ve never seen him at before, teased a fireman’s carry through a table. After all four members made the save for their teammates, all four ended up going through tables as a heated Louisiana crowd chanted “holy s—t!”
Ivy Nile Def. Valhalla
Ivy Nile called Valhalla a bare-foot freak and Michael Cole couldn’t get enough of it.
Cole referred to Valhalla’s bare feet on multiple occasions, causing Wade Barrett to call attention to it. Cole answered by calling himself a journalist.
Before the match really even got started, Nile ended it with a flying bulldog that she called a pitbull.
Backstage, The New Day (with Jey Uso) cut a spirited promo about how they can get down. It ended with Kingston challenging GUNTHER for the Intercontinental Championship next week on WWE Raw.
Nia Jax, Becky Lynch and Bayley Brawl
Nia Jax is one of the best heels in the women’s division if not the best heel. Rhea Ripley is supposed to be the top heel in the women’s division, but she gets cheered like nobody’s business. People hate Nia and I love it.
Lynch interrupted Jax, who started to receive “what” chants, and made reference to Jax’s history of injuring opponents.
Damage CTRL was seen in the background during Kofi Kingston’s spirited promo, and Bayley paid that off by walking out to confront Nia Jax and Becky Lynch. The three quickly devolved into a brawl as a preview of the 2024 Royal Rumble match. I’d be shocked if Becky Lynch didn’t win.
Dominik Mysterio Def. The Miz
WWE aired a vignette from earlier in the day between The Miz and R-Truth as a confused R-Truth told The Miz not to tag in, despite the fact that Miz was in a singles match.
WWE continues to use the Sami Zayn-Bloodline playbook with R-Truth and it’s working as New Orleans was chanting “we want Truth!” to kick off this match.
Only Dominik Mysterio is so hated that he could make The Miz into a super likable babyface.
Dominik Mysterio ultimately won this match after outside interference from Judgment Day, a 619 from Mysterio and a Frog Splash.
Ivar Def. Chad Gable
The story of this match was simple, but effective. Big man vs. Little man, Chad Gable willing himself to toss Ivar around. This led to multiple false finishes.
Raw came back with Chad Gable connecting with a super overhead suplex on Ivar as the crowd was fully into this match.
Gable countered a top-rope maneuver from Ivar with a German suplex. After a distraction from Valhalla, Ivar dropped Gable on top of his head and hit a Doomsault for the win.
CM Punk And Cody Rhodes Meet Face-To-Face
All these Royal Rumble faceoffs have been fire, so CM Punk and Cody Rhodes have a lot to live up to, but I don’t doubt they can.
Cody Rhodes walked out to an enormous reaction, followed by CM Punk who also received a big babyface reaction. Fans chanted for CM Punk, then switched to chanting for Cody Rhodes.
When Cody Rhodes asked CM Punk “what do you want to talk about?” CM Punk answered by saying “I want to talk about your father.”
Cody Rhodes called himself a nepotism hire compared to CM Punk, who had toiled on the indies for 10 years to get to WWE. Punk responded by complimenting Cody Rhodes for overcoming the large shadow of his famous father to become one of the biggest stars in WWE today.
The promo turned tense when Punk said he’s more of the American Dream than Cody Rhodes is.
Cody Rhodes responded to CM Punk’s barb by saying he picked up where CM Punk left off with the pipebomb promo, making him more CM Punk than Cody.
CM Punk teased finishing his story before Cody Rhodes did, and fans did not seem into this.
Rhodes bumped shoulders with CM Punk before leaving the ring, prompting Punk to grab Cody with both of them standing face-to-face before the segment ended. Fans chanted for both Cody and CM Punk.
Baszler And Stark Def. Hartwell And LeRae
This match followed a fantastic Cody Rhodes and CM Punk showdown and they had no chance.
Stark and Baszler have a dynamic to where both think they’re the alpha and both are right. There’s no way this tag team can coexist long-term.
Zoey Stark won this quiet match with what she calls the Z360.
Drew McIntyre Def. Damian Priest
WWE dragged its feet by doing a “By the numbers, Part 2” as well as a Royal Rumble rundown before they got to their main event.
Drew McIntyre is a babyface on his way to being a heel, while Damian Priest is a heel on his way to becoming a babyface.
Fans were much more behind Drew McIntyre than Damian Priest, but McIntyre stills shows promise as a heel.
As expected, this match ended featured interference from R-Truth, who tried to give Priest his cut of the merchandise money. Priest shoved Truth, who went to go grab the briefcase.
Truth distracted the referee, leading to Priest hitting the South of Heaven, but with no three count. McIntyre capitalized with a Claymore Kick for the win.